THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “He was a born speaker and had a handsome figure to match. It was no wonder that Diwan Sir CP Ramaswamy was impressed by young Cyriac’s welcome speech on our school anniversary back in 1937,” said K P Joseph, former Accountant General of Kerala, while remembering his friend and Kerala’s first Land Revenue Secretary, VG Cyriac,who passed away on Friday, aged 102.The charms that Cyriac, a BL graduate from Madras University at that time, had cast on Joseph, a fifth form student of Kuravilangad High School, with the speech delivered in impeccable English, remains intact to this day. He had soon heard that Cyriac was appointed as the Magistrate of Travancore on the direct intervention of Sir C P.“That was how he entered the government service and he remained worthy of the privilege all through his career. He was always a simple individual and a sincere and honest official,” said Joseph, speaking from his home in Kesavadasapuram.Cyriac’s father, Chevalier V C George, had taught at the Kuravilangad HS. The acquaintance that Cyriac and Joseph had as family friends grew into a bonding that survived long years of official responsibilities that kept them from meeting each other.“After we both settled down in Thiruvananthapuram, I used to visit him once in a while at his home in Muttada. He had a remarkable memory and could reproduce the whole of that old welcome speech any day until the last. He took pleasure in sharing the memories of those good old days and the speech was one of his favourite bits,” Joseph laughed heartily at the memories.Cyriac was conferred IAS in 1958 and served as District Collector in Ernakulam, Kollam and Kannur. His efficiency in these posts was recognised when he was made the Secretary of the Land Revenue Board. He retired from service in 1967. Opportunities to join hands on official matters never came across the two friends.“I served most of my term outside India and my service in Kerala would not account for more than two years. So, we never had a chance to collaborate on anything official,” said Joseph, who retired from service in 1981.The regard for Cyriac was polished to greater sheen on many occasions. “He was a man of man of amazing mental courage. I was gripped by the composure with which he received the news of the death of his son Squadron Leader Mathew Cyriac.”One of the pilots of the special aircraft in which Moraraji Desai, then Prime Minister, flew to Assam in 1977, Mathew Cyriac had sacrificed his life trying to save the PM while nosediving the plane which had run out of fuel.“Cyriac went through the ordeal of burying his young son with astounding calmness. He was a remarkable individual all through his life,” Joseph’s voice, filled with reverence for his departed friend, trailed off in the rush of memories.
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