Srinivasan Raghavan

Ramya Gomatam Thatha was born on November 14th, 1938

Ramya Gomatam Married Vanaja Raghavan

Ramya Gomatam First born child Geetha was born

Rishi Gomatam 2nd child Rangesh was born

Beena ram I searched thru my old Albums this week and found this precious picture. Mama, Mami and myself with Mama’s car in the background. Yes the picture is old and not so clear . But lots of memories. I have had the opportunity to stay at Geetha’s place many times during our college days as well as when I was working in Bangalore. I was very fortunate to have enjoyed Mama and Mami’s hospitality . Mama has taken us on long drives (yes ...in the car in the picture) thru Bangalore City and have stopped for chats and ice creams many times . His enthusiasm was always infectious.

Geetha Gomatam Appa cherished his first born grandson Rishi...played with him non stop

Ramya Gomatam First granddaughter Ramya was born. Ramya loved Thatha and wouldn't let anyone else hold her. If anyone tried, she would cry until she was back in Thatha's arms.

Geetha Gomatam Bonding with his son in Dallas

Hemanth Kadam Uncle and Aunty at my father's Sathabhishekam in Houston (2009). He was a joy at every occasion. Always ready to jump in and lend a hand ...in this case quite literally!! I will miss his discourses on many subjects. A man for all seasons. He will be sorely missed

Sampath Gomatam we had a wonderful Alaska cruise in Aug 2010 with Raghavan mama, mami, padma patti, aruna's parents and aruna's mama/mami - they were always to be found in the spot with the best views playing cards, having tea or chatting or all of it.

Kiran Gomatam My favorite memories growing up have always been our family get-togethers and spending time with Raghavan Thatha who was always socializing with the youngsters and pulling my leg constantly :-) ! And every year for my birthday, Raghavan Thatha would email me (the only birthday email I get haha) and I always eagerly awaited them. Just a couple weeks ago, Raghavan Thatha emailed me for my 20th birthday, and I’m so glad I was able to communicate with him one last time.

Kirthi Gomatam I remember watching Raghavan Thatha play cards during family get togethers. He was always so full of life and jest, and a pivotal part of family memories. Thatha had the best stories and jokes; I enjoyed hearing about his travels and am grateful we got to spend time in Houston and on trips to Colorado and Alaska together. I loved receiving his formal birthday emails every year, and will always be inspired by his incredible memory. I'll miss him so much <3

Bhanu Gomatam Innumerable memories to sift through but the one that stands out is from 2012 - we had gathered together to celebrate Rishi's graduation in Denver, Colorado. Between the many contentious card games, board games, skits by kids, arattai arangams, and various other activities, we also managed a family cook-off splitting up into teams and preparing from assigned recipes. Raghavan mama was (along with the other "seniors") assigned to the judges team. He really got into the role, kept tabs (ha ha) on some of the other judges and then took on the part of announcing the winners (with his sidekick Mohana). He was generous with his praise of all the participants and organizers and collated and delivered an opinion from each of the judges all the while entertaining us with his awesome sense of humor! For his 80th birthday gathering in CA (Nov 10, 2018), what Raghavan mama asked for and got was for all of us to clap 80 times. I will never forget the pride and joy on his face as the claps were counted out. His childlike enthusiasm always endeared him to kids of all ages. He will definitely be missed.

Ramya Gomatam Thatha with his grandkids (some honorary :)) celebrating on 4th of July.

Chetan Gomatam I have many fond memories of Raghavan Thatha and Vanaja Patti and was deeply shocked and saddened when I heard the news of Raghavan Thatha's passing. From Vanaja Patti getting a brain freeze in Jamba Juice to Raghavan Thatha teaching me how to play Rummy, I have always had a lot of fun with both of them and felt a lot of love from them, as if I was their own grandkid. From countless family get-togethers when I was young to my Houston trip in 2010 and this more recent memory at my Thatha's 80th birthday celebrations in India, Raghavan Thatha was always there with a quick joke, a funny story, or a teaching moment. He was larger than life and always connected with everyone he met. He could talk to anyone about anything and was one of the most selfless people I know. I could talk to him about anything from politics to the Golden State Warriors and sports in general. I'm very grateful for the time I was able to spend with him. I'll always remember him and the impact he had on my life. He will be greatly missed. My condolences go to Vanaja Patti, Geetha Periamma and Raja Periappa, Rishi and Ramya, Rangesh Mama and Namita Mami, and Viraaj and Anisha. He will live on through them and through everyone he touched during his incredible life.

Bala Viswanath During one of the Vishnu Sahasranamam Satsang.

Meenakshi Jayant Love this picture of my 2 dads on the same chair. We were so blessed to have you as part of all the celebrations for Niraj’s wedding.

Sampath Gomatam Raghavan mama at Saroja Athai's 80th birthday celebration -- he would not miss it even though he was recovering from back and neck problems.

Asha Vaidya Uncle's 80th Birthday - November 14, 2018

Ramya Gomatam Thatha and I at his very special 80th birthday celebration in Houston, Texas. Rishi and I MC'ed the event and had plenty of roasts prepared for our dear Thatha. It was a very cold night but everyone bundled up and still came out to celebrate our favorite guy! This party kicked off the celebrations before we all got on a 7 day family cruise with the entire Raghavan family.

Sanjana Sundar Had a wonderful time celebrating thatha and patti

Ramya Gomatam Thatha crushing the mini golf course on our family cruise after his 80th birthday celebrations. He was very competitive and wouldn't let Patti beat him, of course.

Bala Viswanath Thatha and Rajeev in Austin. Raghavan thatha was very close to Rajeev.

Geetha Gomatam Very proud of the youngest Chemical Engineer in the family

Meenakshi Jayant Raghavan thatha to my kids !

Asha Vaidya Shekhar's 60th Birthday Sai Baba Temple - Sugar Land, Texas

Meenakshi Jayant One of my favorite things was to play card games with you and always fail miserably in trying to shuffle the cards ! It would annoy you so much. I will really really miss those precious scolding 😀

Asha Vaidya Kalpana's Virtual Graduation from UT Sugar Land, Texas

Ramya Gomatam Quarantine style baby shower to welcome his adorable great grand-niece, Mithila (pictured in Koki's stomach).

Meenakshi Jayant So blessed that you could attend Nishant & Niraj’s poonal in 2006 !

Sanjana Sundar Social distancing while visiting with Mithila <3

Asha Vaidya Fredericksburg, Texas Playing cards. August 28, 2020

Asha Vaidya Fredericksburg , Texas August 29, 2020 National Museum of the Pacific War in Texas and Becker Vineyards

Asha Vaidya Uncle and Dad on the front porch in Fredericksburg- solving the world problems or creating more - we were never sure.

Meenakshi Jayant First time celebrating Onam in 2020 - mainly to make Palghat food for Raghavan mama ! Mama got his share of Olan, Avial, Erissery and all the other fixings :)

Asha Vaidya Arul's 60th Birthday Party Clear Lake House

Meenakshi Jayant Miss you mama ! Had so much fun with you and Mami on my last birthday.

Asha Vaidya Meenakshi's Birthday

Asha Vaidya Uncle with the girls and Poonam and Uncle having an entertaining conversation on his birthday. Austin, Texas - Balaji's house

Sujatha Krishnaswamy Our latest memories of Raghavan mama on amma's 80th birthday Sudharshana homam @ Austin. We miss him a lot !

Ramya Gomatam Celebrating Raj's 60th birthday in Houston in a very scaled down capacity. Had a small pooja at the temple and hired a photographer to capture some lovely family photos.

Praneeth Srivanth With vivid memories of his gigantic stature, inimitable voice, and his innumerable stories, jokes and anecdotes that persist to haunt me, it is hard to believe that he is no more be with us. I have tried to articulate a few dimensions of Mama's personality - his humorous comments, jokes, stories, and a bunch of hilarious incidents that have occured over the years. It's a long read (5 pages long!) but I can vouch that you will have fun! A snippet from the pdf: His epic ‘Kadugu kadhai’, one-liners such as ‘It adhu but aanal what enna say sol’, ‘O onnara dooara dakkara dan… Kallan kullan twenty one Yaa oo may pluck’, the immortal Sardarji joke (Taxi drivers in Delhi do not cheat!), and a particular comical bhajanai song ‘Seetharam seetharam’ (that was so funny that anyone who listens to it would start rolling on the floor with laughter), the list goes on – these are all nothing but ‘Thambi Mama's Patented entities’ . Among his patented stories for younger kids, the Mip Vip Pip story is worth mention as it has been enthralling listeners across generations, right from Sridhar mama to Viraaj & Aneesha.

Bala Viswanath Raghava Mama as we used to lovingly call him will always be remembered for his gregarious and fun loving nature. He had the unique ability to interact with people of all age groups and leave a lasting impression. His enthusiasm for all sports especially cricket was truly remarkable. We will miss him a lot. May his soul Rest In Peace.

Meenakshi Jayant Made this in your honor mama, added extra sugar and ghee especially for you 😀

Rangesh Raghavan My Thatha – By Anisha Raghavan Thatha was more than a grandparent to me, he was my best Thatha. He was there when we were born, he was there at all the birthday parties and awards of ours. I would say that I had the best Thatha in the world and I still do. I loved him with all my heart. Whomever Thatha touched or talked to, they instantly became friends. He was the head and heart of this family. Thatha told us himself that when he passed away, we should not be sad, but instead celebrate his life. That is why I am going to be talking about his life. Firstly, he would tell really good jokes and amazing bedtime stories. Secondly, he could make anybody laugh. Lastly, I had always loved poking him on the belly. I will really miss playing and hanging out with my favorite Thatha.

Rangesh Raghavan My Thatha - by Viraaj Raghavan It all started when I was a little boy. He came when we were 1 day old. he played with me and held me and then moved in with us. He loved to play with my sister & I when we were 6 months old. we would do fun things like he would swing us by our legs in the air. He would take us to the park, tell us stories every night. He left to Houston when we were moving to India and then he came to Bangalore. We had sleep overs and we would always play card games and eat ice cream. We loved thatha and whoever he made a conversation with immediately became friends forever with him. He spread smiles and laughter with his presence – he was the positive being of his generation because he was so optimistic about everything – he could not talk negatively about anything . But then disaster struck. He got some symptoms and we tested him and the results came back positive for Covid. We got him to the hospital and gave him maximum care with Patti. He passed away in his sleep at two o clock on 5/4. We were shocked as we thought he had recovered but he was a heart patient so it weakened him and he died 🙁 we are sad sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad