Obituary

My father left his mortal frame for another journey on 9th this month. A man of high moral integrity, he was the person having the lion’s share in shaping the set of ethics I live by today. He had been battling with blindness and paralysis caused by what the doctors termed ‘a diffuse idiopathic nerve atrophy resembling multiple sclerosis’, but he never surrendered to the handicap it caused to his physical abilities. In the end, it was a freak acute cardiovascular failure that became the cause of his untimely passing away at an age of 58 years.

My father was a rare mix of courage and compassion who held that defending the truth and helping those in need is the highest duty of man. he was a living philosophy, a lighthouse that tirelessly guided every ship coming its way in the vast ocean towards their desired destination. ‘Service to man is service to God’ was his firm belief. Even after his benevolent nature was taken undue advantage of at a number of times, he never stopped venturing into lending a prompt helping hand to anybody in need. A thorough gentleman, he helped numerous people anonymously in his life but never talked of any of his good work for even the most righteous cause, keeping a discreet profile known only to his circles. “If you do it for an acknowledgement, it is business, not service”, he used to say.

Although a devout Hindu Brahmin by birth and faith, he was a man of scientific and progressive thoughts. He never identified by his original surname that denoted his caste and peerage from medieval history, and preferred going by the neutral last name of ‘Kumar’ instead. Despite the social criticism that it did eventually attract, he had willed to be cremated with the simplest of rites devoid of any ritual extravaganza that is characteristic of Indian customs, with the money for the rituals going to charity instead.

He remains, and will always remain, alive in the hearts of his family and all the people whom he guided and led by example. Below is a short bio of him for the readers who would want to know more –

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UDAY KUMAR (1959-2017)
Born, Uday Shridhar Rajandekar
Entrepreneur, Humanist and Visionary

Education

Masters of Engineering (M.E.), Electronics
Masters of Science (M.Sc.), Physics with specialisation in Digital Electronics
Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM)
Advanced certifications in
- Microprocessor applications
- Integrated Circuits manufacturing
- Reliability engineering
- Power electronics
- Radio design.

Honors and Awards

Presidential Gold Medal and National Award for Best NCC Cadet, Republic Day 1974.
Multiple State-level medals in bodybuilding, shooting and Mallakhamb.
Sanskrit Visharad (Honorary Masters in Sankrit language).
Hindi Visharad (Honorary Masters in Hindi language).
Vyayam Visharad (Honorary Masters in Traditional Physical Training)

Professional Associations

Member, the Institute of Electronics and Telecom Engineers of India.
Senior Teacher, All India Judo Federation.

Respected Positions held

Vice-chairman, Board of Studies for Electronics Engineering, Marathwada University.
Parade Commander of the National Cadet Corps contingent at Republic Day Parade, 1974, New Delhi.
Visiting Advanced Martial Arts Coach, Regional Police Training School, Jalna.
Senior Under Officer, 11 Maharashtra Battalion, National Cadet Corps (India’s official military volunteer force of civilian students).
Coordinating Officer, National Service Scheme (Indian Government’s public service volunteer network).

Volunteer Work

Field Rescue Volunteer, Assam floods.
Field Officer, National Service Scheme.

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।

न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥

Hindu thought holds the soul to be immortal and all-pervasive, capable of changing mortal bodies like mere outer clothings. No weapons can destroy, no fire can burn, no water can wet and no wind can dry it. We firmly believe that he is still amongst us continuing his righteous work only in another form, with his favorite ethos, “Give to the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you.” Godspeed to you, Dad. You always reside in our hearts.