Such goliathon pastimes of my great grandfather were rather popular. For a subject of the Queen of Scantiness that I was, I sensed pride in every pompous fable that surrounded my great grandfather. At least he got to eat what he wanted.
From the aforementioned conversations gleaming with haughtiness, it is quite evident that hauteur was an obvious underlying factor in his administration.
ಇಂದಿಗೆ ಸುಮಾರು ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೊಂಬತ್ತು-ಮೂವತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ, ಅಂದರೆ ೧೯೮೯-೯೦ರ ಆಸುಪಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ರಾಜಾಜಿನಗರನದಲ್ಲಿಯ ಕುಮಾರವ್ಯಾಸಮಂಟಪದ ಯಾವುದೋ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ವೇದಮೂರ್ತಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಶೇಷಣ್ಣಶ್ರೌತಿಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿ ನೋಡಿದ ನೆನಪು. ಅನಂತರ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪದ ಅಂತರದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣಮಹಾಸಭೆಯ ಹಲಕೆಲವು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಶಂಕರಜಯಂತಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಕಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪರಿಚಯ ಮತ್ತು ಬಳಕೆ ಆದದ್ದು ಶ್ರೀಪರಮಾನಂದಭಾರತೀಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಆಯೋಜಿಸಿದ ಮೊತ್ತಮೊದಲ ಗಾಯತ್ರೀಮಹಾಯಾಗದ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ. ಇದೇ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಧ್ಯಾವಂದನೆ, ಸಮಿದಾಧಾನ, ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಯಜ್ಞ ಮುಂತಾದ ನಿತ್ಯ ಕರ್ಮಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಮತ್ತು ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧವಾದ ರೂಪವನ್ನು ಶ್ರುತಿ-ಸೂತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಮ್ಮತವಾಗಿ ಕೊಡಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಇರಾದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನಿದ್ದೆ.
K.P. Puttanna Shetty was the deputy commissioner of Kolar during 1903-04. On one of those days, K.P Puttanna Shetty inaugurated a library in one of the clubs of Kolar. I listened to the speech he delivered that day. I was a high school student then. Someone had taken me along to this event. His speech may have lasted for about five minutes. It was in English. His choice of words and the emotions hidden in them appealed to my mind. Only so many words as to stay appropriate. It was brief and simple. My appreciation and admiration towards him blossomed as a result.
Now, this Vēṅkaṭaśarma was not one among my ancestors. It was a person named Śāmabhaṭṭa who was my predecessor. A Vedic practitioner by birth, Śāmabhaṭṭa, chose the profession of a Shanbhogue [1]for a livelihood, which brought unto him, an official turban or a roomal, thus earning him the title of Rumāle Śāmabhaṭṭa. Now this title might've been a banter, and very much akin to the case of the esteemed, Chappalli Viśveśvara Śāstri, as mentioned by me elsewhere –
Thiruvengadam Mudaliar was Armugam Mudaliar[1]’s younger brother. He was a friend of the entire world. A man with no enemies.
The storage of the genealogical records and investing in their maintenance are the things that have barely captured the emphasis of our folk. On the contrary, the European world seems to have taken some interest at least, in this regard, such as, the devoted maintenance of a record for every child that is baptised in the community, including the date of birth and the parental information of the infant. Apart from this, the customary recording of the diary entries and routinary whereabouts, provide us with generous amounts of information.
Among the violinists from Mulbagal (Kolar district, Karnataka), four are prominent:
Among these, Madhavayya was the best when it comes to his command over the instrument and proficiency in the Ragas. But Sethumadhava Rao was the most senior in terms age and experience. Hence, I shall commence by narrating about him first.
Now I will narrate some social etiquette that was in practice more than seventy years ago. People did not frequent hotels or restaurants back then. In fact, one couldn’t find any hotels or restaurants in any town other than Bangalore [in the Mysore Province]. The common belief among the brāhmaṇas was that running a restaurant or eating in one was highly improper.