The Raji Club

Memorial Service

Raji’s Memorial service was November 20th, 2022.

 

Intro Music: “Little Fluffy Clouds” by the Orb

Outro Music: “Satellite” by Alms for Shanti (Raji and Ravi Original Mix)

Afterparty Playlist:

 

Obituary

Raji Krishnaswami, 45, of Tokyo, Japan, passed away suddenly on November 1st, 2022, while on a business trip to Seoul, Korea. The cause was cardiac arrest.

Raji was born on September 14th, 1977, in Yonkers, NY, the youngest of three brothers. After Raji graduated from Ardsley High School in 1995, he moved down to the city to study film at New York University, but soon found himself  leading a nascent IT department at the influential broadcast design firm Lee Hunt and Associates. 

Following his time at Lee Hunt, Raji worked at a number of successful broadcast firms in New York and Asia, including Global Japan, Imaginary Forces, Active Storage, Quantum, and Rohde and Schwarz, collecting an international cohort of brilliant friends and colleagues.

Since his summer working at Kitty Hawk Kites, near the family’s vacation home, Raji had a passion for stunt kites, and found every opportunity to find an empty beach with a good breeze. Given the option to be a Yankee fan like his oldest brother, he instead stuck to his family’s choice of the Mets, and became a lifelong fan. He was always catching a spring game when returning to the US for the annual NAB convention, and became a passionate follower of the Hanchin Swallows in Japan. He loved traversing big cities on two wheels, and also loved standing behind two turntables as a house DJ. 

Perhaps his greatest obsession was Japanese culture, a lifelong journey that included becoming an expert in the nation’s food, business culture, and language. Raji became the ultimate Tokyo tour guide, generously entertaining any travelers that asked him for a restaurant recommendation. In Raji’s most recent years in Tokyo, he found joy and comradery in the Jewish congregations of Tokyo. Known as the “minyan guy,” he was always available to answer the call, no matter which Rabbi was calling. 

Raji lost his beloved father Calathur Krishnaswami while he was a teenager, but he is survived by his mother Joan Krishnaswami, and his brothers Hari Krishnaswami and Ravi Krishnaswami, and sisters-in-law Amy Daley and Julie Krishnaswami. Raji never returned from Japan without gifts for his nephews Devon and Ajay, and niece Willa, who always enjoyed his entertaining visits.

A memorial service will be held at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel on Sunday, November 20th, 2022 at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one of the following options:

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