Statesman News Service
KALIMPONG, Aug. 16. — Tears were simply uncontrollable as the classical violin orchestra, paid their last tributes to the Canadian Jesuit Fr Thomas Edward McGuire, founder of their very own Gandhi Ashram, at 6 milestone here.
Father McGuire, renowned worldwide for his concept of the Ashram, passed away yesterday afternoon, due to cardiac arrest. He was 78. Born in Canada on 25 September 1927, Father McGuire had a deep attachment to music, as he believed that music could be a weapon to fight poverty and illiteracy.
The Ashram, a refuge for the poor kids, provided free education, and classes in classical music, was founded by Fr McGuire in 1993. He came here 50 years ago from Canada to teach in the Jesuit schools. Having taught in schools like St Roberts and St Josephs College (school), Fr McGuire entered Kalimpong with the aim of lifting the downtrodden. Hundreds of kids are now dependent on the Gandhi Ashram for their education and music. “Religion was not a barrier for him nor was social status,” Brother Sibi Joseph who has been a helping hand here at the Ashram, said. After a mass and prayer offerings the orchestra too honoured him.
Recalling the days when she first joined the Ashram Ms Salina Tamang said, “When I first came here I was only five years old. Our father was not just our guide. He was my belief”. A now grown-up Ms Salina Tamang, who now studies at Mt Caramel in the tenth standard was not able to control her tears today. “My goal is to find the natural ability in each child and encourage that ability to develop,” Father McGuire had once said while speaking to The Statesman.
Under the guidance of Fr McGuire, children of the Ashram performed in various corners of the nation and even performed in foreign places like Switzerland and Germany. Speaking at the mass, the Arch Bishop Fr Stephen Lepcha said: “He taught us the lesson of love. It is a great loss.” He was later buried at the Manresa Novitiate at 8 mile.