When Dhanushkodi was swallowed by sea in 1964, and when the postal services and mails to Ceylon got disrupted and left the Postal administration confounded with no way to keep their service on to Ceylon, it was Celestine Machado who offered the ready solution. He unhesitatingly offered his as well as his relalatives’ boats as carriers of postal mails to Colombo till situation improved. The mails from India reached Colombo within eight hours. The grateful Indian postal department, for this act of National Service honoured him by issuing a First Day Cover in 2010.

What makes one remember Celesitine Machado even after four decades of his demise. The answer is ;– He has achieved many things in many fields in five decades and odd of his life.

First, Celestine Machado’s services went far beyond the community. He did not confine himself to the narrow passage of his community. He was an egalitarian. He had the amiability to strike friends with other communities. He was amicably disposed to different communities and had fostered rare friendship. Many recall his kind and gracious visits to their homes and functions. He mixed with the poor and rich without any reservation. He was in the social circuit of Tuticorin rubbing shoulders with the rich and poor, officials and businessmen, priests and politicians. His circle was wide and of different colours.

Secondly he was a sociable man. He was instrumental in organizing clubs and federations giving an impression of a man who moves with others views instead of holding on to ones own views as many of us do .
Thus ,he was one of the main architects of the Lions club in Tuticorin and was the cause for the formation of Lions Town.He was the founder member of YMCA , Tuticorin. A hall in YMCA commemorates his memory from 1968. He was the founder of federation of boat yard workers. He was the founder president of Bharather poorman’s depots and Tirunelvely district fishermen co operative federation.He was the founder of Tuticorin Customs House Agents association and Tuticorin Ship Agents Association. He was the first president of Tuticorin Custom House Agents association and was holding the post for more than a decade.

Thirdly he was national minded .When the Chinese aggressed in 1962 he was in the vanguard to contribute war funds by handing over golden jewels to the Honourable Chief Minister. He was friendly to the Member of Parliament K. T.Kosalram, Chief minister M. Baktavatsalam, Home Minister P. Kakkan, and Congress President K. Kamaraj and utilized this friendship for public welfare , to devlop Tuticorin,its economy and communities. Realising the importance of a developed port for the wellbeing of Tuticorin in the long run, he labored hard to get the New port . He along with others met Jawaharlal Nehru to realize this dream.
Fourthly, the welfare of the community in which he was born was close to his heart but he did not allow this to cloud his relationship with other communities. – a trait of a noble.He was ever alert to the developing conflicts in Paravar villages from Naripaiyur to Rajakkamangalam and administered peace by consent, avoiding police stations and courts as far as possible.

Fifthly, though he was not a governmet official or a legislator he made his views heard by the government by the virtue of being in various advisory committees of the government. His knowledge and experience gained these positions. But it needs diplomacy to wade through to reach such positions in advisory committees , And he had this diplomacy in abundance.

He was in the Advisory committee of Southern Railway, Customs, Offshore fishing, Transports, State fisheries etc.

Sixthly he was sympathetic to poor by nature. He encouraged many school drop outs from the community to join the Merchant Navy and drove poverty out of their families .He left a silent word for someone or other for a government job with men who matter ,without letting it known to all and sundry and paved way for many to find their way to government services especially in the fishery department. Many poor but studious students had his unannounced financial patronage in schools and colleges. When fishermen were stranded in mid-seas, he was there to organize search parties spending at times from his own kitty and rested only when they were traced.

Seventhly, he was very pious by disposition and venerated Sacred heart of Jesus specially. He was a daily communicant. He was close to Fr. Pio. He celebrated Christmas in small villages with the poor by taking out a priest from Chinnakoil to say a mass in the village he had chosen.He fostered many postulants in the seminaries.
No wonder that he has got a statue erected by his admirers in Nehru Park in Tuticorin.
When shall we have another one like him?

by A.X. ALEXANDER.

(The author knows Fr. Albert Machado, brother of Celestine Machado pretty well from 1965 when he was in Trichirappalli, later in Madras and much later when he was in Dindigul in his last days. But not Celestine Machado personally. The material for this note has been gleaned from the Souvenir on Celestine Machado , sent by Prof. Reghu Antony, V.O.C. college . Tuticorin. The writer thanks all the contributors for their recollections , which have been utilized.)