Aboubakar Desai, a well-known teacher and sportsman from Crawford who was also known by his friends as “the man with the bow tie”, died on Wednesday February 7. He was 92.
Described by family and friends as well-spoken, fair, forthright, eloquent and elegant, Mr Desai was buried under Muslim rites on Thursday February 8 in Mowbray.
He comes from a family and circle of friends steeped in education, the judiciary and sport. His late brother, Khalied Desai, was the second principal of Alexander Sinton High School in Crawford in 1977.
Mr Desai spent his entire professional life in teaching. In his earlier years, he held a teaching post at Rahmaniyeh Primary School in Constitution Street, District Six.
In 1951, he joined Alexander Sinton High School. In the late 1960s, Mr Desai took up a post at Hewat College, a then teachers’ training institution. In later years, he was appointed the rector there.
He was also an accomplished cricketer and an avid rugby supporter.
In 1952, Mr Desai was appointed the secretary of the Western Province Indian Cricket Union.
A few years later, in February 1959, he became the first secretary of the Western Province Cricket Board. There he shared administrative duties with Matt Seegers, Joe Rassool, Cliffie Ravens, Hassan Howa and John van Harte.
He was also a close friend of the late Richard Rive, his colleague at Hewat.
His daughter, Fatima Desai, said Mr Desai was a strict disciplinarian with a strong sense of family.
“I have a son and adopted two more and he always included all of them in his activities,” Ms Desai said.
His grandson, Shadley Desai, said it was hard to share the lessons that his grandfather taught “because there are so many and I feel like they’re so ingrained in me”.
He added: “The many lessons included that your career must also grant you the time and means to enjoy your life and your hobbies. Learn. Learn. Learn. About everything and anything. Whether it’s trivial or not, just learn. Also, not to be afraid of being challenged, and instead, use it as an opportunity to learn and grow.”