Laughing Buddha

PARVEEN CHOPRA

MANAGING EDITOR, THE SOUTH ASIAN TIMES

Two days before destiny and a brutal accident snatched him from us, I had the good fortune of enjoying Karan Beri’s hospitality at his welcoming home in Bangalore, India. Before that too I had met him many times in New York as his father-in-law, Prof Indrajit S. Saluja is a family friend.

Professionally, Karan was a tech-savvy businessman who seemed to wield a magic wand to transform his clients’ business online to catapult them to top of line. But my enduring impression of him is two-fold: his encyclopedic knowledge and his (sometimes outrageous) sense of humor.

Even before meeting him I had started noticing his bylined articles in The Indian Panorama, edited and published by Prof Saluja. Having lived and worked in America before returning to India, he was well versed in US affairs. Starting with the time Donald Trump was considered only an entertaining presidential candidate, Karan was employing his analytical skills in op-eds to expose the billionaire’s unsuitability to be the leader of the free world – calling a spade a spade. Then, realizing that saturation media attention was feeding Trump’s candidacy, Karan stopped writing about him.

From politics to emerging tech trends to what happens at Proms in US high schools, Karan could marshal facts and figures to astonish you.

That impressed me, but what endeared Karan to me was his ability to elicit laughs — at any cost. He would insert himself into any conversation or discussion to crack a joke. Anything for a laugh was his philosophy – even sexual innuendo or double entendre was not beyond him. Such jokes amid family and friends would often embarrass his audience.

His to-and-fro and matching wits with Prof Saluja would make me roll with laughter. Laughter Therapy, I used to call those times spent with the duo who were buddies more than father-in-law and son-in-law. In my eyes, Karan was Laughing Buddha.

Yet, behind all that wit and humor, Karan was a kind, considerate man ever willing to help you. I remember how at a fundraiser for Dr VK Raju’s Eye Foundation of America, organized by Prof Saluja, Karan promised to help the charity’s digital effort, even setting up and managing their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, all pro bono. Good soul and lovely company that Karan was, the Almighty called him early.

Karan’s moments  in pictures: