Dr. Vinod Chungi, 62, a savant, patron-of-the-Arts and friend to many, passed away on October 8th, 2007 in Mumbai, India.  He was cremated in his hometown of Hyderabad.

Vinod Chungi was born on August 20th, 1946 in Nasik, Maharashtra during the turbulent period preceding India’s independence from Britain.  He was the third child in a group of five. Vinod’s father was a local Magistrate and his mother hailed from a landholding family.  During Vinod’s childhood, the family moved about but finally settled in Hyderabad.  Vinod is remembered as a loquacious and mischievous boy with a merry wit.

In Hyderabad, Vinod matriculated from Vivek Vardhini School and by now could fluently speak English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Telugu.  Later, he also learnt Sanskrit.  As a teenager, Vinod was influenced by his uncle, Narasimha Rao, who traveled to the US in the 1950s for his Ph.D in Pharmacy.  His uncle’s success propelled Vinod into a career involving pharmacy.  Vinod received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Andhra University in Vizag. Shortly thereafter, in 1971, Vinod traveled to the US for his Ph.D.

Vinod worked at Serono Labs for a decade and then left to start his private practice as a consultant.  Till the very end, Vinod remained active in the biotech industry.

Vinod was a scholar of Hindu scriptures and his comprehension of the Bhagawad Gita was well-known.  His interest in spirituality and divinity was sparked when he was in the University at Vizag. He frequently attended lectures by eminent Vendantists including Swami Chinmayananda and engaged in thoughtful discussions with a number of learned scholars.  In Boston, his weekly dialog sessions involving the Gita were well-known.

Vinod was a popular figure around Boston owing to his ardent support for social and cultural events in the area. He regularly “opened” many events with an appropriate hymn from the Vedas and generously gave his time and money to organizations such as the India Association of Greater Boston, LearnQuest Music Academy and Raagmala.

I knew Vinod for almost two decades and he was my great friend and mentor.   He had a wide circle of friends, and could energize any party or event by his wit and humor. He helped hundreds of people in every possible way and always provided a balanced perspective.  An eternal optimist, he faced all his health issues with courage and dignity.

I, and many others, have lost someone beloved who brought joy, encouragement and good advice.  By happenstance, I was in Hyderabad during that week of October and could pay my respects at this cremation.  As I was leaving the crematory, I recollected Kahlil Gibran’s verse from The Prophet:

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Vinod Chungi was claimed by the earth on October 10th, 2007. He is survived by his wife Shubha, daughters Deepa and Divya, brother Sunil and sisters Saroj and Nirmala.

Report on memorial service held in Boston.
By Shuchita Rao

A memorial service for late Dr.Vinod Chungi was organized by members of his surviving family at Museum of FineArts, Boston on Saturday, October 27th, 2007 between 6p.m and 9p.m. About 200 friends and associates gathered to pay respects in a ceremony marked by order, beauty and serenity. A framed picture of late Dr. Chungi with white and red garland of flowers around it was placed in front of the audience near the podium. Several other framed pictures of late Dr. Chungi were displayed on tables and attendees were encouraged to write their thoughts in a memory book placed at the room’s entrance.

Deepa Danker, elder daughter of late Dr. Chungi opened the service with a brief introduction and recapitulation of her father’s optimistic and gregarious personality. Several prominent members of Indian community in Boston area spoke of their association with late Dr. Chungi – Ms. Sujata Shah talked about late Dr. Chungi’s interest in study of Vedanta and introduced Swami Tattvavidanandaji of Arsh Vidya Gurukulam, who then gave a healing talk that helped friends and family understand the meaning of death and the concept of sadness as suggested by Vedanta philosophy .  Shri Uday Wagle recalled late Dr. Chungi’s leadership in Bhagwad Gita study group, Shri Rajnikanth, current president of Indian Association of Greater Boston reminded the audience of  Dr. Chungi’s contributions in bringing Hindi and Marathi dramas and plays to New England area and shared that late Dr. Chungi was to be sworn in as President of IAGB in mid-October this year. Shri Pradeep Shukla of Learnquest Academy of Music remembered late Dr. Chungi’s support in the planning and organization of Learnquest musical conferences followed by Mrs. Datar’s reading of a Marathi poem written by a friend of  late Dr. Chungi’s mother.  Shri Prakash Kulkarni of New Jersey read a letter in Marathi, written by Shri Vikas Sandhu of Mumbai, India, a close friend of late Dr. Chungi, translating for the benefit of non-Marathi speakers in the audience, a humorous account of late Dr. Chungi’s days in Wisconsin as a graduate student in Chemistry. A musical rendering of a sanskrit shloka written by Shri Sankaracharya “Chidananda roopah shivoham shivoham” followed and had many members  of the audience joining in the singing of the chant.

Divya Chungi, the younger daughter of late Dr. Vinod Chungi concluded the ceremony by offering thanks to friends and family for attending the memorial service. Local friends from the Boston s well as those who were visiting from New Jersey, Long Island and Chicago, offered personal condolences to surviving members of the Chungi family. 

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