As a Singapore citizen, I required a visa to enter India. As there was no Indian diplomatic representative in Phuket, the only choice I had was to fly to Singapore and secure my visa and then fly on to Trivandrum. I managed to secure air tickets to Trivandrum on June 13.

In my desperate attempt to secure the visa, I contacted Mr Michael Chua, First Secretary (Administration and Consular) at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok. Mr Chua was sympathetic to my situation. As it was after office hours, he assured me he would contact Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters to inform the Indian High Commission in Singapore of my situation.

The next day, I flew to Singapore and went immediately to the Indian High Commission. By then, Mr Chua had made arrangements with Mr Rajesh Kumar Sachdeva, Deputy High Commissioner at the Indian High Commission in Singapore, to process my visa application.

Thanks to the efforts of these gentlemen, I managed to get my visa processed and flew to India on June 13 itself. I visited my beloved grandfather in hospital and saw him alive, albeit on life-support equipment. Eventually, my grandfather died on June 18.

I wish to thank Mr Chua and Mr Sachdeva for assisting me. They lived up to the the values of foreign service of their countries.

My grandfather is the reason for my success in my life and it meant a lot for me to visit him and spend some time with him during his last hours.

Ajish Henry Morris

Phuket, Thailand