We are deeply saddened to inform you that that IANH Leader and Former President Mr. Prithvi Kumar passed away peacefully yesterday night due to cardiac arrest. He was 76 years old. 

He was one of the five founders who signed the charter that created India Association of New Hampshire in 1989. He was President of IANH for almost fifteen years. 

He was a very service-oriented person who believed "Serving Humanity is Serving God". He made IANH into a service organization. During his tenure, IANH started serving regularly at Nashua and Manchester soup kitchens. Many fund-raisers were organized and many charities were supported with funds. IANH also helped with many natural disasters. His legacy of service permeates the IANH culture to this day.

He was a great spiritual being and an ardent devotee of Sai Baba. He drew upon his inner strength to fight valiantly with his health problems, especially over the last five years. He was on dialysis with kidney problems for the last couple of years. He never let his health problems interfere with fulfilling his duties and responsibilities. 

He was a dedicated leader of IANH. IANH was close to his heart. He took a keen interest in IANH affairs. He always kept in close touch with all IANH officers and guided the destiny of IANH through thick and thin.

When he became President of IANH in the nineties, IANH was a very small organization with barely 60 members. We even considered closing down IANH. But thanks to his strong and dedicated leadership, IANH grew from strength to strength adding a multitude of new activities to what it is today. 

During his tenure, IANH added the Spring Festival in May to provide a platform to IANH community to showcase their talents. Also, added was Education Bees in collaboration with North South Foundation. He coordinated the Education Bees for many years. Focus was always on serving the IANH and the larger community in all possible ways - cultural, educational, social, public relations, community service, youth development, sports and so on. 

He passed on the mantle of IANH to our current President Balaji Radakrishnan, after the IANH Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Thereafter, he moved to Washington DC to be close to his daughter and grandchildren. 

He has left a legacy of service that continues to inspire the current IANH leadership and membership. We are going to miss him very much. He leaves behind his wife Kala, daughter Seema, grandchildren Ashwin and Kiron, son-in-law Chris, mother and brothers. We pray that he rest in peace and his family have the courage to bear the loss.

We are in touch with family and will let you know the timing and location of the Memorial Service in Washington DC as soon as we get the information. In the meanwhile, if you would like to share anything about Prithvi, you can email us at Secretary@ianh.org.  The funeral ceremony will be held at Washington DC on Sunday, March 8, 2020.