Remembering Sekar

UW-Madison, College Year in India Program – Madurai

Resident Coordinator (1980-2008), Translator, Musician, Friend

October 29th, 2026
5:30-7:00 PM

Annual Conference on South Asia
Madison Concourse Hotel
Wisconsin Ballroom
Madison, WI

On December 29, 2025, the community of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, College Year in India (CYIP) Madurai Program lost its beloved “Sekar.” We invite friends, former students, and colleagues to come together to remember and celebrate the life of Jesudasan Rajasekaran.

Sekar was hired by the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the Resident Coordinator for the Madurai Program in 1980. He continued as the Resident Coordinator until 2007-08 when the Madurai program closed. Year after year, he profoundly shaped the experiences of undergraduate students on the program. He thoughtfully matched each student with individualized tutorials—ranging from dance instruction and pottery making to archaeological fieldwork—and prepared them for their first experiences as independent researchers, working alongside translators and local professors.

Always smiling and unfailingly resourceful, Sekar moved with ease through his hometown, serving as an essential intermediary and bridge between a traditional Tamil cultural context and young American students encountering India for the first time. Through his guidance, care, and generosity of spirit, students gained not only academic insight but also deep cultural understanding.

Many of the students whose lives Sekar touched went on to become musicians and dancers, administrators in study abroad and higher education, and scholars and professors of Indian Studies.

Please save the date to celebrate Sekar’s life and legacy. Additional details about the event will be shared soon. We are honored that his life partner, Vidya Venkatapathy Arunachalam, will join us in Madison for this remembrance.

Questions about event details, please e-mail Rachel Weiss: rweiss@wisc.edu