Nakul Kalra

With the greatest pain we have ever known, we announce the untimely death of our beloved Nakul on March 15, 2014. Nakul Kalra was born on July 15, 1992 in Chandigarh, India, a much-desired brother to Dhruv, and grew into the sweetest and gentlest human being to ever walk in our world. He lived a life dictated by his own drummer, blessing us with his soft smile and quirky asides. He was never one for anger or aggression, always helpful, and always trying to not give us any cause for concern or worry. He grew up from the age of 3 in Rochester, MN, graduated from Mayo High School in 2010, and was a senior at the University of Wisconsin at the time of his passing. He was fascinated by all things Japanese, especially the language and culture and, after a few changes, was on track to a degree in Japanese. Along the way to this goal, he was waylaid by age-old demons that prey on the soft and gentle and, at least in the short term, they hold the upper hand. Many around him saw him struggle and some tried to help but, in a world that makes so much of the individual, he was left to do much of the battle on his own. When home from college his favorite pastime was taking our dog Radar for a walk, headphones in both ears, and his lustrous, curly black hair blowing in the wind. Then whenever he went back to Madison, Radar would go up to his room every day and wait for his return. In his short life he achieved far more than he accepted credit for, and fell short of no ones expectations but his own. He leaves behind his heartbroken parents (Sanjay and Manju), brother (Dhruv), extended family members scattered across the world who are now gathering to say their goodbyes, as well as a wider circle of friends than we ever knew he had. We were all blessed to know and love him and he will remain in our hearts forever. Radar still waits. Visitation and celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, March 23 from 1-4 pm at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, 5421 Royal Pl NW, Rochester, MN 55901. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make contributions to a charity of your choice.