Obituaries: Geetha Kannan, Chandrasekharan, A. Padmanabhan, Murali Mohan

Geetha Kannan, former headmistress of the KG section of Children Garden School, passed away on Aug. 7. She was 69 years old.

Geetha held that position for 35 years. “She was an expert at her work and trained other teachers. She was also a volunteer at  SNEHA and  offered counselling services once a week. A religious person, she attended many classes on spiritual and religious subjects and gave private lectures on Ramayana and Mahabharata” said her husband Kannan. 

Her former colleague Ruby Prasad said, “Geetha was a dedicated teacher and an excellent head.”

Tributes have been flowing in from all corners of the world from her former students.

“She was my Std.II class teacher. She was a humble person and always our favourite teacher. Her caring gesture and the beautiful handwriting she taught will remain in our memory,” said Jinsha Vijayan.

“She was a great inspiration, my first teacher. As a KG teacher she just gave her heart and soul to her profession and to the kids. When I began working as a KG teacher later, every day morning I would start my class with pranams to her in my heart. I owe my professional success to her,” said Satya Murali.

Her family can be reached at 24954128 / 9840176653.

Chandrashekaran, son of V. A. K. Rangan, passed away on Aug. 14. He was 72 years old.

He had a very successful career in various departments in the central government and recently retired as deputy director, ministry of statistics and program implementation.

A longtime resident of Ceebros Royal Garden in Kesavaperumal Puram, he was a spiritual person and a patron of arts, his family said. “He loved singing vintage melodies,” the family added.

He is survived by his wife Vasanthi Chandrashekaran and sons Dilip and Pradeep. His family can be contacted at  24615484, 8148176196.

A. Padmanabhan, son of A. N. Aiyar and formerly engineer at Ashok Leyland passed away on August 16 at the age of 86.

He was a resident of C.I.T. Colony for 60 years.

His grandson Satchit Srikanth recalls, “He was an energetic and jovial person. He was the nephew of  the famous composer Lalitha Dasar and loved Carnatic music and was trained to be a vocalist. He attended many concerts and sometimes sang in private gatherings.”

Padmanabhan also worked as an engineer for sometime in the UK. He also has given lectures in several universities.

He is survived by his wife Saraswathi, sons Ravi and Bharat and daughters Hema and Sudha.

The family’s contact – 24991159.

 Murali Mohan passed away on Aug.12. He was 68 years old.

He belonged  to the Jai Hind Coffee Works family. The Jai Hind coffee shop was at Kutchery Road – close to the then Rayar’s Café and Eros Tailors – for 60 years. The family has been a resident of Karneeswarar Koil Street for 75 years.

Murali Mohan worked as  superintendent in the valuation department at the University of Madras. He also worked as manager at Dinakaran newspaper and his final assignment as as the ground manager at St. Bede’s School campus/grounds.

Jayaprakash his brother said, “ Our entire family is sports-oriented. My brother played cricket and hockey. He has played for Jawahar Cricket Club.  He was a religious person and everyday after his early morning walk would visit the temples in the area. He loved to help people.  He would often buy  a cup of coffee or tea for the hawkers. At St. Bede’s grounds, during camps he was the one who would interact with visitors. In the mornings, he would also take  a pack of biscuits and feed the crows and stray dogs around.”

The family said Mohan’s eyes were donated to Agarwal Eye Hospital. “The day his eyes were taken happened to be Organ Donation Day and we are very happy and proud,” the family said.

Murali Mohan is survived by a daughter and son. The family can be reached at 9940094108.