Some members of the Indian Consulate 1964-1967
Mr. S. K. Roy: Consul General of India. He was a former Major in the Indian army. When he was transferred back to India, Chinmoy wrote a poem for him and recited it at the Consul General’s farewell party. He was known as a warm and compassionate official. His wife’s name was Moina. He passed away in Delhi in 1993.Dr. S. Gupta: Consul General of India. Dr. Gupta succeeded S. K. Roy. He was very well educated, with a Ph.D. from Oxford University. Before he joined the Indian Foreign Service, he was Professor of History at Allahabad University.
Mr. Lakhan L. Mehrotra: Consul (Passport and Visa). A scholar of ancient history, a linguist and a poet, Mr. Mehrotra was appointed lecturer at Allahabad University in the Department of Indian History. He became a member of the Indian Foreign Service in 1958. As Director of the Northern Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, he was the main advisor to the Dalai Lama when the latter sought refuge in India. He was later appointed Chargé d’Affaires of the Indian Embassy in Beijing, during which time he successfully negotiated for normalisation of India’s relations with China. From 1962-66 he served as Consul of India in New York with interim assignments as Chargé d’Affaires of India in Mexico and Cuba. In 1966 he was transferred from New York to Moscow as First Secretary. His distinguished career later included posts as Ambassador of India to Argentina and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. He then became Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. He is now retired and lives with his wife, Sheela, in India. Since meeting him again in 1977, when Mr. Mehrotra was Consul General of India in San Francisco, Sri Chinmoy has maintained a very close friendship with him. Sri Chinmoy visited him at his official residence in Sri Lanka in 1989 and they have met frequently in New York. The two correspond and exchange their literary works regularly.
Mr. P. A. Nazareth: Consul (Passport and Visa). In 1966, Mr. Nazareth succeeded Mr. Mehrotra. Mr. Nazareth has since served the Indian Government in many countries. In March 1987, he and his wife were special guests at a programme dedicated to India held at the United Nations in New York. This was sponsored by Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations. Sri Chinmoy met him again in Cairo in 1989 when Mr. Nazareth was serving as Ambassador of India to Egypt. He then became the Indian Ambassador to Mexico. His wife’s name is Isabel and he has a son, Anand, and a daughter, Pramila. Mr. Nazareth is now retired and living in India.
Mr. Bhalla: Consul (Administration).
Mr. Nirmaljit Singh: Consul (Information). He later died in a car accident.
Mr. Dhawan: Attaché (Administration). A strict disciplinarian and a somewhat feared figure at the Consulate, Mr. Dhawan was later transferred back to India.
The following twelve staff members all worked in the same office of the Passport and Visa Section as Sri Chinmoy during the years 1964-1967:
Mr. C. G. K. Menon: Section Officer. He now works for American Express in Fort Lauderdale.
Mr. Anil K. Mukherjee: Section Officer under Mr. Mehrotra. He was later transferred back to Delhi.
Mr. Krishan Chandra: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section. He later succeeded Mr. Mukherjee as Section Officer. Sri Chinmoy saw him again in Toronto in 1984.
Mr. N. C. Acharya: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section. Sri Chinmoy gave the name Bela to his daughter. In 1989 Sri Chinmoy lifted him at the Penta Hotel in Manhattan. He now lives part of the time in India and part of the time in the USA. He trained most of the members of the Passport and Visa Section.
Mr. B. Ramamoorthy: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section. He resigned in June 1966 to take up a lectureship in Economics at Corning Community College. He was subsequently Assistant Professor of Economics at Johnson State College in Vermont and Commonwealth University in Virginia. He has maintained an extremely close connection with Sri Chinmoy over the years. He is presently a business consultant and lives in Elmhurst with his wife, Lakshmi, and two sons, Madhu and Raghu.
Mr. Krishan Dhanda: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section. He now lives in New Jersey.
Rev. Vincent Jovial: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section. A Gujarati and a Christian priest.
Mr. Takore: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section.
Mr. Kapoor: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section.
Miss Kailash Narang: Assistant in the Passport and Visa Section.
Mrs. Carol Coutinhoe: Secretary.
Miss Vijaya Ramaswamy: Junior clerk. After many years, she visited Sri Chinmoy at his home to seek blessings for her child.
Other staff members:
Mr. Shivaram Trichur: Clerk (Accounts). Shivaram worked on the 4th floor of India House. He resigned in August 1964. He saw Sri Chinmoy again in 1970 at York University when he attended one of Sri Chinmoy’s lectures. He presently runs an Indian restaurant, Annapurna, in Toronto with his wife, Devavira, and is the leader of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Toronto. He visits Sri Chinmoy every few weeks and is extremely close to him.
Mr. Ramachandran Sastri: Shivaram’s brother. He worked as a clerk in the Consulate. He and his mother came to see Sri Chinmoy in New York in 1990 and Sri Chinmoy lifted them.
Mr. B. R. Gupta: Caretaker, India House. He gave Sri Chinmoy his first camera. He passed away in 1993.
Mr. Sher Singh: Security guard, India House. He sold Sri Chinmoy his first harmonium for $7. He was formerly a security officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs in India, but after his three years of service in New York were completed, he resigned from the government. He now works as a supervisor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and lives in Queens.
Ms. Mehru Jesia: Receptionist. She later married B. R. Gupta. She now lives in Queens. She came to see Sri Chinmoy at his tennis court when Mr. Mehrotra visited in 1991.
Mr. Ben Macwan: Assistant (Administration). He came to Sri Chinmoy’s 25th Anniversary function in Manhattan in 1989. He passed away in 1992.
Mr. Master: Librarian. He resigned in 1967 to work at a university library.
Mr. Ananda Mohan: Assistant to Consul (Information Section). He was also a journalist. He wrote a biography of Indira Gandhi. He and Sri Chinmoy have met many times over the intervening years.
Mr. Iqbal Singh: Security guard.
Mr. Ashok Choksi: Accounts Section. He prepared Sri Chinmoy’s paychecks.
Mr. C. R. Seshu: Assistant Director (Commercial Section). Now he is Professor of Economics at SUNY, New Paltz, NY. His wife’s name is Rani. He has two sons, Ramana and Murali. He came to see Sri Chinmoy at his tennis court in 1990 with Ramachandran Sastri, and Sri Chinmoy lifted him.
Mr. Balbir Singh Sahni: Assistant Director (Commercial Section). He later married Jean, who was secretary to Consul General S. K. Roy. Now he is Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Programmes at Sir George Williams University in Montreal.
Mr. P. Ramanathan: Secretary to the Consul General. Sri Chinmoy met him again in 1994. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.
Mr. B. K. Sampath: Assistant (Administration). He now lives in Queens.
Mr. Hanu Agarwal: Accounts Section.
Mrs. Smith: Secretary
Mrs. Chipper: Secretary
Mrs. Chopra: Secretary
Miss Marjorie Johnson: Secretary
