Gracias was a Pune lad and was from the services background. His father, Col CIP Gracias, was on the teaching faculty at the College of Military Engineering (CME) Pune. His English sounded like FL to many, but hidden in the accent was a man of steel and grit, adept at sports and in the classroom. Gracias was a perfect example of what a Services Officer should be! He was the Secy of the Academy Squash team in the 4th Term, Vice-Captain in 5th and Academy Squash Team Captain in the Spring Term of 1979. Subsequently, in service as well, he went on to achieve great heights. He remained consistent at his work and was always in the top bracket for promotions and prized postings. In the year 2007 when he was posted at Jaipur, Rajiv Battish met him at Delhi Airport and was impressed with his fitness and his energy level. His body frame was still of the NDA days and hair jet black. Looking at him, one could not say that he was a Brigadier. He was nominated for NDC twice. When he joined the first time, some way through the course, he was diagnosed with cancer and had to be admitted to hospital. He displayed tremendous resilience and recovered. Considering his profile, he was once again nominated for NDC. However, during his repeat stint at NDC, he fell ill again and could not recover, and fate snatched him away from us. Smiled his way to heaven with that never say die attitude!

He is survived by his lady wife, Vanessa, and who has now settled down in Mumbai. Their two children are doing well. Ashley is 26 and is currently working in Mumbai as design lead UI/UX at Fractalink, an experience and design consultancy. Rhea is 23 and is completing her 1st year of MBA at SIMS Pune.

🙏May his soul rest in peace🙏