“ When you can’t find the sunshine, Be the sunshine. “

And that is exactly what our friend Ashutosh Porus was.
The friend, the teacher, the mentor, the guy who made you laugh & forget your worries. To the point that you often forgot what he himself was going through.
For those of us who knew Porus- what we remember is that happy grin, that cheerful demeanor - and the never say die spirit with which he tackled everything head on.
A gentle soul, an amazing father, fantastic husband and an absolutely lovable friend. He came from a small town, Bijnor, in UP. He graduated from NIFT in 1997 and went on to become a professor there. He also helped set up the departments at NIFT campuses at Kangra near Dharmsala and in Srinagar. A brilliant mind with a simple personality.

Ashutosh was stuck on the roof of his house during the Srinagar floods of 2014 with his infant son and wife without food, only water. This led to a period of therapy for PTSD.
He managed it by doing what he loved best... teaching design. Though he would argue that he did not teach... he just helped them open their minds!

Unfortunately, in 2018, Ashutosh was diagnosed with cancer of the rectum. He went through 12 rounds of chemotherapy but to no effect. By this time, it had also metastasized to his liver.
His reports in January of 2020 showed an increase in the liver cancer which had progressed to stage 4.
Ashutosh had to sell his house to cover medical expenses and as of today their savings are zero. Their income was zero as he did not have the energy to teach anymore.

Porus passed away  yesterday, 26th of June, leaving behind a devastated family. The family he fought so hard to live for , the family he cherished above everyone & everything else.
His wife, Kamal and his two wonderful kids, Tatya & Asta.
He fought a long hard battle with cancer, bravely with a smile on his face, but one that he ultimately lost. His treatment took away all their life savings.  
He had the stress of this terrible terminal disease as well as the stress of lack of finances and the future and security of his family.
And now it’s up to us to do what we can for them.
I ask you all to help today, to help ease the pain & trauma they are going through. To help Kamal take care of her children, and help them get back on their feet.
We want Asta & Tatya to get the best education possible, to become self reliant & independent. The education and life that Ashutosh as a father & husband was striving to achieve.
The exact same dream we have for our own children, because after all, they are one of our own.                           Our aim is to create a fixed deposit in his wife's name to take care of the kids education expenses and basic living costs.                        
Every contribution counts, and every  amount matters.
Please do open up your hearts today.
It’s our way of making sure his dreams come true.
For Porus- gone but never to be forgotten.
Thank you ❤️