Ramanna’s discipline, affection (

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 1)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 1) Source: prekshaa]]

Ramanna is my Cikka-tāta (grandfather’s younger brother). Sheikhdar Gundappa’s second son. I had briefly introduced him in my earlier writings. He initially worked as a government employee probably in the excise department and seemed to have saved some of the money he earned during that period. By the time I was born, he was not formally employed. He was self-reliant. A bit of money lending along with a stamp vendor job. As for the basic financial support, he had his father’s ancestral property, and his elder brother Sheshanna’s assistance in case there was a need for extra money – With just this financial arrangement, he took care of the family responsibilities.

I have earlier mentioned that he was a widower and that he had also refused his father’s wishes regarding his remarriage. He considered his elder brother and younger brother’s family as his own family.

Ramanna’s Responsibilities

I plan to write about my maternal family separately. My mother’s eldest brother Venkataramanayya was perceived to be intelligent and was admired for his expertise in accounting. He passed away even before the age of twenty. I remember being told that it was due to cholera disease. He was married. His father, my maternal grandfather Naranappa too passed away the very next day - due to the grief of losing his son. On the very next day of this crisis, as soon as Ramanna heard the news from a servant from Byrakur region, he immediately went to Byrakur, oversaw all the rites that had to be performed and he brought my grandmother Sakamma, her second son, her four or five year old daughter (my mother) to stay at the house in Mulbagal.

Prior to this, there was another incident. Ramanna’s younger brother Sheenanna’s two daughters, and his son were also staying in the same house in Mulbagal. Sheenanna’s wife had passed away too. He had appointed Venkatamma, a maḍi heṅgasu^(^([1])) from Devarayasamudra, to take care of the household work and help in bringing up his two daughters. Since Venkatamma and members of the household did not get along well, they were looking for an alternative arrangement. At the same time, Sakamma and her kids came to live in the same house.

Another story. My father lost his mother within a month of his birth. Then his mother’s elder sister Janakamma took him to her place, adopted him and raised him. Six-seven years passed by; Ramanna was worried. He frequently brought this up with his brothers - “How many more days do we allow our child to stay with others? What will other people think about us? Once he grows old, will he be able to adjust? Isn’t it our responsibility to take care of our child? We need to get the child here as soon as possible.” After many days of such arguments, Sheshagiriappa agreed to his younger brother’s request. Accordingly, my father moved to Mulbagal when he was a small child.

These were the Ramanna’s share of family responsibilities.

The three divinities

Ramanna did not have a family of his own. Yet, he carried out his responsibilities with such devotion and dedication, that no family man could have matched it. Three things that were divine to him: (1) His elder and younger brother’s kids (2) Śrīmad-ānjaneya-svāmī and Śrī Someśvara-svāmī temple (3) Gośāle^(^([2])). He just lived for these three things in the world.

I have heard some people calling him avaricious. His own younger brother Sheenanna himself had used the term avaricious in his regard. I cannot say he is avaricious. But I can agree, he was a thrifty person. By careful spending, the money he saved was for the family, not for his own expenditure. He did not have any personal expenses.

Routine

A detailed account of his daily routine might help in understanding his nature. He got up daily even before sunrise, washed his face, put on Vibhūti and chanted a set of Stotras. I have heard them myself. I am familiar with a few verses of the Stotras. While still chanting, he carried a huge vessel of water to the cowshed. There was a huge bin for storing grass. The first task was to pick up all the grass fallen around the bin and put it back in. Then bow and touch the feet of the cattle as a mark of respect. Then wash and clean all the buffaloes and cows. Caring of buffaloes was bit of a hassle. Apply turmeric and Kumkum to them, especially to the cattle, and herd them to the fields. Sometimes I too was blessed with the opportunity of herding the cattle to the fields.

After coming back home from the fields, he sat at his treasury box in the hallway. Then from 8 to around 10-11am, he used to sell the stamp-paper. Money lending accountings of the town, home and farmland property sales, village news - all these things were handled during this. Within 10-11am he took bath and prayed until 12pm. Brahma-yajña^(^([3])) was part of his daily routine. He knew many Mantras and Stotras by-heart. When performing the Maṅgalārati ^(^([4])) to the deity, everyone in the household - my grandmother, my father, my mother, my aunts, their husbands, - everyone were supposed to assemble in a line in the pooja room, had to chant Mantras, take Tīrtha-prasāda^(^([5])), all these took place systematically. Nobody felt the need to violate this tradition. It was the specialty of those times. Following the tradition came very naturally to them.

This was followed by lunch. Some guests, and one or two people from other places were usually present daily. He never had the habit of sleeping after lunch. None of my grandfathers had the habit of taking a nap during the day. My father too did not have the habit. Even I did not have the habit for many years. Ramanna did some household work until 2-3pm; de-seeding the tamarind, cutting open the Hoṅgekāyi^(^([6])), cleaning the paddy granary, supervise the storehouse - all these small jobs, after this he used to come to the hallway and sit at the treasury box - facing the west. He made me lean over the opposite wall, put a carpet, placed a reading desk on it, and made me to read - Kr̥ṣṇa-Rāja-Vāṇī-Vilāsa-Bhārata, and other books of his liking.

This is the first part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1])) A widow, who followed the customs prescribed for widows in those days like tonsuring her head, wearing only white clothes, partaking one meal per day etc. These practices were later abolished.

^(^([2])) Cow shelters.

^(^([3])) A part of daily rituals, that contains pooja to Devas, Ṛśis, Pitṛs

^(^([4])) Part of the pooja performed almost at the end, with lighting of the camphor.

^(^([5])) Water and food, that is offered to God, thus sanctified and then distributed among the devotees.

^(^([6])) Seed of Avenue tree from which oil is extracted.

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 2)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 2) Source: prekshaa]]

Kāvyavācana^(^([1]))

Thanks to such readings and recitations, people from our neighbourhood used to come and gather at our place. Attikunte Sripatiraya, Lingapura Narasappa, Koppara Varadayya, Kandācāra Rukmniniyamma and others. He is used to correct me if I made any mistakes while reading. Once, it was some episode from Mahābhārata. There was a gathering consisting of a group of saints. It was worded in the book as “Kaśyapa, Jābāli and other Maharṣis (great saints) were shining in Aṅgarāga^(^([2]))”. Rangacharya corrected it as “shining in Aṅgāra^(^([3]))”. My grandfather found it very amusing and retorted. “Was Jābāli a Mādhva? You will apply Aṅgāra to all. In that era, Madhvācharya had not even born yet.^(^([4]))” Everyone laughed. Rangacharya also laughed.

In this reading, it consisted of several sub-plots - Kīcakavadhe^(^([5])), entry of Krishna, etc. At the start of every such sub-plot, juice and refreshments was served. Thus, it was a very happy occasion.

Around 6 in the evening, Ramanna used to go to the market - for buying cow fodder. New sacks of grass: Wives of farmers used to clean and dry the grass, bundle them in a way that they could carry and brought those bundles to sell. It costed 2 or 2.25 or maximum of 2.5 annas^(^([6])) for each bundle. Ramanna would try to bargain further. May be this was one reason he was labelled a thrifty person. He unloaded the grass bundle and inspected for any hardened or wet grass being present in the bundle. This was another reason. Is inspection to this extent required just for grass?

Even though he was so strict, I was not aware of anyone who was afraid of him. We got good quality grass in abundance to our house. Ramanna used to open the bundle, sort the grass and stack them in front of the cows and buffaloes. He used to get the cows and buffaloes into the house and tie them at the designated spots. One interesting thing. He would gently stroked the body and forehead of each of the cow, calf and buffalo. It seemed that the cattle were impressed by his gesture. That is why the elders of the village used to say “If cattle and buffaloes have to be taken care of, then it should be at the hands of Ramanna”

God’s Prasāda^(^([7]))

After caring for the cattle, he went to Āñjaneya-svāmī temple. He never missed going to the temple, not even a single day. At the temple, he offered Maṅgaḷārati, and brought home a piece of coconut as Prasāda. Along with it was, aṅgāra from the dhūpa^(^([8])) lit for the deity and one kēdage^(^([9])) flower. All the kids in the house were made to anoint the aṅgāra on their forehead. If any kid fell sick due to cold, fever, stomachache, or any other reason, aṅgāra was the only medication. He used to give the kēdage flower to my mother and ask her to adorn it over her hair. This was the daily routine. Specialty of Mulbagal Āñjaneya-svāmī temple was - everyday kētaki-sevā to the lord, i.e. kēdage flower decoration 365 days a year.

The Dharmiṣṭa^(^([10]))’s of our village used to make fun of my grandfather for bringing the piece of coconut every single day, saying “for sure Ramanna is very devoted. But more than that, it is the benefit of collecting the pieces of coconut. He gets it free of cost - since he is the trustee. He visits the temple everyday so that he does not lose his authority.” Ramanna also knew about people mocking him. Even he used to laugh at it.

The piece of coconut that he brought from the temple was used in the preparation of dinner. For many years now, Ramanna had stopped having dinner.

In those times, we used to get 6-8 coconuts for 1 āṇa. People are free to accuse him of being a miser for such an insignificant matter. But there are two things to consider: (1) Ramanna was the one who had presented a diamond studded attire to the Āñjaneya-svāmī. Archaka^(^([11])) Sanjeevappa, Gourisha Shastri were close friends with Ramanna. As desired by Gourisha Shastri, Ramanna had presented the diamond studded attire in colorful cloth with floral prints. I had seen that when it had already become very old. (2) Another thing, he had set aside funds for one or two days of Dhanur-māsa-sevā ^(^([12])). After the pooja was performed in the name of our family, I very well remember having received the Prasāda at our house.

In Kārttika-māsa^(^([13])), one of the Mondays in Someśvara temple, it was Ramanna’s service. Rudrābhiṣēkha^(^([14])) and Dīpārādhanā^(^([15])). Sahasrārcanā^(^([16])) in the abode of Śri Prasanna Pārvatī temple or to goddess Cāmuṇḍī. Along with it, he presented a saree and blouse for goddess Mahiṣāsura-mardinī. Every Monday, he visited the Someśvara temple.

Strictness

Ramanna was very strict with the finances. He maintained accounts for everything. I have already mentioned that he had a money lending business. He was strict with not only recovering the principal, but also the interest that he was to get. I feel this is the prime reason for him to be tagged as “miser”. “If you have to fore-go the interest, then why should one take up this business?” - he would question.

Even some government officials would take loans from him. I was aware of that. But he never disclosed their names. He never dragged anyone to the offices or courts. He maintained a sense of magnanimity / respect in business.

This is the second part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1])) Act of reciting poems.

^(^([2])) Anointing body with unguents/cosmetics.

^(^([3]))Mādhvā is a sub-sect/community founded by Madhvācārya, and as a part of their custom, generally they wear a mark on their forehead with cinder soaked in water.

^(^([4])) In essence, Rāmaṇṇa is making fun of Raṅgācārya(who is a mādhvā), that not everyone is a mādhvā, especially when the context in the epic is about people who existed long before Madhvācārya.

^(^([5])) Story of killing of keechaka(brother-in-law of King Viraat) by Bheema in Mahabharatha.

^(^([6])) Currency equal to 1⁄16 of a rupee.

^(^([7])) Food distributed among the devotees after offering to the deity.

^(^([8])) Aromatic incense.

^(^([9])) A fragrant screw pine flower.

^(^([10])) Senior members of a village, responsible for administration and other semi-legal affairs of the village.

^(^([11])) Priest at the temple.

^(^([12])) Holy month in the Hindu solar calendar, part of the winter months. In most temples, elaborate pooja and festivities are performed early in the morning, each day sponsored by different devotees after which prasada/mainly Pongal is distributed among the devotees.

^(^([13])) Holy Month of Hindu Lunar calendar typically occurs during November/December.

^(^([14])) Special Abhiṣeka to Shiva with the chanting of Rudrādhyāya.

^(^([15])) Lighting of thousands of lamps.

^(^([16])) Reciting the thousand different names of deity.

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 3)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 3) Source: prekshaa]]

Introduction to books

I have mentioned above that Ramanna made me read Kannada Rāmāyaṇa, Bhārata and other books regularly. Bhāgavata and Ranganātha-rāmāyaṇa - both these books were very dear to him. He had many poems from Āndhra Rāmāyaṇa committed to memory. He used to quote them at times during many conversations. Once a Vaiśya^(^([1])) came to visit him. Ramanna asked (in Telugu) :

“What made you come? It has been a long time since I last saw you.”

Him: “Just like that Sir.”

Ramanna: “Ūruke rāru mahātmalu vārādhamālu…”, meaning “Great people or wretched people do not come without any purpose.”

Him: “What sir, you are calling me adhama^(^([2]))?”

Ramanna: “You are a mahatma. Not adhama. There will definitely be some purpose.”

He had come for some work regarding a loan. This banter was a prelude to it.

Another incident. Whenever Ramanna visited the market, some Vaiśyas used to greet him. Ramanna used to bless them this way:

“Mahārājuguṇḍappa”.

“What sir, you are taking the name of your father! What good will it be for us?” - they asked.

It was a pun: (1) “Mahārājugā uṇḍappa - Be like a king” (2) “Mahārāju guṇḍappa- (Hail) King Gundappa.”

Kaḍaga^(^([3]))

Ramanna had made me wear Kaḍagas made of solid gold on both wrists which were thick. Many people from vaiśya community in Mulbagal wore golden Kaḍagas. But it was only gold coated. From inside it was a thick ring of copper. The outer covering was shining with gold. He used to tell the vaiśyas:

“It should be pure. Look at my kid’s hand - solid gold. Yours is hollow from inside, artificial from outside.”

Gurrala Venkatappa

I have told you that Ramanna liked Telugu Ranganātha-rāmāyaṇa. Due to this book, he had a student, goldsmith Gurrala Venkatappa. Ramanna had taught and explained the meaning of Ranganātha-rāmāyaṇa to Venkatappa. Due to this favor, Venkatappa was very keen to show his gratitude in some way or the other. But Ramanna refused repeatedly, saying “I will not take anything from you”. At last, Venkatappacharya planned for a pilgrimage to Kashi^(^([4])). He told Ramanna:

“You have refused to accept anything from me. But now I am going to Kashi as a pilgrim. When I return, I plan to bring Prasāda of Lord Viśveśvara. You should not say no to it. Please specify in what form do you want?”

Ramanna happily agreed and said, “You may bring a Śivaliṅga”. “In our house, we have Sāli-grāma^(^([5])) passed on from our ancestors: we also have a small Spaṭika^(^([6])) liṅga - very small one. If you can get a bit bigger Bāṇa-liṅga^(^([7])), it will be of help in pooja. My brother has taken the one we had at our house.”

Likewise, I remember Venkatappa giving the Śivaliṅga to Ramanna that he brought from Kashi. How did he give? He got a silver Pāṇivaṭṭu^(^([8])), Nāgābharaṇa^(^([9])) made for it. He took my grandfather to his house, put two sēru^(^([10])) of rice on a banana leaf, placed the Śivaliṅga in it, and presented it to him along with tāmbūla^(^([11])) and five rupees as Dakṣiṇā^(^([12])). Additionally, he invited five Vaidika Brāhmaṇas^(^([13])) and organized Anna-santarpaṇe^(^([14])) in our house. Once Ramanna got the Śivaliṅga in our house he performed Ekādaśa-vāra (11-fold) Rudrābhiṣēka and Sahasra-bilvārcane^(^([15])). It went on for 45-48 days. Anna-santarpaṇe and Hūvīḷya^(^([16])) for married women - took place. The whole family was excited. My grandfathers from Kolar had come to our place for a day or two.

Sarvaṃ yasya vaśād-agāt smṛti-pathaṃ kālāya tasmai namaḥ
Everything due to whom, just became memories (lit. took the path towards memory), I bow down to that entity, Time.

Maṭha^(^([17]))’s Loan

Mulbagal’s Majjigehalli Maṭha had taken a loan from Ramanna. As a guarantee/surety to the loan, they had pledged the golden armour/casing of the deity. When the loan was given, Sheshanna was not aware of this. Madhwaraya Acharya, a volunteer of the maṭha while on some work in Kolar, met Sheshanna and while talking to him, incidentally, blurted out about the loan. At that moment, Sheshagiriyappa did not tell anything to Acharya.

After 3-4 days, Sheshagiriyappa sent four 100-rupee notes to Ramanna, saying “Take this in lieu of the loan that you have given to the maṭha, return the god’s armour immediately. Maṭha’s property should not be at our home.” - and addressed a letter to him. Ramanna abided by it. It was an interesting incident. He welcomed the Swamiji of the maṭha to our home, performed pāda-pūjā^(^([18])), and while he was leaving, Ramanna placed the golden armour into his Mēnā^(^([19])). He placed the expensive objects into a metal plate filled with rice, and along with flowers, Tāmbūla, coconuts and Dakṣiṇā, he returned it to the maṭha. This took place on a day in the morning between 10-11am. The same night, Dīpārādhane was celebrated in the maṭha. I remembered to have received two big Araḷu ūṇḍe^(^([20])) as Prasāda.

This is the third part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1])) Person belonging to business community.

^(^([2])) A person who is mean, or of insignificance.

^(^([3])) Wristlet

^(^([4])) Kashi / Varanasi is one of holy cities of Hindus, abode of Lord Śiva/Viśveśvara on the banks of river Ganga. Every Hindu customarily visited the place at least once in his lifetime.

^(^([5])) A small black stone that is worshipped, found in the Gaṇḍakī river.

^(^([6])) A white crystal

^(^([7])) A special type of Liṅga, worshipped by demon Bāṇa.

^(^([8])) A pedestal such that the water can drain off easily after the Abhiṣēka.

^(^([9])) A jewel modelled as a snake, since it is associated with Lord Shiva.

^(^([10])) A unit of measuring

^(^([11])) A combination of beetal leaf, areca-nut, lime, fruits, and other sacred items arranged in a plate and given at auspicious occasions.

^(^([12])) Gift or money usually given to the priests, or women as part of the tāmbūla

^(^([13])) Vedic scholars

^(^([14])) Distributing food to the saints, scholars and needy.

^(^([15])) 1000 leaves of bilva tree offered to Lord Shiva

^(^([16])) Giving turmeric, kumkuma, flowers and tāmbūla to married women.

^(^([17])) A religious center for saints

^(^([18])) As a sign of respect, sages and saints are welcomed by washing their feet and taking their blessing.

^(^([19])) A palanquin for very respectable people usually carried by designated bearers.

^(^([20])) A sweet made of puffed paddy.

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 4)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 4) Source: prekshaa]]

‘Urus’

In the southeast corner of Mulbagal stands a Dargah. A dargah is a grave of Muslim saints. It seems that a devotee named Haider Valli had performed penance on the hilltop of Mulbagal. His grave itself was the dargah. Once every six to eight years, a festivity called Urus took place. Devotees from far off places as well as from the neighbourhood used to gather for the festival, including many Phakīras^(^([1])). Some of the Phakīras would chant some passages from Quran or sing some other songs while holding fragrant incense sticks, would go from one grave to another paying their respects. The focal point of the Urus was the Phakīra nominated to the chief post. Apparently, there are 4-5 different groups/divisions amongst Phakīras. They were from Penukonda and several other places. Among them, was a fierce competition for the post of the chief. The nominated chief Phakīra was supposed to fast during the entire week of Urus. And had to meditate in a place without moving. Other rules also had to be followed. All in all, it was a very sacred place, a very distinguished place. For this reason, the fierce competition. More than the Phakīras, it was their followers, pupils who were involved in this tussle. At times, it seemed that the Urus might be cancelled due to their infighting.

Ramanna’s authority

Somehow my Chikka-tāta Ramanna was responsible for resolving this infighting using one or the other documents/evidences. To begin with, the administrators of the dargah would come to him with a proposal. Ramanna would place some of the documents, and suggest, “This Phakīra is suitable to be the chief for this time”. The dargah officials would then accept/authorize his suggestion. Also, they respected / showed their gratitude in return for his suggestion.

Urus festival would happen for a duration of five-six days. On the last day, there would be a procession starting from the dargah. They prepared a pandal by tying a tent cloth over the poles, handheld by four people at the corners. A decorated horse was made to walk/stride underneath the pandal. This was a substitute for the camels used in the Arab countries. People carrying flowers, sandalwood powder and scented water, walked alongside the horses. I remember having seen a bundle of Quran books on the saddle of the horse.

This procession would make its way in front of our house around 8-8.30pm. As Prasāda of the Urus, they would present perfume, garland, sandalwood powder to my grandfather. After exchanging pleasantries, the procession returned.

I recounted this incident as a mark of mutual affection and generosity of the Hindu-Muslim communities.

Sincerity to household work

Now about my Chikka-tāta Ramanna’s sincerity to the household work. The responsibility of income-expenditure, and any unaccounted expenses of our house, was vested in Ramanna’s hands. Sheshanna used to earn. He spent according to his wishes. But he did not forget about the family back home. He gave some money every month to his younger brother Ramanna - not to his son. He extended further help during any special occasions like marriage or thread ceremonies. Usually, he himself took care of kids and women’s clothing, jamakhāna, blankets and sent it from Kolar. But responsibility of day-to-day expenses rested with Ramanna. Ramanna judiciously spent from whatever his elder brothers gave him. Under any circumstance, the elders would say -

“Ramanna, just have a look into it”.

There were some lands inherited from Sheikhdar Gundappa. Fields near the village Shiddagatta. Fields next to Kengunte lake. Farms and fields near Someshwarapalya. There were some more lands here and there. Two or three tamarind groves on Kolar-Bengaluru road. We also “used to” own rows of trees on both sides of the road near Someshwarapalya. “used to” I said - in the past.

Crops from the above-mentioned lands were the main source of income for our family. Half the investment for Ramanna’s money lending business sometimes would come from the harvests of these fields. Sheshagiriyappa’s earning would fund any additional expenditure.

There were ten adults at home. Three to four kids. Apart from my father and mother, my maternal grandmother, her son. Additionally, my younger grandfather Sheenappa’s two daughters, sons-in-law, their children. Now and then, post-delivery nursing, some religious days, Tithi^(^([2])), festivals - quite a lot of expenditures put together. Ramanna accounted for all these expenses well in advance and managed it cleverly.

Hoṅgekāyi harvest would be brought home. Also, tamarind. The elderly - sometimes even young children - used to de-seed them and made a heap of the seeds. Ramanna used to trade these seeds with a known oil-miller, and in-return had arranged to get hoṅge oil and sesame oil required for the house.

We used to also get some crops of Hucceḷḷu^(^([3])). They got oil extracted from that too and used it for household needs.

Everyone at home liked to have oil extracted from sesame and Hucceḷḷu along with food. Some found it tastier to have Hucceḷḷu oil with Gojju^(^([4])) and Citrānna^(^([5])). I have already mentioned earlier that milk and ghee were available in abundance at home. Hence using oil was just for the taste. Sesame oil was used mainly for lighting the lamp in front of the deities.

Supervision

We used to get a lot of Rāgi (finger millet) to our house. It was stored in huge barrel - a giant vessel made of mud - The grains were poured into the barrel through the opening at the top: they were later was taken out from a small hole at the bottom for consumption. Ramanna used to supervise this barrel.

Without intruding into Ramanna’s work of supervision, my father was the person who emptied the barrel. My father was passionate about the plantation/gardening work. To install stone benches, stone paths, and slabs in the garden, we would require laborers for pounding the stones. We had to pay their wages in the form of millets. When Ramanna was out for grazing the cattle or had gone to the temple in the evening, my father would take out the millets from the barrel and distributed to the workers. The day Ramanna became aware of it, he used to grumble a bit. Also laughed a bit. Ramanna was very impressed with my father’s garden. But was upset as it depleted the millet stock.

Same was the case of paddy. But the paddy harvest which we used to get from our fields was not enough for our house. Ramanna used to arrange for ten containers of small-red grains of paddy. The farmers who took loan from him, paid the interest in the form of paddy. This kind of arrangement was very normal. Any conflicts regarding this used to be rare.

This is the fourth part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1])) A Muslim saint, who usually lives on alms.

^(^([2])) Rituals performed on death anniversaries of deceased parents or ancestors.

^(^([3])) A special kind of sesame seed. Niger seeds in english.

^(^([4])) A sweet-sour-spicy tasting side dish.

^(^([5])) White rice tempered with spices.

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 5)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 5) Source: prekshaa]]

Jaggery

The major part of expenditure of the house was, jaggery. The arrangement for jaggery was similar to the one above. Ramanna was to pay the designated farmer some money in advance. In return, the farmer was supposed to give four-five aḍige^(^([1])) of jaggery. One aḍige was equivalent to the amount of sugarcane juice that was processed in a huge vessel in one batch. It probably amounted to around 40-50 blocks of jaggery. I’m not familiar with the details of the process. In the Kolar-Mulbagal region, it was not prevalent to cast the sugarcane juice syrup into molds. It was the norm to make it as a big round lump. We required around 10-15 such lumps of jaggery every month for the house. When the jaggery was brought fresh at home, we used to eat it directly. It was very soft and easy on the teeth like tambiṭṭu^(^([2])). These jaggery lumps used to be stored in five-six large bins. A plank made of mud on top of it. To tightly secure the plank or the mouth of the bins, they wrapped around it a piece of cloth soaked in Kemmaṇṇu^(^([3])). The bins were numbered 1, 2, 3, and so on in limestone. They were to be emptied in that order. This was Ramanna’s arrangement.

Tamarind was supplied in abundance to our house. I have already mentioned about the tamarind groves that we owned. We sold the old tamarind groves near the temple for Rs.25. Its value might be fifty times now. We would remove the outer bark, fibers, and seeds from the tamarind, and stored only the remaining tamarind pulp as round lumps wrapped and tied within a mat made of palm leaves. We sometimes donated them to others too.

We used to get fibrous mangoes which were still unripe (dāḍi-pasand - a type of mango). We used to cover it with dried millet paddy grass to ripen.

We used to get mustard. That also was stored.

The reason for mentioning all this is, this was the economy 60-70 years back - financial arrangement. We can identify two eras in the field of economics. (1) Agriculture based (2) Industry based. The first one characterizes a peaceful life. The second one is characterized by fierce competition. Now we are heading towards the second type of financial system. In today’s times, we can recall the former, relatively more peaceful financial arrangement for a bit.

Firewood

We used quite a lot of firewood in our house. Many festivities and tithis^(^([4])) were performed quite often. Hence, the firewood in the kitchen and bathroom were usually kept burning. For this reason, Ramanna always kept an eye on any dried-up or aged trees present in groves on the outskirts of our place and among the tree rows. He bought such trees, got them chopped up, and spread the wooden logs over the yard in front of our house. Among the people who came to our house to buy stamp-paper, one or two of them could chop the logs. Ramanna used to ask one of them, “Chop two pieces and go”. He would pay them three or six paise, appropriately. Along with it, he sometimes also gave a bundle of wood-logs. The husk from the beaten paddy was mixed with cow dung and made into cowpats and was also used in our house. This was “economy” those times - meaningful livelihood.

Now the money value has increased. The value of the grains has decreased. Soaps and powders are more important now; Purity of the mind has decreased. Desires have increased; peace has decreased.

Affection

Ramanna always asked me sit next to him while having food. He never missed it. Sheenanna made fun of it. “Sakamma, serve some ghee to the kid.” If the kid is served ghee, then Ramanna sitting next to him might also get some of it, that is the reason behind showing such affection. People would laugh hearing about this. Ramanna loved me to such an extent that, from the time I got up from bed until I went to sleep at night, I was to stay next to him all the time; or at least should be in his vicinity always.

In Mulbagal, weekly fair took place every Tuesday. On that day’s afternoon at 4 o’clock, I was supposed to hop on to my grandfather’s shoulders. I was supposed to kick him from both my left and right heel. He was to open his box to give me a dammaḍi^(^([5])) while enacting a cry ‘Haa! Haa!’. One or two of them accompanying me would also bring one dammaḍi each. One of them was our village doctor’s nephew Srinivasa Iyengar. The other, Kallari Narayana. Three of us went to the fair, and we got four tender cucumbers for the money we had. Along with it, we also got some chilies, salt, and coriander leaves. There was a small Anjaneya temple near the fair-grounds. We sat on the rocks in front of the temple to grind some chutney and apply it on the cucumber and ate all four of them. When I told this to my grandfather, he said, “Bhesh!”. This is how I spent my childhood days.

My copy-writing job started because of Ramanna’s efforts. Except the time of the day when I used to be in school, I always stayed next to him. As mentioned before, he was also into the stamp-paper business. But it was active for only a few months in a year. During April-May-June months, the farmers who required to request for a gun license had to submit an application/petition to the government. The rule was to submit the petition on a stamp-paper worth of four (or eight) āṇṇas. Due to this, there would be around seven-eight people every day who came to Ramanna to buy the stamp-paper and get the petition written. Ramanna used to sell the stamp-paper and later got the petition written by me. They were his words. But my handwriting. After writing, I got a reward for it: two or four āṇṇas for one petition, depending on their capability. There have been times when they gave even a rupee. Ramanna saved all the money and kept it separately saying that it belonged to me. Then, I might have been in 4th or 5th standard Kannada medium. One class below lower secondary. The first income that came from my writings, came from writing those petitions. My handwriting was not mature/seasoned back then. It looked awry. The lines were irregular. Yet, my grandparents said, “This is good enough for the government. How else would a farmer’s petition look like? Wasn’t The government able to comprehend the petition? That’s enough.”

Ramanna usually never wore a banian or coat. Apart from the dhōtra^(^([6])) he wore, he never wore anything extra. When sitting in front of the house if any eminent people came, he got up in reverence and talked to them. During those times, he covered his chest with the edge of the dhōtra. It was a mark of respect. He had to visit the office once or twice a month. Then he wore a big turban, a shirt; and a folded dhōtra as uttarīya^(^([7])).

This is the fifth part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1]))A quantity of measure of jaggery in sugarcane mills.

^(^([2])) A soft textured sweet made of Besan.

^(^([3])) Red colored clay like soil

^(^([4])) Death ceremonies

^(^([5])) A coin of low value.

^(^([6])) It is the white cloth worn as dhoti and a piece covering the chest area.

^(^([7])) Piece of cloth worn over the shoulders.

Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 6)

[[Ramanna’s discipline, affection (Part 6) Source: prekshaa]]

Turban

I shall tell you the story of the turban. A distinguished muslim lived near the Avani Mutt near Mulbagal. Apparently he was a goldsmith. One day, he roamed from one road to another with a carriage full of turbans with new type of borders, shawls, and dhotis, and when he came in front of our house, he gave one turban to Ramanna too and asked him to use it. Ramanna asked him the price for it. He said, “You don’t have to pay. It’s free”. Ramanna said, “I don’t want anything for free, I shall pay you. This will look good on our kid.” and it seems like he paid him five or six rupees. Later he got it laundered^(^([1])) ; He wrapped it around his head, made it ready, and took it out and placed it on my head. It looked like a huge sac. “This is like the basket of Jagaderaaya”, I said. After that he tried several times to make me wear it. I did not. I think I might have cried and created some ruckus. He got upset and asked, “So, you don’t want it, is it?”. When I said no, he started to use it for himself - once a month, just for an hour.

He used to wear a type of silver anklet on his left leg. When asked about it, he said, “My legs used to ache continuously. Then, a person gave me this anklet and said ‘wear this’. He was a conjurer. It seems like he has fused some of his magic in this. My leg has never ached, once I started wearing this.”

Emergency funds

There is another trait that I need to tell. He had a thick uḍudāra^(^([2])) around his waist : It almost looked like Anantana dāra^(^([3])). Two silver boxes were tied to the uḍudāra. Each box was around two and a half to three inches in length and was bent, resembling a banana. Inside that banana-like box was an empty pipe. The pipe was visible when the lid at one end of the box was opened. Each pipe was filled with 5-6 rupees worth of two aṇṇa silver coins. When I asked what it was, he said “This is money for emergency”. I understood the meaning of this after sometime.

If anyone died in our village, Ramanna would visit their place. If that family did not have the adequate resources for funeral related expenses, Ramanna would somehow find it and helped them by giving 5-6 rupees out of the boxes in his uḍudāra. In those days, 5-6 rupees was sufficient for a funeral. After finishing the cremation, he would come to Someśvara temple, take bath in the Puṣkaraṇi^(^([4])), change his sacred thread, perform Pūja to the deity, and came home with Prasāda. Many a times, it would be 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm in the evening by the time he came home. Then he used to say this;

अनाथ-प्रेत-संस्कारात्-कोटि-यज्ञ-फलं लभेत् ॥ शिव शिव महादेव ॥

Performing the final rites of an orphaned soul, is equivalent to the blessings you get from performing a crore Yajñas Śiva Śiva Mahādēva .

Now, such boxes are out of fashion. I see from my experience that now-a-days such help in times of crisis have also decreased.

Kastūri^(^([5]))

Another charitable work that Ramanna followed was that he distributed kastūri. In those days, for women post delivery, were given to consume a little-very little-kastūri. It was a preventive cure for most sickness that might be caused due to low immunity post delivery. Kastūri is one which keeps the body warm; very expensive, out of reach for the poor. Hence, Ramanna considered this to be a very charitable work. People from our village and surrounding places came to Ramanna to get the kastūri when they had any women in their family go into labor. Ramanna used to spread a tiny bit on a betel leaf, folded it and gave it to them free of cost.

My grandmother Sākamma felt eternally indebted to Ramanna; because he helped her in time of crisis. Ramanna was also grateful to her - as she got her daughter married to our house and helped it to prosper.

Plague disease

When Sākamma and Ramanna passed away, I was not present in the village. I was in Mysore - reason being my studies. One day I was going to the bathroom from my room in the hostel - carrying clean clothes ; at the same time the postman who came to distribute letters, gave me an envelope. It contained a letter written by my father - bearing the news of Sākamma and Ramanna death. I was thunderstruck. There were tears in my eyes. At the same time, a senior student N. Subbarao came, stood next to me and asked, “Why son? Why are you crying?” and took the letter, read it and understood the situation. He came with me to the bathroom, after the bath, he made me sit for lunch right next to him, made me sleep with him in his room, next day or three days later he made arrangements for his friend Appaji Rao to accompany me to Bowringpete or Kolar and then help me take a cart from there to Mulbagal. That great man Subbarao, with God’s blessings, is happily living with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, caring and blessing them. He is over 90 years old. He had been promoted upto superintending engineer and was well-known for his honesty. A selfless and a genuine person.

Later I got to know the situation. Mulbagal was haunted by the plague disease. It was the first attack or second. First Sākamma passed away. Within the next two days of this incident, Ramanna sent my father, mother and the kids to Yeldur, around sixteen to eighteen miles from our place. He decided to stay back alone at home to guard it. After three-four days, he was struck by plague and he passed away.

Theft

My father received this news only three to four days later. When my father reached Mulbagal, he saw that many of their belongings were stolen. This was the gravest disaster that my family had to face. There used to be many papers signed by people who had taken loans in Ramanna’s box. There were also gold and silver ornaments that were pledged. Usually there would also be two hundred to three hundred rupees cash in his box. Everything was stolen. Lease papers signed by farmers were also gone. Our wealth was reduced to zero. What else is there left to tell?

Floods

The next year - probably there was floods in that region, such that, around sixty big lakes in surrounding areas upto the Vaaniyambaadi region, overflowed, affecting the nearby farmlands. One of the bigger farmlands that belonged to my family was near Chalumakunte village. More than two-thirds of the lands adjacent to the lake belonged to us. Apart from the fact that the lake overflowed and water spilled over to our fields and destroyed all the crops, there was also sand filled in the fields. My father struggled a bit to get it repaired. The rule was such that if farmers paid half the amount, the government was supposed to pay the rest. My father was not in a position to pay the farmer’s share. The other farmers were also reluctant to pay their share. Meanwhile, year after year we used to get a notice for paying the pending taxes. My father got very upset and he wrote a letter to the government - “Take these lands under your possession and auction it, and use that money to clear the balance amount.”

I now understand the reason behind Sākamma and Ramanna being against me moving to a new unknown place. What’s the use of understanding now? Everything happened according to God’s wishes.

This is the final part of the six-part English translation of Fourth essay in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 8) – Sankirna smriti samputa. Edited by G S Raghavendra.

Footnotes

^(^([1])) Washed and ironed.

^(^([2])) A thread worn around the waist.

^(^([3])) Thread worn during the Ananta-caturdaśī vrata.

^(^([4])) Sacred pond in the temple premises.

^(^([5])) Musk, a fragrant substance.