Rest in Peace, Mati Pal

Rest in Peace, Mati Pal!

Mati Lal Pal was a prominent figure and international legal expert who served as the Principal Law of the Sea and Ocean Affairs Officer for the United Nations, specifically working within the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) in the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). 

He was an authority on ocean affairs and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Throughout his tenure at the U.N., he held key roles such as Adviser on Financial Arrangements and Secretary of the Special Commission for the Law of the Sea. He later co-authored professional studies on the legal and financial implications of deep-sea operations. (Source: UN.org and other U.N. sources such as the Digital Library). 

According to his wife, Lorna (my older sister), Mati was proudest of his achievements in ensuring (with his team at the U.N.) that deep sea minerals were designated “for all mankind” so that developing nations could benefit from the "common heritage of mankind.”

Knowing how international organizations operate (having worked for the World Bank for many years), I can attest to the fact that rich nations are rarely willing to allow international organizations to decide what to do without their arms first being twisted — so, in my opinion, this was a real achievement (even a success story) for the U.N. Law of the Sea!  See useful and interesting weblinks below. 

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Mati, the oldest of seven children, was born in Mymensingh on the Brahmaputra River in then British India (which became East Pakistan, then Bangladesh). He grew up in Comilla where he studied at Yousuf High School and Victoria College. He moved to Dhaka (then Dacca) to study Economics for his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, scoring first class first distinctions at the university and national levels and, before that, in high school! After his postgrad in Dhaka (then Dacca), he went to Karachi as a research fellow with the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.  

He moved to the U.S. in 1965 at the age of 23 to study economics at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, on a Ford Foundation scholarship. 

Bangladesh War

Mati was shaped by the Bangladeshi freedom movement as were all of us of a certain generation that grew up in South Asia. In India, a distinct memory of the 1971 Bangladesh War was donating one’s blood (“apna khoon” in Hindi, a serious matter) and buying and affixing the extra 5 Naya Paisa (equivalent to U.S. cents, sort-of) on all postage stamps for several years — to help the Indian government clothe and feed thousands of refugees pouring into India while civilians were being killed in Bangladesh. 

It was a dark and scary time! Mati used to tell us how he was briefly held by West Pakistan authorities in Karachi where he was accused of spying for India! (As if!) It was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life!

In America

He settled in America — and thrived! When I met him in the mid-1990s, he was living large in Manhattan: season tickets to NYC’s beloved Yankees and Knicks games, excellent seats at the annual U.S. Open lawn tennis meets, premium seats to Broadway shows, eating at the best restaurants! Not forgetting, being a big-shot at the U.N! (Kidding!) His older nephew Bappu (now sadly passed) lived with him at the time. 

Mati was a bit of a spendthrift but generous to a fault and all of us were appreciative beneficiaries — I mean who says no to courtside seats to the first time Serena Williams defeats an opponent at the U.S. Open Championships or orchestra seats for the legendary musical Cats, or when Eric Idle of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame made his Broadway debut with Spamalot?

Wedding

Lorna and Mati met when she joined the same department at the U.N. Their wedding in 1995 was the highlight of the season and stylishly done at the U.N. Church with three priests officiating: Mum’s brother (the late) Rev. Msgr. Nicholas Soares, Rev. Fr. Joseph Prince (a cousin from my father’s side), and Rev. Fr. John Mendonca, our parish priest from Flushing. Prince delighted us by singing the wedding song from the famous show/movie “Fiddler on the Roof” from the altar — in a beautiful tenor voice — a classic wedding moment! It was a terrific party and dance. My friend Ram (Ardhanari Ramaswamy) drove my official dance partner, Jairo Rodriguez to NY and there we were doing the tango and foxtrot and waltz. All my uncles and aunts from Mum’s side were there as well, ballroom-dancing up a storm, especially Aunts Laura and Blanche and Uncles Tony and Phil, as well as my cousin Frank. 

The Bangladeshi side of the family was represented by Kanu (Mati’s brother-in-law), Runu (his sister), their two sons Bappu and Tappu, and nephew Ramu, who had by then also moved to NYC. I recall them as three rambunctious little boys getting very excited to see rapper, singer, DJ “Style Bhai” — who was my cousin Lynette Soares’ then fiancé (now husband), Jai Menun! We were clueless that Jai, a pioneer of the Indian hip-hop and rap scene was so big on the MTV circuit, blending reggae vibes with urban desi rap and Hindi pop vocals! 

Family

Mati loved eating fish, Bangla style, usually with his fingers! Lorna and he would frequent Bangladeshi restaurants in Jamaica, Queens where the staff knew and addressed him as “Dada” (big brother). He also loved to discuss South Asian politics — he and I (joined by my brother Leslie) would get into major (often contentious) debates either at my Mum’s home or at my youngest Aunt Laura Doyle’s place, the venue for regular Soares family dinners (Mum’s Goan side)! 

Mati and Lorna moved out of Manhattan to live next door to my Mum when a flat became vacant in our Flushing, Queens co-op building. We were all a big part of each others’ lives!  He was also very close to his nephews living in the U.S. — Ramu and Tappu and their families. 

Volunteering

Mati spent time (after retirement) with his volunteer work with VAB (Volunteers Association for Bangladesh), and one of the local NY-based Rotary Clubs run mostly by Bangladeshis. The aim of both organizations was to help low-income people in the community with health care, education, and other material needs. I used to say to him that he was a “soft touch” (and an open purse!) for anyone with a hard luck story! 

After retirement, Mati also authored scholarly papers presented at international fora. These were mainly on the subject of regulating mineral-related activities in the “Deep Sea” for the International Seabed Authority in Jamaica (the country!) He was considered an “economic” specialist and expert on the subject (as opposed to legal or mineral) and his expertise was very much in demand! 

Serendipity

He and I would talk about my several trips to Bangladesh in the late 1980s for the European Union, one time with Commissioner Claude Cheysson who had been French Foreign Minister under Mitterand. In Dhaka, we met with then Bangladesh President H.M. Ershad and opposition leaders, the two feuding Begums (Zia and Hasina), and I would trot out my pictures! 

As WW2 buffs, we also spoke of the Mainamati War Cemetery and Memorial in Comilla, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, that I had visited — long before I ever met Mati — where you see the graves of war dead from the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Poland, and curiously, the British Raj! 

He was also familiar with the 8th-12th century Buddhist archaeological sites: stupas, monasteries, and temples, such as Shalban Bihar (vihara or monastery in Sanskrit/Hindi) — not far from the Comilla war cemetery  — that I had seen a long time ago, and remember the hilltop complex with its ancient terracotta images of the Buddha. I always thought it was so serendipitous that I visited Mati’s hometown of Comilla nearly a decade before Lorna and he met! 

It amazed me that Mati gave up smoking overnight — that took sheer willpower! Being vegetarian myself, I used to kid him that the next thing to give up was meat — not fish, of course! I appreciated that (unlike Lorna) he liked to eat (almost) everything I cooked and was very complimentary about it! He also enjoyed reading my blogs and was usually the first person to write a long and intellectual critique that I was happy to get, disagreements and all!

Om Shanti Om

I end with “Om Shanti Om,” a Sanskrit prayer (or mantra) for universal peace. Mati and I once talked about what it meant and how the repetition reinforces one’s intention to cultivate peace across mind, body, and spirit.  

Lorna and he had a side table (see below pic) with symbols of major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, which I replicated on my kitchen wall in DC, adding, Sikhism, Jainism, Chinese folk religion, and Zoroastrianism (not yet Wiccan)! Thank you, Mati!

One last thing. Mati always accompanied Mum, Lorna, and moi to Midnight Mass on Christmas and Easter in Flushing, listen attentively to the homilies, and want to discuss them and I would be like, do you think I listen, I was asleep! 

We will miss him!  Rest in peace, Mati!  

Ludi Joseph

New York

July 12, 2026

https://isa.org.jm/organs/the-enterprise/

https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/annex4.htm

Pics of Mati and Lorna:

Symbols: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam