Farewell Atul Chitnis- He taught India how to use a modem

Atul Chitnis, technology consultant and evangelist, died this morning battling intestinal cancer. Atul is among the first generation of technology evangelists in India.

Back in the early nineties, I accompanied Atul when we toured through the country addressing seminars from Cybermedia on topics such as data communications and computer networks. He is the man who demystified data communications in the pre-Internet era. He taught India how to use a modem. I remember the early days when he enthralled a roomful of audience in various cities and in true Steve Jobs style, he demoed the modem and hooked up two computers to exchange data. The moment seemed magical.

Just like his speaking gigs, his columns were educative, practical, and inspiring. As a BBS user, he had quite a bit of fan following amongst the generation of neo digeratis and tech enthusiasts of the time. BBS was a discussion board, a sort of pre-social media tool to exchange ideas and information. Senior editors from Cybermedia- Prasanto K. Roy and Krishna Kumar- worked closely with Atul to spread content among millions of readers.

In particular, a generation of PCQuest readers would owe their gratitude to Atul Chitnis for his awesome columns on tech. Atul's contribution towards making PCQuest a successful and popular brand among tech enthusiasts is definitely recognized by Cybermedia.

May his soul rest in peace!