DVG, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, Karunakara Menon and the Triumph of an Ideal

This article is part 47 of 57 in the series Life and Legacy of DVG

But before we narrate the story of how DVG’s fortunes unfolded after his return to Bangalore, it is pertinent and educative to provide a brief survey of his last days in Madras.

DVG’s journalistic mentor, Srinivasa Iyengar had returned to Bangalore after Press Gag in Mysore was published. Before leaving Madras, Srinivasa Iyengar had secured a job for DVG with Rama Rao, a Kannadiga who had prospered by running a lucrative mail order[1] business. Rama Rao would publish attractively-illustrated advertisements in newspapers and magazines for products such as scented hair oil, razors, combs, wrist watches, talcum powders, perfumes, and brushes. He would dispatch the products via VPP (Value Payable Post). DVG was recruited as an editor and copywriter for Rama Rao’s product advertisements, which were published in a Kannada literary periodical titled Nudigannadi which was later renamed to Veerakesari. But DVG’s job there was short-lived due to the aforementioned pressure from his father. At any rate, he remembers Rama Rao with great fondness, calling him “generous, affectionate and compassionate.”

As we shall see, experiences even in such odd jobs contributed quite a bit in shaping DVG’s overall outlook towards journalism, among others.

Two other editorial stalwarts also left quite an impact on DVG’s journalistic life. The first was the managing editor of The Hindu, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar. This is how DVG describes[2] him:

He was a man of few words and endowed with a serious disposition. Outside, he was a hard rock, inside, butter. Once when I met him, he placed before me a fat news report and said, “Condense this. It should be no longer than two pages.” After I submitted my revised copy, he went through it. Then, he took a blue pencil and struck out some of the sentences I had written and said, “read it now.” This was his method of editing…It appears that my writing style was harsh, direct and blunt. Perhaps this is why Kasturi Ranga Iyengar kept my writings under a tight leash and mercilessly edited them.

The other stalwart of journalism was Karunakara Menon, editor of the Indian Patriot. Prior to starting the paper, he had served as the predecessor of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar at The Hindu, and commanded enormous respectability in public life. He had a different view of the columns and reports that DVG contributed to the Indian Patriot. This is how DVG describes[3] his style:

Karunakara Menon was a superb orator, deeply committed to the welfare of the people. He accepted my writings without making too many edits. In his view, my harsh writing style was also an “expression of public opinion from one perspective.”

Kasturi Ranga Iyengar’s method was one of constant refining. Karunakara Menon’s method was to provide encouragement.

For a boy aged 18-20, both encouragement and refinement are necessary, right?

Reflecting on this sixty years later, DVG remarks that in the realm of journalism, these were two separate Manvantaras[4].

***

When DVG returned to Bangalore in 1909, Diwan Madhava Rao’s oppressive press law was still in force. The statewide closure of newspapers as a mark of protests had yielded zero results. As he wryly notes, the objective[5] of the veterans and elders in the journalistic fraternity to morally shame the Mysore Government had ended in failure: it appeared that the Government was perfectly fine having no newspapers at all.

Mulling over his future once again, DVG thought of opening a bookstore or starting a paper. The first option worked out initially. Accordingly, he started Swadeshi Library at Chickpet. It began publishing the Vande Mataram Series that included books, monographs and pamphlets on topics dear to DVG’s heart. A partial list of its publications is sufficient to give a flavor:

·      Samyukta and United India

·      Religion and Nationalism in India

·      Vedanta and Nationalism

·      Tolstoy and India

Like his earlier endeavours, Swadeshi Library met a premature end owing to various factors.

Unfazed, he started a Kannada weekly titled Sumati in June 1909. An endorsement and blessing given by the Mysore Star paper reads as follows:

This magazine does not contain topics related to current affairs. Its articles will neither praise nor criticize people. It contains articles and essays on topics related to law, philosophy, religion, and education. May it flourish forever. These are our blessings.

The annual subscription for Sumati was a princely sum of one rupee and eight paisa. Those who sent four annas (or twenty-five paisa) in advance would automatically become subscribers entitled to special benefits. They would be able to buy the annual issue running up to 1200 pages printed in the crown size at a highly discounted price. Here is a short list of the works brought out by Sumati:

·      Biography of the late Diwan Rangacharlu

·      Kanakaluka: a Kannada adaptation of Alfred Tennyson’s play, ‘The Cup.’

·      Eulogy of King George’s coronation

·      Children’s stories

·      Rammohan Roy

·      Vande Mataram

·      Haribhakti-saara

Once again, we come across the familiar refrain: Sumati’s destiny was ill-fated and shut down its operations in January 1912.

Around roughly the same period, a parallel development had occurred. A new biweekly (published on Wednesdays and Saturdays) titled Mysore Times had begun operations. It was printed at the iconic Irish Press located at the corner opposite the municipality park facing today’s Bangalore bus station. As a journalist and publisher, DVG was a frequent visitor of the Irish Press.

The editor of Mysore Times was an extremely wealthy lawyer named N.S. Ramaswamy Iyengar given to a life of extravagance and opulent tastes. His editorship of the paper was largely a vanity project. He had no real interest in running the paper and recruited DVG as Assistant Editor. In other words, the full responsibility of running the paper fell on DVG. Ramaswamy Iyengar would rarely visit the paper’s office and rarely wrote in it. Depending on his whim, he would occasionally write an essay or two on random topics, mostly his personal reminiscences and critiques of a highly subjective nature. He never contributed an editorial, never wrote on politics.

As Assistant Editor, DVG was tasked to visit Ramaswamy Iyengar’s sprawling bungalow opposite the Puttanna Chetty Town Hall every Monday and Thursday. When we read DVG’s subtle and dignified account[6] related to this episode, it is clear that these were not editorial meetings but the idle ruminations of a bored master delivered to a subordinate.

This set routine was struck by thunderbolt in the form of a letter to the editor, Ramaswamy Iyengar. The essence of the letter: a clash had erupted between the administrative and cooking staff of the Central College hostel. The reason for the clash was due to some unhealthy ingredient mixed in the hostel food. The incident was brought to the college management’s notice.

DVG published the incident in Mysore Times.

The head of the hostel’s cooking staff retaliated immediately by filing a defamation suit against the editor of Mysore Times, alleging that the paper had ruined his reputation. When Ramaswamy Iyengar brought this to DVG’s notice, he wrote an explanation defending the publication of the report. He said that the report was published after consulting with eminent lawyers and that there was no intention to defame anybody.

Then the full truth emerged. In reality, the cooking staff had been instructed by the management of Central College to file the defamation suit. The Principal was an Englishman named J.G. Tait and the hostel’s warden was Prof. C.M. Vijayaraghavachar. In other words, the highest echelons of Central College had closed ranks to hush up the scandal.

On his part, Ramaswamy Iyengar gave a written apology to the court and pleaded the plaintiff to withdraw the case. The matter ended there. Ramaswamy Iyengar had effectively thrown DVG under the bus: he neither informed nor consulted DVG before writing the apology.

DVG resigned the moment he heard this news.

In turn, his friends and well-wishers chided him for taking this hasty step. K.S. Krishna Iyer about whom DVG has written with great respect in his Jnapakachitrashale volumes said:

“You’re still a boy inexperienced in the ways of the world. Ramaswamy Iyengar is a big man. You must listen to him.”

DVG was adamant. He retorted:

“It is against my conscience.”

“Then what will you do for your livelihood.”

DVG’s gold standard reply was in Sanskrit:

“deśo viśāla: prabhavopi anaṃtā:” – The country is vast and opportunities are infinite.

If DVG learned the mechanics, craft and grammar of journalism under mentors like Krishnaswamy Iyengar, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, and Karunakara Menon, he learnt the real ethic and philosophy of journalism on his own via this incident.

It was the earliest high point of his journalistic career and it was also a turning point.

From then on, DVG made a vow to himself that he would never work under anyone for the rest of his life.

DVG is among the meagre pioneers who truly deserves the exalted status of being an independent journalist in the profoundest sense of the word. Indeed, when we recall his aforementioned Manvantara comment, and when we survey the journalistic climate ever since, it is clear that “independent journalists” today fall in these broad categories:

·      Actors who have perfected the art of hiding the funding sources of their “independent” journalism

·      Disgruntled journalists who are unemployable owing to unsavoury reasons

·      Ambitious journalists with unrealized ambitions  

Thus, when DVG quit Mysore Times by the end of 1912 and was contemplating yet again, on his future, a lucrative job prospect reached him via a telegram dated 2 January 2013. It was from the selfsame mentor, Srinivasa Iyengar who had now relocated to Lahore. The telegram read as follows: please let me know your willingness to join the position of subeditor at the Punjabi at a salary of ₹ 100. D.R. Venkataramanan, DVG’s Kannada biographer stirringly narrates[7] what happened next:

DVG was faced with this question: should I take up an employment merely for work or should I live my life for an ideal?

In the end, the ideal triumphed.

And the triumph took the form of an independent journalistic venture, the peerless English journal titled Karnataka.

To be continued

Notes


[1] In those days, it was known as Postal Order Business

[2] D.V. Gundappa. Sankeerna, DVG Krutishreni, Vol 11, Government of Karnataka, pp 225-6.

[3] Ibid

[4] A Manvantara is a cyclic period of time identifying the duration and age of a Manu, the progenitor of mankind. Each Manvantara lasts for 306,720,000 years and repeats after seventy-one Yuga cycles. Each Yuga cycle comprises 4,320,000 years. Evidently, DVG uses the word Manvantara to denote the kind of sweeping changes that occurred in Indian journalism in just sixty years.

[5] D.V. Gundappa. Sankeerna, DVG Krutishreni, Vol 11, Government of Karnataka, p 231

[6] See: Appendix I: D.V. Gundappa. Sankeerna, DVG Krutishreni, Vol 11, Government of Karnataka, pp 231-4

[7] Quoted in Virakta Rashtraka: D.R. Venkataramanan, Navakarnataka, Bangalore, 2019, p 59

 

Author(s)

About:

Sandeep Balakrishna is a writer, author, translator, and socio-political-cultural analyst. He is the author of "Tipu Sultan: The Tyrant of Mysore" and "The Madurai Sultanate: A Concise History." He translated Dr. S L Bhyrappa's magnum opus "Avarana" into English.

Prekshaa Publications

Among the many contributions of ancient Indians to world thought, perhaps the most insightful is the realisation that ānanda (Bliss) is the ultimate goal of human existence. Since time immemorial, India has been a land steeped in contemplation about the nature of humans and the universe. The great ṛṣis (seers) and ṛṣikās (seeresses) embarked on critical analysis of subjective experience and...

One of the two great epics of India and arguably the most popular epic in the world, the Ramayana has enchanted generations of people not just in Greater India but the world over. In less than three hundred pages The Essential Ramayana captures all the poetic subtleties and noble values of the original and offers the great epic in an eminently readable form that will appeal to the learned and...

The Bhagavad-gītā isn’t merely a treatise on ultimate liberation. It is also a treatise on good living. Even the laity, which does not have its eye on mokṣa, can immensely benefit from the Gītā. It has the power to grant an attitude of reverence in worldly life, infuse enthusiasm in the execution of duty, impart fortitude in times of adversity, and offer solace to the heart when riddled by...

Indian Perspective of Truth and Beauty in Homer’s Epics is a unique work on the comparative study of the Greek Epics Iliad and Odyssey with the Indian Epics – Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata. Homer, who laid the foundations for the classical tradition of the West, occupies a stature similar to that occupied by the seer-poets Vālmīki and Vyāsa, who are synonymous with the Indian culture. The author...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the sixth volume of reminiscences character sketches of prominent public figures, liberals, and social workers. These remarkable personages hailing from different corners of South India are from a period that spans from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Written in Kannada in the 1970s, these memoirs go...

An Introduction to Hinduism based on Primary Sources

Authors: Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh, Hari Ravikumar

What is the philosophical basis for Sanātana-dharma, the ancient Indian way of life? What makes it the most inclusive and natural of all religio-philosophical systems in the world?

The Essential Sanātana-dharma serves as a handbook for anyone who wishes to grasp the...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the fifth volume, episodes from the lives of traditional savants responsible for upholding the Vedic culture. These memorable characters lived a life of opulence amidst poverty— theirs  was the wealth of the soul, far beyond money and gold. These vidvāns hailed from different corners of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom and lived in...

Padma Bhushan Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam represents the quintessence of Sage Bharata’s art and Bhārata, the country that gave birth to the peerless seer of the Nāṭya-veda. Padma’s erudition in various streams of Indic knowledge, mastery over many classical arts, deep understanding of the nuances of Indian culture, creative genius, and sublime vision bolstered by the vedāntic and nationalistic...

Bhārata has been a land of plenty in many ways. We have had a timeless tradition of the twofold principle of Brāhma (spirit of wisdom) and Kṣāttra (spirit of valour) nourishing and protecting this sacred land. The Hindu civilisation, rooted in Sanātana-dharma, has constantly been enriched by brāhma and safeguarded by kṣāttra.
The renowned Sanskrit poet and scholar, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R...

ಛಂದೋವಿವೇಕವು ವರ್ಣವೃತ್ತ, ಮಾತ್ರಾಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ಷಣಜಾತಿ ಎಂದು ವಿಭಕ್ತವಾದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಬಗೆಯ ಛಂದಸ್ಸುಗಳನ್ನೂ ವಿವೇಚಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಬಂಧಗಳ ಸಂಕಲನ. ಲೇಖಕರ ದೀರ್ಘಕಾಲಿಕ ಆಲೋಚನೆಯ ಸಾರವನ್ನು ಒಳಗೊಂಡ ಈ ಹೊತ್ತಗೆ ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಛಂದಸ್ಸಿನ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಲಕ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ತೌಲನಿಕ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಂತಃಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಅಧ್ಯಯನಗಳ ತೆಕ್ಕೆಗೆ ಬರುವ ಬರೆಹಗಳೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಕಾರನಿಗಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಹಸ್ತನಾದ ಕವಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸ್ಫುರಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಹೊಳಹುಗಳು ಕೃತಿಯ ಮೌಲಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿವೆ. ಈ...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the fourth volume, some character sketches of the Dewans of Mysore preceded by an account of the political framework of the State before Independence and followed by a review of the political conditions of the State after 1940. These remarkable leaders of Mysore lived in a period that spans from the mid-nineteenth century to the...

Bharatiya Kavya-mimamseya Hinnele is a monograph on Indian Aesthetics by Mahamahopadhyaya N. Ranganatha Sharma. The book discusses the history and significance of concepts pivotal to Indian literary theory. It is equally useful to the learned and the laity.

Sahitya-samhite is a collection of literary essays in Kannada. The book discusses aestheticians such as Ananda-vardhana and Rajashekhara; Sanskrit scholars such as Mena Ramakrishna Bhat, Sridhar Bhaskar Varnekar and K S Arjunwadkar; and Kannada litterateurs such as DVG, S L Bhyrappa and S R Ramaswamy. It has a foreword by Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh.

The Mahābhārata is the greatest epic in the world both in magnitude and profundity. A veritable cultural compendium of Bhārata-varṣa, it is a product of the creative genius of Maharṣi Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa. The epic captures the experiential wisdom of our civilization and all subsequent literary, artistic, and philosophical creations are indebted to it. To read the Mahābhārata is to...

Shiva Rama Krishna

சிவன். ராமன். கிருஷ்ணன்.
இந்திய பாரம்பரியத்தின் முப்பெரும் கதாநாயகர்கள்.
உயர் இந்தியாவில் தலைமுறைகள் பல கடந்தும் கடவுளர்களாக போற்றப்பட்டு வழிகாட்டிகளாக விளங்குபவர்கள்.
மனித ஒற்றுமை நூற்றாண்டுகால பரிணாம வளர்ச்சியின் பரிமாணம்.
தனிநபர்களாகவும், குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்களாகவும், சமுதாய பிரஜைகளாகவும் நாம் அனைவரும் பரிமளிக்கிறோம்.
சிவன் தனிமனித அடையாளமாக அமைகிறான்....

ऋतुभिः सह कवयः सदैव सम्बद्धाः। विशिष्य संस्कृतकवयः। यथा हि ऋतवः प्रतिसंवत्सरं प्रतिनवतामावहन्ति मानवेषु तथैव ऋतुवर्णनान्यपि काव्यरसिकेषु कामपि विच्छित्तिमातन्वते। ऋतुकल्याणं हि सत्यमिदमेव हृदि कृत्वा प्रवृत्तम्। नगरजीवनस्य यान्त्रिकतां मान्त्रिकतां च ध्वनदिदं चम्पूकाव्यं गद्यपद्यमिश्रितमिति सुव्यक्तमेव। ऐदम्पूर्वतया प्रायः पुरीपरिसरप्रसृतानाम् ऋतूनां विलासोऽत्र प्रपञ्चितः। बेङ्गलूरुनामके...

The Art and Science of Avadhānam in Sanskrit is a definitive work on Sāhityāvadhānam, a form of Indian classical art based on multitasking, lateral thinking, and extempore versification. Dotted throughout with tasteful examples, it expounds in great detail on the theory and practice of this unique performing art. It is as much a handbook of performance as it is an anthology of well-turned...

This anthology is a revised edition of the author's 1978 classic. This series of essays, containing his original research in various fields, throws light on the socio-cultural landscape of Tamil Nadu spanning several centuries. These compelling episodes will appeal to scholars and laymen alike.
“When superstitious mediaevalists mislead the country about its judicial past, we have to...

The cultural history of a nation, unlike the customary mainstream history, has a larger time-frame and encompasses the timeless ethos of a society undergirding the course of events and vicissitudes. A major key to the understanding of a society’s unique character is an appreciation of the far-reaching contributions by outstanding personalities of certain periods – especially in the realms of...

Prekṣaṇīyam is an anthology of essays on Indian classical dance and theatre authored by multifaceted scholar and creative genius, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh. As a master of śāstra, a performing artiste (of the ancient art of Avadhānam), and a cultured rasika, he brings a unique, holistic perspective to every discussion. These essays deal with the philosophy, history, aesthetics, and practice of...

Yaugandharam

इदं किञ्चिद्यामलं काव्यं द्वयोः खण्डकाव्ययोः सङ्कलनरूपम्। रामानुरागानलं हि सीतापरित्यागाल्लक्ष्मणवियोगाच्च श्रीरामेणानुभूतं हृदयसङ्क्षोभं वर्णयति । वात्सल्यगोपालकं तु कदाचिद्भानूपरागसमये घटितं यशोदाश्रीकृष्णयोर्मेलनं वर्णयति । इदम्प्रथमतया संस्कृतसाहित्ये सम्पूर्णं काव्यं...

Vanitakavitotsavah

इदं खण्डकाव्यमान्तं मालिनीछन्दसोपनिबद्धं विलसति। मेनकाविश्वामित्रयोः समागमः, तत्फलतया शकुन्तलाया जननम्, मातापितृभ्यां त्यक्तस्य शिशोः कण्वमहर्षिणा परिपालनं चेति काव्यस्यास्येतिवृत्तसङ्क्षेपः।

Vaiphalyaphalam

इदं खण्डकाव्यमान्तं मालिनीछन्दसोपनिबद्धं विलसति। मेनकाविश्वामित्रयोः समागमः, तत्फलतया शकुन्तलाया जननम्, मातापितृभ्यां त्यक्तस्य शिशोः कण्वमहर्षिणा परिपालनं चेति काव्यस्यास्येतिवृत्तसङ्क्षेपः।

Nipunapraghunakam

इयं रचना दशसु रूपकेष्वन्यतमस्य भाणस्य निदर्शनतामुपैति। एकाङ्करूपकेऽस्मिन् शेखरकनामा चित्रोद्यमलेखकः केनापि हेतुना वियोगम् अनुभवतोश्चित्रलेखामिलिन्दकयोः समागमं सिसाधयिषुः कथामाकाशभाषणरूपेण निर्वहति।

Bharavatarastavah

अस्मिन् स्तोत्रकाव्ये भगवन्तं शिवं कविरभिष्टौति। वसन्ततिलकयोपनिबद्धस्य काव्यस्यास्य कविकृतम् उल्लाघनाभिधं व्याख्यानं च वर्तते।

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the third volume, some character sketches of great literary savants responsible for Kannada renaissance during the first half of the twentieth century. These remarkable...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the second volume, episodes from the lives of remarkable exponents of classical music and dance, traditional storytellers, thespians, and connoisseurs; as well as his...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the first volume, episodes from the lives of great writers, poets, literary aficionados, exemplars of public life, literary scholars, noble-hearted common folk, advocates...

Evolution of Mahabharata and Other Writings on the Epic is the English translation of S R Ramaswamy's 1972 Kannada classic 'Mahabharatada Belavanige' along with seven of his essays on the great epic. It tells the riveting...

Shiva-Rama-Krishna is an English adaptation of Śatāvadhāni Dr. R Ganesh's popular lecture series on the three great...

Bharatilochana

ಮಹಾಮಾಹೇಶ್ವರ ಅಭಿನವಗುಪ್ತ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದ ಹೆಸರು. ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಶೈವದರ್ಶನ ಮತ್ತು ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಮೀಮಾಂಸೆಗಳ ಪರಮಾಚಾರ್ಯನಾಗಿ  ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಇವನು ಜ್ಞಾನಪ್ರಪಂಚವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಭಾವಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾನೆ. ಭರತಮುನಿಯ ನಾಟ್ಯಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವನ್ನು ಅರ್ಥಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಇವನೊಬ್ಬನೇ ನಮಗಿರುವ ಆಲಂಬನ. ಇದೇ ರೀತಿ ರಸಧ್ವನಿಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತವನ್ನು...

Vagarthavismayasvadah

“वागर्थविस्मयास्वादः” प्रमुखतया साहित्यशास्त्रतत्त्वानि विमृशति । अत्र सौन्दर्यर्यशास्त्रीयमूलतत्त्वानि यथा रस-ध्वनि-वक्रता-औचित्यादीनि सुनिपुणं परामृष्टानि प्रतिनवे चिकित्सकप्रज्ञाप्रकाशे। तदन्तर एव संस्कृतवाङ्मयस्य सामर्थ्यसमाविष्कारोऽपि विहितः। क्वचिदिव च्छन्दोमीमांसा च...

The Best of Hiriyanna

The Best of Hiriyanna is a collection of forty-eight essays by Prof. M. Hiriyanna that sheds new light on Sanskrit Literature, Indian...

Stories Behind Verses

Stories Behind Verses is a remarkable collection of over a hundred anecdotes, each of which captures a story behind the composition of a Sanskrit verse. Collected over several years from...