Sad News from UPGI : Death of Mr. P. Balasubramaniam and message from his son

P. Balasubramaniam - UNICEF JOURNEY: 1956 - 1990 ( New Delhi, Sudan, Nigeria, NYHQ)

A stalwart has gone. Mr. P. Balasubramanian, often called P Bala, he passed away at Chennai on Tuesday 23rd Match 2021 at the age of 89. The last rites were performed this morning. He leaves behind his wife Vasantha , only son and grand children. You could send your condolences to his son Dr Ramachandran at mdpicu@hotmail.com


A great legacy of hard work, dedication, commitment and compassion. Those who were helped by him, economically and professionally, are too many to count.He probably spent first 2 decades in UNICEF India and became a hall mark of a great staff both in his professional areas and staff activities. He retired from Kaduna
in 1988.

Lived a purposeful and meaning life until his last breath.
Regards

S.Ramdas
Secretary
UPGI

Response from P. Bala's son, Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran

This is Dr. Ramachandran (aka Ramesh), Mr. P. Bala's son.


Thank you all for your kind messages of condolence on the passing of my father, Mr. P. Balasubramanian (aka P. Bala) - I will pass them on to my mother. 

Dad joined UNICEF as a stenographer in the old Jorbagh office in 1956 and worked his way up. In those days he used to cycle daily to work (often 7 days a week) from our home in Karol Bagh - he eventually got a Bajaj Chetak. I used to accompany him to the office sometimes on Sundays, where I got a chance to observe firsthand his organizational skills - while he worked, I would practice typewriting on the UNICEF typewriters. He was instrumental in getting many people into the UNICEF fold. 

If I remember correctly, it was his English boss Gordon Carter who got him his first overseas post at HQ in New York, in 1976. Dad was there until 1979 and then moved to Juba (then in Sudan, now the capital of South Sudan) and next to Kaduna in Nigeria. He had a final short stint back at HQ before retiring to Madras around 1990. 

Dad used to speak very fondly about his colleagues at UNICEF, including Mr. Guhaprasadam, Mr. Carter, Mr. Shapiro, Ramnath Dore, Hansraj Narula, Mr. Dasgupta, Mr. Mulgaonkar, Sindhu Phadke, RS Brahmanand, AV Ramaswamy, Adimoolam Iyer, KG Ramachandran, V. Muthuswami, KS Raman, NK Viswanathan, PM Swamy (New York), GS Srinivasan, "Hollywood" Ramachandran and many others. He always kept in touch with various friends (and there were many, as evidenced by the phone calls I'm getting now).

Dad was generous beyond belief - whenever a parking attendant opened the car door for him, he would insist on giving Rs.20, saying we should always help the poor. Even from his ICU bed last week, he asked me to give Rs.100 to his apartment watchman who helped him into the car to the hospital and also asked me to tip the Wardboys and other helpers in the Hospital. His long term home Nurse Beulah died suddenly at the age of 34 a couple of months ago - dad was greatly affected by this. Since she was the main breadwinner, dad asked me to pay for the education of her two small children until they complete College - on the day he got admitted, he sent me a WhatsApp message asking me to confirm that I would carry out his wishes.

Dad died on March 23rd, at the age of 89. He did not suffer.


Ramesh





Dr. Bala Ramachandran, MBBS, FCCM
American Board of Pediatrics Certified in Pediatrics & Pediatric Critical Care

Head of the Accreditation Committee, IAP Intensive Care Chapter College of Pediatric Critical Care

Head of the Department of Intensive Care & Emergency Medicine
KK CHILDS Trust Hospital
12A Nageswara Road, Nungambakkam, Madras - 600 034
INDIA
Phone: +91 98401 34245