From B.C. surfer to Bollywood insider, Dominic Watson was a charming nonconformist

Dominic Watson: Free spirit. Adventurer. Speech writer. Bollywood insider. Born Jan. 1, 1948, in Dorking Surrey, U.K.; died Aug. 21, 2025, in the Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India, of cancer; aged 77

Dominic Watson’s life was full of improbable adventures. He was shipwrecked in the Bahamas, stranded in the Himalayas and once ran for Vancouver alderman with little more than conviction and charm. Through it all, he was easily recognized by his sardonic laugh, his quick observations and, to the end, a full head of hair.

Dominic was born to Gerry and Kath Watson in postwar Great Britain. He would be the eldest of six children. Times were still tough as the country recovered from the Second World War and Canada beckoned.

The family landed in Duncan, B.C., in 1957, a short walk to the high school where Gerry taught. In a few years time, they moved to the seaside village of Maple Bay.

Dominic embraced the coastal lifestyle, learning to sail, racing in the yearly regatta and fishing for salmon and cod. He was an altar boy, too, but by 16, Dominic refused to go to mass, setting off a pattern of rebellion and nonconformism that would last him a lifetime.

After high school, Dominic headed off to Carleton University in Ottawa. He returned to Vancouver Island to fund his education in remote lumber camps.

Dominic loved music and learned to play both guitar and flute. He was known around the Cowichan Valley for his beat-up truck with the words “Gollum Died for Our Sins” scrawled across the side. With a surfboard tied to the top, his truck rattled down logging roads to what is now known at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

His travel adventures in the 1970s between school stints included crewing a sailboat from Gibraltar to the Caribbean, when he was shipwrecked near Nassau. The rescue involved a scramble over coral reefs and – much to the morbid fascination of his younger siblings – the coral continued to grow inside the tiny cuts on his feet.

On another adventure, Dominic was robbed and stranded in the Himalayas. Sitting at a bus stop in the Kullu Valley, he met the owner of the Johnson Family Orchards. With fruit picking experience gained from working in the Okanagan, Dominic was hired and earned his airfare back to Canada. He made lifelong friends with the Johnson family and developed a love and affinity for India.

On his return to Canada, Dominic resumed his education, culminating in a master’s in economics from Queen’s University. This led to a career that mixed politics and business. It was at Queen’s that he met Cathy Lengyel. They were married in Montreal in 1980.

The couple settled on the West Coast, first in Victoria and then Vancouver where Dominic made an unsuccessful bid for alderman. This was followed by a move to Toronto where he built a successful advertising and communications agency and wrote speeches for senior federal politicians.

When the 1990 recession put a damper on the business, Dominic and Cathy crossed the pond to London, where the couple planned to make a fresh start.

Then India beckoned once again. It was during a trip in the early 1990s that Dominic made the decision to stay in that country while Cathy returned to live in London.

On a train journey to the Himalayas, Dominic met Manju Singh, a well-known actor and businesswoman, immersed in the Bollywood milieu. Together, they founded Tempest Films in Mumbai.

Dominic would spend 30 years in India, and it was during this time that friends far and wide would receive his e-mails, poetic, cryptic and with insightful yet confounding commentary into world events and political happenings.

After Manju’s sudden death in 2022, Dominic returned to live in the Kullu Valley. Shortly after, he received a late diagnosis of cancer. Dom chose to live out the last couple of years immersed in the orchard he loved most. His brother Matthew went to visit, and described the surroundings as rustic but magical, and he marvelled at the devotion or Dominic’s loyal caregiver, Dhuni Chand.

Throughout his life, Dominic smoked prodigious amounts of hashish, enjoyed a drink and dabbled in other mood enhancers. He was undeniably handsome, charming when he wanted to be, exasperating when he couldn’t be bothered and quite often imperious because he could get away with it.

Kate Watson is Dominic Watson’s sister.

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