LIKE many musicians of note, one of the country’s most innovative guitarists passed away last week.

Many would have passed Ratulevu Sorovaki on the street and barely noticed the blind man as he made his way through the throngs.

Ratulevu, as he was commonly known, did not let his visual impairment get in the way of his dreams.

He also did not let it limit his ability to look after his mother, Bulou Elenoa, a diabetic who had both legs amputated because of the effects of the non-communicable disease on her body.

Despite his blindness and the early onset of diabetes, Ratulevu tended to his mother at their Bagasau flat in Toorak, Suva, until her passing in the early ’90s.

He used his music skills to land a gig as guitarist at the Bali Hai Nightclub on Rodwell Rd in Suva and every penny earned was spent feeding and tending to his mum.

He was a man in every sense of the word because he did not shy away from the responsibility of looking after the person he loved the most, despite his disability.

When it came time for Ratulevu to leave the world, God blessed him with a friend who took the blind man into his home and tended to him until he passed away last Thursday.

Seru Napolioni said the Kadavu-born blind guitarist never spoke of family, even until the end.

“I met him through the Salvation Army more than 20 years ago and he became part of our family in Christ and, at the same time, he became part of my family too,” Napolioni shared.

“He was a brilliant musician and took part in a lot of the church activities that involved music.

“A few years ago, he suffered a mild stroke and could not play lead guitar anymore because his fingers couldn’t work as well as they used to.”

And just as he took every challenge in life, Ratulevu did not give up playing music altogether.

He switched from lead to bass guitar.

“He was an amazing person and I pity those who never got to spend time with him because he taught us all some very valuable lessons.

“And one of the biggest was never to give up just because there’s a little bump on the road.

“Find a way to go around it and keep doing what God has blessed you to do in this life.”

Ratulevu was blessed with a brand new bass guitar when music buddy and life-long friend Maxie Columbus visited the country in July as part of the G4 Benefit Tour and blessed Ratulevu with a brand new five-string bass guitar.

“I had to come and see him and bring him this special gift because Ratulevu was a soul brother whose life was a gift to us all musically and otherwise,” Columbus shared.

“When he first joined us at the Bali Hai in the ’70s, nobody knew who this dude was.

“But as soon as his fingers touched a guitar, the world knew who Ratulevu Sorovaki was because he was pure genius.

“We used to watch him play and freak out because he had more music in him than a lot of musicians I know.

“I will miss him and the music memories we shared, the laughs and spoiling and the way he never let his disability get in the way of who he was as a man and a musician.”

Jazz great Tom Mawi spoke highly of the blind guitarist when I bumped into him in Suva last week.

“I remember this guy because his music spoke more than what he had to say in words,” Mawi shared.

A fitting tribute from a living legend and music icon that Ratulevu always spoke of with great respect.

During the few occasions this writer met him, Ratulevu never once spoke of family.

He always had words of encouragement and never asked for charity.

His close friend and confidante, Seru, said Ratulevu never spoke of family because they had abandoned him and his mother more than 40 years ago.

“When he came to Bagasau, they lived in their third floor flat and we noticed that nobody ever came to visit.

“A few times I asked him about family, he never said anything.

“But I guess the struggles he went through in looking after his mother because of her condition and the difficulties he had in getting around with nobody from the family being there, really got to him.”

Ratulevu Sorovaki celebrated his 54th birthday on October 1.

Surrounded by his Salvation Army family, he was emotional because he knew his body was slowly succumbing to diabetes.

“He cried when we sang and wished him happy birthday.

“We all miss him because he was such a bright spark in our community but we know the Lord gave him to us for a reason and it is up to us to take what we have learnt and share it with others.”

Sadly, Ratulelevu’s story rings true for many musicians in Fiji.

Many have spent the majority of their lives bringing joy to others and when it most mattered, no one was there by their side to offer a helping hand, warm bed or something to fill their belly.

Only called upon to fill the need to be entertained, musicians and vocalists are many a time treated like robots. Wind them up, be entertained and then stow them away until the next time.

Some have the support of family and some have the kindness of fellow musicians and friends.

Luckily for musicians like Ratulevu, there are people like Seru Napolioni around.

May he rest in peace.