Elegy and eulogy

Died: Sorab Kaikushroo Modi, 86, musicologist and dramatist; on February 13, 2015 in Washington.
For Sorab: An Elegy for Violin and Piano, a heartfelt moving piece of music, specially composed in honor of Modi by his associate Colleen Faye, also a musicologist, was played at the memorial meet in Washington on April 18 to celebrate the octogenarian’s life and zest for music. This piece was performed by Modi’s pianist friend Frank Conlon, with Luke Wedge on the violin. In keeping with his wish Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela was specially played on the occasion too. The meeting ended with a Bach composition rendered by cellist Vasily Popov, a soloist and chamber musician, many of whose performances would be livened by Modi’s engaging introductions.

Sorab Modi

"Modi was able to continue his passion for the violin and for classical music throughout his life, forming lifelong friendships with artistes such as (American violinist and conductor) Isaac Stern and … (maestro) Zubin Mehta. A highlight of Modi’s musical career was his friendship, both professional and personal, with the late (sitar legend) Ravi Shankar,” noted an obituary in The Washington Post (TWP) of February 19, 2015. At the memorial meet, a condolence message sent by Mehta was read out as also another from the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Further tributes were paid by Rahul Vatsyayan, Modi’s ‘godson’ in New Delhi, who acknowledged the important role that Modi played in his life. Among the others who relived their association with Modi were his late wife Susan’s brother James Lowe, nephew David Lowe, childhood friend Jehangir Dalal, Pramodh and Maya Malhotra, Genevieve Rantz, Audrey Pendergast and Rikki Kramer. "These tributes were warm and often humorous, recalling incidents about Sorab over many years and in varying circumstances, capturing much of his essence and different aspects of his nature and varied interests,” noted a report of the meeting by Pendergast.
Along with Faye, Modi "gave lectures on classical music at embassies and concert halls, and for the past decade at several residential communities in the Washington DC area. In this capacity as in so many others, Modi was able to demonstrate his great love of and passion for music; his evident enthusiasm endeared him to audiences,” stated TWP.
Grandson of the noted scholar Sir (Dr) Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, Sorab grew up "surrounded by the wealth and diversity of Indian cultural life in the final days of the British Raj that ended with Indian Independence in 1947… Young Sorab was as well versed in western culture as he was in that of his native India from his (early) days…” added TWP.
Stage director Sam Kerawalla penned a brief tribute that captured the "very illustrious life” of the "very talented” Modi who since his formative years in India loved the arts and was also a voracious reader. He had studied at St Xavier’s School and St Xavier’s College in Bombay. "An extraordinary violinist” he loved classical and jazz music and was active with the Bombay Madrigal Singers’ Organization, the All India Radio and other art associations. A protégé of Adi Marzban who had taken part in many of his plays and musicals like Chhupo Rustom and Mota Dil na Mota Bawa, he learnt from the veteran the finer nuances of theater, films, paintings and music.
"An outstanding compere” he was sought after for mega shows organized by Pierre Cardin, Jacques Estrel, Time and Talents Club, USIS (US Information Services) and British Council. The music critic’s expertise was sought by the media too and he would interview foreign artistes and shoot photographs that would appear in the Press. To further his career, he once flew to Calcutta to meet the managing director of the only recording company in India and convinced him to share his upcoming releases for which he prepared reviews, recalled Kerawalla.
His professional sojourn took him to Max Factor, Lakme, and Air India where he was initially assistant to Bobby Kuka in the advertising and public relations department. Subsequently he was promoted to the position of station manager at Air India and was posted in Italy and France. Besides being fluent in English, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi, he could also speak French, Italian and Spanish and would contribute articles in different languages to music publications.
Modi was able to straddle across the eastern and western cultures with effortless ease. Although he did not have any immediate survivors, one of his relatives Amy Kharas recalls how Modi would don a suit or a kurta when the occasion demanded. She further referred to Modi’s African grey parrot that could whistle extracts of classical compositions!
Having served for many years as a volunteer docent at the Kennedy Center, friends were requested to make donations to the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute or Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library in lieu of offering floral tributes at his funeral.