My first memory of Sundayya Thathagaru was seeing a photo of him receiving an award from P. V. Narasimha Rao, a former Prime Minister of India, framed in my grandparents house in Vizag. I was probably around 6 or 7 years old. ”He’s my brother and he lives in Delhi. He’s the director of IIP and has won many awards.” – my ammamma (grandmother) used to tell me whenever I stared at that picture. My mom would also tell me about him every now and then that he is a great man who’s an inspiration to many including my uncles and has helped a lot of people in our extended family. I had never met him until then, or perhaps I did but was too young to remember. When I did meet him the first time as per my memory, I was in awe of him. He radiated so much energy and was always the center of gravity in any room he walked into. Over the years, whenever I met him, he had left an unforgettable impression in me.
He once visited me in IIT Madras when I was in my undergrad. He was visiting on some work but he stayed in the IIT campus. When he left, he forgot his cellphone charger in the guest house. He called me to ask me for a “favor” and asked if I’d mail the charger to him. It was just a small thing for me to do but he would remember it every time we met and thank me again and again for it. That’s how humble he was.
It was a blessing to have him at my wedding and he was one of the happiest people to see me take on the next step in my life. He would wish me and my wife Bhavya on for every major occasion or festival and would ask me to come visit him in Houston when he visited the US. One of my biggest regrets is that I was never able to visit him in Houston.
Every time we met he would say something to me that made me feel humble, inspired and motivated to achieve more and be like him. When my grandmother passed away, he was a huge pillar of support for my mom and kept calling her to console her and make her feel better. His departure is a huge loss for not just his immediate family but everyone else whose lives he touched and enhanced. My heartfelt condolences to Mammagaru, Uday Babai, Haritha Atha, Thathagaru’s grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and cousins. May he Rest In Peace in heaven and continue to inspire us to be as good as him.
– Jagannath Putrevu