Houston: Indian-American theoretical physicist E.C. George Sudarshan has been cremated in the US state of Texas, with his family, friends and students attending the last rites.

Sudarshan, 86, who is survived by his wife Bhamathi Sudarshan and two children, died of natural causes on May 13 in Austin, Texas.

His two sons Alex and Ashok performed the last rites at the Beck Funeral home near Roundrock. His wife Bhamathi sang Sudarshan's favourite song on Goddess Saraswati.

The University of Texas at Austin, where he worked since 1969, mourned his death. Several students and faculty from the physics department attended the cremation service and spoke highly of the professor and his works.

The Consul General of India at Houston was represented by Consul Ashok Sockalingam.

Sam Kannappan, a close friend of Sudarshan for the past 50 years, has proposed that a scholarship or a lecture series may be established in the name of the eminent physicist. Sudarshan, an outstanding theoretical physicist, was born in Kottayam, Kerala, in 1931. The professional career of Sudarshan spans five decades. PTI