Girish Chandra

Our dear Girish Chandra, aged 73, left us on 13 July 2023 in Amarillo, Texas, USA surrounded by family, after a brave battle with cancer. He is survived by Rita, his beloved life partner and soulmate; his children Palika & Rahul Chandra, Malavika & Aniket Joshi; his brothers and sisters: Avinash Chandra, Meera & Vivek Khare, Poonam & Balbir Singh, and Purnima & Rakesh Bahadur; Shashi Datta; Jayashree & Deepak Joshi; and all his beloved cousins, nieces, nephews and grandchildren. Mihir and Nandita carry forward the incessant twinkle in their grandfather’s eye.

Born in Allahabad, India, on 18 December 1949 to Savitri and Justice Dhruv Bihari Lal, Girish had a keen scientific mind, wanting to understand how things work, be it his mother’s sewing machine or his beloved blue Ambassador car. After completing postgraduate education in physics and a degree in law, from Allahabad University, he began a career spanning over three decades with the Indian Railways. Among his many satisfying achievements was the accomplishment, along with his dedicated team, of the enormous task of digitizing the Indian railways, one of the world’s largest railway networks.  He retired as Additional Member (Traffic), Railway Board, in 2009, and finally settled down in Gurugram, India.

Girish gave his full presence, time and attention to everyone in his life, an immeasurable and cherished gift. Every kid in the family sitting for the dreaded board exams remembers him as their strict, self-designated mathematics teacher.

Girish had a great love for life and made friends easily, always ready with a beaming smile and tongue-in-cheek repartee. He was immensely fond of all his friends, colleagues and extended family. Throughout his life he touched many and built strong relationships that have lasted the test of time.

Girish’s loss is felt by many who will use his example to resume living with the same love and cheer that he brought into every room he entered.

A funeral ceremony and cremation will be held at 2 PM on 17 July 2023 at 8310 S. Coulter, Amarillo.