Ranga Kanadam - an eternal Team man

For the life of me, I cannot believe that I am writing an eulogy for my former team member, cricket teammate and a great human being, Ranga Kanadam. Was never on the radar, near or far.

The call that I received while browsing at a Photography & Video event, from another former team member, Rajesh was direct and to the point that Ranga was on ventilator support ! Here was a guy who played various sports (Cricket, Golf, Badminton), had a heart of Gold and was only thinking good of everyone around him, fighting a relapsed battle of liver infection. Life is but cruel. 

I recruited Ranga in the late 90s at our stint with Siemens. Here he was, a mature and confident individual who had given up a career in the States, returned home to Bangalore in order to set up and support his Brother's business and was eager to resume his IT career. There was something direct and honest about him that I didn't hesitate to rope him in. 

He was very methodical about his work and we hit it off quite well from the get go. He had the sense of calmness and method to whatever he did compared to me who was & is impatient with inaction. He would put together his proposal in writing, did not hesitate to give his opinion and could adapt to your opinion when you reasoned with him. Never was he rigid to a point. 

He stepped up to the plate when the previous IT Manager made an unannounced exit. That's when Ranga's organisational skills came to the fore. The IT support team worked very closely with the office administration/building management teams to keep the R&D division of Siemens buzzing and kicking. Those were the times of the IT meltdown, layoffs and restructuring. We had to give up facilities, consolidate them into fewer buildings/ floors and with minimal expenditure. Ranga worked day and nights, as with the rest of the team to come up with engineering drawings, plans, optimized infrastructure plans and with nearly no impact to day to day working of the 1000-strong R&D Company. 

During those days and during unexpected IT major events like the UPS deciding to pack up or the mail server database deciding to have had enough, Ranga had a clear plan in his head, mobilized the team and service providers and worked long hours, sacrificing personal time to ensure that services are back and running. He ensured that the team members were adequately fed and rested while the core restoration was ongoing.

HIs background with managing businesses came to the fore whenever we had to make capital purchases. He would be measured and meticulous in evaluation and comparisons. The then Finance lead, the late Ranjan Majumdar would trust Ranga's judgement and evaluation. Ranga would have done enough homework to show the pros and cons of a choice. That combination of individuals made several prudent financial decisions in really tough times.

There are lots and lots of anecdotes to illustrate how he built a solid core team or multi skilled specialists who could weather many a storm and even to the day, consider him as his mentor. He wasn't just a Technical Lead but someone who could offer anyone around him a patient hearing, down-to-earth counselling and find a pragmatic way forward. He used to be upset with the occasional office politics and that was mostly to do with the 'other side' not understanding the efforts & intent of his team. He was being human after all.

And he was a sportsman as well. A stylish and dour top order batsman who wasn't flamboyant but sticking to basics and a team man to the hilt. Took the game seriously, played hard and never gave up against more dominant teams. He played a sheet anchor role typically in his innings. His stylish cover drives and flicks were a treat and looked to build partnerships when the chips were down for us. Spoke much of his character on and off the Cricket field. 

One lasting memory was the last ball during the SCS Trophy semifinals when he could not stop the winning boundary off a flick towards him at fine leg. It was so close & yet so far for the Team. So much so that the late Mr.Giridhar Patankar, who was an avid sports buff himself would gently rib him for years to come about the missed opportunity.  And now Ranga has left along with Mr.Patankar and may be still having the conversation about that boundary, poetically speaking.

After I left Siemens in 2006, we continued to stay in touch. Due to mergers and acquisitions, he found himself and his team moving around and getting embedded in other Companies due to the vagaries of outsourcing. We would exchange notes about work cultures, status of our team members and he would always talk about ensuring a stable future for the team including Rajesh, Ranga, Maggie, Hari, Magesh, Pannaga & Aparna. He was more worried about them than himself and would push their case for potential roles in my Company or anyone known to us. Once they were settled, would he ease off his worries.

We would talk of his new love for Golf and that kept him going till the very end. He would be pretty diligent in his routines of playing at the KGA and other courses, would talk about his progress and struggles. He was most delighted when his daughter, Aditi picked up the sport and would speak of them playing. Golf gave him a lot of calm and a purpose, particularly during the times when he took professional timeouts.

He never mellowed down all through the times that I have known him. He was forever calm and would see through pointlessness at large. Would talk at length about his inner family of his wife, Vidya & Aditi and his extended close knit family. And about how he decided to move homes to be close to his daughter's College to avoid her spending an eternity in Bangalore traffic. We would meet up occasionally during Cricket team get togethers or some event of Siemens alumni.  He had hardly changed.

"Mathe, yen samachara" (so, what's up?)  would be his standard opening remark ! He remembered Birthdays and would not text. Instead, he would make it a point to call and wish. Would recognize the time of day, make it brief during working hours and say, we will catch up later. 

There are lots to reminisce about Ranga and his achievements. His fighting spirit was seen even during his last hospitilzation when he told his Family to sign consent papers for various procedures, remained alert to recover as much as he could. Never gave up till his infections took over. He literally was someone who could not hurt a fly, worried about everyone else around him, rarely got into a scrape with anyone and has left behind a legacy worth following.

Ranga, we will miss you a lot. I was fortunate enough to work with you, know you as a friend and fellow sportsmate. Your wicket is not the one that we wanted to see it fall ! Farewell, my friend ! 

"Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation."

-Rumi