How one man turned unimaginable loss into a life of service.
- Tania Haldar
- Oct 15, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
This is not just a story of grief. It’s the story of a man who turned tragedy into purpose—who chose compassion over despair, and in doing so, transformed thousands of lives.
A Quiet Life, A Shattering Loss
Dr. Chandrasekhar Sankurathri was living a peaceful life in Ottawa, Canada. A respected biologist with Health Canada, he shared a warm home with his wife Manjari, a kind-hearted artist, and their two children, Srikiran and Sarada.
But on June 23, 1985, everything changed. Manjari and the children boarded Air India Flight 182 to India. The plane was bombed mid-flight, killing all 329 people aboard.
In one moment, his entire family was gone.
From Sorrow, A Question: What Now?
The grief was unbearable. But instead of retreating into anger or isolation, Dr. Sankurathri asked himself:“How can I honour them?”
And then, he acted.
Building Their Legacy
In 1989, he returned to India and founded the Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation, focused on education, health care, and disaster relief.
He started a school named Sarada Vidyalayam after his daughter, where poor children receive free education, uniforms, meals, and health care—removing every barrier to learning.
In 1993, he established the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology, in his son’s name. Today, it has restored sight to over 210,000 people, offering completely free surgeries, transportation, and post-op care to those in need.
Rebuilding Lives, One Act at a Time
Dr. Sankurathri didn’t stop there.He created:
A vocational training centre for rural youth
A disaster relief program called Spandana
And is now launching a mother-child health initiative in remote villages
Love That Lives On
Now in his 80s, Dr. Sankurathri still rises before dawn and spends each day working at the school and hospital he built from grief.
He may have lost his family. But through his work, their memory lives on in every child who learns and every person who sees again.
“People say I lost everything. But I didn’t lose my purpose.”
A Legacy That Inspires
Dr. Sankurathri reminds us that from unimaginable pain can rise extraordinary love—and that one person’s choice can echo across generations.
“I am not really alone in all of this. I know that somehow, somewhere, Manjari, Srikiran and Sarada never really left me. They are with me till today in every step of the way,” Chandrasekhar concludes.
Inspired by Chandrasekhar? Share his story. Support Sankurathri Foundation and Let the world know when grief is met with grace, miracles happen.
