
Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl

"We must humanize the world so that it becomes impossible to pull the trigger."
"Who owns? Who labours? Who benefits?"
- Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl
Obituary
Dr. Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl, 83, passed away peacefully on December 27th 2024 after a brief illness. A beloved lifelong educator and political activist, she is known for her unwavering love, energy, and commitment to social justice and the struggles of poor and working class peoples. She will be deeply missed.
Janaki was born in Bangalore, south India, on May 28th 1941 to Dr. C.V. Natarajan and Smt. Saraswathi Natarajan. The family home was full of music, literature, and activity in the milieu of the growing movement for Indian independence from colonial rule. Both parents were committed to anti-caste principles despite their Brahminical origins. Janaki’s father, a physician and public health director, would treat patients of all castes and ailments in their home. At Gandhiji’s behest, her mother founded an all-girls school for the lowest caste (Dalit). Janaki too embraced these ideals, and after completing secondary school, participated in the Sarvodaya movement. She joined one of Gandhiji’s disciples, Vinobhaji, with many others in a year-long walk from Delhi to the Burma border promoting land reform and protesting the impending India-China war. Intrigued by ideas of new ways to organize social life and production, she traveled to the Middle East to experience life on a kibbutz, learning from the contradiction of these ideals in the context of occupied Palestine.
Janaki went to England then the US to further her studies, attending Brynmawr and Swarthmore, where she earned her BA in Comparative Literature in 1966. She went on to receive a Doctorate of Education in Sociology from Harvard University in 1970. It was the height of the Vietnam war, and the streets were in political motion. While in Boston, Janaki engaged in student protests on the Harvard campus. She also met and had an influence on Daniel Ellsberg, ultimately playing a role in assisting with the release of the Pentagon Papers, an act largely credited with helping to bring an end to the war. This experience and the cauldron of ideas emerging from the civil rights movement and global anti-colonial struggles, ultimately led her to Tanzania to teach at the University of Dar es Salaam for close to a decade. She met and studied with Dr. Walter Rodney and Samir Amin, and actively supported African liberation movements in the continent. Janaki also taught political economy for nearly a decade at universities in China, where she learned from the rich debates and accounts of Bill and Joan Hinton.
Throughout her teaching, Janaki maintained a political commitment to giving her students tools to inquire about the origin of their own ideas, and providing grounded experiences from which to change them. In the US, she taught in environments ranging from public schools and prisons, to universities including Dartmouth College, Keene State, SIT, and Marlboro College. She gave guest lectures in the US, India, and Japan. Janaki deeply cared about the experiences of children, and ultimately founded two social justice-oriented teacher training programs to develop teachers committed to creating classrooms that would engage children in learning about and changing the world. She founded a nonprofit organization, Educational Praxis Inc, which now supports the Spark Teacher Training Institute and local educational activities in Vermont. Janaki continued to maintain and support the school her mother started in Bangalore, which served thousands of children for decades. She frequently arranged for her US students to spend months at Bapagrama school, learning to think and live differently while helping with logistics there.
Janaki started a family in this international context, raising her two children in local schools in East Africa and China with her former husband. Motherhood was her greatest joy, and she was an incredibly devoted mom and grandmother. She moved to Vermont in the 1990s, where she stayed until her passing, living with her long time partner. A much-loved teacher, Janaki's household held a constant ebb and flow of current and former students, colleagues, and friends, many of whom became extended family.
Dr. Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl has left an indelible mark on all who have known her. Even those she met in passing will remember her kind and loving nature because she strove to create a human connection with every single person she met- doing so even in her final days. Janaki wanted her legacy to be in the work and actions of her students, in her words, "to support the best of human experiences and oppose the worst of human actions". So now it is up to us. The baton has been passed.
Janaki leaves behind her two children, Gautama Tschannerl (spouse Andrea Tschannerl) and Dr. Asiya Tschannerl (spouse Dr. Ernesto Guevara); two grandchildren, Seeta Guevara and Zaria Tschannerl; long-time partner Burke Cummings; father of her children and former husband Dr. Gerhard Tschannerl; nieces, nephews and cousins; countless former students and friends. She was predeceased by her parents and brother Dr. S.N. Balasubrahmanyam.
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Tributes
Robin

Your spirit lives on in the hearts of everyone who was touched by your generosity and vision. Thank you for showing the world that love, in all its forms, truly does win.
Rest in power.

If one of your beloved daughters reads this tribute I would love to have you send me Burke's current email so that I can reach out to him at this time of losing his life love. Thank you. Please forwad contact information to torkinw@gmail.com
It was a privilege to be around her radiant joy, wit, generosity, charisma, intellectual curiosity and firm beliefs in social justice.
I will miss her smile and laughter along with her insistent fight for marginalized communities.
Always in my heart.
From our very first meeting, I remember feeling like she “saw” me, and loved me; there have not been many people in my life who have made me feel that way in an instant: safe, valued, and understood.
I feel blessed to have crossed her path and am sending love to her family and friends.
I had the privilege to be with Janaki during the early period of her life. We went through many experiences together, living in different places, including Tanzania and China, always learning and teaching and arriving at a better understanding of the world. Janaki was always ahead of me, knowing what was the right path.
Many people loved her, including me. She will always be in my thoughts.
This is a poem for you, Amma!
When distressed, You were Refuge
When seeking knowledge, You were Teacher
When feeling desolate, You were Home
When in despair, You were Hope
When feeling lost, You were Path
When suffering, You were Antidote
When dispirited, You were Joy
You were an embodiment of Love, Compassion and Kindness
You lived and taught Dhamma - Dhamma of Social Justice
You built a Sangha - Sangha of Kindred Spirits
Amma, You were a Buddha
Love you and miss you so much!!! - Madhu

My sister was fortunate to attend the school where Janaki taught, and this significantly shaped my career and personal life. Interestingly, Janaki's mother chose my wedding sari long before I was in a relationship. As time passed, I grew close to her children, who became like siblings to me.
One of my most cherished memories of Janaki is her love for humanity and simple passion for cereal. I often called her while she was in Vermont, asking, "What are you doing and eating?" Her playful response, "I’m in the kitchen eating my cereal," always made us laugh. Janaki’s unwavering love for her children, Asiya and Gautama, was evident in everything she did. Her radiant smile and warm voice had a unique way of touching my soul.
Because of Janaki, I am a woman who stands with my people, who are often underserved and invisible to society. I have adopted many quotes, but one stands out: "No peace can be obtained if any women, especially those who are oppressed and impoverished, are left out of the conversation' Janaki embodied this sentiment with her unwavering conviction. She empowered me to stand strong. Thank you for everything you have done for us.
I will carry on your legacy and be a game-changer without being left out of the conversation.
I will always love you, Amma. One of your many daughters, Avril
Picture of Tuesday’s work session with nonprofits’ fundraising. What is community?

I will forever be grateful to have learned from and to have been loved by her.
Rest in power, Amma! 💥
All my love,
Atasi



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Donations can be made below or sent to:
Educational Praxis, Inc.
POB 409
Putney VT
05346