Ramesh Venkataraman bid the final goodbye

[Guest guest]

Mr. Ramesh Venkataraman passed away on Saturday evening due to

internal hemorrhage. He was suffering from multiple illnesses. His

body was cremated on Sunday at 11 a.m in Delhi .

A profound grief engulfed me when I heard late on Saturday that

Ramesh Venkataraman bid the final goodbye. Memories of my association

with him over the last quarter of a century flitted through my mind

and enveloped the anguish I felt with admiration for several of his

qualities.

When I first met Ramesh, he patiently explained in detail the impact

of haemophilia, especially on kids, and demonstrated his steely

resolve not to let it affect his lifestyle. After a considerable

hiatus, our interactions became more frequent because of our common

interest – mitigating the adverse impact of HIV and AIDS.

I recall what an excellent job he did of news reading for

Doordarshan, where he was a familiar face for a long time. He

established himself as the Delhi focal point of interaction for

several areas of social communication and HIV related issues and

retained this position for several years.

His infectious and provocative energy and dynamism was evident in

everything he did – from advocating his pet projects in HIV,

documentaries or seminars, setting up an NGO, to seeking out every

platform to highlight the needs and rights of the infected and

affected people. He put his entire might into every issue he took up

using his strengths – training his public relations skill and an

extensive network of contacts.

I admired Ramesh's ability to articulate his thoughts so evocatively –

which was evident in his advocacy in favour of ART and medical care

for people living with HIV. His efforts were valuable inputs for the

decision makers of our national programme.

Ramesh's fighting spirit with which he grappled the myriad problems

in his life helped him adopt a positive outlook in most of his

battles. The devoted support of his mother and unquestionable backing

from his wife Mona were his main strengths. This was of course

augmented by the wonderful support he was able to garner from

relatives and friends. Despite being beset with more than the usual

obstacles and adversities, Ramesh did not let them dampen his spirit

and enthusiasm for long and bounced back time and again to present a

public face that was such an authentic reflection of his youthful

determination. This continued till his last moments.

I cherish the moments spent with Ramesh and share the anguish of his

mother, wife and friends.

Tom Philip

e-mail: <tomphilip68@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear All

It is really a sad moment for all of us and I feel that it is going to be a gap

in maintaining the HIV responses at multiple levels.

My condolences and prayers.

I could associate with Remesh in two occasions - during National GIPA strategy

development and HIV mainstreaming initiatives in OXFAM.

He was a visionary and tried to bridge the gaps between the programme managers

(with in the country and outside the country) and the community members.

He made himself as an example for professional excellence blended with human

touch and community feeling.

We all are going to miss Ramesh, but his contributions will remain and will be

recognized for ever.

Once again my prayers

Satheesh

Kerala

e-mail: <somasatheesh@...>