A cheerful and humble person who would always exchange pleasantries whenever I met him.

-Sunil Harigopal

i  am deeply sorry to learn about  the passing away of your dad, i  read  your  tribute  and  i am truly  envious of  the relationship you  had  with your dad, i  think  the meaning of  life lies is in deep meaningful relationship  and your recollection has certainly forced me to examine my relationship with my dad  and kids.  I  only had  2 or  3  interactions with  your dad and i was struck by  his simplicity ,kindness and humor. I  had the privilege of meeting your dad on my recent trip and was surprised by his energy despite having the recent surgery. He told me of his daily schedule and i was amazed how he was still contributing to society. I will always remember how content he was and how proud he was of your many accomplishments.The sign of greatness is to live a life without bitterness and trappings of ego and i hope we can all strive for these traits that he embodied.Lastly i am glad that me,geeth and the kids received his blessings before we left Bangalore and i hope you can take solace from the fact that he still lives among us in spirit .

Sincerely,
Ravi

Periappa's passing away brought back a flood of memories for me. Memories of visiting him and playing with my cousins in Nungambakkam, memories of how he would stand around the dinner table and keep feeding us till we were stuffed to the gills (his favorite expression to us kids was “eat more kari"), memories of him loving to entertain friends and family, memories of the strong work ethic he had and most importantly memories of him doing whatever it took so as to bestow the best for his family. May his soul rest in peace.

Anand

AIR MARSHAL P. M. SUNDARAM: A Tribute  

(Written during a flight to India to visit him for the last time)

Chandru Sundaram

My father was not only a Dad, but a friend, confidant, guide & mentor. Over the years I do not think I have spoken to any one more than him. Our relationship was very unique and difficult to describe accurately.After I left home for college speaking long distance was not easy. I would have to be called to a common phone. It was therefore post cards & inland letters every week or sometimes every other day. When I moved to England and then to USA I started speaking to him more frequently than when I was in college. Over the last almost 10 years it became a daily routine on my cell phone while driving to work. We would talk about the events of the previous day and the plans for the next. I always had the best Bluetooth headset or speaker phone that was used more than any other phone I owned.

During the last few years he had become email savvy. All interesting email was forwarded to him. He was always proud of any of my work however insignificant. I will soon be 50 years old but continued to get great satisfaction when I sent a complimentary email to him whether it was a grateful patient, a colleague or mentor. Every time he would say that he was proud, I would love it. It would also want me to send another such email.

His personality was always upbeat, cheerful & witty. He would clearly outshine any other speaker at an event. We recently had a Bharathanatyam Arangetram of my daughter Amitha. We had my father to address the gathering for 5 minutes with a video recording. That talk continues to be the highlight and receives complimentary remarks when we meet friends who were in the audience. His recent illness had physically been rough on him but his spirit continued to be upbeat. I am sure a lot of others must have experienced his personality -  Air force, Jalvayuvihar, Bangalore physicians and Indecomm Global services.

His organization was meticulous. If there was a job to be done – just tell him & it will be done without doubt. His devotion to his family was even more paramount. He was always thinking of us. When we called from the US, he would  know exactly what the time of the day it was in the USA including day light savings. When we were on vacation he would know where we were each day. During our recent trip to Delhi, Agra & Jaipur he would call twice daily and speak to us on the driver's cell phone since our cell phones did not work in India. For me he set the standard for commitment to his children and grandchildren no matter how old they were. He continued to work for us, acquiring property and taking care of them until the end . Even during the last few weeks he was busy renting out our apartments. I will not detail all the jobs he has recently done for us- there were many.

Mother lived through the ups & downs with him for over 50 years. The last few years have been very tiring for both of them, but she has never complained once about taking care of him after surgery after surgery. We all salute my mother for her unwavering help and support. His sister was always his baby sister whom he continued to adore. His brother Prof. PS Mani Sundaram lives in Chennai and was always around when he was required.

The commandant, officers and staff at the Command Hospital Air Force have been extraordinary. I will not name them for fear of missing any one. Every specialist, nurse and other staff have treated him with utmost care and respect and we will never forget it.

I have always regretted living abroad and not being in Bangalore for him, but not once did he support that notion. Not once did he or mother make us feel guilty of being abroad. He did not have his sons with him but he had several friends who were like his sons and daughters. Anand & Nimmi have been there when me & my brother could not. Even during this illness they have been shuttling between hospital to hospital and home. Thanks to Anand & others in Indecomm Global, Dad had an “ office” that he could travel to on most days. That gave him a sense of purpose and getting out of home for a few hours made him feel better. Dad would look forward to meeting or speaking to Humayun every week.

Over the last several years I have visited India almost every year. He accompanied me when I was invited as visiting faculty at Tata Memorial Hospital, PGI Chandigarh and Madras Medical College. He was there to listen to my talks and watch my live surgeries. These are memories that will last my lifetime. My father in law Brigadier Govindaraj also was with us when we visited Chandigarh. He was like a younger brother to Dad and I will always be grateful to him. l used to speak at the Bangalore Urologic Society meeting primarily so that Dad could be in the audience. It gave him great pride when he noticed similarity between himself and me. Of course I could or would not rise up to his standard.

I obviously would be delighted for him to live as long as me but that would be being selfish so that I could enjoy his company. Memories of his interaction with me would last me a life time. When I look around me at others it becomes obvious that his devotion to his children and their families was very unique.

In the Air Force, when we were growing up money was just adequate! This resulted in reconditioned batteries and retreaded tyres for the car and many such money saving measures. However not once did me and my brother feel that we did not get what we wanted. Even in medical college, I always had left over money from my about Rs 300 per month for all expenses in the hostel. That training has stood me in good stead for the decades since then. The lack of opulence, was more than compensated by his constant desire to be the best in his career. His career was very unique and multifaceted. During various stages of his career and after he retired he has played different roles but with the same quest for excellence: physician, air force officer, researcher, commandant, professor and a three star general; father, husband and grandfather.

Dad was always involved with me and my brother’s lives. The Air Force hours allowed him to be home to receive us from school. We would travel to school from Indiranagar to Kendriya Vidhyalaya ASC by bicycle. That would be certainly dangerous today!

Air Force

Like some of you Dad spent most of his life in the air force. Some of you may be unaware of his career since he retired about 20 years ago. Apart from the routine air force career that most air force officers experience, there were a few unique events that I remember and treasure. In Bangalore he commanded the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (the only one of its kind in India), Command Hospital Air Force (the largest teaching hospital in the Indian Air Force) & and a defence research and development unit called Aero Bio Engineering Unit, Bangalore. In Delhi he served and retired as the Director General of Medical Services (Air Force).

He was a pall bearer during the funeral procession of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi since he was one of the senior most Air Marshals in the Air Force. He was on the gun carriage that carried the prime minister in procession through New Delhi. This was an important national event that is well remembered since the young prime minister was tragically assasinated by a terrorist from Sri Lanka during an election meeting.

Transport of Chief Minister to the USA

When he was at IAM he was responsible for the emergency air transport of MGR from a then new Apollo hospital to New York City on a specially equipped Air India 707 Boeing aircraft. It was on the front pages of the newspapers in Madras since the Chief Minister MGR was critically ill after a stroke, with renal failure. I was house surgeon in Madras when he appeared unannounced saying that he was on a secret mission for MGR. This was authorized by prime minister Indira Gandhi whose Congress party was aligned with ADMK . When MGR returned a year later I attended a felicitation ceremony where all the doctors who worked for his care were honoured. That was the only political ceremony that I attended and it was very interesting.

Command Hospital Air Force

I was a surgeon trainee at CHAF in 1985-1988. Over a year after I joined, Dad was unexpectedly posted to CHAF as commandant. I remember watching the farewell to the previous commandant AVM Vasudevan, from the surgery waiting area, overlooking the commandant office. The cath lab was not built in those days.

Another period that was different was the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force from Srilanka. Soldiers would be triaged in Srilanka & patients who could not be transferred were air lifted to CHAF. As a surgical trainee, treating these patients was a very new & interesting experience. I also learnt first-hand of the personal tragedies that the injuries could mean to the soldiers. Dad would supervise all the activities during this period. I even got to see the hospital train that was on its way to Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

During his years at CHAF when I was also there, I would ensure that I was not seen with him in the hospital and would consciously avoid him. He found it very interesting but remained proud of me though I was only a trainee !! He would joke that I was ashamed of him in public!

When he was in Western Air Command in New Delhi there are two events that I fondly remember

Indo Soviet Space Flight.

Dad was the Indian Crew Physician and was involved with the entire mission from the medical standpoint from the selection of Rakesh Sharma & Ravish Malhotra to the Indian presence during the flight . He made several trips to Moscow and Star City where the cosmonauts were trained. He would bring back with him several Russian  gifts and would shop at the Beriozka stores. The flight itself was a national event. Dad was at the Baikonur facility to receive Rakesh Sharma. He was on live national TV, which was itself very unusual at that time since we had only Doordarshan. The emblem for this event hangs in my study at home.

AVSM and PVSM

I was senior medical student when he was awarded the AVSM as a Group Captain in 1982. Security was not what it is today. Dad got me a press pass after we got to Rashtrapathi Bhawan, the presidential palace. I had an old SLR camera with a borrowed flash. However I had color film which was uncommon and had to be imported. I stood with all the other press photographers and took several color photographs of the event since the official photographers had only black & White film. Meeting the prime minister India Gandhi was very impressive. I missed his PVSM award ceremony in 1992 since I was in the USA by then.

Dad had lived in the USA many years before both of us. In 1968 he spent almost a year in the USA for training in Aviation Medicine. When he returned I remember the huge collection of things he had brought for all of us from an Osterizer mixi to an 8mm film camera and projector.

Life after retiring from the Air Force

REQUEST FOR MEMORIES, REFLECTIONS and TRIBUTES

 FOR AIR MARSHAL SUNDARAM

Please Email me at

sundaramc10@gmail.com