By Stanislaus Alla
New Delhi, April 10, 2024: Jesuit Father Ladislaus Chinnadurai, who had taught former Indian President Abdul Kalam, died at 5 pm on April 10 at Beschi Illam, Dindigul, in Tamil Nadu. He was 100.
According to the Jesuit Madurai province, the funeral services will be held at 3 pm on April 11 at Beschi.
“At this time of his sad demise, the Jesuit Madurai Province has lost a great stalwart and a saintly Jesuit priest who inspired thousands. We express our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the bereaved members of the family of Father Chinnadurai, his friends, relatives, and former students,” said provincial Father Thomas Amirtham in a message.
Father Chinnadurai, as he was fondly called, was born on June 13, 1923 in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.
A grandson of Mahadeva Aiyar, the first Brahmin convert from Trichy, Father Chinnadurai left his teaching career at 39 to join the Society of Jesus in 1962, as the Second Vatican Council was about to commence.
Chinnadurai’s elder brother was Father Lawrence Sundaram, former principal of Loyola College, his two other siblings became nuns.
He was ordained a priest on March 13, 1970, and then taught physics and mentored students all along.
One of his students was Kalam, who had acknowledged that the Jesuit had inspired him. He taught Kalam physics (nuclear physics and thermodynamics) at St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, during 1950-1954.
Kalam mentioned the Jesuit in his autobiography “The Wings of Fire.”
When Kalam visited him in 2015, Father Chinnadurai said, “Even after 60 years, he remembered me and my teaching. I taught him light, sound and other physics subjects. I am so happy to see him again.”
Father Chinnadurai is credited with shaping and moulding generations of students be it at Trichy and Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) in Kerala.
He had phenomenal memory and his knowledge was encyclopaedic. In the later years of his life, Father Chinnadurai taught various subjects to Jesuits and others.
Father Chinnadurai was the spiritual guide for Jesuit novices and juniors for decades at Beschi College. He came across to them as a humble and simple, devout and saintly person.
He used to mend the torn cassock again and again. He used to write notes on the envelope covers.
The late President Shri Abdul Kalam Ji and the late Reverend Ladislaus Chinnadurai Ji served the nation with dedication and distinction.
Jesuit Father Ladislaus Chinnadurai must have been a great teacher and above all a great human being to inspire a great scientist and president Abdul Kalam. Am sure even at 100 years of age, he did not suffer from Alzheimer’s disease due mainly to his phenomenal memory, encyclopaedic knowledge and continuing with teaching.