To me, the most defining feature of Kannanna was his 'Mona Lisa' smile, soft voice and grace. Since I did not see his suffering in the last few years (as I heard from Amritha chithi) my memory remains unimpacted by all that he underwent before his death.

In my early years, my interactions with Kannanna was limited to the times I visited Chennai and met him in family functions. The sense of calm and goodness that he exuded always left a long-lasting pleasant impression on me.

My strongest memory of Kannanna goes back to the 1980s. Appa (Gopalan , elder brother of Parthasarathy, the editor) had organised an All India Darshan for us using his LTC. In those days, there was no Net or cell phone. Therefore the planning that vwent into the tour must have been humongous. As kids we enjoyed the joy ride, hopping from one place to another along with our pup 'Priya'in a basket.

Appa used his old friend Kannanna's good offices to get accommodation at the postal deparment's guest house,Coonor. In those days Kannanna was in a senior position in the Postal department. The Rajaupacharam that we got at the guest house made me admire Kannanna and the high post he occupied. In many ways it made me aspire for the coveted IAS which I never pursued due to multiple reasons.

Kannanna, the man with the Monalisa smile will live forever in our hearts.

Usha Murali
May 2021