Rajbhushan Rao Kairam

Rajbhushan Rao (“Raj”) Kairam was born on September 2, 1941 in the village of Mulaparru in Andhra Pradesh, India. He was the eldest of the seven children of Ramachandra Rao Kairam and Ramayanna  Chenna. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Bala Kairam, son Jayant Kairam, his daughters in law, Dr. Neeraja Kairam and Loni Cortez Russell, and four grandchildren, Arin, Devin, Elina and  Meena. His eldest son, Dr. Hemant Kairam, is deceased.

As a young man and throughout his life, Raj was known for his intellect, curiosity, sense of humor, and love of sweets. Raj was close to all his siblings, together they lived in “the big house” in Bhimvaram, India, and spent school holidays playing in the rice paddies and coconut trees near their grandparents’ house. As the oldest, Raj helped his brothers and sisters pursue various academic goals in medicine, architecture and other professions throughout his life, a testament to his belief in learning and achievement.

Raj was just 14 when he entered college (infamously showing up in his “knickers). With his deeply analytical mind, he gravitated to the problem solving of engineering and graduated from Andhra University. In 1965, his marriage was arranged to a beautiful young woman, Bala Kairam (nee – Gudivaka). They moved to northern India where Raj completed his Masters of Engineering at the University of Rourkee, spending days surveying the foothills of the Himalayas. In the early 1970s, Raj was accepted to the prestigious engineering program at the University of Illinois and moved to Urbana- Champaign with Bala and their young son, Hemant. After completing his second Masters degree and a few working years in Houston, the family landed in Pelham, NY where they would live for the next forty years. In 1981, their second son, Jayant was born. Raj started his career in computer engineering for energy companies with Ebasco, based at their World Trade Center office, and then as a Senior Systems Analyst at ConEd. He was at ConEd’s offices on September 11 and worked many nights as part of the team restoring power from the 2003 blackout. After many years of success behind major digitization and engineering projects, he retired in 2014 after twenty-two years of service.

As one of the first Indian families in Pelham, Raj and Bala connected with other recent immigrants, neighbors and families from the kids’ schools to create a thriving network. Along with the friends they made throughout their lives, Raj and Bala had indeed built a global community that remains vibrant and connected to them. In Pelham, they embraced American traditions and kept their Indian heritage, by hosting Thanksgiving and Diwali dinners. Over the years, they helped settle many family members that came to pursue degrees and careers all over the country. As the patriarch over a robust and growing extended family, Raj was fondly known as “Peddaddy” or “Big Daddy” by all his nieces and nephews. To his friends and the friends of his sons, he was a great conversationalist, peppering everyone with random questions about movies, politics, meals or anything that was top of his active mind. While he was quick with a sarcastic comment, it was melted quickly away by his gentle, playful smile.

Raj had the spirit of an explorer, evidenced by the bravery to be the first one to leave home, and seen in his love of travel, history, travel narratives like Blue Highways, National Geographic and anything by Bill Bryson, movies, and food. He cherished visiting national parks, particularly Western landscapes like Yellowstone which he went to with his sons and grandkids. His passion for food saw no boundaries – he savored a Walters hot dog as much his wife’s pesaruti upma with ginger chutney. He loved America and was endlessly fascinated by its stories and imparted that appreciation on his two sons. But he was most in love with New York City, a place he commuted to on the number 5 train everyday for over thirty years. Whether it was watching countless episodes of Seinfeld with his sons and grandsons, randomly taking the subway to Coney Island or Jacob Riis Park, or feasting on the dosas at the Queens Temple, New York was his city.

Over nearly 60 years of marriage, Raj loved his wife Bala deeply and was always by her side (even ifoccasionally grumbling). They navigated a new country together, and later experienced the world traveling to places like Paris, Iceland, and Morrocco. He sincerely believed he lived with the world’s best chef. As a dutiful and supportive father, he was proud of the success of his two boys, with one becoming a respected pediatrician and the other an environmental sustainability expert. In their lives, he was also a present, good sport, joining camping trips, cheering along at rainy soccer games, and encouraging them to pursue their various endeavors whether it was Boys Scouts or Peace Corps. 

Yet, nothing brought him more joy than his latter life role as “Tata” or grandfather to his four beloved grandchildren. Spending time with them brought out infinite reserves of love, kindness, patience, and energy displayed on countless hours on the floor playing, singing, building forts or sneaking off to the donut shop.

Raj Kairam was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and uncle. He loved deeply and was deeply loved and will be forever in our hearts.

A celebrations on Raj's life will be held on Thursday November 21, 2024 between the hours of 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM at Pelham Funeral Home, located at 64 Lincoln Ave, Pelham NY 101803. A Funeral Service will be held at Ferncliff Cemetery, located at 280 Secor Rd, Hartsdale NY 10530, on Friday November 22, 2024 at 9:30 AM.

In lieu of gifts or flower, the family has requested that donations be made to any of the following charities: Hands Up for Haiti, Anacostia Watershed Society or Environmental Defense Fund."