Saddened at the rather premature Return to Nature of Mohan. But Nature has her own inscrutable ways that we mortals cannot fathom.

I had the good fortune of knowing Mohan as my college mate at PSG Tech and later at Titan. He was my senior by a year (mechanical engineering) at PSG. Even as a student, Mohan had class, panache and style. Soft spoken, with a smile, and impeccable manners.

Mohan was an Officer and a Gentleman.

Grateful that our paths crossed. 

And Mohan, you may not hear this, but you did your part, helping so many of us by deed and example, to become better human beings. You will remain etched in our memories.

I was shocked and deeply saddened upon learning about the passing away of Mohan from my PSG Tech classmates. I was a year junior to Mohan in the Mechanical Engineering branch (Class of ‘87) but I got to know him rather well during my time at Tech because of our shared interests in music, reading and exploring various esoteric subjects like philosophy. The Mohan I recall was the epitome of class. He didn’t have to try hard to be cool and was naturally one! He carried himself with confidence and an understated elegance, never arrogant and friendly to all including juniors like myself. I recall analyzing lyrics of Pink Floyd (he took a major liking to Wish you were here) with him and spent numerous hours listening to everything from metal, classic rock, jazz, pop and occasionally country! I loved his accounts of life in Munnar, Bangalore and his visits to Calcutta. I recall he visited the USA in the summer of 1986 and shared accounts of his time there. I left for the US in 1987 to pursue my Master’s and sadly I lost touch with Mohan. I would enquire about him from my classmates and friends in Bangalore and not surprisingly I only heard great things about him.

We recently moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Diego and during my move I came across an old diary from my days in Tech which contained a handwritten note which I recognized as Mohan’s handwriting. We had both read Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull (he loved all of Bach’s books) and as we would do with other books we had read, analyzed what we found interesting in it. Mohan scribbled a quote from the book that had caught his attention on a piece of paper and tossed it towards me. Somehow I had saved it in this old diary and it survived all these years! I sent a picture of his note to his LinkedIn account in February.

I will post a copy of the image.  A very fitting quote, because friendships and associations never end and they indeed transcend space and time! How I wish I had stayed in touch with Mohan! 

Dear friend, by all accounts your life was wonderfully lived. May you find eternal peace! And in Paradise I am sure you are Mr. Cool!

My heartfelt condolences to Chika, Rishika, Ephraim Sir and the grieving family. May God comfort you and grant you solace!