Howzzat loses one more member

BENGALURU : Howzzat, the house in Mangaluru where its inmates would live, breathe and celebrate Australian cricket, lost one more member on Monday night.
Neil Joseph Michael D’Souza, the eldest of eight children of late Gauldin Michael Charles (GMC) D'Souza and Anne nee Mascarenhas, succumbed to a heart attack while travelling in a bus at Uppinangady.He was 63. He is survived by his wife and son. His brother Keith had passed away just six months back.
He was named by dad GMC after Aussie cricketer Neil (Harvey). The D’Souza patriarch’s love for the Aussies was so overwhelming that he named his six sons after Australian cricketers Neil (Harvey), Donald (Bradman), Clarence (Grimmett), Keith (Miller), Alan (Davidson) and Kenneth (Mackay). His daughters Christobel, Mirabel and Annabel too share the family's love for the game. Fr Clarence is the vice-principal of St Joseph’s College, Bengaluru.
GMC’s association with Down Under began a few decades ago. He wrote 48 verses in praise of Bradman and mailed them to him. Bradman, acknowledging cricket's remarkable influence on people, said he would treasure the letter and verses. The family values Bradman's letter more than anything else. Sadly, the letter reached the D’Souzas in 1986, four years after GMC's demise.
Neil was the former secretary of the St Aloysius College Alumni Association and member of Catholic Association of South Kanara.