My Athimber



I was born only after my sister (Kamala) got married. So I knew Srinivasan as athimber right from my birth. The one outstanding quality that struck me in both him and his wife was that their hearts and house were open to people. They were genuinely affectionate, generous and broad-minded. My athimber helped anyone who needed it. I’d like to narrate three incidents that will bring out this quality. After my father’s death, we had moved to Madras and my mother, myself, my brothers and sisters were living in a rented house in Kutcheri Road. There was some trouble with the landlord and he had filed a police complaint. On hearing this, my athimber just told us to move bag and baggage into his house in Vedachala Gardens. The thought whether so many persons and luggage could be accommodated, how they could live, how the others in his house would react etc. did not even cross his mind. The second incident was after I had graduated. Even without my asking, he had told his headmaster that I’d like to join PS High School as a temporary teacher. I came to know of my appointment only later. The headmaster did not see my degree nor was I called for an interview. For the headmaster, Srinivasa Iyengar’s word was sufficient testimony about my character and qualification.

The third incident shows how people did not even have to ask him for help. When we were in Chidambaram, my elder brother Varadachari wanted a bicycle. At that time, the cost of a bicycle was about Rs. 50/- which was not a small sum. But when my athimber came to know of this, he just bought a bicycle in Madras and sent it to my brother in Chidambaram. Whenever my athimber got extra money from tuitions or writing books, he would spend it on the first person in the large family who had the need.

In the period that I worked in PS High School, I’d go for lunch with athimber to his house. Even with close relative, you may feel an inhibition about visiting them daily for eating. Not with that couple. They made you so much at ease with their hospitality that no one ever felt unwelcome in their house. In fact, Mr.Rangachari of Srirangam who was athimber’s classmate and friend used to say that Srinivasan and Kamala made you so comfortable that you did not want to leave their house.

He became angry once in a while. But his outstanding quality was that he never carried his anger within himself. His anger would just evaporate in a minute and he would be talking normally making you wonder whether you imagined it. I am reminded of a Zen story in which a Guru and his younger disciple are walking on the bank of a lake. A young girl was drowning and on hearing her cries, the elder monk jumped into the lake, rescued her by carrying her on his shoulders and put her on the bank. Then they started walking. The younger monk could not contain his shock that his guru had touched a lady. So he asked the elder one,-'Guruji, how can you carry a lady on your shoulders?’ The elder monk replied, 'I carried her only to save her and only till the bank of the lake. But you are still carrying her’ Most of us are like the younger monk carrying our anger and resentment within us for a long time after the event. But for my athimber the anger passed the moment when the event that caused it was over.

His house was the hub of all relatives and would always be filled with people and noise. But his comprehension of the subject on which he was writing a book was thorough. And his concentration was legendary. Because of these qualities the noise around him never bothered him, Amidst all the noise, he would be sitting on the loft cross-legged with the pad in his hand and writing quite fast. His thought process and the speed of writing were very fast. We had all been amazed when we saw him complete 10 to 15 pages in the few minutes hat would lapse between the publisher telling him to hand over the manuscript and the man coming to collect the manuscript. Mr. Krishnaswami Sharma, the owner of LIFCO used to be appreciative of this quality in athimber and used to say,’ Srinivasan is speed and speed is Srinivasan’.

He was generous to a fault. If other relatives wanted to perform any function, his house would be the venue. I remember attending many upanayanams and other functions of not only his nephews/nieces but even grand-nephews and grand-nieces. And if the provisions in the house were used in these functions, my sister and athimber would not mind, in fact they would be happy. And he would never maintain any account and would feel offended if money was offered. He earned quite a lot from his writings and if he was not so generous, he could have easily acquired an independent house in Mylapore. The only person he listened to on financial matters was Mr.Krishnaswamy, my sister Lakshmi’s husband who was his financial consultant. But even Mr.Krishnaswamy’s advice was taken for spending on people. Once when I had asked him whether he did not feel the need to save, he said in his typical way,’ Money is like a natural spring when you spend it on people. The more you dig (spend on people), the more will you receive.’ Till the end he continued to spend on people and never did the money stop coming to him. He chose to invest in relationships rather than property. And he was always clear that he would give his children a good education rather than property.

The relationship that he shared with his daughter Vanaja was very special. Right from birth, Vanaja was the apple of his eye. He was so fond of her as a child that my father told him,’neer indha kuzhandhaikku ivvalo chellam kuduthaa pinnaadi kashtappaduveer' (if you pamper the child like this, you may suffer later.) But he never changed himself and Vanaja grew up as a pampered child. Not that he ever neglected any other children, but she was special.

It was my athimber who requested my son Ravi’s hand for his grand-daughter Urmila. My wife and I readily agreed. Ravi had joined the army and was coming to Madras on three week’s vacation when it was decided to have the Muhurtham. But Ravi was under the impression that he was going to Madras to attend the engagement. Anyway the marriage is now over 20 years old and they are a well-matched couple. Years earlier, the headmaster of PS High School had felt that Srinivasa Iyengar’s word was sufficient testimony about my character and qualification, For me the fact that Urmila was Srinivasa Iyengar’s grand-daughter was sufficient testimony about her suitability to marry my son,

He always had a strong faith in God and was religious. But he was never orthodox. My sister and athimber lived together for 74 years and I am sure both of them are watching over us benignly. As we celebrate the birth centenary of my athimber, I bow before them and seek their blessings for all family members living on this earth.

C.R.Ranganathan (Ranga mama)



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