Last Saturday Joseph, my dear friend from Mysore India, passed away suddenly and to the shock of many loving friends and family. He suffered a fatal heart attack whilst in Cambodia on a visa trip from India.



Joseph was fond of explaining that 17 years ago he came to Mysore to study yoga with Ashtanga Guru Sri K Pattabhi Jois for one month and, well the rest is history. Which meant that he became Pattabhi Jois's right hand man for many years organizing all of the Guru's travels. He was there with him on September 11 in New York and would organize the many intricate details of traveling with the Jois family. He was much loved and admired by many people and especially by those who were lucky enough to have stayed with him at 'Chez Mr. Joseph's'. I have written about his wonderful hospitality extensively in past blogs and would like to tell my story of how I got to be so lucky as to get to know him.

My first trip to India was fraught with anxiety. Would I survive the less than hygienic conditions, as according to the horror stories of many a traveler these could cause all sorts of digestive problems. Would I be safe and could I trust anyone? After extensive research I finally decided that I would stay at a place that sounded, according to the website, very safe and trustworthy. In my minds eye I presumed Mr. Joseph to be some elderly Indian gentleman who had made it his business to accommodate befuddled Western yogis. So with this in mind Mr. Joseph and I corresponded over several weeks with him offering me several options of accommodation, including the 'Penthouse' suite. I jumped at the chance of having the best room in the house and Mr. Joseph assured me that I would feel like a princess once ensconced in my very own little tower. To top this a driver would also be at the airport to drive me the five hours it would take to get to Mysore and he would announce himself with a placard that would say "Princess Sandra". Upon hearing this my husband rolled his eyes saying "What a con artist, typical Indian!"

Lo and behold at the airport there was Murthy waving the "Princess Sandra" sign in the air. I arrived at Gokulam at 3 a.m. and Joseph was up...and to my surprise a rather dashing and tall yank.  He had me at "Hey there babe" and we both chatted until the sun came up. The next day I found out that I had moved Joseph out of his very own room, as usually no-one takes the Penthouse suit.

Joseph and I clicked, and I am sure many people have had that experience with him. It made you an instant family. In the three weeks I spent in Mysore the first time, he drove me on the back of his Enfield absolutely everywhere. I experienced Mysore the Joseph way. That is where to buy the best Papaya, how to get a phone number, where to swim, where to eat, how to haggle, how to get 'anything' done in Mysore. I listened to his many hilarious stories about India and Guruji. It is because of him I came back twice again within the very same year. He literally became my anchor in Mysore and the idea of going there and not finding him waiting is.... I have no words for how it feels. I know that when someone passes over their physical presence is gone, but for sometime some physicality of them is still present. Their mail keeps coming for a little while and even the phone might still ring. The house in Gokulam is still there, but eventually it will not be the house that Mr. Joseph lived in. I know in our minds and hearts he will live on and yet even that might fade a little over time. All I can say is that this is one man I would invite to my dinner party in heaven and that if anything I am looking forward to that day.

Namaste Joseph

Sandra Ramacher