Rajeeb Gangoosingh

In Memoriam

On Friday, 20 May 2022, Rajeeb Gangoosingh set the alarm clock on his phone for 19h30.

He did that just after he told his wife, Padmini, who had called him earlier in the day to check on the evening’s plans, that he would be leaving home at that time.

At 19h30, the alarm did go off as planned. And Rajeeb, 39, did leave on time. But he left his body, not just the family home.

Rajeeb Gangoosingh, Associate Client Director at Prodigious, a brand logistics company based in Ebène, passed away following a cardiac arrest, four months shy of his 40th birthday. He was finishing off his Work From Home (WFH) workload and was getting ready to leave to meet his friends for a car project he’d been working on when he called out to his wife to complain of stomach pains. Padmini, panicked and helpless, tried to bring succour to her husband while looking for his phone to call the SAMU.

The alarm on Rajeeb’s phone went off just as Padmini was looking for it. That’s how she found it. And as she grabbed it to call the ambulance, Rajeeb took his last breath. By the time the doctor from the SAMU arrived, he could only confirm Rajeeb’s death.

As with all sudden deaths that befall younger people, news of Rajeeb’s death sent a shock wave to those who knew him. The only son of Shilla and Rajen Gangoosingh, both retired from the education sector, Rajeeb leaves behind an older sister, Aruna, and his wife of just one year, Padmini.

Padmini describes Rajeeb as someone who brought light and happiness wherever he went, saying he was a wonderful soul, wonderful son and husband and “fur daddy to four wonderful fur babies”.

A graduate in Graphic Design from Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, Rajeeb was also a known car enthusiast. He was passionate about tuning, mapping and car projects. He would buy the chassis of an old car – not just any car, Subarus and Mitsubishis were a favourite – and build it again from scratch, remapping the engine for the ultimate, power. Padmini, also a car enthusiast, explains that it’s a whole science, saying that Rajeeb had mastered it. It took documentation, trials and error, and infinite patience and passion, but that’s what made Rajeeb tick.

As the world of car rallies in Mauritius mourns one of its most talented enthusiasts, his colleagues and loved ones struggle to make sense of this loss. Padmini has decided that she will continue Rajeeb’s passion for building and perfecting cars. He had just recently bought an old BMW and was preparing to turn it into a supercar. She is now determined to continue Rajeeb’s project saying she knows that’s what he would have wanted. Rajeeb had started working on a number of cars for friends, and because his method was unique, Padmini reckons it would be hard for someone who hasn’t the benefit of his long acquired knowledge to do it. She takes solace in the knowledge that she must now continue his work.

If this sense of purpose will go a long way in helping Padmini come to terms with her immense loss, the road ahead is hazier for Rajeeb’s parents. The hearts of parents don’t seem to have been built with the capacity to withstand the loss of a child. And yet, they must go on.

Rajen and Shilla are currently taking great comfort from the outpouring of love from Rajeeb’s friends, drawing solace from the sanctuary of memories of their son and facets of his life until now unknown.

News that his friends will bring out their cars and “race for Rajeeb” soon, as a tribute to his talent, passion and mentorship, has gone a long way to soothe their broken hearts.

Padmini says that Rajeeb explained his passion for tuning by saying it was the last process for someone with his inclinations. From a geek to a gamer to a tuner.

Almost as if he had come full circle.

Friends of Gangoosingh Family

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 24 June 2022