Wedding Pics 22 May 1993 - Some History

Geoffrey singing "The Lords Prayer" (clockwise) Dr. John, Mark, Yuen May, Anna and Geoffrey Abisheganaden

This is some history which I digged out from my old photos,on the left was my father, Geoffrey singing the Lords Prayer in the church May and I got married,St. Andrew's Cathedral, on 22nd May 1993. Being the elder son, and the first in the family to get married, we had a church wedding on 22nd May, and a rather grand dinner at the Raffles Hotel on 23rd May 1993 attended by about 250 distinguished family and guests.

It was one of the happiest days of ours lives.

Train - Hey Soul Sister

The first few bars of the song reminds me of the old Nescafe advertisement where the train is coming in loaded full of coffee beans presumably from the South American forests of Brazil. See if you agree ?

This Perfect Day - 7th Sept 2010

My mother Anna, my niece Hannah and my Dad Geoffrey

My father has been warded for about 12 days now, and since he has been in the hospital, he has been calling for my mother. She herself had been in hospital for 3 over weeks following surgery and rehabilitation and only today, my brother and I managed to get her to the hospital to see my father. My Mum needs help walking, so we wheeled her in my car this morning, and together with my brother John, the domestic help Joanna, and John's daughter Hannah we went to see my father.

Geoffrey had been waiting for Mum for over 3 weeks and when she came home, he fell ill again with an eye infection. So my brother decided to immediately ward him and put him on a course of strong antibiotics. Everytime any family members came by, he would either ignore them, or was sleeping so we decided to cajole my Mum to go and visit him. Today, the weather was bright yet cool because of the night's rain. Temperatures were a pleasant 29 deg C in the morning.

When my Mum went there, we brought her up to see him and he managed to open his eyes to see "Ling', his term of endearment for my mother. After a few seconds, he recogised her and a wide smile broke out on his face. I did not see him smile for over a month now, so was very pleased.

Next, Hannah, his favourite grandchild, called out to him in her piercing voice "Grandpa" and again he broke out into another wide smile. Everybody in the room, my Mum, John, Hannah, me and Joanna were laughing and so happy to see my father in so happy a mood. He was talking to Joanna and when she asked him if he was in pain, he said "No". He is still in a very frail state so we are all praying for his recovery and health.

It was indeed a wonderfully perfect day for me.

5 essential things

3 of the 5

On my bed lie 3 of the 5 essential items which are a must for me to operate in this world, they are

1. a notebook
2. my passport
3. my smart phone for connectivity to the world with all contacts and schedules

4. my wits (logic,empathy, experience, memory,vocabulary,plans)
5. my health

Sounds simple, but very unique to each individual. What are yours ?

A funny true story involving Papa and my son

Grandpa Geoffrey and grandson Noel

This was a funny story related to me by my father, some 14 years ago. We were staying at the condominium called Le Marque at Keng Chin Road, where our first son Noel in the picture had his first walking steps,swimming and other fun stuff made possible by his doting grandparents. My father is very fond of Noel, and he used to take my son out for walks in his pram around the condominium and the surrounding estate. This was in 1996, so imagine there were alot less cars on the road, and the first housing bubble was only just beginning. Now, my mother is Chinese and so I am half Indian. My son is thus 3/4 Chinese and 1/4 Indian - technically speaking.


Noel when he was 5 - 6 months old

One day, my mother was busy with an errand, so my father took Noel out of the condominium for a walk, and Noel was about 1 and a half years old. They were walking along the 5 foot way towards the neighbouring condominium where the kind guard allowed them to play in the large open garden. On the way there, my Dad was stopped by a Chinese lady who asked him some strange questions, like "where are you taking this child". After some puzzlement, my Dad replied that Noel was in fact his grandchild, did the lady make some connection. You see, my father is dark skinned, and my son is well, very fair. (See pictures above).

So he told me later that evening that someone actually thought that he was 'kidnapping' my son ! We had a good laugh afterwards. True Story.

Dad's Golden Days

Geoffrey Abisheganaden with President S.R. Nathan

My father held many important positions in community in the past, and this pictorial spread is to highlight some of the past famous and powerful people he has associated in his 40 - 50 years of community and social work. During the 1960s he was a prominent lawyer assisting the then 1st Chief Minister David Marshall as his assistant, and later on starting out his own law firm Abisheganaden and Company at the old Boat Quay. I remember the days in the 60s when his office was on the 2nd floor of an shophouse converted from a godown and the staircases were dusty and creaky. In those days,we lived in a big bungalow at 6 Adis Road and the entire ground floor of the house was used to store the old case files.

I remember the old days where practically every Sunday we would head over to the Marshall family house in Changi and enjoy a glorious lunch spread made my Mrs. Marshall and we spend many hours of fun playing hide and seek, having iced lemon tea and observing Mr. Marshall's lovely 'zoo' consisting of pelondok (or mousedeer), a peacock, some dogs, cats and a cockatoo. The 4 Marshall children were childhood friends of ours but now are based mainly in Europe. Their house had a winding sloping road down to the sea where Mr. Marshall would take dips at night. My family thoroughly enjoyed those weekends.


Campus Crusade for Christ Token

His church work took him to the Bible House, as well as the Campus Crusade for Christ. Addtionally, he was involved in the Christian Businessmen's chapter. He was also the Chairman for the board of Governors of St Andrew's Junior College as well as on the board for St Andrew's School. A down to earth and unassuming person, he has met with all of the last 4 Presidents of Singapore in his various capacities.

I recall once such event which was the St. Andrew's School dinner, where my father sat on the Main Table next to Presiddent Sheares. Later, he called for someone to bring us to meet the President and I remember him saying, "Now Mark, this is probably more rare than meeting Santa Claus, you are meeting President Sheares".


St. Andrew's Junior College Sports Day Momento as Guest of Honour

He also donated funds for the start of a basketball tournament at the SAJC (my college I might add) and there is a Geoffrey Abisheganaden Cup somewhere in the silverware of SAJC.His made donations to charities and worthy causes and I am sure that the giving spirit would have passed on to the next generation.

Geoffrey Abisheganaden - Christmas 2009

Anna and Geoffrey, May (my wife) and Joanna (domestic help)

Last Christmas, we went for our annual Christmas dinner, made special every year because my son Noel is born on Christmas day itself, a blessing which provided joy especially to my father and our family. Dinner was short and sharp, as Papa normally does not want to 'hang around' making small talk ; he is hard of hearing. The mind is still sharp until this week, where he is given to calling for Joanna, our domestic help.

At Li Bai, we normally have our usual Peking Duck (Beijng Ya), which is the skin of the duck, prawns with wasabi and fish roe, duck fried with special sauce, cod fish with special sweet and sour sauce and longevity noodles. A feast which is enjoyed by the family during special occasions like birthdays and our wedding anniversaries.


Dinner at Imperial Treasures 2006, when he was walking with some aid, picture with May

My father had a fall in 2003 and although he made a very good recovery since then, his walking and mainly his legs were weakening by the year. His coordination slowed but he had regular massages and physiotherapy. His mind was sharp as ever, and he read books, 1 book every 2 to 3 days and kept himself engaged by watching the BBC news channel every day without fail to keep up with current affairs. His many appointments in the civil society and also from St Andrew's school and St Andrew's cathedral highlight how much has has contributed to the greater good of our society.


Geoffrey at 90, still full of grace and vigour - taken at Li Bai Restaurant - his favourite at Christmas time 2009

Papa, I may never be able to emulate you but your honest values and wonderful generosity will live in your children and grandchildren for a long time on.