Jishnu Sasikumar was born on the 1st of November 1987, in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia to N.P. Sasikumar and O.K. Vatsala,who hail from India and Malaysia respectively. At the tender age of 2 ½ months, he left Malaysia for Qatar with his mum, where his parents live and work.

Being a Malaysian by birth, a resident of Qatar throughout his entire life and having grandparents and family in India as well, he would commute between these 3 countries all his life. Food was one of his passions, and coming home to Malaysia for his school holidays each year was something he would look forward to, for the delicious and wide variety of food Malaysia was famous for. Among his favourites were chicken chop, satay, fish cake, otak-otak, chicken rice, Chinese noodles and cheese cakes from Secret Recipe.

Jishnu, had his schooling from 1993 to 2006 at the MES Indian School, Doha, Qatar. In school, he was a happy, helpful and friendly person and was well liked and popular with his schoolmates and teachers. Young or old, he had no problem being friends with everyone and interacting with them. He even once proudly claimed, “even the bully of the school, is my friend”. From a very young age, he developed the habit of “Service before Self” and maintained it till his last breath. This trait of his was instrumental in our giving thought to start a charitable foundation in his memory.

After successfully completing his 12th standard examinations in 2006, Jishnu had the opportunity to attend his cousin’s graduation in the United States. It was a fun and memorable trip for him. He made friends instantly with all he came into contact with, visited the Purdue campus in Indiana and attended all the post-graduation parties with his cousin. In the U.S., Jishnu also got to go to Chicago, The San Diego Zoo, Hollywood and Universal Studios in Los Angeles.

On his return from the U.S., Jishnu had to attend National Service in Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia for a period of 3 months. He was quite uncomfortable with the idea of having to do National Service, as he had no knowledge of the National Language, Bahasa Malaysia, which was the medium of instruction there. Remarkably, with his ever friendly and helpful nature and his ability to sing English and Hindi songs, he soon became immensely popular with both his camp-mates and trainers alike.

It was with a heavy heart that he left, when he was forced to cut short his National Service stint after about one and a half months, when he got admission at the Manipal University in Karnataka , India to pursue his Bachelors Degree in Physical Therapy under the Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences (MCOAHS).

Jishnu joined MCOAHS in August 2006. He made an impression among friends and lecturers on the first day he was there, when he noticed an old man with crutches having difficulty crossing a drain and went to help him. Without a minute’s hesitation he carried the old man across the drain. That was Jishnu!! He was always caring and concerned about the well being of those around him and would go out of his way to help those in need.

Although he was there for a brief period of only 1 ½ years, he was noticed and well liked by his batch-mates, seniors, juniors, lecturers, the workers and staff there. He was the compere for the first year’s Fresher’s Party and being the Master of Ceremonies, became well known and popular in college. Being amongst and surrounded by friends made him most happy. ”J” as he was popularly known in his college, was a great inspiration of positivity to his friends. He was the live-wire wherever he was and no function was complete without his presence.

In his second year in college, some of Jishnu’s friends planned a surprise for his birthday. On the eve of his Birthday, without letting him know of their plans, one of them packed some of his clothes. Another friend asked Jishnu to accompany him to the railway station after class on the pretext of booking a ticket home for the long weekend ahead. Only on reaching Udupi Station did Jishnu know that they were all going on a trip somewhere. Once on the train, his friends unveiled their plan to him. Jishnu having a penchant for beaches was on cloud nine when told that they were going to celebrate his 20th birthday at Ohm beach near Gokarna.

After a four hour train ride ,they arrive at Gokarna station. Being a really remote village, and after some difficulty, they finally find some form of public transportation to get them to their destination at Moksh Lodge on Ohm beach. It was night by then. After checking out the place and having dinner at a restaurant nearby, they return to their hotel. They while away the night playing card games and singing, while waiting for it to be midnight. At the stroke of 12 midnight, on 1st November, 2007, they all got together in one of the rooms to celebrate Jishnu’s birthday and give him their gifts. Jishnu was thrilled and really enjoyed his birthday surprise.

The following morning, they go to Ohm Beach, but dissatisfied with the cleanliness there, the group return . On their way back, a passer-by tells them that there is a cleaner and better stretch at Kudle Beach, about a kilometer northwards. On hearing this, they decide to make the trip to Kudle Beach, before their scheduled journey back to Manipal that afternoon. It was a 20 minute trek through rough and steep paths before they finally reach Kudle Beach.

Kudle Beach was breath-taking and clean. As they had not had breakfast yet, the group decide to have breakfast first before getting into the waters. Jishnu, however could not resist taking a dip in the waters before breakfast and so while some of them went ahead to order breakfast, Jishnu and 2 of his other friends rush into the sea. Jishnu was facing the beach while in the water, when suddenly a large wave engulfs him, throws him off balance and draws him out into the open sea. His 2 other friends manage to safely get back onshore.

Upon seeing Jishnu struggle in the water, his close friend and classmate, Jino Elias, who was a good swimmer, jumps into the sea to try and save him. The huge waves and strong currents make it an unsuccessful feat. Meanwhile, their hysterical friends on the beach, witnessing what was happening try and get the local fisher folk to get their boats out into the water to help save the boys. Knowing the danger ahead and that any attempt would be unsuccessful and risky, none of them volunteer to help with the rescue.

At this point, a British tourist, Giles Parmar, 36, who had made a small house and lived on Kudle Beach, seeing the 2 boys struggling in the water, jumps into the sea in an attempt to rescue Jishnu and Jino. Giles was a diver and having lived by the beach for the past 4 years, knew how dangerous and rough the sea could get.

It was a futile effort fighting the waves and currents that fateful day. Jishnu, Jino and Giles had no chance of survival against the mighty sea.

Their untimely loss has brought untold grief and pain to their families, friends and all those who knew them. It will remain as fresh as a raw wound in our hearts, as long as we live. We are forever grateful and will always cherish the memory of Jino and Giles, who lost their lives when they so selflessly attempted to rescue Jishnu.

The ever smiling Jishnu, (as one recollects, there has not been an occasion when he was seen without a smile)the ever positive Jishnu ,the ever warm and caring Jishnu, the ever helpful Jishnu, though not with us anymore, continue to lend us the positivity to mould many more of the likes of him.