2024 Parliamentary Election: Whither Opposition and Congress?

The Parliamentary election 2024 is only a couple of months away and the nation is experiencing a new kind of election fever which we have not seen except in 1977, the post-Emergency Parliamentary election. Then, as expected, the newly cobbled up Opposition parties, under the dynamic and well-accepted leadership of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan (JP)  called Janata Party, took on the Congress party and won.

The present BJP in its older avatar at that time known as Bharatiya Jana Sangh was almost an apology of a political party compared to its other partners namely Congress (O), Socialist Party of India (of Raj Narain and George Fernandes), Bharatiya Lok Dal (of Charan Singh, who was posthumously given Bharat Ratna this year) and Swatantra Party (of C. Rajagopalachari and ‎Minoo Masani). Together, these parties, which were a part of Janata Morcha, a political movement known as ‘Total Revolution’ led by Jayaprakash Narayan, became  Janata Party.

During the election campaign, Indira Gandhi called this Janata Party as a ‘strange animal’ and a ‘khichdi’ party without any political or moral principles. She called the Janata Party as an ‘opportunistic party.’ Indira Gandhi was prophetic in her utterances and tirade against the Janata Party. The Janata Party which won the election and formed the government soon came apart as its Central leadership could not hold those disparate parties together with each party asserting its own political and economic ideology. Naturally, things fall apart when Centre cannot hold.

Leaders of these coalition political parties were too ambitious to become Prime Ministers and looking for an excuse, no matter how frivolous it was. A replay of a similar political acrobatics was seen when Rajiv Gandhi was defeated in 1989 and V.P. Singh became the Prime Minister poisoning the nation with Mandal Commission. Its pernicious effect on our country’s earlier healthy reservation policy is impacting on our society even now.

Before Mandal Commission,  the evil of caste system was just an undercurrent in electoral politics. But thereafter it brazenly surfaced in the elections throwing up many caste-based satraps in States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. No wonder we are hearing the hoarse voices for caste census which will surely perpetuate caste system for all time to come as long as there is electoral politics in our country.

If anyone is to be blamed for this anti-social development, it is our politicians who strut around calling for the abolition of the caste system, but doing nothing about it. We are marching towards an age of reason and societal enlightenment where socially every citizen is of equal status, mutually respected and treated with dignity. But see, what our politicians have done. Their greed for power has seared the souls of the socially discriminated and deprived sections of our citizens. Therefore, we need no more political leaders now. There are enough of them. The need of the hour is for social reformers like Mahatma Gandhi, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Subramania Bharati, Swami Vivekananda, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dayananda Saraswati, Narayana Guru and others.

However, unless the caste factor with its identities is erased from electoral politics, we will never have a fair and free election. Therefore, we need tall social reformers who will reform our politicians  to eschew caste factor in elections completely. Is it an utopian idea?

Be that as it may, let us take a peek into the election that is at our doors. As I mentioned, the Opposition coalition in the past, in 1977 and 1989, won the election. To that extent at least it was a successful political strategy, though it committed harakiri soon after forming the government.

But see what is happening to  a similar coalition launched to face the BJP (rather Modi!) in the 2024 election. The I.N.D.I. Alliance is a still-born baby. Look at the way I.N.D.I. Alliance is coming apart, exploding. It is said that the strength of a chain depends on its weakest link. But here it seems all its links are weak except the one —Congress! And Congress itself seems to be at large, its Prime Ministerial candidate walking the Indian Roads in all directions on a journey to nowhere.

An angry young man, who had the audacity to tear to smithereens his own UPA government’s notification at a press conference in Delhi, he is going to take on Modi in 2024 Parliamentary elections alone, like a One-Man Army without foot soldiers. And worse that his high-ranking officers are deserting him one after the other. Yesterday’s Deccan Herald had given a list of them by name with an apt sub-heading “Never-ending list” and at the last count there were 34 and still counting.

Well, but “Who is afraid of Virginia Wolf?” Or “Who is afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” Not Rahul Gandhi, of course. Among those who deserted the sinking Congress Boat are many honourable, loyal Congressmen like for example Supreme Court Advocate Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Amarinder Singh,  Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora. Yes, others might have left to save their skin from ED.

However, should Congress High Command lose these senior honchos at a critical time of Parliamentary election? No. Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather Nehru or his grandmother Indira Gandhi and even his father Rajiv Gandhi (who spoke in a public meeting in Mumbai about ending the evil of power-brokers in Congress and then compromised) would not have allowed these stalwarts to leave the party? Didn’t Nehru stop Gen. K.S. Thimayya from resigning despite V.K. Krishna Menon? But Rahul has guts. He simply shunned these people with a ‘Couldn’t care for you’ attitude saying “People who are leaving tomorrow, should go today itself.”

Now over to the 2024 Parliamentary election.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Defender of Faith and Renaissance Man of India

The 2024 Parliamentary election is only a couple of months away. Looking back, in the last 10 years, it has been a golden decade for India. The credit should indeed go to BJP Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi. I am sure this kind of approbation of Modi’s rule will ruffle the feathers of BJP’s bete noire, the Left liberal members of the Opposition.

But, let me begin with a parable told by Kahlil Gibran as my answer to those who ruled us after independence from 1947 to 2014 before Narendra Modi arrived as Prime Minister.

One nightfall, a man travelling on a horseback towards the sea, reached an Inn on the roadside. He dismounted and confident in man and night, he tied his horse to a tree beside the door and entered the Inn.

At midnight, when all were asleep, a thief came and stole the traveller’s horse.

In the morning, the man awoke and discovered that his horse was stolen and grieved for his horse. Then his fellow lodgers came and stood around him and began to talk.

And the first man said, “How foolish of you to tie your horse outside the stable.”

And the second man said, “Still more foolish, without strapping together the legs of the horse.”

And the third man said, “It is stupid at best to travel to the sea on a horseback.”

And the fourth man said, “Only the lazy and the slow on foot own horses.”

Naturally, the traveller, who was the victim of theft, was much astonished at the remarks and comments of other lodgers. At last, he cried, “My friends, because my horse is stolen, you have hastened to tell me my faults and my shortcomings. But strange, not one word of reproach have you uttered about the man who stole my horse.”

In the above parable, imagine the traveller to be the Rajas of different countries within Hindu India in the beginning of the 10th century ACE. The horse that was stolen to be their kingdoms. The lodgers of the Inn to be the Left liberals and those who ruled us from 1947 to 2014 after we got independence in 1947. As an Indian, specially if you are a Hindu, what would be your feeling? Same as that of the victim — traveller in the parable.

These Left liberals are the ruling parties of India who found fault with the Hindu kings and Hindu people of this country for losing the war against foreign conquerors. Strangely, not one word of reproach has been uttered by the Left liberals and the ruling parties about the foreign invaders who stole the kingdoms of these Hindu kings.

The rulers of independent India compromised the evils perpetrated to the virasat (heritage) of Hindus and did not enable Hindus to reclaim their important temples that were destroyed by the Muslim invaders.

Be that as it may, after independence the Hindus had one golden opportunity to reclaim their lost heritage with regard  to their temples, names given to the old Hindu kingdoms, important places and roads. So also with regard to the British and Persian names that are in the land records. There is Moghul and Colonial influence in criminal and civil laws that was crying for change to affirm the fact that India is an independent, sovereign country with a Hindu majority.

Unfortunately, it did not happen for several decades because the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who ruled for more than 16 years did not countenance efforts of the victims of destroyed temples to reclaim them for reasons best known to him.

The rulers of independent India considered the majority Hindus of the country as a burden on the minority and its impact was seen in the government’s discriminatory policy on education, temple management and criminal and civil laws.

It is axiomatic that the British India was divided in 1947 on the communal political principle of Hindu majority and Muslim majority provinces. The majority Hindus of truncated India believed that they could reclaim their virasat (heritage) and then pursue the path of vikas (development) once the Muslims were granted their demand for Pakistan.

Surprisingly, the Congress leaders who became the rulers of divided India could not influence or convince Nehru to be considerate towards the aspirations of Hindus. It is now revealed that such attitude by the then rulers in dealing with the Hindu question after independence had a political purpose (Remember there was a ‘Muslim question’ before independence!). It was a hidden vote bank agenda of the ruling Congress party and there being no strong Opposition party, there was no one to speak for Hindus.

Defeated, denied, oppressed and even humiliated in a gradual manner for over thousand years, it was but natural for the Hindus to reclaim their lost inheritance and heritage when they got freedom.

However, due to the electoral politics played on the hidden rules of caste, creed, religion and also money, the Hindu majority continued to languish without seeing the new age of renaissance and resurgence.

Fortunately, by sheer serendipity, in 2014 Parliamentary election a miracle happened both for India and for Hindus. The BJP with NDA partners got an absolute majority in the Parliament and also a Prime Minister Narendra Modi like an avatar mentioned in Bhagavad Gita. This helped in reclaiming Hindu virasat and boosting India’s economic growth which took a quantum leap that many thought would be impossible. And the man who made this impossible possible is our Prime Minister Modi.

Though the going is good for the country and its people, both the majority and the minority, it is important to pause and ponder about our democracy and its healthy growth. Presently, the political ethos across the country is eclipsed by a disparate Opposition bereft of political ideology anchored by a weak and fatigued Congress party.

The Opposition seems to suffer not only from a policy paralysis but also from a leadership crisis. Fortunately for the country, the BJP does not suffer from these two major deficiencies and therein lies its strength for now.

In a matured democracy, there must be a strong Opposition in the Parliament. It is for this reason, the Prime Minister too had expressed his desire in the Rajya Sabha for a good constructive Opposition in the Parliament.

Fortunately, the forthcoming 2024 election does not seem to be complicated or complex. Therefore, we can expect a healthy mix of the Ruling and the Opposition parties in the new Parliament functioning from the new Parliament House.

In the midst of all this, we hear a discordant note coming from an MP from Karnataka D.K. Suresh sowing the seed of another partition of the country as North and South for the frivolous alleged reason of the Centre not giving Karnataka its share of tax. The PM was much upset about the MP’s threat and said in Rajya Sabha, “What is this language being spoken? Stop creating such new narratives to break the nation.”

Hearing the utterances of some of our politicians from across the political parties, it seems necessary for them to read the history of India — ancient, modern and the present. Only then they will know how India was conquered and ruled by foreign invaders and traders. Only then they will know how important it is for India to stay united and thereby stay strong so that history will not repeat itself.

Reflecting on the statements made by Congress MP D.K. Suresh and some DMK leaders about our country’s unity, I am reminded of what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said in Bombay in early fifties at a public meeting when the then Chief Minister of Bombay B.G. Kher concluded his speech saying, “I am an Indian first and Maharashtrian last.”

When Dr. Ambedkar’s turn came to speak, he alluded to Kher’s concluding remark and said, “We should always think we are Indians first and Indians last.”

Let us hope our present day ambitious and parochial politicians will hear Dr. Ambedkar’s advice and think themselves as Indians first and Indians last. Dr. Ambedkar also said in another context, “If India loses who wins.”

History of the world tells us that at all times and circumstances, war, peace, famine or pestilence, as the Leader so is the Country. When you have a good leader, keep him.

Jai Hind.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Saluting Dr. Filliozat, Padma Shri awardee

When a French Sanskrit Scholar Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, a resident of Mysuru, was awarded the prestigious national civil honour Padma Shri, I was not surprised. Star of Mysore had the honour of introducing him to its readers many years ago as a Sanskrit scholar, who had done research on the great Sanskrit grammarian Panini and author of many books on ancient Indian culture.

Much as I wished to meet him soon after the announcement of the Padma awards by the Central Government before the Republic Day, it was not possible. At last, I could make it yesterday and it was indeed like being in the presence of a Jnana Yogi that Lord Krishna mentions in Bhagavad Gita. He seemed to be an embodiment of scholarship in Sanskrit. Tall, frail and smiling, he was an epitome of humility.

I was received by Dr. Filliozat and his wife Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat, who is a noted Historian and Epigraphist. She was also a recipient of Kannada Rajyotsava Award. Age seems to have taken toll of their younger days. Dr. Filliozat is 87 and Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat is 84. They live in an old house, spacious and with a huge backyard at Yadavagiri. The interior of the house has the characteristic of a heritage house. Understandably, it has a spacious library where they must be spending more time doing what is close to their heart and passion.

Dr. Vasundhara gave me a Kannada book titled Alidulida Hampe (The Remains of Hampi). The book was written in 1975 giving an overview of the Vijayanagar Empire and its capital. She said when she visited the place again in October 2023, she was shocked to discover that a couple of temples in ruins that she had seen were not there. Instead, there appeared in its place a hotel.

Dr. Vasundhara Filliozat’s achievement in her given field of study is equally admirable. It is not surprising therefore that she was invited to deliver the ‘Eleventh Pupul Jayakar Memorial Lecture’ on Apr. 19, 2019 at INTACH, New Delhi. She is of the opinion that there are misconceptions and wrong interpretations on the history of Hindu Kingdoms which should be corrected. Sadly, the post independent India’s education policy was totally lopsided so much so we were taught more about Muslim rule, which was dominant in Northern India, and the history of British India and very little or nothing about the ancient history of Hindu India or the Hindu dynasties and kings of Southern India. It was interesting to know that Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat had also played an important role in bringing Hampi among the world heritage list of historical monuments being recognised by UNESCO.

I was just browsing through a book about Hampi and Vijayanagar Empire published by INTACH and authored by Dr. Vasundhara Filliozat and felt elated to read her observations about the way the history was written about India (apparently patronised by the rulers) which is similar to my own opinion on the subject. Let me quote her and leave it to our readers to reflect on what was taught to us in the past 75 years of Independence:

“It was the British administrators’ idea that to rule permanently over India, our real Indian history should be conceived and written in accordance with the legends, dubious copper plates and later literary sources, so that the scholars would fight amongst themselves on those points, instead of searching for true facts.”

Dr. Vasundhara in her book records: “Vasucaritra of Bhattamurti calls Vijayanagara, Karnata Kingdom. Evidences complied but suffice it to show that the real name of what is well-known as Vijayanagara empire is Karnata-samrajya or Karnataka empire.”

Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat told me that he came to India for the first time in 1955, eight years after independence and when I asked him how he found the administration, he said, without batting an eyelid, “Well, it was like colonial India.”

Again when I asked him if he is finding any change now, his answer was ‘Yes’. I thought it could be positive and asked him to explain. He then told me how certain values which were special for India are disappearing. Actually I was thinking he would touch upon the political situation. However, he was far removed from politics. He is a man of culture and scholarship. He said, giving an example, the attire of Indian women saree is very unique and also beautiful. However, these days saree seems to be yielding place to other types of dress.

At this point, his wife Dr.  Vasundhara joined him and said, “Very true, our sarees are very very unique and beautiful. When I went to France in 1965 people there looking at me dressed in a saree thought that I was a princess.”

As I was about to take leave of them, there entered two visitors — Dr. Gil Ben-Herut, tall handsome, all smiles, accompanied by R.S. Shankar of Ramakrishna Ashram with fruits, flowers and a shawl to honour the recipient of the Padma Shri award. The moment I saw Dr. Gil with Shankar whom I knew personally, I wished them with namaskar followed by shake-hands. Shankar introduced me to Dr. Gil, a Professor at the University of South Florida, USA, a Fulbright Scholar, who has come to India to do research on Vachana Sahitya. No wonder he spoke to me in Kannada. It was my pleasure to join them in felicitating the octogenarians Dr. Filliozat and Dr. Vasundhara.

I saw a couple of oil paintings of unique style done by Dr. Filliozat. Apparently, they were done many years ago as the artist’s signature was almost erased to a pale shadow. Couple of them are produced above.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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From today it is only seven days for the consecration of Ram Lalla’s (baby Rama) idol at a ceremony in Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. Monday, 22nd January, 2024, will be a red letter day for all the Hindus all over the world because that will be the day when the Hindus of the world will be redeeming their self-esteem and will reclaim their Lord Rama who was driven away from his birthplace more than 500 years ago by Babur, the invader.

To reclaim the most important cultural and religious inheritance and symbol Sri Rama of our country Bharat, steeped in Sanatana Dharma, was not easy even after 76 years of independence despite 80 percent of the population being Hindus. It behoves well to the majority of the population that they could reclaim their spiritual and culture heritage through peaceful agitations, negotiations and finally through the Law Court. Of course, there were some violent incidents but it was more for political reasons than for lack of tolerance and understanding between those involved in the Ayodhya conundrum. That Lord Rama, his very name, elevated the thoughts and emotions of Hindus is evident from the fact that the struggle to reclaim Ram’s birthplace had begun from the day the temple was demolished.

Be that as it may, we can now look back and say all is well that ends well and the long-awaited consecration ceremony of installing the idol of baby Rama at his birthplace will take place as scheduled.

Now the whole nation resonates with the spirit of Sri Rama, the God Head, who is the avatar of Lord Vishnu, one of the three aspects of Eshwara — the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara — the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer respectively. In Bhagavadgita, there is a verse which says that whenever there is a need to protect the righteous and destroy the evil forces in order to establish dharma Lord Krishna would incarnate again and again in different Yugas. This is Kaliyuga and the evil forces had destroyed temples and subjugated His bhaktas. Surprisingly, He did not incarnate as an avatar for over 1,000 years in this land to redeem what was lost and to reclaim what really belonged to his bhaktas.

Anyway, now during the Prime Ministership of Narendra Modi, Sri Rama’s Ayodhya has been reclaimed and the celebration has already begun. Surprisingly, Prime Minister Modi, last Friday (Jan. 12), began a special eleven-day fast to prepare himself for the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The consecration would be a realisation of a pledge and dream of generations of tolerant Hindus, who made ‘tremendous sacrifices’ for the cause. Speaking after beginning his fast, Modi said, and rightly so, “God has made me an instrument to represent all people of India.”

Already, many interesting anecdotes, stories and real life situations are making the rounds. Certainly some could be apocryphal. The one that rouses admiration and wonder is that of one Mauni Baba, who took a pledge not to speak at the age of 10 and has been walking barefoot for years with a resolve to build the Ram Mandir. According to reports, he will break his silence by chanting Lord Rama’s name on Jan. 22. Mauni Baba, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, will give up the pledge of not wearing slippers and not speaking as soon as the idol of Ram Lalla is seated in the Temple at Ayodhya. His original name was Mohan Gopal Das and reports said that he was with  kar sevaks in Ayodhya when the structure of Babri Masjid came down. As I write, it is not known if he has been invited for the consecration ceremony.

Yesterday morning, I spoke to Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa, the renowned Kannada novelist and an intellectual on his return to city from a visit to Lucknow and Ayodhya, about which, news had already appeared in Star of Mysore and other newspapers. His first response to my question about law and order in Uttar Pradesh (UP), known for its chaotic and violent social situation in the past, specially before the present Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to power, was surprisingly very positive.

Yes, it was considered a lawless land like Bihar during the days of Lalu Prasad Yadav. According to Dr. Bhyrappa, the law and order situation seemed to be under total control. Senior IAS Officers hailing from Karnataka, with whom Bhyrappa interacted, too endorsed this view with an explanation. The reason was a stern warning given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to all bureaucrats to work strictly according to the law, rules and regulations and not to make compromises to oblige the MLAs, MLCs and MPs. With this kind of orders and guidance from the Chief Minister himself, the bureaucracy in UP today are working with confidence and without fear of the elected representatives, who often ask the bureaucracy to compromise for reasons of electoral politics. While in the past, it used to be difficult for women and children to move around at night,  it is not so now under Yogi Adityanath, Bhyrappa said.

When I heard this I was wondering why our Chief Minister here in Karnataka too issue similar instructions to his bureaucrats — not to take instructions from the MLAs, MLCs and MPs and follow the law instead. Just this morning, I read in the Deccan Herald about the most abominable Hangal gang-rape case, where the Chief Minister replying to a query said that ‘he had spoken to Byadgi MLA Shivanna and necessary steps would be taken…’ Well, why speak to MLA? Why not the Health Officer or the Police Officer?

This reminded me of my visit to Patna some years ago after the fall of Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi’s rule. My friend and I took a taxi to go to our next destination out of Patna at about 6 pm. While travelling, the taxi driver told us that it was only after the new Government came to power the taxis and cars began to move on that road at night as earlier there used to be a number of mafia operating on highways to waylay and rob passengers. Now in UP, according to Dr. Bhyrappa, “We can call it a heaven.”

Another interesting observation of Dr. Bhyrappa was about newspaper reports. According to him, there is a sharp contrast in the news we read in our newspapers here and the ones he read in Lucknow. Here we find, according to him, news full of reports about rape, molestation, murder etc. in addition to road accidents and robbery. We also read about frequent chain-snatching incidents. He said he rarely saw these kinds of reports in UP papers that he had read. It carried more of positive news and about development.

He said it would be wrong to say newspapers are guilty of canard or tendentious reporting. After all, newspapers are just mirror image of whatever happens in the society. Just as the mirror reflects the images before it, so also, the newspaper reports whatever is happening in the society.

Having heard the intellectual oracle of our city Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa, I thought there is some food for thought for the Congress Government that is ruling Karnataka today.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Whenever a soldier of my country died in war or peace, I always felt a tad diminished as a citizen of this country. That was how I felt this morning on hearing the news of passing away of Maj. Gen. C.K. Karumbaya SM, (retd.) in city. He belonged to Kodava community of Codanda family and was known by his pet name Keshu. I knew him from my College days in Madikeri, Kodagu, where he was three years senior to me and was in NCC. He was aged 87 when he faded away from amongst us. It is truly said, ‘A soldier never dies, he simply fades away.’

As for me, his memory will linger in my mind for the reason that I was in close and constant touch with him when he came to Mysuru to settle down after retirement in early 90s. In his personality, manner of conduct and character, he was a man cut out by destiny to serve the country where the utmost sacrifice is required — ready to give life, like a true patriot.

As with his men in uniform wherever he was posted, so also after his retirement, he remained a people’s guide and leader with so much of human feelings and concern in his thought and heart. As for courage and selflessness, he was like Julius Caesar of the dim past known for his bravery. Caesar’s military prowess was known when he conquered Gaul (now France) and his selflessness at the time he fought and won the Civil War in Rome against his rival Pompey.

It may sound pompous and improper to compare Gen. C.K. Karumbaya aka Keshu to the legendary Julius Caesar. But I was just drawing a parallel in respect of certain higher qualities by which a man must live by and lead a life not only for oneself but also for others. Let me illustrate these qualities of a braveheart that Gen. Karumbaya was by giving examples.

While he was in the Army, during the Bangladesh War of 1971, then Maj. Karumbaya took over the command of 5th Maratha LI (5th Royals Battalion) when the Commanding Officer of the 5th Royals was wounded in the Battle of Elangi. Maj. Karumbaya acquitted himself so well under challenging circumstances that his Divisional Commander promised to present him with a bottle of Scotch if Maj. Karumbaya succeeded in capturing Magura in the South of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Writing in Star of Mysore, dated 16th December, 2014, about the Victory Day of Bangladesh War, Karumbaya mentions about this episode and how he also won the bottle of Scotch his Commanding Officer Maj. Gen. K.S. Brar had promised. Apparently, the bottle was never emptied and Karumbaya  wrote: ‘This bottle of premium Scotch continues to be displayed with much pride in the Officers’ Mess till today.’

Let us hope the bottle remains there when Gen. Karumbaya will not be there to see it anymore. This incident is indeed a testimony to his courage and the confidence his superiors had in his military competence. Except for impairment of hearing due to a blast injury  he suffered during Bangladesh War, he lived a healthy life till some months before his end came today.

Gen. Karumbaya was in Kargil, J&K, where he introduced sporting activities for local youths, himself participating. He told me the youths were good and very friendly. About politicians of his days there, he had a different take. Politicians were Janus-faced, he said. One senior politician who ruled J&K during a visit to his camp had whispered to his ears to mix Vodka to the soft drink Fanta at lunch!

Though he could have lived in city in greater comfort, he chose to live in a village farm on Bogadi Road in the midst of a coconut grove. However, his concern for the common man and the common cause of the community did not diminish unlike many inactive social activists who issue press statements using photo-ops, like arm-chair NGOs. He always led a protest movement or public demonstration for a public cause from the front which was why in the 90s and even later we could see Maj. Gen. Karumbaya standing tall among  the groups of protestors. He was a member of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), Mysore Lok Swaraj Andolan (MLSA), Elder Citizens Council, a member of Mysore Sports Club, JW Golf Club and Mysore Kodava Samaja.

Understandably, the presence of the General in these organisations and clubs made a difference. He was not the one who would countenance any wrong doing in the administration of these organisations and clubs nor would he compromise on principles. Such people often become thorns in the soles of those who have a different agenda. No wonder he dragged an office-bearer of Mysore Lok Swaraj Andolan (also a senior Defence Officer) as a Convenor of MLSA to Court and won the case.

He was taking active part in MGP, headed by Bhamy V. Shenoy. It was around 1993-94 and the MGP had taken up the cause of protecting the People’s Park where the Government and the MCC had decided to construct a public library (which has now become a fait accompli) in a sinister barter deal with a builder who offered to construct the library pro bono in exchange for land facing the main road for him to construct shopping complexes.

This proposal had the blessings of Corporation Council and the matter had gone to the Court as PIL by MGP. Much heat was generated as a result between the contending parties. One day Bhamy Shenoy, the Convenor of MGP, received a letter from the then Mayor’s Office of the City Corporation stating if the matter was pursued he would be murdered. When Shenoy mentioned this to Maj. Gen. Karumbaya, he was naturally upset and even angry. According to Shenoy, who shared this information with me this morning, the General put on his army gear and appeared before the Mayor in full army uniform taking him to task. Since the Mayor did not deny the charge, it was assumed the intimidating letter was indeed sent.

Bhamy Shenoy said that he had no prior information about the General’s decision to confront the Mayor in this manner. All that I can say is that Maj. Gen. C.K. Karumbaya, SM (retd.) was indeed a braveheart as much as a kind human being that one should always be in one’s life. After all, one cannot be a hero always in life but one can always be a good human being. And he was one.

RIP Keshu

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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How about one for Farrokh K. Irani?

In the early days of this month December 2023 there was an important news break concerning installation of a statue in our City of Palaces, Heritage Buildings, Parks, Temples, and, of course, of Statues which is a recent phenomenon.

As I remember, before 1970s there were only two iconic statues — that of Chamaraja Wadiyar at the North Gate of the Palace under a golden dome and another at K.R. Circle, the hub of downtown area, of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, also under a dome. Then there was an apology of a statue at the park in front of Lansdowne building that of the grand-old-man of the city affectionately called Thathaiah — a multifaceted personality — a journalist, freedom fighter and a man of social service.

However, over the years as the heritage buildings began to crumble, collapse and disappear, parks began to shrink and the Palace passed on to the Government, the social-political influence of the descendants of Wadiyar dynasty began to wane. The only new phenomenon we are observing is the mushrooming of statues of politicians, poets, saints and war heroes of the past all over the city.

Here one must recall what Supreme Court in a judgement had said about granting permission for installation of any statue or construction of any structure in public roads, pavements, sideways and other public utility places. The Supreme Court had said that the State Government shall not grant any permission for such installation of statues or construction of structures. It is, however, ambiguous if there is a blanket ban or the ban is qualified.

Be that as it may, the hard fact is that there is a controversy about the installation of a statue of late Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt, who revolutionised the realm of education not only in our city but all over the State, country and even abroad by setting up educational institutions of various streams, including the medical colleges and hospitals, engineering and other colleges. Indeed, at a time when the State Government was straining to provide needed education, Suttur Seer undertook this daunting task and succeeded.

Such a noble and great soul indeed must be honoured by installing a statue in a city, Mysuru, which was his Karmabhoomi. But the question raised by some is about its location at the Gun House Circle to the North of the Palace as the Royalty says it has the entitlement for this location to install the statue of one of its scions.

I reflect on this controversy and the new-found interest among some in installing statues with the apprehension that this statue culture might submerge the city to a point of inanity. Wonder why not install beautiful, creative sculptures by noted sculptors of our city or country in parks and public places like in many foreign countries?

Anyway, I am provoked to remember late Farrokh Khudamurad Irani, popularly known as F.K. Irani, the city’s celebrated celebrity, industrialist who gave the country the iconic Jawa motorcycle, manufactured in our city, giving employment to over 2,500 people and a boost to many ancillary industries, in the midst of this statue conundrum.

He was a friend of the last Maharaja of Mysore H.H. Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, (whose statue, installed at Hardinge Circle, now adorns in line with his two predecessors who ruled Mysore Principality) with whom he played golf; a permanent invitee to the Dasara Durbar at Mysore Palace, Chairman of Mysore Race Club (MRC) and President of Sri Kanteerava Narasimharaja Sports Club (Mysore Sports Club) for over 16 years, founder of Ideal Jawa Rotary School, member of CITB (now MUDA) and above all a great philanthropist. When there was a midnight fire that gutted the Devaraja Market, Farrokh Irani was among the first one to rush to the spot and get his men and machines to douse the fire side by side with the Fire Brigade. He never sent away anyone who sought his help empty handed.

Leaving modesty aside, I do take pride in claiming to have known him as a Rotary member and also as a member of the Sports Club. I found him as a most friendly, affable person who would love to relax with any friendly soul over a drink which he offered most generously. Such a man who gave much of his life for this city died on 24th October 1985 in Mumbai after a brief illness. He lived in Nazarbad and the Jawa Factory was in Yadavagiri where now stands the Sankalp Central Park towers.

On 25th October, the following day of his death I paid him a tribute and in the last paragraph I wrote: “It was an irony of fate that the city had to celebrate the Dasara Festival this year without Irani. I painfully recall the ‘promise’ he had made to a group of close friends, where I was present, before leaving for Bombay for medical treatment. In his usual style he had told us that he would return to city to participate in Dasara procession. That was during the 1st week of this month.                                                   But the fate had willed otherwise. Probably, for the first time in his life here Irani could not keep up his promise. We miss him forever.”

Citizens of Mysuru would have loved to see one of the important roads named after him. But all I see today is a junction at Police Commissioner’s Office named after him. The irony of it all is that the Children’s Traffic Park at this junction was his contribution. To such a person, our authorities and his beneficiaries in the city should have conferred a greater honour than just naming of that ‘junction’ after him. How about naming an important road near his factory or his house or installing a statue?

Among those who deeply mourned his death was Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, who  on reading the news of Irani’s death in Star of Mysore dated 25th October 1985, wrote a moving letter of condolence to Irani’s wife Sheila Irani on 28th October 1985. The last paragraph of this letter expresses his sentiment and a suggestion to acknowledge Farrokh Irani’s service to Mysuru City with a statue. Let me quote Field  Marshal K.M. Cariappa:

“I hope one day we will see a statue of this great man in some most prominent place in Mysuru to remind the future generation to serve as efficiently and as magnificently as our very dear Farrokh served.”

Hellow. Is anyone hearing the Field Marshal?

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Newspaper reading has been my second nature of being alive, after breathing. During this month of December 2023, I have been reading in newspapers about the death of people who were young, too young to die. School-going children, college-going boys, young adults pursuing a profession. I am not thinking of those who died in accidents on roads or those who drowned in rivers, seas or pools. I am thinking of those who die these days rather prematurely due to, what doctors call, natural death — heart attack.

Karnataka and the film-world got its first paralysing shock about the ways death may come to a person, suddenly and stealthily, when our Kannada film world’s popular hero Puneeth Rajkumar, a health freak and buff, gentle and always smiling, who loved all and also served the poor of his fans, passed away in the year 2021, at age 46. The cause: medically diagnosed as heart attack.

Reading this kind of premature natural death, I contemplate about its nature. Why and how of its occurrence. It is inscrutable. It has defied even the scientific and medical scrutiny. Here death comes like money that comes out of Any Time Money (ATM) — Automated Teller Machine (ATM). We can call this tragic phenomenon of early death as Any Time Death (ATD). Only difference is that while in the ATM money comes when the ATM card holder wishes to draw money; in case of death, it comes when the ATD card ironically gets auto-activated by God. Therefore, we continue to live by the decree of fate till we are stricken by this kind of phenomenon of death.

Some attribute such deaths to one’s Karma which in the Hindu spiritual world is a Law like the Law of Gravity in the material world. Just as one cannot defy the Law of Gravity, one cannot defy the law of Karma. However, we despair at these premature natural deaths because they come without a presentiment of the coming horror.

Our experience tells us that we are not sure of our time on this earth and we should console ourselves with the wisdom of Socrates who said, “We only know this, that we know nothing.” No matter what the Holy book or the scripture we read says.

In Katha Upanishad, there is an episode where one Vajashravasa gave all his possessions at a ritual sacrifice out of desire for Heaven. His intelligent son Nachiketa saw his father offering only useless cows that were too old to give milk and thought that such an offering would not help his father get to Heaven. So he offered himself saying, “Father, to whom will you give me?” He repeatedly asked thrice as his father was silent and then Vajashravasa answered in anger:

“I will give you to death.”

And Nachiketa goes to  death. But before going he tells this to his father, “Remember how the men of old passed away, and how those of now living, in days to come, will also pass away: a mortal human being ripens like corn and like corn is born again.”

The rest of the episode where he confronts the God of Death, Yama, their dialogue, Nachiketa wanting to know the secret of death from the God of Death are not germane to my musings on the death of young here.

The question staring us in the face today is why the God of Death is not allowing the corn to ripen before it is harvested by the God of Death?

Anyone would agree that age 53 is not an age to die to a working person with good health. But he dies. How? Yesterday’s newspaper carried the news:

Prof. Sameer Khandekar, age 53, collapsed and died while he was addressing the old students of IIT-Kanpur. The cause of death: heart attack. Curiously, the subject of the lecture was about keeping good health.

In another case, also reported yesterday, a boy of 23 years age, Jatin, hailing from Haryana and working in Bengaluru, died of heart attack on top of the highest peak in Kodagu, Thadiyandamol, while he was on a trekking  expedition with five of his friends.

Again in another case from US, one Neel Nanda, the US-based Comedian of Indian origin, aged 32, died, though the cause of death and date were not revealed. And there could be such deaths like the detaching of corns before they are ripened.

John Donne, the english poet might have written the famous poem ‘Death, Be Not Proud’ but it is more of a solace to those whom the departed has left behind. The sting of death is a fait accompli and leaves those left behind in despair, in trauma, specially when they die young.

Now what about those who die at an age like well-ripened corn (to borrow the metaphor from Katha Upanishad)?

A few days ago I saw an advertisement in The Hindu, Chennai and it must give us the answer. Much as I would have loved to reproduce it here, I refrain. And that might be the way many would have liked their obituary announcement to be. The man died at age 103. A smiling face with holy ash mark across the forehead, with eyes twinkling, attired in saffron jubba over the torso, was looking at the reader directly in the eye.

The uniqueness of the text, of course, takes the cake, as they say. He was described in his many roles as a human being — son, husband, father, grand-father etc., etc., as he was called in their mother-tongue (Tamil here), mentioning his interest in art, literature etc., and ending with sanyas. But the creative genius of the writing, like an advertising copy writer, emerges in the text published here below, seeking the author’s indulgence for any copyright violation:

“(He) enjoyed vengayam sambhar, paruppu usilli, hot filter kappi, bajji, pakkoda, chocholates, badam halwa, et al… with a twinkle in his eye, till the end. Lived well, ever ready to provide Chitragupta a detailed account of his purposeful life.”

At  the bottom of this advertisement, or rather the announcement, is the names of two persons who are not identified.

“Enter Heaven my most venerable soul,” would be the refrain of Chitragupta, the keeper of dossier on new arrivals of souls from earth for the God of Death Yama. As for Nachiketa, he might still be listening to the ‘Secret of Death’ from Yama Dharmaraya beginning with Atma, the ties that bind this Atma (spirit), how to set this Atma free etc., etc., till one day he too reaches the age of 103. Did you get me Steve?

Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Alter ego of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba?

[Continued from yesterday]

K.B. Ganapathy (KBG): How did you become his successor?

Sathya Sai Baba died in the year 2011. Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai was in Bengaluru. He had a prayer room attached to his living room. One day while he was sitting and praying, the apparition or call it astral body appeared before Mr. Madhusudan and spoke of many matters spiritual and mundane and asked him to wear his mantle and carry on his mission in this world.

Mr. Madhusudan asked how could he undertake such a mission as he had neither spiritual power nor contacts of high profile persons. Sathya Sai Baba told him not to worry. He would put him in touch with some people who would support and help him. He even named Prof. Narasimha Murthy and Prof. Shashidhara Prasad apart from others.

Here I remembered Jesus. He had asked one of his disciples to go and preach his message, the glad tidings. But the disciple pleaded his inability as he was an illiterate.

Jesus said: Fear not. I will put words into your mouth.

Be that as it may, at this  point, I asked what was the apparition (astral body) like. Was it standing or sitting? It was standing, he said. What was the attire the astral body was wearing? The attire normally worn by Sathya Sai Baba.

Did you touch him? Was it a physical body? “No. I did not touch him. It was not a physical body but I could see him with my eyes (made a victory sign with two fingers and took them near his two eyes).”

KBG: Did he give you that divine vision as Lord Krishna gave to Sanjaya to describe Kurukshetra war to the blind king Dhritarashtra and to Arjuna when Lord Krishna showed him Vishwaroopa?

Sadguru flashed a gentle smile at my question and said No. “I saw him with my normal eyes.”

Time was running out. Helicopter was waiting. I forgot to ask him if he was blessed with the miraculous power of producing or materialising vibhuti (holy ash) and other small objects like wrist watch, gold ring or chain by a mere sleight of hand and also about miraculously healing. Someone later told him he does this miracle sparingly. Let it be. However, I asked him one last question.

KBG: Are you enlightened?

He seemed to dodge the question. But made suggestions that would infer he was.

KBG: What is the difference between an enlightened person and an ordinary person like me?

Again there was a flicker of a smile, eyes downcast. Earlier we had discussed about mixing mundane and the spiritual in what he was doing. Serving the world in the field of Education, Health and Nutrition (to children) belongs to the realm of materialism where one is bound by attachments while spiritualism is renunciation, detachment from the worldly needs and possession.

KBG: How to reconcile these two opposites in pursuit of Mukthi, enlightenment or liberation?

“It is like living in a house. You have a kitchen, bedroom and puja room. You choose what you need. Or like taking a lift in a three-floor house. Two floors for the affair of the world, the last one, the third one, for the spiritual realisation. I can leave the first two floors and go directly to the third floor,” he said.

I smiled and nodded as in agreement.

Then he spoke of his invocation to Goddess Chamundeshwari at Chamundi Hill Temple on 21st December, Thursday and the blessings he received from the Goddess. He said that he always wanted to shift the present location of the school in Mysuru city to a sylvan surroundings far away in a village and had even selected some acres of land in a village. However, for some reason it did not fructify and so he had prayed to the deity Chamundeshwari and sought Her  blessings to make it happen.

“As I was praying I heard a voice saying ‘why do you ask me, make a Sankalp and it would happen’,” Sadguru said.

KBG: You mean She asked you? Did you hear it with your ears?

“Yes, I heard Her voice. And I made the Sankalp. And this morning I received a message from a Dubai devotee saying that he had decided to establish the school at a cost of Rs. 20 crore and he would sell some of his shares to raise the fund.”

I was dumbstruck. So also Bhamy Shenoy. I do not know about Prof. Shashidhara Prasad because he must have experienced this kind of miracle when he had been with the Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba and now with the Sadguru. Whatever the existential truth, I was happy, Mysuru District is going to get an institution that would teach both Sanatana Dharma and the secular education.

I wanted to ask him about the miracles performed by his Master Sri Sathya Sai Baba and  the power behind it. Whether magic or divine. But there was no time.

I had written about Sri Sathya Sai Baba in this column number of times as and when I got the opportunity. The whole world knows his mystical power (of course, Rationalists did not believe in it) to materialise vibhuti (holy ash), ring, necklaces, watches, etc. I wanted to know if Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai too has that mystical power. I shall find out if and when I meet him next. And I may meet him soon as he had extended an invitation to visit his iconic epicentre for all global service activities in Muddenahalli near Bengaluru Airport.

I got up from my seat, prompting him to terminate the interview, followed by others.  After all, the helicopter was waiting. I left the place after a hurried photo-shoot with Sadguru, who is described by the media and his followers as a Spiritual and Social Leader of the Global Mission for Education, Nutrition and Healthcare.

I thought of the early 1900s’      4-H programme of the US which sought to promote positive youth development. It means Head-Heart-Hands-Health.

I guess, the Sadguru’s mission too is similar to the US programme except he is giving equal importance to the Dharmic values of this land of Sanatana Dharma. If it is so, so be it.

Om Tat Sat.

[Concluded]

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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Alter ego of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba?

This eternal land Bharat is unlike any other land on this planet earth inhabited by human beings. It is the only country in the world that has a religion not founded by one prophet and guided by one holy book. Its religion though identified by the name foreigners gave us as Hinduism and called the people who lived here — irrespective of their diversity in culture and plurality in race — as Hindus, the reality has always been that this is a land of Sanatana Dharma, “eternal law,” where people led a way of life that is based on righteous, call it spiritual, conduct as enjoined in its ancient scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Being born in such a land as a Hindu, call it Sanatana Dharma and lived a life of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, consciously or unconsciously, I have come across a few spiritual persons who are unique and mystical in their own individual ways, apart from reading about those who have come and gone.

Among them I may mention here the names of Swami Chinmayananda, well-known for his Geeta Jnana Yajna discourses, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba, Osho Rajneesh of Pune, Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji of Mysuru, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and the one I met yesterday morning Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai.

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai is the youngest among those whom I have met. Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai was born on 26.7.1979 after the birth of Star of Mysore, 16.4.1978. He is now 44.

In the month of November 2023, I had visited an unusual kind of an educational institution housed in a magnificent, imposing building deep inside a village Maradevanahalli near Pandavapura in the neighbouring Mandya district. An Abracadabra on this institution was published on 5th November 2023 and the moving spirit behind it is this young spiritual master and social leader Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai.

On Friday 22nd December, 2023 morning, I had an opportunity to meet him personally at the residence of Prof. J. Shashidhara Prasad, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore, in Jayalakshmipuram. As I was waiting in the drawing room, where a designated chair was placed with a soft fender-cushion to rest his feet, Sadguru made his entry with a Namaste and a smile. Immaculately dressed in ochre robe (see picture), he occupied the chair. Prof. Shashidhara Prasad and Bhamy V. Shenoy of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), an NGO, who had accompanied me, were also there. I thought it would be my time. But Bhamy Shenoy being into educational concerns as an NGO fired the first salvo at the Sadguru and then there was no stopping him nor the Sadguru, who spoke impeccable english. Alas! I was left with very little time to interview Sadguru. But I have no regret because, myself being the Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Mysore Kendra and its schools, there was much for me to learn on various aspects of serving the cause of education by way of reclaiming what was lost in the past years of only secular education for Hindus.

When Sadguru’s assistant announced that the pilot of the helicopter had come, I knew I had very little time. But Sadguru was cool and condescending. A soft spoken person, eloquent and articulate in speech, a Sthitaprajna, a person who is calm and firm, with a mind of equanimity. I seek Bhamy Shenoy’s indulgence and ask my first question with a prelude:

“I ask you as a representative of my readers, majority of whom are laymen but deeply religious in their belief. There is a perception among people that there was Shirdi Sai Baba, then his reincarnation as Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba and now yourself. Is it a correct perception?”

Sadguru: I do not know about Shirdi Sai Baba and Puttaparthi Sai Baba and of the reincarnation. Yes, as for me I am the chosen one by Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi.

KBG: Can you tell me how it came about?

Here let me deviate to explain what manner of a man I found him to be. He was not overly orthodox or conservative as a spiritual person. He was quite transparent in his looks and speech. There was hardly any modulation in his speech but there was a steady flow. His age and the attire seemed to bring in a veil of spiritual aura to his fair visage making him a magnetic person attracting devotees.

I had asked him about his journey from Chhattisgarh in Central India (where recently the BJP won the Assembly election) to his present destination and he narrated his journey, despite my interlocution in between, at length, sans any rigmarole that I have found in other spiritual persons, more with neophytes.

Thus spake Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai to me which I record here from memory  since I did not make notes nor did I record.

Born as Madhusudan Naidu, his parents were employed and belonged to a middle class family. As education at Sri Sathya Sai Institute in Puttaparthi and Whitefield in Bengaluru was cheaper than in Chhattisgarh, he chose to travel to Puttaparthi and to Whitefield. A brilliant student with gold medals, he studied Master’s degree in Chemistry and MBA. At the instance  of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, he took up a job in the HDFC Bank in Bengaluru for about six years, though he was inclined to join the Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi and serve his Master Sai Baba.

However, the call came from Baba after his passing away in April 2011 and began to work from the year 2012 in the assigned area of education, health and nutrition, of course, as a service, free of salary.

[To be continued]

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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The first thought that comes to my mind whenever I look at good photographs either in a newspaper, magazine or a gallery has always been that of T.S. Satyan. A photographer par-excellence, a photo-journalist of national eminence who was recognised by the Government of India with the national civil honour of Padma Shri in 1979.

Star of Mysore began its publication on 16th February 1978 and I had no occasion to know him then. He shifted to Mysore from Delhi for good with his family some time later. K. Vijay Kumar, the then District Information and Publicity Officer in Mysore, was supportive of Star of Mysore and quite affable with its Editor, that’s yours truly. Obviously, Vijay Kumar must have thought that a burgeoning evening newspaper published by some one with experience and enthusiasm needed to be supported and asked his old acquaintance T.S. Satyan, now settled in Mysore, to provide photographs to Star of  Mysore if he could.

Now, my friend Vijay Kumar recalls T.S. Satyan’s instant reaction, with a poker face and eyes popping: “What do you think the paper is? Washington Post?”

As an voracious reader of Illustrated Weekly and LIFE magazine in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the late 60s and early 70s, I was familiar with Satyan’s photographs published occasionally in those magazines. I had also read some of his pictorial articles, of course, with photographs taken by himself, in the Air India and Indian Airlines in-flight magazines. Like R.K. Narayan’s writings, T.S. Satyan’s too are so mellifluous the reader is absolutely lost to the outside world. I must be beholden to my friend Vijay Kumar for introducing me to Satyan serendipitously  at some function.

In retrospect, I get the feeling, in truth it was not a casual or formal introduction but an emotional connection between we two. Professionally speaking, we both belonged to the same fraternity, though of different streams. It was like the proverbial love at first sight experience. Soon we engaged ourselves talking inanely about our times in the past — he with his camera and I with my pen — over miserly diluted whisky. The next day when I went to office there was an envelope from T.S. Satyan. On opening, I found a mesmerising black and white photograph with a headline and caption that only he could write and anyone with a sense of aesthetics would appreciate. At last, T.S. Satyan had found his ‘Washington Post’ I thought.

Occasionally, Satyan would drag me along on his errands whenever he found an opportunity to get good pictures. That was how I went to Bylakuppe, Tibetan Colony, near Periyapatna, to photograph Dalai Lama when he was there for few days and to the Sangam in Srirangapatna near Mysore to wait and click the post-cremation ritual of Hindus at the confluence of River Cauvery and Lokapavani. As an advertising man in Mumbai and Pune, I have seen professional, specialist photographers in their distinctive physical appearance and attitude. But it has never been so with my dear Satyan. He was absolutely unassuming; no airs about being an ace photographer with awards and recognition tucked under his belt. Even when it came to eulogising him in Star of Mysore or its Kannada sister publication Mysuru Mithra, he would demur if his name was mentioned with a prefix Padma Shri. “It is not a special qualification like that of a doctor or a rank of an Army Officer,” he would say. Except when visiting clubs or attending a formal function when he would wear his suit and tie, he was always a common man. Dressed in his trademark pants and bush shirt of white or some light colour.

And clubs and social parties he would love to visit and enjoy his chota peg. He was my honoured guest at Sri Kanteerava Narasimharaja Sports Club (Mysore Sports Club) on Lalitha Mahal Palace Road on many occasions. If Satyan was around, be assured there was never a dull moment. A good conversationist, very affable, caring and above all alive and clicking (if he carried his invisible camera hidden inside his small bag). Let me swear like a witness that once that camera came out of the bag into his hands, he was like a possessed person. Kanthara. Like a predator after its prey. And in a flash the camera was back in the bag.

My experience is that professionals in different streams of work generally do not participate in protests and demonstrations for a public cause. If at all, they would participate if the cause related to their own profession. In Mysore sans any professional concern and time at his disposal, he would wear the mantle of a protester for a public cause sitting under the statue of Mahatma Gandhi or in front of a government office along with other distinguished persons of the sunset club while the young activists would shout slogans and take out  protest marches.

Of such a person, what can I say about his legacy for those he left behind? He had many virtues worthy of emulation by youngsters who would be taking their first steps towards a long journey in life. Among the legacy he left behind, I guess, the foremost one was his dedication to his art, art of photography. His unwavering, passionate pursuit of his profession. Honesty of purpose. That, perhaps, was the secret of his great success, from a small-time photographer, from a small-town Mysore of  those days, to a world-class photographer.

If the renowned cartoonist of The Times of India R.K. Laxman, also from Mysore, was  known for his caricatures of a common man in his cartoons, I can say in T.S. Satyan’s photographs also we can see the common man candidly captured in his various daily chores and avatars. I wonder if his interest for the common man sprang from his innate quality of the heart. A heart full of love and compassion for humanity.

This year to mark the birth centenary of T.S. Satyan (18.12.1923 – 13.12.2009), the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), #22, Kasturba Road, Bengaluru, had arranged an exhibition of some of his great works, aptly titled ‘With great ease: The photography of T.S. Satyan,’ from Aug. 12 till Nov. 20. Myself and my son Vikram Muthanna, the Managing Editor of Star of Mysore, were among a number of friends and admirers of T.S. Satyan who were invited by  MAP to attend the inauguration of the expo  at Bengaluru.

Even as the expo was on, many well-wishers and readers of Star of Mysore sent their tributes (letters and articles) to be published in this newspaper eulogising Satyan. Those who wish to know the depth of Satyan’s humanitarian, nay divine, act of service to the needy, may go online and read my Abracadabra titled ‘Truth about T.S. Satyan’ republished on Aug. 17, 2023 (originally published in two parts on Dec. 27 and 28, 2009).

In that I had narrated in detail what a beneficiary of T.S. Satyan’s humanism Dr. Javaraiah Nanjundaiah, a dalit and a retired senior Scientist from CFTRI, had said at the condolence meeting held at Kalamandira in 2009. The extent of personal trouble taken by Satyan and the care he had showered on Dr. Nanjundaiah belong to the world of Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not’.

Like any human being — let that person be a Prophet or a Pauper, Monk or a Monster, Sanyasi or a Samsari — T.S. Satyan lived a life with all its challenges and catharsis, personal sorrows and inner joys. But as I know him during his last years in Mysuru, he lived a life of peace, harmony and service in his private life, professional life and public life. He loved the world around him; his family, his friends, his profession and the people. No wonder the world around him too loved him in abundance.

Yes, 100 years today (Dec. 18, 2023) since you passed through this earth to eternity. Remembering you with love.

Om Sat Chit Ananda.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

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