Remembering SIMON FERNANDES

 We worked together at clea advertising with simon. I remember I last mate him at a common friend house at Mumbai. He is the one whom i ve admired always. I will alwasy miss you. may your soul rest in peace.
Akhil
Mumbai

 I had met Simon for only once during test for ccc(2005).He was very appreciative of my ideas and inspired me to go to the field directly.At that time also he was not feeling well.The few words he told me about advertising is a milestone for me.I regret i could not meet him again.
Manish Ranjan
BEI Confluence, Delhi

 I was Simon sir's student in the CCC batch of 2002-2003. When I read about it, his death shocked me. For me, he was always this man with limitless energy, passion, and creativity. We sometimes called him Google baba, because he was always full of answers, sometimes even for unasked questions. May your soul rest in peace.
Himanshu Agrawal
Mumbai

 A man for whome I have great respect. He never taught us but was allways tehre as a guide, as a friends or just someone with whome you can laugh. He is the one who allways used to encourage me to do more of my photography. He is teh man responsible for my first photo exhibition.He never taught his students that they are in MICA for a paid vacation but weathered them for the real tough advertising world aheah.
Simon Sir, we will allways remember you with a smile.
Swagat Choudhury
RAMMS, Bangalore

 I dont think words would ever account for what Simon Fernandes meant to each and everyone of us lucky one who actually spent time with the man.
There's so much to say about him and yet it will always fall short to describe Simon Sir.
For us, CCC8, there are countless such ocassions that come to our minds when we hear his name, the late night sessions in class, evening sessions in the lawn, Pleasure Club rendezous', sessions at chhota... parties in the night. Every incident etched in our memories!
Simon Sir, you'll never be forgotten!
Elrid Carvalho
Everest Brand Solutions, Mumbai

 One Last Time - A tribute to my dad.

It was around five years ago when Simon decided to pack his bags and come to the institute at Ahmedabad. That's when I asked myself a question. Why should a vice president (creative) of what was probably the biggest financial advertising agency then leave Bombay and come to a lesser known place. It was a question to which I would find an answer after four and a half years.

A decision strongly opposed by me but as a family we always respected his individuality and his desire to live free and need to do things in his own way. Something very typically Simon. By the time he began teaching and working at the institute he had worked on something like a hundred brands both big and small, fifty corporates and countless individual projects. His friends included the best of the advertising business and he always worked towards the upliftment of smaller agencies and multimedia studios.

There is something called a creative block in creativity and that is something no writer, art director, film maker or designer would ever want to face. But it is inevitable. Simon was the perfect solution for creative block. There were times when I used to wonder that how the hell did He come up with those words, or that concept or a particular campaign. Was it a trade secret? Is somebody helping him? Does he have some imaginary creative partner or something?

Whenever his contemporaries faced a situation like this they would call him up and the next morning he would’ve re written the brief, made the strategy and the whole campaign would be ready for the client. 10 am would be the presentation and by 11 am they would have bagged the account. Needless to say, this made him several friends in the industry both professional and personal. Friends who would later assist him at the drop of a hat when it came to placing his students. Friends who depended on him for their quarterly profits and entire campaigns.

He loved living a fast life, fast cars and good food and drink. Every weekend we would have the best of the industry over for dinner and he played an excellent host. If chicken was unavailable in the market he would personally cook for something like a hundred people. This he maintained even when he used to call over his students at our home and later at his personal apartment. For the last 4 and a half years his students became his first priority over his family and me. Something I didn’t like in the beginning but later came to understand. He believed that if they were paying him a huge amount as fees for a short span of time then they must truly deserve the best of everything. Well that explains the long parties and trips to places and quick trips in and around Ahmedabad.

But a segment of people were not kind to him and were a constant intrusion in his life both personal and professional. He once told me that these people are as good as flies on your back. You spray a little repellant and they’ll all disappear. They were people who had not even stepped in a modern day advertising agency ever in their lives and did not know the business inside out like Simon did. Anyways, he handled them perfectly and always emerged supreme.

There are many reasons to remember Simon sometimes in your life. Maybe he inspired you and brought a smile to your face or maybe you had an occasional argument with him and then he bought you lunch. Perhaps you are one of those long list of creative professionals whose lives he touched in a very special way. Maybe you own an agency today which is running because he is part of a handful of people who helped build that agency once upon a time. Or lastly you might be working in one of the top twenty five agencies of which Simon was once part of.

Whatever your reasons are, remember he is somewhere watching you and whenever you face any block in your lives just remember him.

Nikhil Fernandes

 it has been four months now...i culdnt gather courage and come here.......coz i was the last kid to meet him on campus after he left allof us....i had seen the beat side of him.....coz i was from a different course. he always tought us to follow our heart and i''ll never forget his words which he said when i was hospitalised....THE SHOW WILL GO ON....and it did!
,he gave us the freedom of being ourselves. he left a mark.....i saw him so calm for the first time on the 16th of March...for 1almost 10 hours he was there...and each moment i had this thing on my mind that he would get up.....i culdnt come to terms with the fact that he was nomore around us.............but i know for sure where ever he is he is watching all his bachhchas...for whom he gave his life...and blessing us in a way.
i have never seen someone....so bindaas such a dare devil...and a man with the biggest heart....
we shall never forget him and what all he taught us about life...
Shipra
Supermax, Dubai

 Everyday visiting this site, reading what people have written for him and the great impression he holds in the lives of so many people. I discovered there are so many hundreds of other simons who lived inside him and who were interesting, mad, curious, brave, bold. Simon had a different mask for every occasion; he would be like a teacher in the classroom and the next minute scold us like a mother, stand with us in all our worse times like a father and party with us like a teenager. He has taught all his students to dream the impossible. He has given me a vision; thought and courage to think something which I thought was never ever attainable. Thank you so much sir for giving me the capability of dreaming big.
Namita Kapur
ahmedabad

 In the mid-seventies young Simon joined Clarion-McCann Madras. Brutally frank, passionate and with a dare-devil approach he made his impressions which some liked and some lived in denial of his creative genius. We went to look for an apartment and he settled to rent a rooftop which defied the definition of an apartment. I was impressed with his humility, creativity and alacrity to help. I am sad to hear of this irreparable loss to the industry.
M.A. Waheed
Cendant Corporation, New York, USA.

 He was not our proffesor he was our "dad" and "mom" both. who care for us when we are not with our parents, who fought for us on our mistakes, even we are wrong but he always fought for us. sir i miss you, I always remember the time which i spend with him, the classes which he mostly took in the night around 3 o'clock, and told us to gave him ideas for campaign. sir we all miss you a lot, and i also never forget the way in which he talked with us he always said that you are "my children, my children", he is the proffesor who is completely dedicated to his students who can do anything for his students, actually for his children.simon we all miss you a lot and also love you a lot.I had lost my 2 parents.
shimali aggarwal
ccc10 batch, jaipur

 Dressed in Kurta. Moustache. and a person who did not think twice to express what he felt. Honest but sturdy. The man who truly led his guys for toughest life in ad world (or the mad world) by challenging them to live with extremeties of life. Push. Push and Get blown. Have Fun. I am sure he will his royal time in heaven too.
Sunil
Pantaloon, Mumbai

 2001, I walked into MICA because i wanted to be in advertising. Simon lead the way, with his two priceless PINK books (Cutting edge advertising+Hey whipple squeeze this). I fondly remember him as one who called a spade a spade and a shitty ad what it was. I am still trying to follow in those giant's footsteps. Who also taught me in sleepless states - "ALWAYS PRODUCE ORIGINAL WORK". Cheers to the man who was the maker of me.
vikram sood
TBWA for now, Bangalore

 To all the jokes I used to crack behind your back, imitating you. I still maintain nobody can draw your cartoon better than me.
My humble salutations.
Harsha
Hyderabad

 It was shocking to heare Simons sad ending to a life which he lived to its full extent. Though I had not met him during the last 4 years,I used to remember him whenever a copywritters requirement aaaarises. He had been a brilliant copy writter with a penchant for writting good copy. I still remember, when he was working with me in CLEA Advertising, we worked for two nights to finish three campaigns. we used to have fun at thesame time doing creative hits.
Let his soul rest in peace
venugopal
C2K India.com, mumbai

 I have had one of the rude shocks in my life when I heard the sad news of the sudden demise Prof. Simon Fernandes.

It was all the more surprising because the evening only in the office, we were discussing on the shoots he was spearheading as the last phase of the current programme he was coordinating and the next day, it happened.

Prof. Simon was an upright personality, no fear to say what he wanted to. A person more committed to his profession and the students, he was associated with than the family and family members. His daughter once said that she is envious of the Crafting students. It is an indication of his ardent love for his students and involvement in the programme . He lived his life the way he wanted to.

The end has to come one day to everybody. But in this case, it was too early and so sudden. And, it is the time that makes miracles and bring one back to normal.

May the departed soul rest in eternal peace.
KGK Pillai, Registrar
MICA, Ahmedabad

 I had a brief opportunity to work with Simon when I had started my career. His bold and frank attitude amazed me. He was a large-hearted man. And he never let an opportunity for a good joke pass by. May God bless his soul and give his family the strength and understanding to handle the loss.
Sriram Athray
Contract Advertising, Mumbai

 Simon, I still remember the time during our 'free-lance' freedom we had in Ahmedabad after we parted our ways from Mudra. I also remember your tip " stick to a freelance mode, anupam..." you gave me in the parking place at Sugam Flats, your first residence in Ahmedabad.
I pay my sincerest tributes, sir!
anupam
Ahmedabad

 For you have admirers even amongst those you have not taught...
Eyes moisten at the thought of ordering 'Simon Maggi'at Chota's...or passing by your window hoping to catch a glance of you hunching over your work in the wee hours of the morning...perhaps the only thing is that we can look forward to now, is seeing more creativity in the skies; now that you are there...
Vidya
MICA,

 your followers will see a growth in the seeds that you planted and your devotion towards your work won't go waste. the torchbearer will see to it that it is being taken off with great care.
mamta menda
student, pune

 To the man I never understood, to the man who made me try and understand what I could do...I offer my final salutations.
Vikramaditya

 Just reading the tribute from your many sons and daughters(including the one from Nikhil)makes me weep more.
Simon,may heaven stop awhile to welcome its dearest citizen.My deepest condolences to Carmen,Nikhil and Daniella and yes I will miss a trully great human.
Ranjan Ebenezer Thomas
INDIA

 I remember Simon as my first advertising teacher. I remember simon as my first advertising friend. Bummed smokes, all night long crazy, insane chats. And his own air-conditioned room in the MICA guesthouse lent for a few hours of sleep, after non-stop portfolio building session. This is one of those times." And having created enough drama, his kind eyes would give the prank away. Fighting Cancer and you didn't tell us.
Jamal Iqbal
Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai

 When a friend like Simon Fernandes is not there any more part of you can't help thinking selfishly about what you've lost. With Simon though the overwhelming feeling for me is of what so many others have lost, the opportunities lost to future students and the opportunities perhaps not fully taken by past students.

Many have talked of the passion and drive Simon exhibited in his work. To me part of that drive always seemed to come from frustrations; frustration that he wasn't able to do still more, frustration that he wasn't reaching more students, frustration that even when you led the b****** horses to water (in fact, even laid on a lake of Evian for them), some still failed to drink. For any student who was ever surprised by the strength of response they got from Simon if they did less than their best, they need look no further for answers.

I have rarely known a more 'moral' man than Simon, so firmly grounded in his beliefs. Whatever positions he held on right and wrong, in the wider world or in more immediate and personal experiences was cogently worked out, analysed and justified. Then, he was unwavering in maintaining those convictions.

Around 2 1/2 years ago i was unfortunatwe enough to suffer a serious health problem myself, whilst living in Ahmedabad. As soon as he heard typically Simon dropped everything and flew to Sterling Hospital. It didn't matter that he'd been on an all-nighter with the latest CCC batch the night before. Seeing my wife was frazzled and battling to cope with our young son, Simon thought nothing of volunteering himself to sleep at the hospital with me so she could go and get some rest. Despite my pain, Simon made that night fun!

Wherever you are now my friend, they'd better be appreciating you - otherwise we just insist on having you back !!
Mark Parkinson
Dakha

 i used to hate the times when he would call me at the dead of night, and listen to my jingle...
i used to hate the times when he would look at me and say "what's the idea?'....
i used to hate the times when he would not listen to my excuses.....
but i loved the way he used to congratulate when he liked some idea of mine....
i loved the way he used to stand by his ccc kids in troubled times...
i loved the way he lived , with a never say die attitude.....
ADVERTISING WORLD HAS LOST ONE OF ITS MOST PASSIONATE CREATOR....
and i have lost my dad no.2...
i will miss you simon.....i will miss the way you said "nahi beta , its not working'....
sujay

 Colours de'FiNE' our existence

Holi is the ce'LiBERATiON' of our 'EX'is'TENSE'

and a re'FiNE'd existence lost in "PERMANENCE" this day.

Dear sir, I saw an image of my first "Guru" in you during our brief meeting at MICA. I'll always regret that I could not be your student.
Amit Shekhar
Delhi

 Simon,
I can still remember the last talk we had when you were in Dubai a few years ago. Its like it had taken place just a few minutes ago. I had taken the Khaleej Times and there was huge snap of the students who had won the Dubai Media City awards and there in the front row was one smiling face which i recognised immediately, it was none other than my man Simon himself. Through DMC came to know where you were staying and gave you a call. Was pleasantly suprised when you answered the phone saying Professor Simon speaking and I was like hey Simon, when did all this professor thingy happen. I just couldnt relate you to being a professor, for me you were still the same Simon from Clea, Bombay. Those were the days. I had just joined and Clea was going to celebrate its 10th year and there was a committe formed for the same and I was a part of it along with u. Thats when I came to know u. I have always known u as a person who used to enjoy and live life to the fullest. You were a giver, u couldnt see anyone in misery, always the one to come forward and help anyone in need. You were so proud that day when we spoke in Dubai, proud of the fact that one of your student had won the prize and you were here along with her to partake in the ceremony. How I wish we could have met up, it would have been great fun. Shall miss u Simon, but never miss ur smiling face.
Lerin Zacharia
Ikon Advertising & Marketing, Dubai

 Would you know my name if i see you in heaven/ would you feel the same? Miss you. Remember you for the rest of my life, my career and try to realise "What's the idea?"
indrayudh
Genesis, Kolkata

 simon sir, saying i cant belive your gone is an under statement i remember all the fights i have had with you,all the long chats at chhota and the ultimate defination of creativity ..."The Pink Elephant"tales!! you were a dad to all of us and a role that you played to the hilt ,whether is was calling us in our hostel at 3am or silencing doubts we had about ourself or pampering us with jalebis and 'ghar ka khana' thank you for everything sir i really wish i could have taken you up on your offer and just left everything, stayed in mica and been your daughter...thank you for treating me that way ..will really miss you sir.
shubhika
mumbai

 MICA has lost its biggest eccentricity. The man who swaggered through the campus will surely and sorely be missed by all. We shall all miss you Sir.
Kartikeya Varma
ACNielsen, Mumbai

 sir this industry will miss u may ur soul rest in peace
kanika

 He's not gone...he can never. I can still see him coming from Chota's with a bounce in his gait, with his stack of papers underneath his arm, with his stole hanging precariously over his shoulder. And there he is, fuming red because we are late for the lecture only to be followed by the most interesting and lively session ever. And look how he's running hither tither to get my passport done in 7 days only because "mere bache ko Dubai jaane ka". I can still feel the fatherly warmth of that bear-hug, the instant lift of mood with that infectious smile and re-affirming by belief in myself with those never-ending sessions about life till wee hours. His voice when he called me a week before 16th Aug is still ringing in my ears. He is very much here, guiding me at every step and startling me out of my senses with his customary "Toh bolo na!" Forgive me Sir, for i am still in the stupor of those glorious six months and I wish to go no further...
Ipsita Barua
JWT, Chandigarh

 May your soul rest in peace!!
Kishan Kumar
Maxus, Bangalore

 u'll always b remembered sir...missing u.it's hard to believe taht u r gone...may u rest in peace.
Swapnil Jangid

 Can't believe that you've left us sir! Would like to tell you that its only because of you that I am where I am. I got an opportunity to be a part of the Abby's this year and i know you would be one person who would have been so proud! Will always remember you sir and i know you will be guiding me for the rest of my life.
Neha Bahl
Webchutney, New Delhi

 You gave me my first impression of MICA. Black kurta on white, a flamboyant fuschia stole and that infectious smile. Thank you so much for believing I belonged here.

Your passion for your kids and staunch support for them were the backbone and lifeblood of the CCC course. For the rest of us, as for them, late nights at chotta will never be the same. We miss you very much.

Love, Smita.
Smita Manilal
MICA, A'Bad

 I had the opportunity to work with Simon in CLea. He was wonderful to talk and work. He has his own way of doing things and doing it differently. We used chat very late into the night.

Though, i lost touch with him. I remember Nikhil who used to be very small and excited about going in a ferry to him home in Navi Mumbai.

Amazing character. I am shocked that you are no more. May God bless his soul and give strength to his family.
Shankar C V
Coimbatore

 "In 1988, when i was in Manhattan....." and we would smirk - there he goes again. We knew about the 2 heart attacks. And we knew about the surprised doctors at Jaslok. And we knew about the war against mediocrity. And we knew about the colleague who came for a presentation on a stretcher. And we knew about the rasna campaign...and we knew....And we also knew that between all these nostalgic repetitions, here was a man who spoke nothing but absolute sense. His passion reflected in everything he did. Every sentence was profound and lavishly punctuated with abuses.

Whether it was convincing parents to send their children to CCC, or whether it was liberating his "children" from the clutches of the system (Read admin at MICA), he maintained the same level of passion.

To a man who breathed creativity, and ate a lot of Maggi. To a man who was a father, and a spoilt child.To a man who solved problems, and created them. To a man who was a coach, never once a teacher.
To Simon Sir - a man who became his passion.
May your soul rest in peace.


CCC 11

 MAY HIS DIVINE SOUL REST IN PEACE.
RCM(06-07)

 Full of war stories and a mischevious spirit, Simon was one of the reasons MICA is the place it is. You will be missed terribly Sir.
Abhishek Hariharan
MICA, Ahmedabad

 Had the opportunity to take a few classes in MICA. Was truly a inspiration to me. My tipping point.You'll always be remembered.
Khushboo Chawla
Mumbai

 sir i will miss u alot...i hav lost my DAD no. 2...a guide nd a master of all traits..
got to learn much more than i cud learn from life and that too in very less time. i can say he gave me second life. most important thing u taught me sir was "passion" for work. u were my biggest inspiration. u wil always be alive in our hearts.
chinar
Grey worldwide, Ahmedabad

 Dear Simon,
You were more than a mentor to me. You were my bootlegger, my cigarette buddy, my only tamil speaking friend in campus, my shrink, my good cop, my bad cop, my consigliari, my security blanket, my alarm clock, my insurance, my everything and my best friend. Thanks for opening the best chapter of my life.

I will always remember you.

Thanks once again
Prasad Venkatraman
Ambience Publicis, Mumbai

 late night classes at chotta canteen,get together parties at his place,he would terrorise us then hug us ...his way of teaching was very different.simon sir was a very loving man, but when it came to work he was a real monster.he knew how to extract good work from each one of us.
simon sir was a great man a great teacher, he will be remembered forever.we will miss you!
god bless his soul!

khushboo

 I cannot define my relationship with Simon. To the best of my ability,I can say is that Simon was like my brother. He taught me advertising 15 years ago and lovingly gave me the name 'Bihari'. He would make me slog for writing a brief during the day and take me to his home in the evening to treat me for dinner along with his other family members. This made me realize that life will always have two compartments. An evening prior to my wedding, he just landed out of nowhere, gifted me a Ganesha & gave his blessings to me & my wife, but could not stay for the wedding as he was sheduled to go to Dubai. At MICA, we shared some great moments and celebrated his 25th marrige anniversary. The memories of that evening are still so fresh...I remember gazing at the stars along with Nikhil and Daniella... Carmens' smiles and care for Simon and Simon's stories about life. He told me one Sunday afternoon that as a man "never compromise on your individuality and do what you like to do, because that's what the world will remember you for." He was so right. That is one of the lessons I have learnt and followed for life. It is still so hard to believe that he is not with us anymore. He will always have a special place in my heart. I will miss you Simon sir (I know you don't like me calling you sir...but I will call you so...because I feel like calling you that way). Yours BIHARI.
Milan Agnihotri
McCann Healthcare, Mumbai

 dear nikhil, my deepest condolences to your family. If you could put down your number in this message board, I would appreciate it. I would like to talk to your mother. chandra mouli, moulis advertising, mumbai
chandra mouli
moulis advertising, mumbai

 Great Man. Lived Great.
God bless his Great Soul..!
Mehul Kosti
FCB Ulka, Bombay

 though i have never been his student a very brief and formal meeting of his during my interview at mica really touched me. the kind of mentor he was is a real weapon in any students armour .may god give rest to his soul
shivangi dixit
udaipur

 Simon taught me some of the biggest lessons of my life. Some of which I understood much later. Thankfully I spoke to him a week before he passed away. Else I would've regretted not calling him, for life.

Thank you Simon. God bless your soul.
shivangini

 what do i write about simon sir...i am not calling him sir because he was my professor and taught me advertising..i call him sir because he taught me one of the most important lessons of life and that is LOVE. and you might what is their to teach we all love... but simon sir was different, he used to call us sons and daughters..he faught for us and stood by us whenever we needed him...he always told me juhee kuch nahin toh pyaar toh kar....we talked about life...he told me stories about, when he first came to gujrat as a young copy-writer..all dressed like a rocker! long hair,chains around his neck, torn jeans and loads of attitute....i still cant beleive the death of this man, and am sure nor the other students and teacher who were close to simon.i still feel hes sitting at chota and talking to one of the students asking "toh idea bataona" i'll miss you sir.
juhee
ccc10th batch, nagpur

 MICA loses a master. He was a teacher & a guide.
His work was his passion his life, no one can replace him.
God Bless His Soul
Shibu
Mumbai

 well simon, was a buddy, a colleague, a friend and much more. Having worked with him for 4 years at MICA, and having spent countless nights on the campus and seen him working like mad forgetting about family, kids, friends i can say that he was married to his work. He was very passionate about certain things and his Crafting course at MICA was certainly one of them.
He was good with words but not mere words, he tried to unearth a deep rooted meaning, a philosophy into that. We shared many moments, played pranks with affable registrar KGK, partied till wee hours at dubai when he came for the ibda awards with subhash tendle.
Simon was also a bad manager and was very careless about his health and sadly that took its toll into his untimely demise. I was shocked when i came to know about it.. but such is life.. full of unpredictability, shock, no pretentions ...exactly the way simon was...!!
God bless his soul..!
amen!!
dwarika prasad uniyal

 I am a current CCC (Crafting Creative Communication) student from MICA, and was with simon sir the same night on campus along with the other students. He left the campus at 9:30 pm, after finishing the commercial shoot and within 3 hours we recieved a call from sir's colleague at MICA about sir. we were among the first to reach there after his family. It was a shock.We still dont believe that he isn't around campus, even today when someone talks about him, we still feel that he is here and will be calling us in sometime for a lecture at CHOTA CANTEEN. he was a person who touched anybody's and everbody's life even if he met them for a day. He would be remebered for the entire life, Every Person at the MICA campus is missing him a lot. We all pray to god that his soul rest in peace.
Nirav Dave

 It's so difficult to believe that Simon sir has left us. I can never forget how he taught us, encouraged us to do better and unleashed the huge store of jokes which never stopped increasing. His smiling, naughty face will never let me forget one of the most interesting people I've ever come across in my life.
Alok Ranjan

 Prof Simon Fernandes was a teacher who lived and breathed MICA. He put his teaching above everything else.
You are irreplaceable.
My deepest condolences to his friends, family, colleagues and students.
Sriya Narayanan

 Nothing lasts forever but be honest Nikhil. Give attention to detail, do good work, learn from observation, ignore your detractors and never embarrass your boss or agency head. It’s not important that your work generates revenue but the fact that one day you might do great work and people will look up to you. These were my father’s words just a few weeks ago before he died. We were never a typical family. My father was my friend. A friend I will miss terribly. We worked together and he was indeed my creative director. We laughed, we fought, we debated, we re-wrote several briefs and projects I was working on. He would give me a lecture and then leave me to complete my work. If he didn’t like a single line then he would ask me to rewrite it till my pen ran out of ink and would delve deep into the fact that communication is more about meaning and less about just selling something. He said that if you can bring feeling into your communication then you would be unbeatable. If you just wanted to sell something then this is not for you. Truly, my father did not like to live in a box. Throughout his life he never took credit for anything he did and this was one area we would argue about constantly. In the last few years his students took up a majority of his time. He would maintain that if he didn’t argue with them today then somebody from the industry definitely would if they made a mistake. I had the unique advantage when we lived in Bombay during my childhood of spending almost every week end hanging around my dad and his work when he was at Clea. Some of my most beautiful moments with my dad are during that period. I am at a loss of words to describe what he meant to my moms family and to his family too. We will all miss him. But like my aunt keeps saying, people in your life are seasons and everything happens for a reason.
Nikhil Fernandes

  Simon you were a teacher and a guide. We will miss you at MICA.
pankaj prakash

 Its sad that only towards the end of his life, i got to know more about him. I wish i had a chance to interact with or study under this Great man.
Supriya

 As visiting faculty at MICA, I came to be very close to Simon over the last 5 years. His honesty,humility and friendliness only added to what he was: a great teacher. Maybe our capricious industry will not remember him for his professional achievements, but scores of students who blossomed under his sometimes harsh, sometimes benign methods will remember him for ever. Rest in peace, Simon. You did what few of us are selfless enough to do.
G S Shridhar

 I express my deepest condolences on the sad and tragic demise of the creative genius. I wish and pray to the almighty for peace to the departed soul and for strength to the entire Fernandes family to overcome this irreparable loss.
Swati Seth

 One of the biggest problems in teaching creativity, especially advertising creativity, is the lack of accomplished creative professionals who have a special flair for teaching. Simon was one such genius. He could terrorise, cajole, hypnotise and motivate students into producing brilliant, award-winning work. I will miss him terribly. His loss is not just for the students he nurtured, but for the thousands of students who will never get to learn from him, ever.
Rajan Nair
Rajan Nair

 It is a very depressing moment as we will miss a creative genius.
Vivek Khandelwal

 I met Simon over 25 years ago when he worked at NDDB in Anand. His untimely death comes as a deep shock. I still remember our first meeting, I was struck by his sharp intellect, his sense of humour and his gregarious spirit. He was a good friend, open, loving, generous and genuinely caring. He succeeded because of his creative talent, a passion for hard work and a love of life. I imagine he was a very good teacher. I will miss him dearly.
Devang Vaidya

 It is very sad to miss a very good mentor
anand samuel



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