Adieu Principal sir!

Then Wing Commander KH Jagannatha Rao was our school's Principal from 29 Oct '66 to 06 Dec '71. For guys like me who joined Sainik School, Kazhakootam in Jan '67, he was the Principal all through except for Captain GD Singh who had come by in his place over the last six months of our stay there. Can never forget his smart demeanour, his booming voice and the love he'd for his cadets.

His eldest son - the Raos have three children, Arun, Anand and Revathi -  Arun was in our class and so, we were privy to most of the strategic decisions taken but above all, we'd readily accepted the Raos as our foster parents! Our attachment was mutual and all pervading. I can never forget the flourish with which he used to put down his elegant signature!

Group Captain KH Jagannatha Rao passed into the mist of time this evening, at the ripe old age of 93 yrs, at his residence in Bangalore. Another important link to those halcyon days of our growing up has ceased to exist! 

RIP sir! My salute, tears and prayers for a thorough gentleman and mentor. May God give Arun and all the other family members the strength to tide over their grief.

Tailpiece.

Had got up on the dot, gone about our chores and we were ready well in time. It was the second day of Preetha's absence from work and Lekha had handled the show superbly. There was an all pervading breeze all through the day and hence, the heat during mid-afternoon was tamed to a considerable extent. But there were power outages galore, consequently.

Mithun's aunt(65) - dad's sister - had passed into the mist of time this forenoon. She was single and used to stay at their place all through. She was ailing for a while and the end came by at the hospital near their house at Payyannur. Ammu and Mithun have left Coimbatore by the late night bus to be in time for the funeral tomorrow.  

RIP Mithun's appachi! My tears and prayers.

PS.

1. Sir was fine till a fortnight back when he'd lost his balance and fallen in his sitting room severing the the ball from his left femur. It needed Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty which was carried out successfully and he'd even walked, thereafter, last Thursday onward. However, this Monday, the surgical stress led to gastric ulcers in the stomach  leading to their burst causing a heart attack from which his heart could not recover!

2. He's the latest to have joined the ever increasing list of those whom I pray for every morning.