Satrajit Majumdar Obit: My journey with beloved Benuda!

Today, when I remember Satrajit Majumdar, fondly called Benuda, my memory goes back a long 28 years to April 1997, when I first met him in Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. After just registering Cyber Astro Ltd, he visited BHU in search of a young astrologer who could become his partner in this journey to offer astrological services around the globe through Cyber Astro.

I remember it well. I was sitting and working in the Panchang office of the Jyotish Department of BHU (as Assistant Panchang Editor). Then my HOD, Prof. RC Pandey, called me up and introduced me to Benuda, who was a friend of Prof. SK Kak of IIT BHU. After greetings, we discussed astrology at length. Then he asked me to come to New Delhi to join Cyber Astro. Initially, I was reluctant to leave BHU and join a private organisation, but he showed me a career roadmap and convinced me to join him to realise his vision for Cyber Astro. Finally, I landed in Delhi in the first week of May 1997, and our journey started together with Cyber Astro to realise his vision.

Here, Benuda introduced me to Pradeep Gupta, Chairman of CyberMedia Group, fondly called PG, and the three of us started thinking and working on the road ahead for the Cyber Astro journey. Slowly, my relationship with Benuda grew more personal along with professional, and he truly played the role of mentor and guide at every step of my professional career. Towards the end of 2004, we met at my place for dinner. Then suddenly, he called my 3-year-old daughter and told her to call him Nana, not Uncle. Even today I choke with high emotion when I think of this. I must admit that he always honoured that relationship with both my daughters till June 2022, when he was in Delhi.

On a lighter note, he always told me that he was my corporate management and English teacher, but I had to make him learn the deeper side of predictive astrology. But he himself had deep knowledge of astrology and could forecast horoscopes so accurately, which very few astrologers can do. In our journey together at Cyber Astro, we witnessed so many ups and downs, but we tackled every situation as one. He was a person of forward-looking vision and always showed 100% faith in my ability to realise that into reality.

I can well remember the year 2008, when an employee of Cyber Astro did something very wrong, though unintentionally. Benuda, as CEO, called him for an explanation and told him that he would terminate his service. Then suddenly, Benuda called me and said, “Dr. Pandey, though I am very angry with him, I don't want to terminate his service; otherwise, his career and family will be in trouble.” Then I called up the employee and requested Benuda in front of him to forgive him, and Benuda forgave him, showing it was as per my request, but it was his idea. It shows the noble side of Benuda, and in this 28-year association, I witnessed so many such incidents. After 2012, he made me the bad cop, and he became the good cop for the organisation, but we both planned this.

After April 2016, he started withdrawing from active management work. He had always been a guiding force for me, but in March 2020, the start of COVID-19 forced Benuda to be at home, and that was desirable for him due to his advancing age. Since we both were residing in the same locality, I occasionally visited him and apprised him about the performance and other matters of Cyber Astro. In June 2022, one day he called me and asked, "Dr. Pandey, I want to see all of you tomorrow for lunch at my residence." I said, “Okay, Benuda,” and the next day all of us—me, my wife Sapna, and both daughters—were at his place for lunch. After lunch, Benuda informed me about his plan to relocate to Pondicherry and asked for my opinion. Considering all the practical situations, I was of the same opinion as Alok and Mismi, the son and daughter of Benuda.

Benuda had a huge collection of novels and books on different subjects, be it world politics, philosophy, religious books of different religions, and of course, astrology. He gifted some books to me and asked both my daughters to take as many books as they could of their choice. The rest of the books he donated to a library. That was my last face-to-face interaction with Benuda in June 2022, and the very next day he shifted to Pondicherry to live with Mismi and her two sons, to be called Nana. In 2022 and 2023, he was responding to phone calls, but later he started refusing to talk to anyone. Sometimes I got news of Benuda from Mismi and Alok, and finally, on 17th May  2025, I heard from Alok about the sad demise of Benuda. Alok informed me about Benuda's desire to donate his body for medical research, so he departed with his last donation to this world.

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Cyber Astro Founder Satrajit Majumdar passes away