Profiles

Elimination of Corruption

Culinary skills

Venkatanaranappa was our chief by default in all our endeavours. He led our tours and cooked our meals. In those days, several places lacked electric supply. Everywhere we went, Venkatanaranappa cooked for us, and when he did so in places which were not electrified, Venkannayya was to hold a candle to aid his cooking. When I tried to extend my helping hand, he would snap – “Don’t come here! Amidst your chatter and laughter, the candle will melt down and the wax will fall over the vessels”.

The mirage-like Rama Rajya of Mohandas Gandhi at a very fundamental level of ethics essentially must rest on untruths. This is not to imply that Gandhi deliberately spoke untruths but his claims such as Sarvadharmasamabhava (equal validity of all religions), “Ram and Rahim are the same,” and Ishwar Allah tere naam are demonstrably false and are therefore lethal in practice.

Committment

Drawing from history, DVG[1] says,

Before the advent of the British in India, what was the system which united the king and the citizens in our kingdoms? The answer is this: in those days, there was no cleavage between the two. The individual could directly question the king. The king ruled with the fear that the citizens would revolt if he ill-treated them.  

Any discussion about Rama Rajya in the context of the previous century of India’s history will be incomplete without objectively examining the role of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. In the present context, this examination becomes more crucial for significant reasons.

Career as a Teacher

John Cook, who was impressed with Venkatanaranappa’s dedication to studies and his ethical outlook, appointed him as a lecturer soon after he procured his BA degree. The following is an incident that took place when he worked as a lecturer.

DVG’s essay titled Rama Rajya  is the fitting finale and the crowning glory of his monumental, semi-academic work, Rajyashastra[1] (Statecraft/Politics) meant for a general audience. This essay touches the upper echelons of pure political philosophy akin to the precision of the tip of a finely-sharpened pencil.

For an institution to survive for long and to find fulfilment in executing its objectives, it needs a dedicated set of active workers. At least one person will need to keep working on it day and night. He will remain its supporting pillar throughout its existence and the rest will bolster him through their work. The (Kannada Sahitya) Parishat was fortunate to get a dedicated worker of this nature starting from 1915 for about twenty years. It was Bellave Venkatanaranappa, who worked untiringly through out his life.