My Rationalist Brother-RIP Dr Arunachalam Kumar !
Mangaluru: We are sad to lose our brother rationalist, Dr Arunachalam Kumar, one of the founders of the Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association, to cancer on the 8th of December. He was ailing for quite some time and had gone through very painful processes of chemotherapy, radio and immune cell therapy. A brilliant personality, a multifaceted genius and a very kind hearted person, he lived his life as a rationalist and had expressed his wish that even after his death his mortal remains should go to the purpose of scientific study. In deference to his last wishes, his body is being handed over to the department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru where he had served for more than three decades as a tutor, a PG, Professor.
Please Note: Dr.Arunachalam Kumar’s mortal remains are expected to reach the premises of Kasturba Medical College, Department of Anatomy, Bejai at around 3 pm today (8th December)-in case you want to pay your last respect to the departed soul.
A keen observer and a sharp proponent of scientific temper, he had applied this to every aspect of his life. He had hit the headlines with his prediction of back pain for the cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar quite sometime before he had developed it – his explanation was that the batting stance would put undue pressure on some muscles which would cause the problem. It happened exactly he had predicted and this had brought his name in a number of national and international publications. This is only one notable instance of his achievement in public life. He had been diagnosed with cancer of the lung and had been given a few months to live by all experts. But, true to his fighting spirit he had belied those predictions and survived for few years.
Having lived a tumultuous personal life facing all sorts of trials and tribulations, even in his last days he had to face many problems. However, the large KMC family of his colleagues and students had taken care of his financial needs, while Lakshmi and Ravi along with their little daughter Maitreyi had provided him with their love and devotion. In the last few months of his life, he had shifted to Ravi’s place near Bhadravathi and had passed away there. In the last few months, he had been in palliative care as all other measures had failed.
Here is our salute to our rationalist brother who had lived and kept to his convictions to his last breath. May your life be an inspiration for the generations to come. His large circle of friends, students, colleagues and we of the rationalist movement will cherish our memories of you.
I have heard of the very intelligent and talented Prof Kumar who was able to draw figures on the board very fast with both the hands simultaneously. He apparently was ambi dextrous. Sorry to hear about his passing due to the big C.
May his soul rest in peace.
Dr Kumar was like a family member to us since the 70s while we used to live in the KMC staff qtrs. He was the best professors in Anatomy KMC ever had
My classmate and good friend gone.Very sorry.
Arunachalam Kumar and I were very good friends for many years, having met at a reading I gave in Mangalore in the 1990s. In 2004 I decided to include his essays and stories in a three-author book published by me titled “Fathers, Rebels, and Dreamers.” In that sense, our names will forever be linked, and at one time, so were our souls. May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family.