Dr Madhu Madhavan Bereaved, To Celebrate Wife’s Life At Event

India-West Staff Reporter

SAN DIEGO, CA – Dr. Madhu Madhavan, a well-known community activist and respected figure in San Diego, is mourning the loss of his life partner, Nacha, who passed away on July 4, 2024, at the age of 87. Their remarkable journey together spanned over seven decades, with Nacha playing an integral role in their family’s legacy and the San Diego Indian American community.

Nacha and Madhu were married when she was just 16, shortly after she had completed her high school diploma. The couple moved to the United States when Nacha was 24, becoming one of the first Indian American families to settle in McLean, Virginia. In 1968, they relocated to San Diego when Dr. Madhavan became a professor, and Nacha continued to live in the same house for 54 years, maintaining close ties to her roots in India and frequently attending the Chitra Festival in their village.

Their marriage was renewed in symbolic ceremonies at different stages of life. At the age of 56, Nacha remarried Madhu at the Shiva Vishnu Temple in Malibu to celebrate his 60th birthday. Later, at 86, they married again at the Shiva Vishnu Temple in the San Francisco area to mark his 90th birthday. Most recently, they celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary at Nacha’s ancestral home on May 3, 2024, where they were blessed by priests from the 300-year-old Paranachi Amman temple.

Nacha, a devoted mother and grandmother, helped raise two sons. Nachi, an architect, lives in Thousand Oaks with his wife, Dr. Anu, and their college-going son, Vijay. Their second son, Raj, works at International Paper, while his wife, Gowri, is a manager at Stanford University Children’s Hospital. They live in Fremont with their high school-aged daughter, Sharadha.

Throughout her life, Nacha supported hundreds of Indian American families in San Diego and was a benefactor for several causes, including the Mahatma Gandhi scholarships and spiritual activities in her native village, the family said. One of her last contributions was donating a silver chariot for the Manickanachi Amman temple to be used in the Chitra Festival.

A Celebration of Life for Nacha will be held on September 28, 2024, at the Royal India Hall, here