Friday 3 April 2009

Mahananda/Andrew, age 61

Friends of Mahananda/Andrew

It is with regret that I have to publish one last blog on behalf of our mutual friend Andrew Serafinski, also known to some of you as Mahananda. He died on April 2nd in a hospital near his home in London, having suffered a very severe stroke in the small hours of the morning. Many friends from across all six decades of his life were at his bedside when he passed away at 9.20pm, having not regained consciousness all day.

You may well be reading this blog because Andrew met you while travelling. The blogs he wrote while travelling speak for themselves about the kind of person he was and how he saw the world and I can't sum that up here.

He had warm way of connecting, an instant generosity and a kind of love for the world that is hard to describe. You just felt it. If you met him for just one day, you'd likely miss him the next. Before he went travelling he left 50 kilograms of birdfeed for the finches in his garden.

His loss came without warning. A vessel in his brain ruptured and the medicine he takes to thin his blood perhaps meant the damage was extensive and beyond repair. No firm conclusion was drawn as to why it happened.

When he returned from the trip with Joanna and myself across the width of Asia he said he had finished the outer journey and now the inner journey was calling him again. His last six weeks were spent in large part in his garden, planting and clearing for the spring growth and reconnecting with his friends.

Please feel free to leave you messages here. If, however, you would like to contact me personally for any reason I can be reached by email as follows:

waterston.david@gmail.com

Warm wishes
David