Rajeev Motwani

The following is from SAJAforum, the newsy SAJA blog - new South Asian stuff daily:
http://www.sajaforum.org

If you read a statement by Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google that read, "Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it," you are likely to think Motwani was a wise old man.

Turns out Motwani, a Stanford professor and one of the earliest influencers and advisers to Google and Paypal - and who died on Friday - was wise, but only 45.

Read all about Motwani, including a tribute from Brin and leading blogger and SAJA co-founder Om Malik, at http://www.sajaforum.org/2009/06/obit-rajeev-motwani.html

You will also find links to papers Motwani (an IIT and UC Berkeley grad) co-wrote with the two Google boys in early 1998 that set them on the path to fame and fortune.

Please post your comments there.

Prof. Sree Sreenivasan | sree@sree.net
Dean of Student Affairs, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
http://www.sree.net | http://www.sreetips.com
Twitter: @sreenet - http://twitter.com/sreenet

Gopal Raju is no more

Gopal Raju, Editor and Publisher of News-India Times, died in New York on Thursday.
He was 80.

Raju was the Founder-Editor of India Abroad and the India Abroad News Service, predecessor of Indo-Asian News Service.

IANS report:
New York, April 10 (IANS) Gopal Raju, the pioneer of ethnic Indian media in the United States, and founder of the well known India Abroad newspaper as well as IANS, died here early Thursday after a brief illness. He was 80.
A bachelor, Raju died of complications arising from a sudden bout of jaundice.
The soft-spoken shy publisher, who became an institution in the South Asian community in the US, was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his contributions to India and its diasporas by then president A.P.J.Abdul Kalam in 2007.
Till his death, he was editor and publisher of the New York-based News-India Times, Desi Talk and Gujarat Times.
The Bangalore-born Raju was also the founder of the Indian American Centre for Political Awareness (IACPA), a well-known non-profit organisation in Washington that sought to empower Indian Americans, especially the younger generation, and helped create a distinct Indian voice on Capitol Hill.

A SAJA FORUM message says: We have received the following update from VEENA MERCHANT, long-time colleague and friend:

There has been an outpouring of grief and heartfelt words of sympathy at the passing away of Gopal Raju. We are deeply touched by these sentiments and are overwhelmed by the kind of feelings that he generated, not just in the community but all those who came into contact with him. A lot of people wanted to send flowers for his funeral. In keeping with Mr. Raju's wishes of keeping his funeral purely private and minimalistic, we request mourners to, instead, send a contribution in the name of "Indian American Foundation" - the money
will be utilized to fund the causes that Mr Raju held dear.
Indian American Foundation
43 W. 24th St Suite 8b
New York, NY 10010