Profiles

Self-help

We were to start working for the Kannaḍa Sāhitya Sammeḻana (Kannada Literary Conference), which was to take place in Davanagere. The Chair of the Conference was to enter in a grand procession. Before the event, Venkannayya and I were having a casual chat along with a few others. Venkatanaranappa came to us and exclaimed, “Why are you all like this even now? The procession has to start! Come on! Get dressed quickly!"

I replied, “You haven’t got ready yet!”

The Kannada renaissance movement had begun several years earlier[1] in the Dharwad Karnataka region. One can say that in some sense, (literary) programs began in Dharwad long before it had started in Mysore. The Karṇāṭaka Vidyāvardhaka Saṅgha of Dharwad is much older than Bangalore’s Sāhitya Pariṣad. The founders of the Vidyāvardhaka Saṅgha came to Mysore, met the Mahārāja Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar, explained their objectives in detail, and sought his help.

Debates on Beauty

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.