Profiles

Mandi Hariyanna

Around 1914-1915, when Visvesvaraya was the Diwan, Hariyanna, who was a trader in the wholesale market (Mandi), was appointed by the government to the Legislative Council.

In those days, I wasn't well acquainted with Mandi Hariyanna. I had heard that he was a big businessman and a very respectable person. I had also gone to him a few times seeking donations for some public cause. Then it was imprinted in me that he was a great man.

V.S.Srinivasa Sastri (Part 5)

Beauty in his Words

Even if a minor grammatical mistake in the English language fell on Sastri’s ears, he would react as though he was gravely wounded on his body. He was very particular about the right pronunciation of English words too. Suppose an English word has two to three syllables, there is going to be a stress on one of those and this is called accent. Sastri was always particular about getting the accents right.

D.V.G's Himalayan Service to Public Life: The Anti-Partition Champion

Public Organisations

The public meeting that took place towards the end of 1919 was organized by D.V.G. In the South Indian Princely States Conference held in 1929 in Travancore, D.V.G was the secretary to its president, Sir M. Visvesvaraya.

In the People’s Conference of South Indian States held in May 1925 in Pune, in the All India States People’s Representative Conference held in December 1927 in Mumbai, and on numerous such occasions, D.V.G’s opinions were sought and discussed.

Māgaḍi Lakṣmīnarasiṃha Śāstri--Pāṭhaśālā and Guru

In 1931, Lakṣmīnarasiṃha Śāstri joined the Pāṭhaśālā in this Maṭha for higher studies. He was then eighteen years of age. The background of this Pāṭhaśālā requires mention.

शुद्धाद्वैतपथस्य पालनकृते पूर्वं त्वया स्थापित-

स्थानेष्वन्यतमस्थशिष्यततिगस्तत्कार्यकृत्यक्षमः।

अज्ञानां धुरि कीर्तनीयचरितो नाद्यापि विद्यालय-

स्तस्मात्स्थानमिदं गुरूत्तम कृपावार्धे त्वमेवाश्रय॥

यद्वा दुर्मतभेदपाटववतीं मेधां नवोन्मेषिणीं

D.V.G: The Unrivalled Expert on the Problem of the Princely States

The Rule of the Maharajas

The situation in the states ruled by the Maharajas were not really praiseworthy.

Bhopal was a Hindu-majority state as long as it was under the suzerainty of the Gonds – until Mohammad Khan captured it. By the beginning of the 20th century, the situation had declined so badly that not even one percent of key administrative posts was in the hands of Hindus.

Paṇḍita-pravara Māgaḍi Lakṣmīnarasiṃha Śāstri

The following incident happened in the 1930s, when Śrī Candraśekhara-bhāratī Mahāsvāmi adorned the Śāradā-pīṭha at Sringeri. The Mahāsvāmi’s liking for and support of scholarship is well known. He took great interest in the development of Gīrvāṇa-prauḍha-vidyābhivardhinī Pāṭhaśālā that is housed in the Bengaluru Śaṅkara-maṭha. Back in the day, this Pāṭhaśālā was one of the greatest centres of traditional learning.