Remembering Sam Medora (1936-2024) – Husband, Father, Legend
On the 7 th of June 1936, Sam was born to Mani and Nariman Medora in Calcutta. The youngest of four
children, the green-eyed baby boy grew into a fine young man who would one day become a wonderful
husband, father, a champion oarsman and above all, a wonderful human being. This was our dad, Sam
Nariman Medora, and we are truly blessed and honoured to have been his children.
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Dad had a great sense of humour which he inherited from his mother. His oldest brother Phiroze was
quiet, although he also had his own sense of humour, but Dad and his sister Gool shared many jokes and
little pranks. He took violin lessons from the well-known Philippe Sandre (a French violinist who set up the
Calcutta School of Music), while his sister played the piano. They often practised together. He eventually
played as second violinist in The Calcutta Symphony Orchestra and was also privileged to play under the
conductorship of world-renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin when he came to Calcutta, as well as Mehli
Mehta, father of the world-renowned conductor Zubin Mehta. He then took up the clarinet which he also
played in the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra.
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When Dad was playing the violin in the Calcutta School of Music Orchestra, all their concerts used to be
held on the stage of the New Empire Cinema. He could well have been chauffeur-driven in his father’s car,
but instead he chose to go on his bicycle with his violin, dressed in his tailcoat (yes, they wore tailcoats
for the concerts) and his dad’s pointed-toed shoes. That’s the kind of commitment he had towards his
music.
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Many years later, Dad was on the Committee and eventually became the Vice President of the Calcutta
School of Music (around 1996) where he spent about 20 years cultivating the talent of young musicians.
As Ms Dickoo Nowroji, Ex- President of the School of Music recently said about him, “he understands
music from his innards.”
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Dad grew up playing all types of games and sports at the Calcutta Parsee Club. He excelled in athletics
mainly in the 100m and 200m where he won many events at the Annual Calcutta Parsee Club meets. He
was also a boy scout, attended all the scout camps, and eventually became Scout Master.
Dad’s association with rowing began in late 1951. At first, he used to go to the Lake Club to play table
tennis with a close friend, until his father suggested he start rowing instead. So, he decided to give it a
shot. His older brother Phiroze was already an oarsman of distinction, having won every single event at
the Lake Club, Head of the Lake and A.R.A.E (Amateur Rowing Association of the East) regattas, in
some instances more than once.
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Dad fared well in Club regattas and also won the Head of the Lake Junior Sculling event. However, the
scale of his achievements was about to change when in 1954 he got a lucky break by being selected to
go as a Reserve with the Lake Club team to Madras for the A.R.A.E Regatta. He was chosen originally as
their B sculler but went on to win the Macklin Sculls against their A sculler. Thereafter he repeated his
performance and won the Macklin Sculls in the A.R.A.E regattas in 1955 in Karachi, 1957 in Colombo,
1958 in Calcutta, 1960 in Colombo and 1961 in Calcutta. He won the event six times, a feat which has not
been bettered since. His achievements inspired and continue to inspire generations of rowers and his
name is now synonymous with the sport in India. In fact, a few years ago he was recognised and
honoured as a Rowing Legend and presented with a salver.
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In 1954 Rangoon University sent a team to compete against Calcutta University at the Inter Varsity
Regatta. Dad competed in the sculling as well as the Fours events but did not win any of them. However,
there was great camaraderie amongst the Calcutta and Rangoon teams. The Lake Club had requested
him and fellow oarsman and good friend Kersi Dastur to host the boys from Rangoon; so, they lived in
dad’s home and enjoyed delicious Parsee food cooked by Kersi’s mother and brought over! Dad kept in
touch with some of these boys over the years, developing lifelong friendships.
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Among Dad’s other notable achievements was his triple success in the 1955 Lake Club Regatta, where
he won the Sculls, Pairs and Fours Events, and of course his winning of the Macklin Sculls event of the
A.R.A.E. Regatta six times in the course of eight years. There are over 20 trophies that are still on
display in our house, whilst some were returned to the Lake Club as we ran out of places to put them!
During his rowing days, Dad also worked very hard to develop a formidable physique, which in those
days was good enough for him to have been a professional bodybuilder. However, it was not part of his
ambition, and much less part of his character to show it off, but more of a passion and more to do with
improving his rowing ability. His physique added a gigantic presence to an already larger than life
personality! Anyone who has met him will attest to this.
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On 8th March 1956, while practising in the pairs in the bow position, in an unfortunate accident that would
eventually impact the longevity of his success in the sport, he was hit in the left hip by the tip of another
boat coming in the opposite direction, which was totally against the conventional rules of courtesy on the
Lake. As a result, he was out of action for 3-4 months, but came back to win the Senior Sculls event at
the Head of the Lake Regatta in December that very year.
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After another 2 surgeries in one year which kept him out of competitive rowing, he came back to win most
of his major trophies. In 1960 he was part of the crew that won the Senior Fours event in record time, at
the Head of the Lake Regatta, Calcutta.
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In 1962, the coach of the Lake Club wrote a letter to one of the earliest Indian sports administrators,
praising dad’s prowess in rowing and earnestly requesting him to permit dad to participate in the
forthcoming Olympic games. Sadly, that was not to be, as rowing was not yet affiliated to the Olympic
Association at that time.
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Meanwhile Dad had been dating our mum Khush for quite a while, and they got married in February
1964. His proudest moment came shortly after, when he received an invitation to row in the Henley Royal
Regatta, the highest honour an amateur oarsman could hope for, as Henley is known as the Blue Riband
of rowing. Dad went to Henley for 2 months and stayed at the Thames Rowing Club and rowed for them.
He participated in Henley, Marlowe and Walton regattas in sculling. It was the first time an Indian sculler
had participated in the Diamond Sculls event, the most prestigious of sculling trophies to this day in the
sport. Even though he did not win any trophies, it was a fantastic experience.
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Dad joined The Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. in 1964 and was slated to go to Jamshedpur for training in
November of that year. However, the Colombo East Regatta was to be held in December and the Lake
Club was extremely keen to send dad to participate, being their top sculler with the formidable reputation
of being unbeatable! The Club requested Sir Biren Mookerjee – Chairman of the Indian Iron & Steel Co.
Ltd and a founder member of the Lake Club – to approach Mr JRD Tata who was a good friend, to assist
in deferring Dad’s departure for Jamshedpur to enable him to row in Colombo. Mr Tata in turn sent a
letter to Mr Russi Mody asking if this would be possible, and thus dad went off to participate in the
Colombo East Regatta.
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Back in Kolkata, Dad won several events in senior Regattas in the Sculls, Pairs and Fours. The most
prestigious event for him was being part of the crew which won the Willingdon Trophy for Fours for The
Lake Club in the year 1965, after 28 years in record time. The Governor of West Bengal H E Padmaja
Naidu was the Chief Guest at this event and presented the trophy.
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After retiring from the sport, Dad went on to coach both men’s and women’s crews at the Lake Club. He
also coached the TISCO crews in the Merchants Cup regattas. In the mid-nineties, he coached a
Women's Four, which won Gold at the Rowing Nationals. He also qualified to become an international
umpire and officiated at the Asian Games (1982), and regattas in Hong Kong, Japan and China.
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In February 2001, post-retirement from TISCO as Assistant Director of Marketing, Dad started another
phase of his life as the CEO of the Calcutta Zoroastrian Charitable and Religious Community Trust Fund
(CZCRCF), where he went on to serve the community for many years. Behind the man, the physique and
the personality was also a side that is less talked about, which is his work as a Caregiver. His time at the
CZCRCF is widely acknowledged, in particular his work with the Caregivers in the community.
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In the city of Kolkata, where a large segment of the Parsee population are Senior Citizens, and most of
them without any family backup, their welfare and needs became a priority. The CZCRCF Trust, which
functions like an Anjuman in Kolkata took the innovative step to put in place a Caregiver Programme
introduced in the year 2005. These caregivers reported directly to dad, and thanks to his streamlining the
setup and putting in place a system of checks and balances, it became one of the most appreciated
schemes put forward to the Community and the Trust. This group helps all those in the Parsi community
who need assistance of any kind, especially the elderly. They visit those who are unwell, arrange for
medical assistance, provide medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers etc, accompany people on
doctors’ visits, or just simply sit and talk to them and lend an empathetic ear.
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Dad may have stepped out as the full time CEO of the Trust in March 2014, but he continued to
spearhead the Caregiver Cell for many years thereafter and although he is no more, the rock-solid
foundation he gave the Caregiver Programme continues to withstand the passage of time. In 2013
he was felicitated by the Trustees of The Late Ervad D B Mehta’s Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash
Adaran in recognition of his work and dedication to the Parsee Community.
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Dad was soft-spoken, gentle, and kind. He was a wonderful husband to mummy, and they were always in
sync with each other – most of the time at least! Mummy supported him 100% in all that he did and even
involved herself wherever she could. She was always so proud of him, not only for his achievements but
also for who he was as a human being. But the most remarkable thing that we children admired about
them was that they were always talking to each other. We would wake up in the morning and go to the
dining table where mum and dad would already be, sitting and having their tea and talking about
something or the other. Meal times were always full of laughter and chatter and we would look forward to
Dad coming home in the evening after work. The whole family would sit and talk, and he never ever
complained that he was tired. Music was an integral part of our daily life, and we have wonderful
memories of Sunday “dhansak” lunches together, with music playing on the old-fashioned spool tape
recorder. He was a wonderful father to the three of us – encouraging, supportive and very patient. He
taught us to swim, ride a bicycle, ride a horse, and drive, and we could always count on him for anything.
After we got married and moved to different cities, we would look forward to going back home for holidays
and sharing the laughter and good times once again.
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Our children also loved their grandfather a lot and each of them have their own memories of a (very)
patient and fun-loving grandfather. He also inspired them with his achievements in both sport and music.
He was also a favourite among the extended family, and all of mum’s cousins for sure! In fact, one of her
aunts once said in Gujarati, which briefly translated to English means “even if you take a lamp to look for
someone like Sam, you won’t find anyone”.
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An inspiration, a gentleman, a towering personality, a multi-talented and good human being are just some
of the words that we have heard people describe our father as. To us he was all of that and a great father
and husband. He passed away peacefully at home on 3rd March 2024, but he will live on forever in our
hearts. His life is truly one to be celebrated.
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Written by : Navaz & Adarbad, Deenaz & Gautam, Darius & Vinita
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Summary of achievements:
1955 Lake Club Regatta won the Sculls, Pairs and Fours Events,
1959 Felicitated by Calcutta Parsee Club for saving a life from drowning.
Plays violin in the Calcutta Symphony orchestra.
Head of the Lake Junior sculling event 19….,
Macklin Sculls:
● 1954 Madras
● 1955 Karachi
● 1957 Colombo
● 1958 Calcutta
● 1960 Colombo
● 1961 Calcutta
1960 Venables Bowl (Pair)
1964 Invited to row at Henley.
1965 Willingdon Trophy (Fours)
Around 1996 Vice President Calcutta School of Music
2001 CEO of CZCRCF
2013 Felicitated by The Late Ervad D B Mehta’s Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran for work with
Caregivers.
A sculler par excellence
His formidable physique
With his parents, siblings and family
Winners of the Merchants Cup
The Lake Club Ltd.
With Padmaja Naidu Governor of West Bengal
Sam and Khush on their wedding day, 1964
At Henley
Felicitated by the Calcutta School of Music
With his team of Caregivers
With his family
Madras Boat Club flag at half mast as a mark of respect to the legend
The Lake Club’s final salute and Guard of Honour
An excellent, deeply moving tribute to a wonderful person. Truly an honour to have known Sam!
Thank you for your kind words, Indrani aunty.
All that Sam was has been said but as a mark of respect to the husband and wife team ie Kush and Sam I always believed that any one of them could replace each other be it work or home they knew each other like the back of their hands..shall always remember him with tremendous live and respect
Thank you Payal aunty for your kind words.
Sam was not only all of the above but a very noble human being and a very dear friend to have.I had the privilege of being his friend and that of Khush too.May the departed soul rest in peace.
Thank you for your kind words 🙏🏼.
It sure was a blessing to have known him when we came to Kolkata 7 years back from Jamshedpur. He was so inspirational, helpful, caring and such a wonderful human being. Both he and his better half were/are such warm human beings.
Reading his feats which were unknown to me till now is really…..
He was a thorough gentleman and i pray his soul rests in eternal peace.🙏
Thank you for your kind words 🙏🏼
Had the privilege to work with him for a period of six months at Chennai Sales Office, Tata Steel. A thorough gentleman who was firm, but never raised his voice. Later we were neighbours at Sonali Apartments in Kolkata. May his soul rest in peace.
Thank you for your kind words 🙏🏼
Great information of a felicitated Parsi in Calcutta
Thank you for your kind words.