I have great memories of my dear friend Jayyu which goes back to the 1960s from our school days in Saraswathi Vidyalaya (SV). Our families have known each other even longer with Jayyu's grandfather being one of the earliest South Indian residents of Nagpur who made Mama Road famous. In the evenings, after school and after cricket practice, Jayyu and other friends of our age group used to get together - on street corners near the school, or in the cricket ground, to talk about everything under the Sun but usually, the conversation turned to cricket which was his passion. At times, the conversations were dominated by international or national events such as President Kennedy's assassination and Pandit Nehru's passing away. Boxer Mohammad Ali's (he was known as Cassius Clay then) exploits in the ring and colorful personality fascinated us. The news about these events traveled slowly in those days giving rise to speculations in our meetings as to what was going on.
Those were the glory days for cricket in SV. In 1964 we won the Nagpur school tournament with Jayyu making valuable contributions to the team victories. He always represented SV well as an ambassador and alumnus.
I left Nagpur after my first year at the Institute of Science but used to keep in touch with him, meeting him whenever I visited Nagpur. My father would mention his inquires of me. He had a cheerful and positive outlook which never changed over the years. I will cherish my memories of him as a fine cricketer, unwavering in his willingness to help anyone in need, devoted to his family, with outstanding service to the community and the school. in his passing away, the Nagpur community has lost one of its pillars. Om Shanthi. May his soul attain Moksha.