Remembering Sunder Anna : A Musician, A Mentor, and A Friend

Three months ago, we lost Sunder Balakrishnan, a man whose presence was as steady as his driving and as intricate as the ragams he played. Sunder was a seasoned musician, a playful critic, and a person of unique convictions. As I look back on our time together, these memories paint a picture of a man who lived authentically and shared his passions generously.

The Maestro and the Mentor

Sunder was the first seasoned musician I had the privilege of working with. While most of us in our musical group were beginners, he was patient with all of us and helped us with his command over his violin and Carnatic music. He introduced me to ragams like Revati and Nattai, and never looked down on my amateur efforts at improvisations.

Expressions 2012 - Sheher Hamara Sota Hai

Expressions 2012 - Winners

• He often admitted that highly trained musicians sometimes lose the ability to truly enjoy music because they become too "calculated" about purity.

• One of our greatest experiences together was preparing and presenting a small concert for an Infosys client at the JW Marriott, a program that was only possible because of his guidance.

Commentary during the concert

Tattva Fusion · Tattva - DeshRag(Live @ Marriot)

• I remember the beauty of his accompaniment in some katcheris at Fine Arts Chembur and the Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple, where his mastery was on full display. I had met his warm family during these occasions.

A Man of Simple Habits

Sunder was a "SaapaaT Ram"—a name he gave himself because of his deep love for food. Whether it was Kerala-style stew and pulao he had served us at his home in Chembur or took us to a specific Tamil spot in Sus Road for Ven Pongal and Kuthu parotha, he knew where the soul of food lived.

Beyond food, he was a man of specific comforts:

• The Chataai: Despite the comforts of air-conditioned rooms in Infosys Pune during practice sessions, Sunder refused to stay. He would travel back home late for sleeping only on his chataai (mat).

• The Steady Driver: He took immense pride in his stable driving, often jokingly sharing how his female friends appreciated how safe they felt when he dropped them home.

• 

  Pic from 2013, just before he sold his beloved bike, while moving to Mumbai

Humor and "The Sadhu"

Sunder had a playful way of keeping me in check. Whenever I would spiral into one of my long philosophical monologues, he would silently hold up an abhaya-varada hasta pose. It was his way of telling me I was sounding like a Sadhu and it was time to stop.

There was also the "Sunder Mama" incident. While  Raghavan sir used the term affectionately, Sunder was flustered by the other connotations of "Mama" in Tamil culture. He eventually burst out about it at a party, but in true Sunder fashion, we resolved it amicably once he explained his side.

Final Notes

The last time we "spoke" was around music. About a year ago, he shared a small clip of a song he performed on Instagram. I had immensely enjoyed the clip and I told him to share more often.

Sunder’s marriage in 2016 remains a standout memory—a beautiful, musical, Iyer - Malayali affair where all of us friends gathered to celebrate. The food was definitely a highlight. 

It is that spirit—musical, flavorful, and fiercely authentic—that I will carry with me

Miss you brother.

Leaving IT - Digging EPF Info

I left Infosys last month. Having completed 5 years, the final settlement will be a good amount, and now with my foray into a field which will not give me income for some time in the future, every penny counts. More so as it is rightfully earned.

While leaving i had done my calculations - leave encashment, gratuity, PF etc, the sources of this corpus. Today i received a message from my bank about a deposit calling it the final settlement, which did not really add up to my expectation. So i started my late effort to view what all had gone in the PF account on its official portal (i already know the amount from my infy portal, but that is no longer accessible)

Thankfully, a mail came later, that the amount excludes PF and other items, and that was a breather. But i went ahead to complete this long overdue exercise. The actual reason why it wasnt done earlier is that a UAN had not been alloted to my PF account till last month. Now i had it and hence it was possible. ( I will assume you are aware of PF jargon.)

The salary slip mentions the PF account number and UAN number. I went on the EPF site with this information.

The first step is to activate the UAN

After entering the UAN and the mobile number, the real challenge started. The member ID/PF Account number has to be arrived at by giving a combination of state and office, and this is tricky.

In my salary slip, the account number was like KN/XXXX/XXXX. Knowing that Infy HQ is in Bangalore, the usual guess was Karnataka (State) and Bangalore (Office). This gave BG and BNG. After adding the other digits from the PF Ac num, i was not really making any progress.

At this point, this site came to my help - the EPFO Search Directory

Click to Enlarge

So the combination was Karnataka (State) and Bommasandra (Office). 

Was able to complete the UAN registration with this data. Hope it helps.