Goodbye to Lord Ganpati 2016
By Runmee Barbara HOUSTON: On the last day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, a big ritual ceremony is performed every year by devotees of the Indian community in Houston. This year also enthusiastic religious followers assembled to celebrate and bid adieu to Lord Ganesha at Shiv Shakti Temple in Hilcroft. Devotees from in an around […]
A Guiding Light Passes, and there is Sorrow, and Also No Sorrow
By Jawahar Malhotra STAFFORD: The news that the Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) of Swaminarayan sect had passed away in Saurashtra in Gujarat’s Botad district on Saturday evening, August 13, at 6pm Indian time spread like wildfire among the congregation here which was just waking up. […]
Ashok Dhingra 1946 – 2016: An Architect of Community Togetherness Passes
By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: When he was just an architectural student at the University of Houston, the thin 26 year-old young man from India already stood out for two things that stayed with him throughout his life: an easy and infectious smile and laugh and a thick and wide chevron moustache that covered the top […]
Dr. Avinash Chandra Parti 1941-2016
Dr. Avinash Chandra Parti passed away peacefully on April 17, 2016 in Sugarland, Texas. Dr. Parti was born in Jalandhar, India on July 10, 1941. He received his medical degree from the Government Medical College of Patiala, Punjab. Before moving to the United States, he practiced as a registrar in Amritsar, India. He practiced as […]
Meena Agrawal
It is with great sadness we inform you that Meena Agrawal, Treasurer and Board Member of IACAN passed away on Saturday, April 23, 2016 around 8 PM. On Wednesday, April 13, 2016 evening she experienced respiratory and heart failure. She was rushed to The Methodist Hospital, Sugar Land. She was in coma and never recovered. […]
Shobha Seth Wenger
Shobha Seth Wenger passed away on Monday, February 15, 2016. Born and raised in India, she acquired a BA ( Hons) degree in English Literature and a Masters in Psychology. Shobha came to Houston in 1971 with her daughter, Sujata. In 1979, she married Alan Wenger, and they were married for 30 years until Alan […]
Dr. A. P. Raghuthaman, 1944 – 2016
Dr. Ayyam Raghuthaman, renowned Houston area gastroenterologist passed away suddenly on Feb 8, 2016 during a brief visit to Coimbatore, India to attend a reunion of his Madras Medical College graduate colleagues. He died of an apparent massive heart attack and had no known prior symptoms. His last rites will be done in Palakkad in […]
Dr. Ravindra Kumar, MD, 1949 – 2015
HOUSTON: Dr. Ravindra Kumar, M.D., a soft-spoken, dedicated physician who practiced internal medicine from his office in the Memorial City-Spring Branch area for the past two decades, passed away on November 30 after a brief battle with cancer. He was laid to rest at the Winford Funeral Home on Sunday, December 5, 2015. Kumar was […]
A Life Well Lived: Dr. Raj K. Chopra (1937-2015)
SUGAR LAND: Born in India and educated at Punjab University, Dr. Raj K. Chopra began his career in education at the American School in New Delhi, India. It was here that he realized his desire to be an American and to live in “the land of milk and honey” where, “with hard work and determination, […]
Dr Harish Chander Khera 1939-2015
Dr. Harish Chander Khera passed away on September 26, 2015 in Houston, Texas at the age of 76. He was born in Dera Ismail Khan, India on June 22, 1939. He was a highly regarded General Surgeon whose abilities were only matched by his work ethic and character. Dr. Khera will best be remembered for […]
Dr. Vasanta Lakshmi Putcha, PhD 1946-2015
Vasanta Lakshmi Putcha, a long time resident of Houston, a role model, a respected NASA scientist, an intellectual and lover of Indian fine arts and a woman of many talents, passed away on Monday, September 28, 2015 after a tragic car accident the Wednesday before, September 23. Reportedly she suffered a stroke while driving and […]
A Hindu Luminary Passes On to His Heavenly Journey Padmakant Khambhati (1937-2015)
By Thara Narasimhan HOUSTON: Padmakant Khambhati, a giant in the world of the Hindu community in the Houston area, and also widely respected and known nationwide, passed away this past Monday, April 20 after a brief illness. He was 78-years-old. Khambhati, hailed from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His parents followed Vaishnavism and he along with his father […]
In Loving Memory of Vishwanath “Vish” Kelkar 9/6/1934 to 3/14/2015
By Vasudha Kelkar My husband passed away in India peacefully, while being surrounded by many of his Kelkar family members. Born in Shriwardhan, Maharashtra, he grew up in Thane and attended M.H. High School. He graduated from VJTI, Mumbai in 1958 with BE, Civil Engineering. Subsequently he worked for BEST until 1965 when he ventured […]
A Gentle Giant Passes, Leaving an Immense Void in the Arts World
By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: Those who have settled in the part of Southwest Texas over the past 60 years may recall the pioneers who paved the way for succeeding waves of desi immigrants from the Old Country. They gave freely of their time and money, sacrificing family time, jobs and the tug of other occasions […]
Jehangir Lakhani (1957-2014)
Jehangir Lakhani, a loving, caring, always smiling individual, known for spreading laughter and happiness, passed away on Thursday, October 23 in Houston, Texas after a battle with a rare kidney Cancer, Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma. Born in Navsari, India, Jehangir moved to America in 1984 to pursue new opportunities and endeavors. After a long journey […]
Airport Design Expert and Civil Engineer Adil Godiwalla, 72, Passes Away
By Amy Godiwalla KLEIN, TX: Adil Godiwalla, whose name was synonymous with the Houston Airport system for many years and whose smiling countenance endeared him to many in the engineering and construction profession in the Bayou City passed away on Monday, December 16, 2013 in his home in Klein, a far northern suburb of Houston, […]
Houston Mourns the Loss of Hari Kewalramani
By Manu Shah HOUSTON: Hari Kewalramani never carried a personal cell phone. He was convinced that ginger was a cure all. He coached his son’s soccer and baseball team – games he had never played in his life. He was a marriage counselor and financial advisor to colleagues and friends, innovator, poet and author. He […]
David Raj (1951 – 2013)
David Raj, a community minded activist and financial advisor, passed away on Saturday, September 28 in Chennai, India where he had returned to four weeks earlier to be in the care of his sister and her family. He had suffered with stomach cancer for the past two years. Raj was born on November 29, 1951 […]
Sudesh Mehta (1938 – 2013)
Sudesh Mehta, a tireless and ardent supporter of Punjabi culture who helped organize many functions over the years for the appropriately named Punjabi Culture Club along with her husband, the late Dr. Paul Mehta, passed away on Wednesday, September 25, 2013. She was 75 years old and had been in ill health for some time […]
S.N. Goenka – An Eternal Soul Passes On
By Manu Shah HOUSTON: “May all beings be happy”- “Sabka mangal ho”. Vipassana meditators have heard this compassionate phrase uttered by their teacher S.N. Goenka after every meditation session and discourse but the voice that set us on the path of Dhamma or Truth has been stilled. Goenkaji passed away peacefully at his residence in […]
