For me, Scylla Vatcha’s passing away on March 17, 2020 is like the end of an era. She was one of the most inspiring women that it was my good fortune to know. Her brother, Nowshir Jungalwalla, was my aunt Piloo Nanavutty’s husband. He was the only son of the family and greatly loved by his four sisters.
It was after the tragic death of my father, Dr K. A. J. Lalkaka, the psychiatrist, in a hit and run incident at Marine Drive on March 17, 1969 that I came in closer touch with her. She would very unobtrusively check on my welfare, often inviting me to her lovely home for tea. She would enquire about my numerous activities at Elphinstone College and I would enthusiastically launch into a discussion of my favorite subject — ancient Indian art and culture. She would listen attentively to my chatter and was always very encouraging. I once mentioned that I was saving to buy Heinrich Zimmer’s The Art of Indian Asia in two volumes, as it was quite expensive; Rs 300 was a princely sum in those days! As I was leaving she slipped an envelope into my hands and told me to buy the books. I have never felt so grateful to anyone as I did to Scylla that day! Every time my eye falls on this work I look back in time to the excitement of going to Strand bookstore to buy it and the thrill of holding the two-volume set in my hands.
Years later, when my aunt Naja Nanavutty lay dying of cancer at The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital (PGH), Scylla stood by us and was a tower of strength to my mother, Pareen Lalkaka, and to me. She saw to it that Naja masi (maternal aunt) got the best treatment possible.
At PGH I met many poor Parsis and was saddened by their tales of woe. One gentleman in particular seemed to be worse off than the Biblical character Job and I was moved enough to visit him in his house in Andheri. God seemed to have abandoned him altogether! I rushed to Scylla and begged her to do something for him. She said she would look into the matter and a few days later told me that she had given him some monetary assistance. "But,” she said gently, "he has been getting a lot of money from innumerable charitable trusts.” I was quite taken aback and, without being lectured to, learnt a valuable lesson about human nature.
In the true spirit of Zarathushtra, Scylla silently came to the aid of a countless people. She will be sorely missed and remembered for generations to come for her dedicated service to the poor and needy. ABAN MUKHERJI
mukherji.aban@gmail.com