Rupa Vyas, Founder of Jay Store, Passes Away
Houston: Rupa Vyas, the founder of Jay Store, Houston’s first Indian grocery store, died on January 16, 2021 after developing Covid-19 infection. She was 82 years old. Born in Bhavnagar, India, and the eldest daughter of the Balakrishna Trivedi and Shanta Trivedi. After completing her studies in India, she and her husband, Mahesh Vyas, and […]
Mariam Issa: Compassionate & Generous
Houston: With loving memories, Mariam Issa, a Houstonian for more than four decades, passed away on January 3, 2021. “When you give to others, it is important to give more than what is expected.” These are words that Mariam repeatedly conveyed to her children and grandchildren – words that she learned from her father and […]
Sri Hanumanbagas Gilda, 97, Leaves a Rich Legacy of Wisdom
By Manu Shah On 5th December, Sri Hanumanbagas Gilda woke up at his usual hour and asked one of his caretakers to give him a bath. The man was puzzled by this unusual request as Sri Hanumanbagasji normally had a bath later in the day. At 9:16 am, the patriarch of the Gilda family breathed […]
Leuva Patel Family Loses Two Sons: 19, 14
Cleveland, Texas: Two teenagers, a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old, were killed Saturday in a violent, multi-vehicle crash in Celeveland while on their way home with their parents. At approximately 6:45 p.m., the family was in a Toyota Camry stopped in traffic due to a vehicle fire on Interstate 69 near the San Jacinto River when […]
Eminent Geneticist Krishna Dronamraju Passes Away, 83
Houston: Dronamraju Krishna Rao (14 January 1937 – 3 December 2020) was an Indian-born geneticist and president of the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston, Texas. He was born in Pithapuram, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. One focus of his work has been the research of his mentor J. B. S. Haldane. He […]
Passing of Gopal Savjani and Rao Ratnala
Houston: The Houston Indo-American community was saddened in recent days with the passing of two community stalwarts: Biotech CEO Gopal Savjani and Engineering executive Rao Ratnala. The American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE) announced the passing of Mr. Ratnala on October 11. Ratnala came to the United States in 1962 as a student and received […]
A Zoom Tribute to Raj Syal: Iconic Leader of Houston’s Hindu Community
By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: The response to the Zoom call to pay tributes to a local pioneer who preferred to stay in the shadows, Raj Kumar Syal, was expected to be huge and so it was opened up to as many people as possible. At its peak, 150 different callers had joined in, most with […]
Raj Syal Dies: A Pioneering, Tireless Pillar of Houston’s Hindu Community
By Jawahar Malhotra The Woodlands: In the early years of the Indian community in the Bayou City, in 1968, when there were perhaps only 50 young families and a handful of foreign students at the University of Houston, there was a natural yearning to bond and find ways to gather for camaraderie and satisfy the […]
Baldev Jallan, Local Businessman, 78
Houston: Another member of the early settlers of the local Indian community passed away five weeks ago after a foot injury had sidelined him in a rehab hospital. He suffered a fatal heart attack when he returned home and died in his sleep on Saturday, August 15. Jallan was from a large family who all […]
A Tribute to University of Texas Professor Chandragiri Dinaker Rao (1938-2020)
Austin: There are some people who bring a light so bright to this world, that even after they are gone the glow remains. Chandragiri Dinaker Rao of Austin, Texas was one of them! Dinaker left for his heavenly abode on September 5, 2020. He was truly a Konkani icon of Austin. He led an exemplary […]
Mahesh Vyas Passes, Founded 1st Desi Grocery: “Jay Store” with Wife Rupa
Houston: The Indian community lost one of its founding members on Friday, August 14. After Mahesh Vyas had finished exercising, acute IPF flared up suddenly and quickly spread through his lungs. He was admitted to Memorial Hermann Hospital at Memorial City, but quickly succumbed to the disease. Mahesh Prataprai Vyas, 83, a geophysicist, was the […]
Shanti Khetpal: A Lifelong Learner, Passes Unexpectedly
Houston: Shanti Khetpal, a deeply caring and loyal person, and an extremely loving and wonderful mother passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, August 15, also the anniversary of India’s independence. She had complained of wheezing and had gone to take a nap in the morning but was found unresponsive and could not be revived by medics. […]
Dr. Ravi Prakash Aurora (April 26, 1937 – June 23, 2020)
DALLAS: Dr. Ravi P. Aurora passed away peacefully on June 23rd, 2020 with love and family all around him. Dr. Aurora moved to New York in 1967 from India as a young man with his vibrant and departed wife, Suman Aurora, $6 in hand, an education and a hunger to find opportunity. He obtained a […]
Beloved Community Advocate Sonal Bhuchar, 58, Dies
SUGAR LAND: Sonal Bhuchar, 58, passed away peacefully in her home on April 20, 2019 after a valiant battle with lung cancer. She was surrounded by her family. Sonal was born in Mumbai, India on June 30, 1960, to Ramesh and Manju Parekh. She earned her education and studied to practice physical therapy in Mumbai […]
Serene Lady Champaben Gandhi Slips Away Quietly and Quickly on Her 82nd Birthday
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: She would always be at her daughter Manisha’s side, accompanying her on many community functions and she would relish those events, sitting quietly by herself or with some other elderly ladies whom she had come to know. Often she would come dressed in fine, bright colored sarees and say a few […]
Kamna Sharma Remembered as a Jovial Spirit with a Smile
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: Her younger son Mayoor, 35, remembered her as the adoring mom whose loving arms he could jump into from the school bus after a particularly traumatic incident in school. This Major in the US Army Reserve with two tours in Iraq fought to hold back the tears even though the dark […]
Stunned Community Mourns Victims of Murder-Suicide
SUGAR LAND: The news of the Indian American couple’s death in an apparent murder-suicide at their home in Sugar Land has left the community in deep shock as friends and family looked for answers. On Monday, February 18 morning, the police responded to a 911 call to the home in the Telfair subdivision 6 am, […]
Mandir ki Maaji Bestows Last Blessings on Her Admirers
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: If you are in Little India on any day or night and want to get some blessings, all you had to do is visit the temple on Hillcroft behind the first row of shops, almost behind Karat 22 Jewelers. It is small and cozy and until recently, sitting by the entrance […]
Kochamma Mary Philip, 81, Passes
HOUSTON: Mary Philip, a long-time resident of Houston, passed away on Monday, December 17, 2018 surrounded by family in Manchester, New Hampshire. She had moved there in 2015 with her husband to be live with her youngest daughter Annie and her family. She was born on July 13, 1937, in Kozencherry, Kerala, India to Theketh-Valluparambil House, […]
Sant Nirankaris Lose Another Guru in Two Years
By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: It was only two years ago that she had taken over as the chief of the Sant Nirankari Mission after the unfortunate and totally unexpected death of her husband Baba Hardev Singh in a car accident in Canada in May 2016. On Sunday, August 5, Mata Savinder Hardev, more affectionately referred […]
