(This event review is sponsored by Vakili & Associates)

Braving the stormy “Nor’ easter, friends gathered at Keefe technical high school in Framingham, MA to bid farewell to Venkataraman and Lakshmi as they leave for the West Coast. Venkataraman, is joining Ion America, a startup founded by K.S Sridhar, that is working on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

Venkat and Lakshmi, as they are known affectionately, have worked hard to keep the Carnatic music scene alive in the Boston area. Venkat has been the backbone of MITHAS, the premier organization that features performances by leading Indian classical musicians. They have also provided yeomen service to the New England Hindu Temple and the New England Tamil Sangam.

“The accomplishment of a person can be seen by not how much wealth he has earned but by how many lives he has touched and how many friends he has made” said Srikanth Sampathkumaran a close friend of the family who helped organize the event. The location for the farewell was so appropriate for it was the location for hundreds of events that the couple helped organize.

“Service is in their blood. After their marriage, their first day as a couple in the Boston area was spent volunteering at the Temple" said Jayashree Shivasubramanium whose husband went to school with Venkat.

Community service was not something that was pre-planned according to Venkat “Lakshmi is very interested temple activities and Carnatic music. She encouraged me try to help. I had never touched a screw-driver nor done any carpentry work. Yet I was brave and ended up making many things for the temple, including the "Ratham" or the chariot for the Gods, the eighteen steps for Ayyapa, etc. I made the skeleton and she is the artist that gave it the beautiful look".

When asked about his work with MITHAS Venkat said his major contribution was to help streamline the operations and bring more audience to the concerts. Also prior to his involvement MITHAS was confining itself to North Indian Classical music. Venkat helped bring South Indian music to MITHAS. He helped establish a rapport with national organizers. He and Lakshmi have hosted several artists. He along with Srikanth manages the sound system. He has helped with outreach. “For the first few concerts we used call people personally. Later I was able to put an email list together and that made things a little easier.”

Venkat has helped not just organizations but has also worked with sound at Arangetrams. He has helped a large number of children achieve their dream of a great performance. How did he get to be such a good sound engineer? “Again I have Lakshmi to thank. She was very interested in music and we began to attend a lot of concerts. Mr. Venkatachalam used be the sound engineer for the concerts and I was his helper. When he left I took that role.”

When asked about their contributions, they are embarrassed and say that they do not deserve any special recognition. "I feel honored that the community was willing to place its trust in us and allow us to do so many things," says Venkat. For Lakshmi a lot of the work has given the opportunity for artistic expression. "I love to do art work. I am honored that the Muthangi I made is worn by Lord Venketaswara. Not all are blessed to get such an opportunity. Music is my passion and I am glad we had the opportunity to do something to keep it alive in this area”.

Lakshmi and Venkat have never let their community work interfere with their profession. “Venkat always gave 110% to Aspentech. He is has a lot of expertise in the area of 'Seperations'" says Ramanathan who is a Product Manager at Aspentech. Lakshmi worked on her Ph.D in Chemistry after coming to America and has worked as a researcher at Brandeis University. They have two children Vignesh and Guhan, who are musical prodigies.

How did they mange to do it all? “Well the credit goes to the help we have received from both our mothers who have taken turns to live with us and help us with day-to-day things,” said Lakshmi and Venkat.

Bhairava Sundaram, a priest at the New England Hindu Temple echoed the sentiments of all by saying their absence will be deeply felt. “A true devotee is one who will not allow ego to come in the way of service. Venkat and Lakshmi qualify as true devotees. I hope Venkat does very well in his new job and then comes back to see us”.

Here are some quotes from friends and associates:

“Vandan, Irundan, Vendran, Yengal Ullathai Ventran – He came, stayed and conquered, he conquered our hearts”
Dr. Narayanaswamy Ramesh, Harvard Univ

“Sincere, warm and affectionate. Did things without expectations”
Shobha Shastry, Owner, Alankar Decors

“No matter what happened Venkat always had a positive attitude”
Purnima Sehgal, Member of the Board, MITHAS

“Venkat is like a son and not a son-in-law to me…. Lakshmi was always a very obedient and talented child”
Meenakshi Ramanathan, Laskhmi’s mother

“A team player”
Lata Venkataraman, Needham, MA

"I am a full time musician and I was feeling so lost when I came to the area. Venkat helped me so much" Flute Raman, Bridgewater, MA

"I am a volunteer at MITHAS and I have inspired by their work" Soumya Ramanathan, Bhratanatyam Dancer

"New England without Venkat and Lakshmi will be like Payasam without Cashews" - Padma Kannabiran, Wayland , MA

“Has worked hard on remaining anonymous. They will be missed”
Radha and Srinivasan, Lexington, MA

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