It was an ordinary Tuesday morning at my office. I received an e-mail from a good friend. I was startled. Immediately, I telephoned the Law Society Secretariat to verify the information. I was devastated. It was not a hoax. Mr Palakrishnan SC or Mr Pala as he is fondly known to many of us, had passed away.

In early 1998, at the beginning of my second year of law practice, I walked into the first meeting of the Law Society’s Publications Committee. Mr Pala was then the chairman of the Committee. Like a witness in the stand, I was cross-examined by Mr Pala on my legal career, all in five minutes. I left the meeting in awe and full of inspiration. Later, I sat down in my office full of enthusiasm and passion for the law.

My first piece of writing for this publication was a result of Mr Pala’s encouragement. He sent a lot of literature to my office so that I could write an article on the Contingency Fee Agreement. I was reminded about and chased for the article by him personally. A couple of months after the publication of the article, he took it upon himself to update me on our judiciary’s view on the feasibility of the implementation of the Contingency Fee Agreement in Singapore.

Mr Pala was a great lover. He loved the Law, the work of the Law Society, this publication, football and everybody around him passionately. He found time for everything in his life. The Publications Committee members have received many personal letters and faxes from him on his many ideas for improving the quality of The Singapore Law Gazette. This publication is just one of the many examples of the changes that he had created during his lifetime. I will always treasure his e-mail complimenting me on a particular profile I wrote for this column last year. Although the e-mail did not reach me initially, he asked the Director of Publications of the Law Society Secretariat to forward it to me. I later learnt that Mr Pala rarely compliments. He was a man of simple gestures and kind thoughts. A generous man who was honest, frank and never minced his words. Sometime last year, he told me that I tend to produce articles of varying quality for this column. I smiled and agreed with him. He had echoed my thoughts.

Amongst the many newspaper reports on Mr Pala after his demise, one article in an issue of the Today newspaper summed up his life philosophy: he lived life as if there was no tomorrow.

I cannot face Death. Emotions of sadness, grief, pain, loneliness and depression engulf me when I look at Death. For this reason, I rarely attend wakes and funerals. How do I look at someone in his coffin when he was alive not too long ago? I have nightmares of my loved ones dying. I have woken up in a big fright in the middle of many nights. I still have memories of my maternal grandfather’s death some 19 years ago. I cannot imagine life without my loved ones. When a former colleague and close friend’s mother died of cancer a few years ago, I visited the Mount Vernon Crematorium for the very first time in my life. For days after the funeral, vivid images of the cremation haunted me.

I cry at funerals. Yes, I am a sentimentalist. I have heard mourners lamenting how the deceased could have done many more things if he had lived. Many funeral wakes are times of regret. Unsaid words and undone actions are cried over which otherwise would not have been said or done anyway. Many mourners bury their grief and sorrow within themselves. Would it help if they allow their emotions to take the form of tears and wails? I hear that time heals. Will it really heal and eliminate the grief and pain? How long does it take for pain to transcend into sweet memories?

I attended Mr Pala’s wake. Sorrow and grief surrounded the air. It was also filled with reminiscences of the man’s great actions and words. It was a solemn celebration of his meaningful life by his colleagues, former colleagues, his law pupils, students, friends and loved ones. I felt that he was alive and watching us on that day. Dressed in his favourite court attire, Mr Pala was finally taking his well-deserved sleep.

To Mrs Pala, Shoba, Rathi and Sanjay, thank you for sharing Mr Pala with every one of us. I will never know what Mr Pala would have to say about this article. Maybe I do. Sir, I salute you for your intense passion, compassion, boundless energy and enthusiasm. You are an inspiration to everyone of us. At death we do not part. A mere farewell till we meet again.

Rajan Chettiar
Rajan Chettiar & Co
E-mail: rajanchettiar@pacific.net.sg