We are all so sadden by your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. A lovely soul who put up an amazing fight. Rest in peace now mesho 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

This isn’t a proper eulogy with a chronology of my dad’s life and achievements. It’s just a collection of my thoughts, memories and third party stories that defined him as a person. It’s a bit jumbled up but I hope that’s ok. First of all thank you for being here today. So many of you have travelled from great distances to pay your final respects to my dad. Our childhood memories are full of wonderful trips to see you all over the country and excitedly preparing for you at our home too. The family are also grateful for all the messages, gifts and gestures of support we have received over the past week, it’s been incredible. I also have to say a special thank you to my mum and my sisters who have worked tirelessly in their grief to organise this funeral. The love within our family and from you all has helped us through this difficult time. My dad didn’t have a facebook account. I don’t think he’d even heard of Twitter or Instagram! And he never owned a mobile phone. But despite modern technology, dad was one of the most popular people I knew... You only have to look around you to see this….. We couldn’t even go to the local shop in Coventry without greeting at least half a dozen people! He was an old school legend and one of the founding fathers of the Bengali-community in the UK since he arrived here in the late 50s. I’m sure you’d agree with me when I say that to know him was to be charmed by him. Growing up in Sylhet my dad was very sporty and fit. He was a strong swimmer and a skilled fisherman. He played football to a high level and strangers I still meet in India to this day tell me what a great left foot he possessed and how they used to travel from neighbouring towns to watch him play. Later on in life he used to practise yoga daily and I know my nephew Krishan still appreciates being taught how to do a handstand by him! My dad grafted so hard to set himself up in this country. He worked full time as well as starting a couple of businesses and buying a few properties which he used to rent out. My friend recently commented that he achieved so much back in the 60s and 70s in an era which was much more hostile and less forgiving than the liberal world we live in today. Prejudice and discrimination were just hurdles that had to be overcome by people of that generation and dad jumped these with confidence. Dad was my hero. I remember as a 15yo walking down Green Street and getting mugged by some older youths. I managed to find dad and tearfully told him what happened. He tracked the youths down, took back what was stolen from me and made the muggers regret what they had done! I used to think he was invincible. I saw him fall off tall ladders and get straight back up. I heard he once sawed through a live electric cable and just escaped with singed arm hairs! An experience I recall vividly is cycling home from school one day with my dad. He used to have a huge bike which he bought from a policeman and he used to sit me on the frame whilst he cycled, usually very fast! Anyway one day as we turned onto our street I was on this bike with my legs dangling around as they did. To this day I still don’t know why I did this but as I was staring down at the front wheel which was a blur of grey I decided to put my foot into the spokes! The wheel jammed and the bike went flying throwing me one way and my dad the other! I just picked myself up without a scratch on me and was probably pretty pleased with myself. The bike looked pretty damaged, the wheels still spinning. I was worried about dad and looked over towards him…… He was sitting on the floor about 20ft away facing away from me. Now dad used to be quite fashionable in his younger days and he loved wearing hats; that day he had gone for an old fashioned flat cap which was on the floor next to him. He picked up the hat, dusted it off and put it on his head and then got up on his feet gingerly. As he turned around to look at me I saw the angry look on his face and my relief turned into fear. I ran home as fast as I could and hid until it was time for dinner. Thankfully dad calmed down and never mentioned the incident to anyone and I never spoke about it again until last week when I recited it to him at hospital However I think the story that sums dad up is this one which occurred in the mid-seventies. He had a work colleague who was really more of an acquaintance than a friend. They didn’t eat at each other’s houses nor socialise together outside of work. But there was a mutual respect between them. One day there was a knock on the door. Dad opened it and there were a couple of policemen who came in and told him that they had good news… and bad news. The bad news was that his colleague had passed away unexpectedly… My dad was shocked and wondered what the good news could be. The police said that the man’s entire estate which included a house and brand new car had been willed to dad. Dad was very confused but soon worked out that he had been entrusted this will to pass on to the man’s wife in Pakistan. The man’s brothers were onto my dad to sign the will over to them. When he refused they tried to bribe him. When he still refused they tried to threaten him. In the end with the help of his solicitor he managed to bring the man’s wife over from Pakistan, monetise all the assets over to her and then safely fly her back to her homeland all the while protecting her from the man’s family. The solicitor told my dad he’d never met anybody like him and to at least pay himself a fee for all the hours he’d dedicated to the cause….. Dad refused, his response was, “I have everything I want, but this widow has nobody and that’s why she needs my help.” That was dad: Driven to help others succeed and achieve their goals. He Lived-to Give. Sometimes his better nature was taken advantage of but he took satisfaction in the happiness of others. Today, I haven’t even begun to talk about his mischievous sense of humour; all the wonderful experiences he treated my sisters and I to; how he was so romantic towards my mum….. and how he loved partying with his friends. I could tell anecdotes and stories about my dad until tomorrow but I think I’ve given you a flavour of the amazing man he was. Dad suffered a stroke in 2012 which completely changed him. For 6 years he battled bravely as his quality of life diminished. However last week as the odds were continuing to stack against him he finally lost his fight. The doctor said he had never encountered a patient with dad’s resilience. He was polite and courteous to the hospital staff until the very end and even offered “nomoshkar” and tea to his visitors on his penultimate day. Dad died peacefully last Saturday surrounded by his family and loved ones. It was moving, powerful and spiritual. He left a legacy. I’ll end this speech on a personal note: I just want to thank you dad. You gave me life, you saved my life and you enriched my life. You were the best dad I could ever have wished for and I’m proud to be your son. I’ll continue to find strength in your memories and I look forward to seeing you again one day.

Arijit Singha Datta was a husband, father, grandfather, uncle and my grandad. He was the epitome of what it means to be a gentleman. Always dignified, softly spoken, kind caring and chivalrous. He was from a generation where values like the importance of family and the duty towards your family took priority over everything . Something he installed into all of his children. There will never be enough time to go through all the profound acts of kindness he showed throughout his life, but in short, without him many of us wouldn't be here today including the beautiful family I have. His acts of kindness, his sense of duty, will never be forgotten, the quality he had within him will live on forever in all of us, we were so lucky to have been taken under the wings of such a man. Thank you Dadu for looking after us the way you did, you will always be in our hearts, you are and forever will be our guardian angel.