Priya Kulkarni
Baba, you were our compass. Every decision I ever made, I made thinking what you would say. I will carry your values with me every single day.
May 9, 2026
(86 years, 7 months)
Ramkaka's Song
Ramchandra Vishwanath Kulkarni — lovingly called Ramkaka by all who knew him — was born on 14 March 1938 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He was the eldest of five children in a modest farming family that believed deeply in education and hard work.
After completing his schooling with distinction, he moved to Mumbai in 1958 and joined the State Bank of India as a clerk. Over 35 years he rose steadily to Senior Branch Manager, a journey built entirely on integrity and patience. Colleagues remember him as the man who always had time for a kind word and never turned away a junior who needed guidance.
His greatest pride was never his career but his family. He met Sulochana at a relative's wedding in 1962 and they were married within the year, raising three children — Suresh, Priya, and Anand — in a small flat in Dadar that always smelled of filter coffee and fresh flowers. Sunday mornings meant Vishnu Sahasranamam on the old transistor radio and his wife's poha. That ritual never changed in sixty years.
In retirement, Ramkaka became a devoted volunteer at a local school in Matunga, teaching mathematics to underprivileged children free of charge until his health declined in 2022. He was a lifelong devotee of classical music — particularly Pandit Bhimsen Joshi — and spent many evenings with a cup of tea, a quiet smile, and his record player.
He passed away peacefully on 8 November 2024, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, leaving behind a legacy of grace, simplicity, and love that will echo for generations.
Every Diwali, Ramkaka would wake before dawn to draw a rangoli at the door himself — insisting no celebration began properly without it. His grandchildren would sit around him in their nightclothes watching his hands move with quiet certainty, while he hummed an old kirtan the entire time. That image — the lamplight, the colours, and his voice — is something none of us will ever forget.
35-year career with State Bank of India, retiring as Senior Branch Manager
Branch of the Year under his leadership — 1988 and 1991
Founded a free mathematics programme serving over 200 children in Matunga across 15 years
Active member of the Chinmaya Mission for over four decades
Completed a pilgrimage to all 12 Jyotirlingas with Sulochana in 2005
Chandanwadi Crematorium, Marine Lines, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400002
Chandanwadi Hindu Crematorium, Mumbai, Maharashtra
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