Nahum Karanjawall, erstwhile trainer and racing expert and brother of western India-based trainer Nirad Karanjawalla, is no more. He suffered a massive cardiac arrest in the early hours today and succumbed instantly in his bed at his residence in Mumbai. His death, at 47, comes as a rude shock since he was in the best of health akin to that of a middle-aged teetotaller. 
 
"Dr Devious", as he was known to those close to him, was always full of wit and pranks. His spontaneous prescription of medicine for any ailment mentioned in his presence earned him the nickname. 
 
On a more serious note, Nahum never justified his potential while training horses. He started his course in training under trainer Dady Adenwalla, who also served the RWITC as a Senior Stipendiary Steward for over a decade. Nahum then proceeded for a stint in UK under the astute trainer Luca Cumani at New Market. He started his racing career as a trainer in the mid 1980s in Kolkata and in his very second year proved his class by winning the triple crown with Tug of War. He later moved to Mumbai and had a fairly successful stint. Simply Certain and Pallino who used to train under him were two of his many successful wards.  
 
After giving up on his training career, Nahum was recently hosting racing events along with Mohit Lalwani for Ten Sports. He was also contributing racing articles for race magazine - 'Racing World' in the section "Whispers from the Stables". 
 
The racing fraternity was shocked at his untimely death. "i am speechless!" said one of the top breeders, Rajendra Singh Idar. "This is a personal loss to me. I have known him very well and he was a good friend. He was always cheerful and talked so well. It would take a while to get over this."  
 
Following are the reactions of some of the big names in the racing fraternity. 
 
Vivek Jain: "It is shocking. I can’t say anymore at this juncture."  
 
Dallas Todywalla: "He was a very very good human being, clean hearted and nursed no malice against anyone. He was a buddy in the true sense of the word. There was never a dull moment with him around.  
 
Dady Adenwalla: "I am shocked and very disturbed by this news. I can`t comment anything now." 
 
Trainer Padmanabhan: "It’s so shocking. What confounds me is that he never showed any signs of ill health. He was a special family friend, and we have known him for a long long time. We spent quality time together, both in Mumbai and Bangalore. He was a skilful trainer, who fretted away his talents. It’s a loss to the racing fraternity." 
 
Sharmila Padmanabhan: (sobbing uncontrollably) "I have lost a loyal friend who was more like a brother. In his starting days as a trainer, he stayed with me and my family in Kolkata and we were very close. He was a superb human being and his knowledge of horses was immense. That explains his multifarious roles as trainer, advisor, offering expert opinions on Ten Sports, and writing columns for Racing World. He used to SMS me his wishes for every occasion. And yesterday, when he didn’t do it for Diwali, I wondered why. Now it’s hard to believe it won’t ever happen again. Can’t think of coming to Mumbai and not seeing his cheerful self again  I’m shattered! 
 
Sorab Jilla: "One of the better human beings on the race course…I loved him for what he was - a rare clean-hearted guy. He was a true friend, I’ll miss him."