Ex-bishop Raju passes away at 82

Kolkata: Rev PSP Raju, former bishop of the Kolkata Diocese of the Church of North India, died on Saturday. He was 82.Raju is survived by his wife Leena Gonsalves, daughter Ruth, and son Rajiv.
"My father passed peacefully at his Ballygunge Place home at 12.30 am. Though he had diabetes and related issues, he was fine last evening, playing a game of cards with his grandchildren (from his son, a Scotland-based psychiatrist who came visiting). Father ate dinner, participated in the family prayer, and retired for the day. He woke up saying he was feeling uneasy. By the time we took him to the hospital, he was gone. Everything happened in a matter of two-&-a-half minutes," Ruth said.The funeral service is on Sunday, 2 pm, at St John's Church, and interment at 3 pm at the Lower Circular Road Cemetery. "An avid reader, he would soak in translations of Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, his favourite writers," Ruth said."Rev Raju was a very faithful friend and a true man of God. I served under him for five years as the principal of St Thomas' Church School, Howrah," said Gerry Arathoon, former chief executive and secretary, CISCE. Born on June 3, 1943, in Gudivada, a village in Andhra Pradesh, Raju went to a local school and was mostly self-taught. He was sent to Kolkata by the Diocese of Andhra to study a bachelor's in divinity at Bishop's College. During this time, he met his wife, Leena, a St Paul's College alumna. After serving as the assistant priest at St Paul's Cathedral, Raju became the priest of St Thomas', then returned to St Paul's Cathedral as the priest. He had stints at St Thomas', Union Chapel and at St John's Church, from where he was appointed the bishop of CNI's Diocese of Calcutta in 1999. In 2004-2007, the bishop found himself in the middle of controversies and was removed from the diocese. He faced legal action on the alleged illegal demolition of parts of Bishop House. Ruth said, "My father stood tall, always. He knew he was doing the right thing. He was an upright man."