Church farewell for “Sardar Patel”

London: Relatives and friends of actor Saeed Jaffrey, who died in London last month aged 86, bid a final farewell to him at a west London church on Monday.

Saeed, who played Sardar Vallabhai Patel in Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” film, and his wife Jennifer had been attending Sunday service at St Mary’s Church in South Ealing, where he was baptized and formally inducted into the Christian faith by the vicar, Rev Steve Paynter.

In his address, Paynter said: “…whenever we met, often after a service, he always exuded such kindness, warmth and pleasure… of course, I loved to hear him read the scripture passages in church. On one occasion, he read a difficult lengthy passage from the Prophet Isaiah which defeats most of us to read… at last, I know how it should be done.”

“A high point in our relationship was his baptism…,” Paynter added. “It was a joyful and faith-filled occasion.”

In the prayer of commendation and farewell, the vicar called upon the “Mercy of God and Redeemer” and said: “We entrust Saeed to your mercy in the name of Jesus our Lord.”

Fellow actor Madhav Sharma read “Peace of my heart” – “this poem is by the first non- European to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur.”

The most emotional tribute was paid by Mark Tully, 80, Saeed’s friend and former BBC colleague for 50 years, who broke down as he delivered his eulogy, The Telegraph reported.

Tully spoke of Saeed’s gentleness, generosity, warmth, sense of fun and remarkable achievements as an actor in both Britain and in Bollywood. “He wanted to build bridges between cultures.”

As Tully wiped his tears and returned to his seat alongside Jennifer, Saeed’s wife and “rock” for 45 years, the entire congregation broke into applause. “This is the first time I have had applause at a funeral,” said Paynter.

There was also a tribute from 95-year-old filmmaker Yavar Abbas.

Saeed, who was born in Punjab’s Malerkotla to Shia parents, was proud of his perfect Urdu and English diction. His schooling gave him an understanding of Christianity. In 1941 at Mussoorie, he attended Wynberg Allen School, a Church of England establishment. After completing his Senior Cambridge there, he attended St. George’s College, Mussoorie. He later travelled on a Fulbright scholarship to study drama at the Catholic University of America.

As a screen flashed stills from Saeed’s movies at the farewell yesterday, including Satyajit Ray’s The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari), Jennifer fondly held up a glass of good red wine to her late husband.