There are several institutions, which received Sharma’s ‘dohada’ (instigation for healthy growth) – Rashtrotthana Parishat, Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Samskrita Bharati, Sura-sarasvatī-sabhā, and many more. Many maṭhas that belong to different traditions have also received Sharma’s immense contribution.
It has been thirty years since Venkannayya left for his heavenly abode. Even so, that sorrow is still fresh in my heart. The sadness of bereavement is not unfamiliar to me. But I feel that the wound caused by Venkannayya’s demise will never heal. What could be the reason for this unusual depression?
Satkāvya and Adhyātma
There is absolutely no doubt that Sharma was always loyal to the tradition. There are some typical ‘norms’ connected with the scholarly world. One such ‘norm’ is that a person who is known to be a scholar in a certain field of learning usually does not even explore the bounds of the particular subject. It is hard to find scholars who are experts of multiple domains.
ಮೆಯ್ ದೃಢ, ಮನಸ್ಸು ದೃಢ,
ದುಡಿವೆನೆಂಬ ನಿಶ್ಚಯ ಇವಕೆ ಸಮನಾಗಿ
ದೃಢವಾಗಿರುತ ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜಣ್ಣ
ಬರೆದಿರುವ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಅವೆಷ್ಟೊ!
ಅವುಗಳ ಜಾತಿ ಇನ್ನೆಷ್ಟೊ![Firm body, firm mind,
Firm resolve to work hard,
Being firm, our Rajanna
Written by him
are books – how many!
Genre spanned –
how many!]...ಕಾವ್ಯವನು ರಚಿಸುವುದು ಎಂತಂತೆ
ಅದರರಿವ ಹರಡುವುದು ಇದೆ ರೀತಿ ಪುಣ್ಯಕರ
ರಾಜಣ್ಣ ಈ ಪುಣ್ಯವನು ಪೂರ್ಣ ಗಳಿಸಿಹರು.
Once, Venkannayya had fallen ill. It was a disease that troubled him on and off – something stomach-related. When I heard the news, I wrote the following quatrain on a postcard and sent it to his college address in Mysore:
vaṃkāyòkkaṭè kaḍupulò।
saṃkaṭamunu galugujeyunayyā nūnan॥
iṃkanu virupanu jeritè।
vèṃkaṇṇā! grudda cinugi brovakagalade॥