A Terrible Tragedy

cm_musicfan · Post by **cm_musicfan** » 17 Jul 2008, 03:34

It is with a heavy heart that I pass on the following information to the community.

NRI's who have lived in the US for a long time will know of Sri Raju Soundararajan of the Washington DC area. Last week, on a trip to India, while returning from visiting the residence of Sai Baba, his car driver made a bad turn and veered into opposing traffic, and a truck hit the car head on. Sri Soundararajan, his wife, and two of his four children that were with him, were killed in the crash, with his other two children currently in critical condition at a hospital. Sri Soundarajan is survived by an elder daughter, who did not go on the trip.

Sri Soundararajan started one of the first Thyagaraja Aradhanas in the US, with this past year being the 25 year anniversary. He provided opportunities for many artists within the US. In addition to organizing the aradhana, he was also a talented vocalist, having performed in India, Singapore, and at the Cleveland Aradhana in 2003. He also had a very devoted group of music students. He was a disciple of his mother as well as Sri Nedunuri.

Please join me in praying for the health of two surviving children. At some point, I'm sure some sort of donation program will be set up for anyone who would like to contribute to a fund to help support the two injured children, as they will need medical care (one child has cerebral palsy, and the other is autistic).

For those living around the Washington DC area, there will be a Pushpanjali for the family at SSVT from 3:30 to 4:30 this July 19th.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 17 Jul 2008, 03:38

A big and terrible loss to the Rasika community at large and Washington DC in particular. Sympathies to surviving family members. May the souls rest in peace.

rajesh_rs · Post by **rajesh_rs** » 17 Jul 2008, 03:40

Bad news indeed. May their souls rest in peace.

Ramnath Iyer · Post by **Ramnath Iyer** » 17 Jul 2008, 04:28

Oh God ! feel so terrible hearing this. One also gets angry at the careless and irresponsible driving that ends in these calamities.

May their souls rest in peace. Wish the surviving children a speedy and full recovery. May God give them the strength to bear this loss.

Ramnath

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 17 Jul 2008, 05:19

May their souls Rest in Peace!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.

Prayers so that surviving family members find the strength to bear with this terrible loss and make the best out of this senseless accident.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 17 Jul 2008, 06:26

What a tragedy!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 17 Jul 2008, 07:16

Very sad to hear the tragedy befallen the family. No words to express our feelings.

naaree · Post by **naaree** » 17 Jul 2008, 07:55

So shocking and sad to hear about this.

He was a regular guest at the Richmond Tyagaraja Aradhana. He always took the trouble to come and entertain us with his music, every year. I have fond memories of his energetic renditions of the Pancha Rathna Krithis.

We, the members of the Richmond Music Group, pray for the health of the injured children, the surviving daughter and for the noble souls to rest in peace.

Narayanan.S
On behalf of the Richmond Music Group.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 17 Jul 2008, 08:40

Very sad to hear the news. A road related accident has claimed the life of yet another a Carnatic musician (Jon Higgins, Maharajapuram Santhanam, KK Ravi being others that come to mind)

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 17 Jul 2008, 08:46

Lets pray and May their souls rest in peace!

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 17 Jul 2008, 09:28

It is so shocking to hear about this tragedy. Condolences to family and friends and our prayers for the speedy and full recovery of injured children. Hope they have sufficient family and friends both in India and the U.S. to provide the necessary support in this time of great need.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 17 Jul 2008, 09:42

This is very sad news. Condolences to the family and may the departed souls rest in peace.

rasaali · Post by **rasaali** » 17 Jul 2008, 09:52

That such nice human beings like Raju mama and Jayanthi mami and the two young girls should meet a terrible fate is unthinkable and very cruel twist of fate.

The family would not only organize the aradhana but also cook for everyone for both days of the aradhana. Even though my only contribution to them was to perform in the aradhana, they treated me like a family member. Even this past Feb I went there and Mrs Raju remembered and gave me a gift for my daughter's birthday in the midst of all the busy activity. Such was the quailty of the couple and their children.

I have not slept properly since I heard the news from friends in the DC area.... their faces rush past my eyes and it is yet to sink in.

KVS Vinay

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jul 2008, 10:34

What a terrible tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 17 Jul 2008, 11:31

yes, the loss is numbing.. i have cherished memories of being able to participate at the aradhana organized by Sri Soundararajan at the Siva Vishnu temple and being captivated by his soulful rendition of "rama rama rama sitaramana paapaharana" in Huseni.. may God be with them all.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 17 Jul 2008, 11:41

Shocking tragedy but all too common these days. My condolences. Please count me in for any contributions.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 17 Jul 2008, 12:30

Heartfelt condolences.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 17 Jul 2008, 13:49

What an awful tragedy for the family, and what a terrible loss for so very many people.

Deepest sympathy to family, friends, students, associates.

Too much loss; let us pray for government to take road safety seriously. If only things could be changed, perhaps the departed souls might see some point to otherwise pointless loss of life.

So sad...

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jul 2008, 14:03

cm_musicfan wrote:Last week, on a trip to India, while returning from visiting the residence of Sai Baba, his car driver made a bad turn and veered into opposing traffic, and a truck hit the car head on.

Dear cm_musicfan

Just for information.
Did this accident take place in Chennai ? The turn from "Sundaram" into Greenways Road is always a potentially dangerous junction.

Sreeni Rajarao · Post by **Sreeni Rajarao** » 17 Jul 2008, 15:25

Very sad to hear the news. My condolences.
I had heard about the great work they have done in DC area.

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 17 Jul 2008, 16:23

Very sad to hear the news. Sincere Condolences.

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 17 Jul 2008, 18:29

Let me also join to offer my condolences. I could not help but to relate this to another incident at East Coast Road, where a CEO of a big Company in Singapore, after getting his son cured from heart disease, at chennai, had gone to picnic (may be Mahabalipuram). While returning, their car met with an accident and all got killed. This came in paper 3 weeks before. I felt so sad that day for the unknown faces.

waterfly · Post by **waterfly** » 17 Jul 2008, 20:17

These people were my good friends and I am going to miss them a lot, RIP all of you

ekelly · Post by **ekelly** » 17 Jul 2008, 20:21

Hello, I was wondering about the service this weekend, is this something that is open to all friends? I am a former co-worker of Jayanthi's and I am in touch with several other American former co-worker friends that are looking for information on what we can do. None of us are of Indian descent and we do not know the traditions. If someone could let email me even with what would be acceptable I would appreciate it. We would like to do something. If a fund is started for the boys please let me know the details.

naaree · Post by **naaree** » 17 Jul 2008, 22:30

nick H wrote:Too much loss; let us pray for government to take road safety seriously. If only things could be changed, perhaps the departed souls might see some point to otherwise pointless loss of life.
So sad...

Totally agree.

I lost my cousin(CTS employee), his wife, mother-in-law and father-in-law to a similar tragedy, while they were returning from celebrating their maiden diwali celebrations. My uncle/aunt and family have still not been removed from that shell shocking incident.

NS

srigudi · Post by **srigudi** » 17 Jul 2008, 22:41

ekelly wrote:Hello, I was wondering about the service this weekend, is this something that is open to all friends? I am a former co-worker of Jayanthi's and I am in touch with several other American former co-worker friends that are looking for information on what we can do. None of us are of Indian descent and we do not know the traditions. If someone could let email me even with what would be acceptable I would appreciate it. We would like to do something. If a fund is started for the boys please let me know the details.

There is a Pushpanjali at SSVT, Lanham, MD for Sri. Raju, Jayanthi, Sai Lakshmi and Sai Priya on Saturday, July 19 at 3:30 PM. It is open to everyone. While contributions will be accepted on that occasion, we are also working on setting up a trust so that the tax implications can be taken care of.

PKK · Post by **PKK** » 17 Jul 2008, 22:55

Terrible loss to DC area music world. Raju uncle treated me as one of his daughters while I was pregnant and go for the music class. I can never forget the way they prepare food for me, every time I go to their house. Latchu and Priya are very affectionate and disciplined kids. I still can hear their voices. Raju uncle gave me courage to learn music. Its hard to believe that we are not going to see Jayanti mami's ever smiling face anymore.

May their souls rest in peace and let's pray god for their sons speedy recovery and May god give Padma all the strength to bear with this terrible loss and to take care of her brothers. Raju uncle and his family remain on our hearts forever!

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 17 Jul 2008, 23:53

very sad.... my condolences....

rraghuv · Post by **rraghuv** » 18 Jul 2008, 00:35

Sorry to hear the sad news. I used to see him very energetic in the Sai retreats and Thyagaraja aradhana celebrations. May Sai Baba rest the family's soul in peace.

Bhindi · Post by **Bhindi** » 18 Jul 2008, 03:17

My heartfelt condolences to the immediate family. what a terrible loss. May their soul rest in peace

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 18 Jul 2008, 04:31

Very sad to hear the tragedy. My heartfelt condolences.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 18 Jul 2008, 06:33

Raju and family are in my prayers....may their soul rest in peace!

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 18 Jul 2008, 07:14

Condolences n prayers.

May God give strength to the remaining family members to bear this loss.

rasaali · Post by **rasaali** » 18 Jul 2008, 19:57

srigudi wrote:
ekelly wrote:Hello, I was wondering about the service this weekend, is this something that is open to all friends? I am a former co-worker of Jayanthi's and I am in touch with several other American former co-worker friends that are looking for information on what we can do. None of us are of Indian descent and we do not know the traditions. If someone could let email me even with what would be acceptable I would appreciate it. We would like to do something. If a fund is started for the boys please let me know the details.
There is a Pushpanjali at SSVT, Lanham, MD for Sri. Raju, Jayanthi, Sai Lakshmi and Sai Priya on Saturday, July 19 at 3:30 PM. It is open to everyone. While contributions will be accepted on that occasion, we are also working on setting up a trust so that the tax implications can be taken care of.

ekelly: This is the Hindu temple at lanham. You can check their site ssvt.org for directions. It is amazing to see how many lives Jayanthi has touched and made a difference.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 18 Jul 2008, 21:58

What terrible traged(ies)

! My deepest condolences to the famil(ies)

Arun

suma · Post by **suma** » 19 Jul 2008, 02:28

Very sad. Heartfelt condolences.

pranathi · Post by **pranathi** » 19 Jul 2008, 12:01

My mind went blank, this cruel play of the fate is beyond one's comprehension.. My prayers for the departed souls, may God give all the strength and courage for the kids.

naaree · Post by **naaree** » 21 Jul 2008, 18:05

Any updates on the condition of the 2 kids that survived the crash?

NS

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 22 Jul 2008, 08:49

My heartfelt condolences. I hope the two children can recover from this tremendous loss. How are they doing?

shivakumar123 · Post by **shivakumar123** » 26 Jul 2008, 00:21

Please see the link below
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/538065.html

The community has set up a find to help the family.

Pavan and Sai Ram Soundararajan Fund
C/O: Sun Trust Bank
9812 Falls Rd
Potomac, MD 20854