BOSTON—Boston will not be the same without Chandu Shah. The poet, the playwright, the filmmaker, the writer and the president and CEO of an IT company passed away peacefully on Friday in India. He was 67. He also volunteered passionately for Akshaya Patra.
Mr. Shah is survived by his wife Eshani Shah, daughter Shailee Shah and son Kushan Shah.
Mr. Shah served as President and CEO of the Bedford, MA-based The S4 Inc, a professional services and consulting firm catering to the US Government, Homeland Security and DoD customers.
“Chandu was a kind compassionate soul who cared about others. He was multitalented and used all his talents to make this a better world,” said philanthropist Desh Deshpande. “I will miss him dearly and so will the 2.2 million Akshaya Patra kids in India whom he cared so deeply about. It is a tragedy for the world to lose him at such a young age.”
Dinesh Tanna, a close friend and golf buddy of Mr. Shah, said he cannot even begin to imagine what it will be like to not have him around.
“I have so many fond memories of our time together. We spent so much time together, travelling the world together, playing golf, playing cards or just enjoying a good single malt,. He was always fun to be around. He touched so many people in his life and I cannot think of anybody that was not fond of him,” said Mr. Tanna. “I have so many good and funny stories of our time together. His favorite single malt was RedBreast21 but he had stopped drinking for a while. I had a bottle so when he came to my house a couple of weeks ago, I said I will open it when he can drink. He won’t be here but I will open it and all our friends will celebrate his life together.”
Mr. Shah was one of the most positive person, said Mr. Tanna, adding that nothing bothered him, and he was also extremely generous, ready to help anybody. He touched many people with his kindness.
“I also played golf with him a day before he left for India. He stood on the 9th hole, made a putt and said this is his last put in 2023. It turned out to be his last putt in life,” said Mr. Tanna.
Mr. Shah’s goal was to support the nation’s defense by providing innovative and effective solutions to the challenges facing warfighters of the United States. S4 Inc, under his leadership, earned honors such as being ranked among the prestigious Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000, the fastest growing private companies in America, for seven consecutive years. He was named the Massachusetts Minority Businessperson of the year in 2007.
More than business and entrepreneurship, however, Mr. Shah was a renowned poet, writer, filmmaker, artist, and an actor. His works both entertained and influenced audiences around the world, using such mediums as books, film, theater, and music.
Mr. Shah got his message across in seven languages. He toured internationally and was winner of the National Award (OSCAR of India) for the Best Experimental Film in 1982 and has been recognized by a premier Gujarati literary institution in India for his poetry.
Mr. Shah’s career afforded him the opportunity to create, disseminate, and portray ideas and information, using all media forms, for both Government customers and the public. His technical and artistic backgrounds helped him to formulate both creative and efficient strategies to better serve his customers.
“Chandu was the heart and soul of our Indian American community in New England,” said Dr. Manju Sheth, MD, host of Chai with Manju and a close family friend. “He always had a smile for everyone and was a magician with words. I had the good fortune of working with him at Akshaya Patra and I learnt so much from him. We are a heartbroken community in deep mourning today. He has left a huge void in our hearts. He was a man that lived life to the fullest, and I will miss him dearly. Eshani is a close friend so this loss hurts very deeply. I am praying that God will give her and the kids strength to get through this devastating loss. My condolences to the family.”
Praveen Misra, who runs a community Facebook group IACNE, fondly remembered Mr. Shah.
“Chandu Bhai was an amazing guy ready to help and also a fond of single malt. We all were part of Single Malt group,” said Mr. Misra. “Chandu Bhai as we know was the creator of Superhit Bollywood movie OMG (Oh My GOD) -based on Play Kishan vs Kanhiaya written By Chandu Shah recently. When I congratulated him on the success of OMG 2, he sent me the following response: Are nahiii yaaar !! I was part of one _ Paresh bhai and I have nothing to do with.”
Mr. Misra said that Mr. Shah was proud of launching his YouTube Channell last month called: Blue Jeans Bostonwale.
Mr. Shah began his career in Bombay, India, where he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and commerce from the University of Bombay, and later served as a Professor of Economics. He came to the United States in 1984 and pursued a master’s degree in computer science at Northeastern University. Mr. Shah had accepted a position with Putnam Investments by 1987. In 1990, he joined a local Information Technology (IT) consulting firm as Manager of Defense Contracts. It was this experience and background, coupled with enthusiasm and a strong work ethic, which led Mr. Shah to start his own company, S4 Inc.
Today, S4’s presence stretches across the United States, and includes offices in Burlington, MA; Dayton, OH; Colorado Springs, CO and Huntsville, AL.
