K Seshadri Iyer

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 1)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 1) Source: prekshaa]]

Sir K. Seshadri Iyer was a native of Madras. He hailed from the region of Palghat (Palakkad). He wasn’t, in fact, someone the British authorities had summoned. I have heard that it was Rungacharlu who brought Seshadri Iyer into government service. When Rungacharlu was in the government service of the Madras Presidency, there were occasions when he had to visit places such as Coimbatore, Wayanad, and Palghat on government duty. On one such official trip, he got introduced to the family of Seshadri Iyer and came to realize that young Seshadri was a brilliant intellectual. Since he was in need of a competent, friendly, and loyal person to assist him, Rungacharlu selected Seshadri Iyer.

Overbearing Personality

I did not have the chance to see or meet Seshadri Iyer. An elderly relative of mine had apparently seen him from a distance, quite a distance. This relative had served as a Shekdar and was receiving government pension.

“What an impressive personality! What a great man! A forehead full of vibhūti – and that white vibhūti would complement his dark complexion so well! He was a well-built person. He used to walk with such panache!” Such were his words of praise for Seshadri Iyer.

I asked, “What did he say?”

He replied, “Oh well, he said something; he said it to someone. Some four or five eminent personages were around him. How would their conversation be audible to me?”

“Where were you?”

“I was around ten or fifteen yards away from the compound wall. Who would dare enter the premises! He used to be like a tiger. What a dominating and egoist person! Would the liveried guards ever allow a person like me to get anywhere close to him?”

“Why had you been there?”

“Don’t they all say – he was great personality! So, I went to see how he would be. I folded my hands with respect from where I stood. Whether or not he was able to see it, I felt a sense of satisfaction. When the Deputy Commissioner and several people of great authority themselves were standing at a distance from him, how important was I after all?”

The aforementioned conversation shows the opinion of common people about Seshadri Iyer. The essence of it is that he was incredibly resolute and dictatorial. Anyone who has seen his documents and letters would testify to this being the correct understanding of his personality.

Treatment of Letters and Documents

Seshadri Iyer had a legible handwriting. It wasn’t difficult to read. Even his sentence construction used to be simple. The sheet of paper on which he would have written something never carried even a single smudge. He would personally write by hand, from the beginning till the end, all the hukums that had to be issued by the government, leaving to the Secretary only the actual act of signing.

Iyer used to keep tens of letters pending, for months on end, before taking decisions. His mind was mostly engrossed in giant projects like the construction of tanks and lakes such as Hesaraghaṭṭa, Mārīkaṇivè, and Śivana Samudra; the arrangement of electricity; construction of the Railway Layout; and correspondence with the British Government. Most of his time would be spent on things such as trips to villages, discussions with scholars, and meetings with the British authorities. He had entrusted most of the rudimentary, day-to-day administrative affairs to his chief secretary Chengai Srinivasa Iyengar.

Once every two or three months, Seshadri Iyer would enquire about the letters that needed to be attended by him personally. He would then firmly sit down for two to three weeks and resolve all the issues. He sat in his room alone, take one file at a time, read them personally, and finally wrote his verdict. The old letters that had remained pending for three to four months would be decided upon within three or four weeks. Thereafter, the Dewan would not have the disquiet of these day-to-day, routine activities for the next three to four months.

Nanjundayya’s Method of Working

Another person who conducted his work in this manner was H V Nanjundayya. [See Vol. 1 of The Art Gallery of Memories, pp. 99–123] He would ask either his assistant or the clerk, “How many files are pending?”

If he was told that there were twenty or thirty files, he responded, “That’s all. Isn’t it?” This would be his standard response until the files numbered two hundred or three hundred – “Let it be there; where can it go?”

When the number of files touched three hundred, one morning he would go to the office at around eight and sit down. He didn’t the assistance of any clerk. He would come from his house, ascend the stairway, and have the sentinel open the lock. The horse or the cart that he had ridden while getting to office would be promptly sent back to his house upon his instructions. Nanjundayya would study the files till noon, without moving an inch, and mark his decisions. His lettering was legible. The style of sentence construction was precise and unambiguous. In this manner, within four or five days, all the files would melt away. Thereafter he would call his secretary and say, “Take a look – everything is complete. I have the luxury of some leisure henceforth, I presume!”

Even C S Balasundaram Iyer, more or less, belonged to the same category.

The access to information and regular updates from various departments were conveniences they all enjoyed. Regulations and laws related to those departments used to be on their fingertips. They also knew the background and history of each and every subject clearly. Thus, with a strong air of authority, they were capable of taking critical decisions in favour of the government.

This is the first part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 2)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 2) Source: prekshaa]]

Competence at Work

Alongside his reputation for proficiency at work, there is another trait of Seshadri Iyer that needs to be mentioned as a corollary. He was never a person who yearned for people’s endorsement. A German historian defines the term ‘people’—one of the elements of the State—in the following manner:

The people is that part of the State which does not know its own interests.

In other words, citizens of a state represents those people who are not capable of realizing their own welfare. Seshadri Iyer, it appears, belonged to this school of thought. No doubt, we have to do good to the citizens. But then, what is good for the people? That is not something for the common man to decide. Rather, it is the intellectuals, who are capable of analysing the state’s situation and happenings—using their experiential wisdom—should decide what is good.

That is not all. The mode of operations decided by competent thinkers should not be hindered by the crowded mobs. Even this thought was on Seshadri Iyer’s mind. With respect to democratic powers, these were the reasons why the path traversed by Seshadri Iyer was not the same as the one treaded by Rungacharlu. It was a right decision on Rungacharlu’s part to establish the Representative Assembly. However, it might cause more of an inconvenience to administration than assistance. Removal of such an eminent assembly is not possible. Therefore, Seshadri Iyer’s strategy was cleverly tolerating the assembly and managing it in some manner. But it was the strategy of unenthusiasm, and to a great extent, a path of apathy and aloofness.

* * *

Seshadri Iyer had the special skill of picking suitable assistants. With great astuteness, he appointed officials to positions of great importance. I have already mentioned the name of Chengai Srinivasa Iyengar earlier. A few other prominent names include Comptroller E R Subbaraya Iyer, Sessions Judge Subbarao, A Rangaswami Iyengar, and Secretary Vijayendra Rao.

Amongst them, Vijayendra Rao deserves a special mention. He was an out-and-out, total Mysorean. It is said that he used to write English beautifully. Apart from being competent he was a nice man. He was good looking too.

Jayarama Rao

Another gentleman who had become famous in those days was Jayarama Rao, who was similarly an out-and-out Mysorean. He had been educated in London. He delivered a wonderful discourse about the fundamental principles of the Hindu dharma and pertinently answered all the objections raised by the Christian missionaries in the audience, thereby establishing the supremacy of the Vedic school of thought. While on the lookout for a teacher for the young Chamarajendra Wodeyar X, Rungacharlu had made up his mind to appoint Jayarama Rao, who was slated to return from England in some time. But by then, Jayarama Rao breathed his last.

Seshadri Iyer’s Achivements

Seshadri Iyer’s tenure as the Dewan was for about a period of seventeen years [1883–1901]. He would delegate the routinely-scheduled duties of the state’s administration to be managed by various competent and trustworthy authorities. He kept four items of high priority to be handled personally –

1. Interactions with the king, 2. Transactions with the British Government, 3. Works related to the development of resources, and 4. Overseeing the administration.

Like mentioned earlier, he had appointed competent individuals to handle the fourth responsibility. The major portion of his time was invested into the remaining three items.

Seshadri Iyer was the Dewan during the rule of two monarchs –

1. Chamarajendra Wodeyar X (r. 1868–94) 2. Mahārāṇi Kempa Nanjammani – Vani Vilasa Sannidhana (r. 1895–1902)

This was an unusual situation. The Mahārāja was young and inexperienced. Next in hierarchy was the Mahārāṇi, who had never seen the world beyond palace; she was unfamiliar with the details of governance and administration. Because of this state of affairs, the responsibility of the Dewan increased greatly. It had become quite common for people to hold the Dewan accountable for any and every predicament. Seshadri Iyer took upon this extraordinary responsibility on his shoulders with fortitude and courage.

Amongst all the ventures that Seshadri Iyer undertook, three stand most prominent –

1. Power generation at Śivana Samudra,

2. Mārīkaṇivè Dam (Vani Vilasa Sagara Dam), and

3. The reservoir at Hesaraghaṭṭa.

In India, it was in the Mysore province that the first ever work related to electricity began. Seshadri Iyer’s glory was firmly established on this basis.

Generation of Electricity

Seshadri Iyer wasn’t an engineer by vocation nor was he a scientist. Before taking charge as the Dewan, he served as the Deputy Commissioner of Tumkur. We have no tangible means to learn about how a thought related to electricity and power generation arose in his mind. Iyer intently read foreign newspaper and was proficient in mathematics. While browsing through a US newspaper, he apparently read an article describing the process of power generation and the various benefits that came out of it. This appears to have seeded the thought in Seshadri Iyer’s mind that inspired the vision of Śivana Samudra. This might be a possibility.

Why didn’t it occur to anyone else like it did to him?

During the years 1903–04, I used to often read a monthly called the Wide World Magazine in the Reading Room at my high school in Kolar. Motors had just begun to be used all around the world. The magazine had published an exhaustive article that threw light on many details such as the construction of a motor and its application. Even the pictures of a few of its parts had been printed. I read that piece of writing and saw the pictures. Despite doing so, I am only as knowledgeable about it today as I was then. If someone claims that Seshadri Iyer was inspired by an article in a newspaper, I am not in a position to substantiate it.

Talent is like flowing wind in space. Who can reason when, and in which way, it blows?

* * *

This is the second part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 3)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 3) Source: prekshaa]]

We learn the following from a treatise authored by M Gopalakrishnayya, published by the Mysore Electrical Department in 1932 – apparently, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, the possibility of power generation had been shown to the British engineers and there had also been a few bilateral correspondences regarding this between the Resident and a few business organizations. The details of the proposal, however, had not been examined. Realizing the importance of such a project, Seshadri Iyer sent Captain Latbiniere to England and the US in 1899 to acquire complete information about the same. This can be considered as the beginning of the power project’s actual implementation.

Strategizing the execution of the power project after a thorough analysis of its past and the aftermath illustrates Seshadri Iyer’s concern for the welfare of the people. During a time when science had not significantly advanced and when a regressive foreign government was superlatively dominant, achieving such a massive task bears testimony to Seshadri Iyer’s greatness.

Reservoir at Hesaraghaṭṭa

I have witnessed the drought of old Bangalore to a certain degree. It was Seshadri Iyer’s idea to bring water from the Hesaraghaṭṭa Lake to the city of Bangalore. The intense desperation for water that surged time and again inspired this thought in his mind. It was Iyer who took the necessary steps after firmly concluding that the inflow of water through canals from lakes in the outskirts was the only solution. When a guest came home and the host was in doubt as to how he should be treated, it became a common practice with people to say, “Bring some Seshadri Iyer Coffee!” On innumerable occasions I have heard people referring to potable water as ‘Seshadri Iyer Coffee.’ People would say, “We don’t need anything else; first get us some Seshadri Iyer Coffee!”

Mārīkaṇivè

One day, during Visvesvaraya’s term as the Dewan, during the course of our animated conversation, Sheshadri Iyer’s name came up. I said, “The money that Seshadri Iyer invested into Mārīkaṇivè went down the drain!” In response, Visvesvaraya said, “You shouldn’t say so. Seshadri Iyer has accomplished an extremely risky feat. We have to be grateful for that. The futility of the Vani Vilasa Sagara is not Seshadri Iyer’s mistake; it is the mistake of the people. To derive benefit from an enterprise as massive as that, even the people must have some vigour and valiance. How do we inspire such character in the people of Mysore? The Mārīkaṇivè Reservoir region should be divided into ‘blocks’ (‘plots’), orderly supply of water should be facilitated, and diseases such as malaria—caused due to the swamps—should be prevented. These dangers will diminish as people inhabit the place. To begin with, people should come and settle down there. I am wondering what needs to be done to make it happen.”

At present, the Mārīkaṇivè region is in a state of development. People from the Madras region have come here, settled down, and have been growing banana plantations abundantly and reaping its fruit – so I am given to believe. I have heard people in the business say that the banana leaves and green bananas that come to places like Bangalore and Madras are majorly from the Mārīkaṇivè Lake region.

Seshadri Iyer’s Outlook

While describing Seshadri Iyer, Sir William Wilson Hunter, an English scholar and historian, had said, “He gave his head to Herbert Spencer, and his heart to Parabrahman.” According to the esteemed Sir Hunter, Iyer devoted his intellect to the philosopher Herbert Spencer and his entire being to the parabrahma-vastu (Ultimate Truth).

Seshadri Iyer was someone who had realised the harmony between the ancient and the modern. Despite his devotion for the ancient, he never condemned the modern. Despite his admiration for the new, he never neglected the old. The ‘iha’ (Material) needs a scientific bent of mind while he ‘para’ (Spiritual) needs a Vedāntic mindset. Seshadri Iyer had achieved a satisfactory blend of both.

* * *

Seshadri Iyer’s outlook towards democratic administration has already been mentioned before. For those who are active at work, the obligation to listen to another’s suggestion is always a matter of hindrance. For someone who is passionate and proficient, instructions such as: “You ask them,” “Enquire with so-and-so,” and “Consider another person’s suggestion” is like tying a rope around their legs. It is an unnecessary impediment. They won’t tolerate it. Seshadri Iyer was one such individual. His focus was on work. He expected work to progress quickly, without any hassles. This is the reason why he would hasten up the proceedings of the Representative Assembly.

Garudachar

I recollect an incident from a session of the Municipal Council in Bangalore. Around that time, Rao Bahadur B K Garudachar was the President. There wasn’t a single alley in Bangalore he had left untrodden. Before seven o’clock every morning, he would stroll around the nooks and crannies of some region or the other in the city and familiarize himself with that locale. He intimately knew all the potholes, gutters, heaps of sludge, and the inconveniences faced by people in unnamed lanes. And he was competent at work. With his immense experience, he had learnt how inconveniences should be resolved in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner. When he used to chair the Municipal Council as its President, he used to get fifteen to twenty issues resolved every hour. A Councillor would stand up and begin to explain his problem in a slow drawl, “Swamy… in… the… Obayyana Galli…”

BKG would ask, “It is Rangappa who is speaking, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Which item are you at?”

Rangappa said, “I am at issue number 15.”

“We are currently addressing the twenty-fifth issue.”

“Swamy… it has become… very difficult…” continued Rangappa.

Cutting Rangappa short, BKG would say, “You are talking about the clogged water near the tap, aren’t you?”

“Yes, swamy… For a very long time…”

BKG would concluded with: “Go and check it by noon. If it has still not been resolved, return with the subject.”

By the time Rangappa would return and check, the problem would have been resolved.

This is the third part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar. Thanks to Subramanian K K for his suggestions.

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 4)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 4) Source: prekshaa]]

Standing Committee

An incident took place at the Representative Assembly of Mysore. During one of the sessions of the Representative Assembly, M Venkatakrishnayya and a few other leaders personally invited the members of the Assembly to another private meeting. Those members arrived at a decision during the privately-organized meeting –

“The government treats us like a gang of petitioners in the sessions of the Representative Assembly. This is not correct. We are not mere petitioners. We are Qualified Citizens – officially recognized nationalistic citizens*.* We must have a specific position in the Government’s administration. Conducting this fête once a year does not help the citizens at all. If at all the people have to benefit from the Representative Assembly, it has to function all twelve months of the year. Since it is not possible for the whole assembly to congregate on all the three-hundred-and-sixty-five days of the year, the Representative Assembly must appoint a Standing Committee. The Government should recognize that Committee and submit its legislations, bills, and other administrative arrangements for the Committee’s perusal.”

The people who supported this decision, I suppose, included people such as Planter Crawford and Reverend Gulliford amongst foreigners and those such as M Venkatakrishnayya, D Venkataramayya of Bangalore, Srinivasa Rao of Chikkamagalur, H Nanjunda Rao of Davangere, amongst the Indians. This private assembly sent its decision to the government. Neither was there any response from the government nor any acknowledgment of receipt.

The next year someone brought up this proposal at the Representative Assembly and stirred up a commotion.

“What about that committee?”

The Dewan asked, “Which committee?”

“We appointed a committee,” said a representative.

“It is for you to find it out. The Government knows of no committee,” said the Dewan.

A year later, once again:

Someone asked, “What happened to that committee?”

“The committee is dead,” the Dewan retorted.

“Is it burnt or buried?”

The Dewan replied, “Which would you like?”

Heated arguments and frictions of this kind would occur quite often.

However, nobody lost their sleep over this. Nobody’s meal was disturbed. This merely became a subject of humor for those who used to read newspapers. The reason for this being that there wasn’t any disturbance caused by the Government to the people’s peace.

While hundreds opposed Seshadri Iyer, there were thousands who believed, If the government is doing something with a noble intention, the outcome of it shall also be good. And those nonchalant about this were over a ten thousand.

Audacity

The Representative Assembly was brimming with discord. Seshadri Iyer’s tone of speech and countenance strongly radiated his arrogance of authority.

On one occasion during an assembly session, Seshadri Iyer condescendingly snubbed a member and sat him down. Even the British Resident was amongst the participants at the session. During an Assembly session, the presence of the Resident on stage or amongst the spectators was not a rare sight.

During that period, Sir Willam Lee-Warner used to be the Resident. He was a well-known intellectual and an influential personality. The Citizen of India, a treatise authored by him, was a textbook in all schools and colleges. M B Srinivas Iyengar, who was a high school headmaster, had translated that book to Kannada with the title Hindu Deśada Nāgarīka. I have read both the English book and its Kannada translation. The style of the language used in the English book is fine and mature. However, the narration of the subject, quite often, tended to excessively praise the British. Due to this, the popularity it garnered did not last long. All in all, Lee-Warner was the enforcer of the Imperialist Government.

Chanchal Rao’s Ire

While sitting through the Representative Assembly session, he [Lee-Warner] witnessed the authority with which Seshadri Iyer shut the mouths of the members. After returning home, he wrote a letter of appreciation to Seshadri Iyer. “The manner in which you conducted the session was excellent. That is how the mouths of the impertinent should be shut and suppressed.” This was the crux of Lee-Warner’s letter. This appears to have made Seshadri Iyer happy. He proudly showed this letter to his colleague P Chanchal Rao.

Chanchal Rao snapped in response.

“Seshadri, you should be ashamed of this letter. You are finding happiness in something you should be lamenting about! I don’t wish to be identified as one of your associates anymore. The democracy here should not flourish; the British Government should get established – this is what he aspires, doesn’t he? He has written the letter aligned to that very desire. How is it a matter of pride to us? You were the one who paved the way for it. I don’t approve even slightly of your behavior in the Assembly. Under such circumstances, I can’t remain your colleague anymore. I will tender my resignation to the Mahārāja at this very instant.”

After hearing such bitter words from Chanchal Rao, Seshadri Iyer realized how impertinent his stance was. Conveying his regret to Chanchal Rao, he asked him what he could do that instant.

Chanchal Rao said, “Today, right at the start of the proceedings, convey your regrets about yesterday’s imprudence and tender an apology to the Assembly.”

Seshadri Iyer was a person filled with magnanimity. Without a second thought, he conducted himself as Chanchal Rao had advised.

This is the fourth part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 5)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 5) Source: prekshaa]]

Chanchal Rao’s Nourishment of Dharma

P Chanchal Rao was an Āndhra-brāhmaṇa. He was a great Sanskrit scholar and one who had gained expertise in all modern subjects concerning state administration. In conduct, he was extremely honest and pure.

Rao had earlier worked in the Government of Madras. He had authored the Revenue Manual, a compilation of rules and regulations related to real estate. Until very recently, it was the selfsame Manual that was being used there as the primary source of reference. I am not aware of the practices nowadays.

Irrespective of where he resided, Chanchal Rao always kept printing materials in a room adjacent to his and would get the printing work done by his workers. Many parts of the Ṛgveda, the mantras recited during rituals like vivāha (wedding), the Yājñavalkya-smṛti, and many such dharma-nibandhas (treatises related to Dharma) – he would translate word by word into Telugu, summarize the meaning, and get them printed in the Telugu script. Printing a minimum of two pages everyday was a self-imposed rule. In this manner, his work towards enriching dharma went on seamlessly for as long as he was alive.

When he was in Bangalore, he had established an organization called Caturveda Paripālanā Saṅgha in the Cantonment area. I had seen its name on a name plaque hung upon the gate of a building. In that building, apparently a veda-pāṭhaśālā was functional in the past. When I saw the place, it had become a primary school. It was in the same locale as Arcot Narrainswamy Mudaliar’s house.

Another instance that illuminates Chanchal Rao’s veneration for the Veda-śāstras is the name he chose for his grandson. That name was ‘Panini Rao.’ Giving one’s grandson the name of Pāṇini Maharṣi, the crown jewel of Sanskrit grammar, may appear strange to the people of this generation.

One evening, I was travelling with Sir P S Sivaswami Iyer, a prominent personage from Madras, in his car. As the car approached the old Attara Kacheri, Sivaswami Iyer asked me some question about that building. While answering, I mentioned “Chanchal Rao…” Instantly, Sivaswami Iyer folded both his hands with reverence and said, “My parama-guru! (i.e., teacher’s teacher). Chanchal Rao ¹ was the first guru to teach public affairs in Madras, and the second one was Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar ².

“In Madras, irrespective of who the people are, what work they do, and how separately they function, if at all everyone performs the state’s duties collectively in one direction, it is because of Chanchal Rao. Chanchal Rao was first. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar was second. The remaining came later.”

This is how well known Chanchal Rao was!

Lee-Warner’s Politics

Sir William Lee-Warner used to be the British Resident during Seshadri Iyer’s tenure as the Dewan. One day, he visited Central College, Bangalore and saw all the classes that were going on there. While inspecting the FA ³ class, he began posing a question to each student. He asked one of the students (if I remember correctly, it was M G Rangayya, who later went on to become a Chief Engineer) thus –

“Where are you from?” asked the Resident.

“Tirupathur, Madras Province,” the student replied.

“Why did you come this far [to pursue your education]?”

“The fee here is a little lower. I am poor. I have come here to save two to three rupees.”

Learning the fact that the college fee in the Madras Province was more than that in Bangalore, Lee-Warner wrote a letter to the Dewan stating that he found it reasonable to increase the college fees in Bangalore and Mysore to the level of that in Madras.

The following is the essence of Seshadri Iyer’s letter in response –

“It is the wish of His Majesty, the Mahārāja, to see the citizens of the State of Mysore well educated. The Government of Mysore is perfectly aware of the financial strength of its citizens and what they can affort. In the Kingdom of Mysore, the fee is decided based on the people’s capacity. While collecting fees, we also keep in mind the desire of the Mahārāja’s Government to promote education. Irrespective of what fees the other regions have designated, it is not possible to forsake the Mahārāja’s generous policy in Mysore.”

Reading this response, the British Resident simmered down.

An Accusation

In the year 1894, King Chamaraja Wodeyar X breathed his last in Calcutta. Due to that, various forms of chaos arose across the entire kingdom. Random groups of people on the street had presumed Seshadri Iyer to have been behind this. Isn’t this how rumours spread? If someone says that it was a cat that ran past, another would report it as a tiger! At any rate, now everyone accepts the fact that the cause of the Mahārāja’s death was an illness that affected him by some means and it wasn’t the result of anyone’s intrigue or guile.

Who should assume the throne next? There was a huge commotion regarding this, followed by conspiracies by different parties. One side of the argument was that Seshadri Iyer was scheming with the British to retain the State in his own hands. According to this argument, Seshadri Iyer was apparently trying to not have any regent at all, and in case anyone had to be a regent, he wanted that post for himself. The other side of the argument by the opposing party was that there necessarily had to be a regent and it had to be the Mahārāṇī Vāṇī Vilāsa Sannidhāna, and the reigns of the State should not leave her hands.

This is the fifth part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Footnotes

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 6)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 6) Source: prekshaa]]

The Two Parties

This controversy raged on quite intensely. Several public meetings were held by the prominent citizens of the State, countless petitions were filed, and innumerable newspaper articles were published. People believed that M Venkatakrishnayya was the leader of the party that wanted the Mahārāṇī—and no one else—to be the regent. Rumours were rife that Ambale Annayya Pandita, who was Seshadri Iyer’s wife’s relative, was the leader of the other faction.

According to a few, the allegation of selfishness against Seshadri Iyer might have been due to a feeling of intolerance towards others, which germinates as a result of a high sense of self-esteem. The fear of losing the State of Mysore sparked a sense of doubt in the fanatic Mysoreans, who felt that Seshadri Iyer, an outside, might hinder their intentions; with a view to resolve this suspicion, they made several allegations against Iyer: this was the argument of one of the parties.

Now it is not possible to examine the arguments, weigh their merits, and infer what the reality was then. Whatever the reality might have been, it is an indisputable fact that the environment, for some time, was quite unfavorable to Seshadri Iyer. An equally indubitable truth is that once the decision was made and the Mahārāṇī assumed regency, Seshadri Iyer heartily accepted it, and in all obedience to the Mahārāṇī, conducted himself with absolute loyalty. He remained the Dewan for six years under the Mahārāṇī’s regency.

Was it Favouritism?

While one complaint against Seshadri Iyer was concerned with his disregard for democracy, the other was about the special accommodations he provided to people from the Madras Province.

During his early days, Seshadri Iyer hardly knew any Mysoreans. Secondly, there weren’t many competent people amongst Mysoreans during those days. After all, English education first started in Madras, didn’t it? That was the reason why English education had spread widely across many regions such as Madras and Kumbakonam. Owing to these reasons, there had been occasions when Seshadri Iyer brought people from Madras to Bangalore. There were also instances where they have occupied many a plump post. Following them, several dependents came – like the traditional saying ‘First, a rat mother, then, a rat father, and then, a rat grandmother.’ In this manner, various professional roles such as those of cooks, attendants, small-time clerks, and writers were filled by Tamilians. Nobody can say that the sense of displeasure amongst Mysoreans about their homes being intruded by outsiders was unjustified. From this grew the great ‘Mysorean versus Madrasi’ conflict. For a few years, it raged like a wildfire. With passage of time, as the non-Mysoreans settled down permanently in the Kingdom of Mysore, they became naturalized citizens. This conflict ended during Visvesvaraya’s tenure.

Sincerity and Good Conduct

In his personal life, Seshadri Iyer was a distinguished nobleman. He was clean in his dealings. If he ever heard any news of corruption or bribery, he would become furious and spare no effort in finding the culprits and penalizing them.

Seshadri Iyer was not negligent about rituals and beliefs that he had inherited by tradition. However, during his early days, apparently he never showed any keenness towards traditional customs and practices.

The Impact of the Esteemed Annie Besant

The venerable Annie Besant was the most popular amongst the leaders of the Theosophical Society. A few people say that Seshadri Iyer’s mind transformed due to the lectures about divinity that Annie Besant delivered during her visit to Bangalore. That may be true. Annie Besant was an influential orator and possessed great knowledge of science. She apparently delivered her speeches in the premises of the District Office, Bangalore. The first discourse made a lasting impression on the minds of thousands of people, who showered praises on her oration.

This news reached Seshadri Iyer’s ears and kindled his curiosity. He attended the remaining two of Annie Besant’s lectures. He was extremely elated upon listening to her. Her words about the significance of the Śrīmad-bhagavad-gītā deeply impacted his mind. Thereafter, he met her in person and spoke to her. That incident, people believe, was one of the most divine incidents of his life.

Audience with the the Jagadguru of Sringeri

Within a few weeks of this [i.e., Besant’s speech], Seshadri Iyer travelled to Sringeri and met Śrī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nṛsiṃha Bhāratī Mahāsvāmī. He shared all his doubts and suspicions with the jagadguru. He felt a sense of relief from the jagadguru’s answers. Ever since, Seshadri Iyer was counted as one of the most promiment of disciples of the Śṛṅgeri Sannidhānam. He used to visit Sringeri often for guru-darśana [vision of the teacher]. He describes the time he spent in conversation with the jagadguru as the most cherished opportunity of his life.

‘Kumara Bhavana’

I have heard about another incident from a reliable source. ‘Kumara Bhavana’ – the name of Seshadri Iyer’s house – is derived from a part of his own name. The complete form of his name is ‘Kumarapuram Seshadri Iyer.’ Kumarapuram is probably his place of birth. ‘Kumāra’ is another name for Lord Subrahmaṇya. I have heard that it was Comptroller Erode Subbarayar who prepared the plan of Kumara Bhavana and had it neatly constructed. It is the same Government Building/Choultry that is popularly known today as ‘Kumara Park’ and ‘Kumara Krupa.’

The house construction was complete but alas, the lady of the house (Sir K Seshadri Iyer’s wife) was not ready to reside there. She expressed her discontent with those who were close to hear. Subbarayar, Srikanteshwara Iyer, and many others pleaded with her in a variety of ways. Seshadri Iyer’s wife apparently said the following –

“The region in which you have got the house constructed is a wild jungle. It has no neighborhood. Neither brāhmaṇas nor married women will ever visit the house. There is no temple in the vicinity. I won’t be able to come to such a building. Whoever wishes to go may go and live there. I will stay where I am!”

After realizing that she continued to be obstinate in such a manner, it took several days of discussions to finally convince her. Herculean efforts were made by relatives and friends to change her mind. In the end, she announced her decision thus –

“Devatārcanā should be conducted the three times a day. During Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, Kuṃkumārcanā, Sahasranāmārcanā, Sūrya-namaskāra, and Rudrābhiṣeka should be conducted without fail. Once a week, pūjā has to be offered to married women and brāhmaṇas, and every afternoon, the Purāṇas or the epics such as the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata should be narrated and sung. I will be happy to come there only if my husband agrees to all these things.”

This is the sixth part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 7)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 7) Source: prekshaa]]

Virūpākṣa-śāstrī

Everyone agreed to that [conditions laid down by Seshadri Iyer’s wife]. Seshadri Iyer himself, very cheerfully, agreed to all of it. According to the agreement, to deliver discourses on the Purāṇas, they appointed Hānagal Virūpākṣa-śāstrī. He had been a student of the Saṃskṛta Pāṭhaśālā during his early days and with the passage of time, rose to prominence as ‘Vidyānidhi’ and ‘Mahāmahopādhyāya.’

Every afternoon, while Virūpākṣa-śāstrī narrated episodes from the Purāṇas in the living room of Kumara Bhavana, Seshadri Iyer would come downstairs, sit down for around fifteen minutes or half an hour, and listen. After a few days of this routine, Seshadri Iyer wrote a glowing letter recommending Virūpākṣa-śāstrī to the Śṛṅgeri Sannidhānam, in which he mentioned that such a great scholar deserved the encouragement of the jagadguru’s proximity. The jagadguru approved it. This created an opportunity for Virūpākṣa-śāstrī, who had become, by then, an authority in Tarka-śāstra (Logic) and had earned the title ‘Tarka-pañcānana,’ to begin teaching Vedānta-śāstra in the guru-sannidhi (presence of the teacher).

‘Rājya Dhurandhara’

The title that the Mahārāja bestowed upon Seshadri Iyer was, in reality, not a mere title but an actual fact. Just as the term ‘Rājya Dhurandhara’ is full of the sentiment of majesty and dignity, it is also a fitting tribute to Seshadri Iyer’s accomplishments in work. In the English language, there are three words in use that describe the standard of public servants – 1. Politician, 2. Administrator, and 3. Statesman. ⁴ Of the three, a politician is someone who dabbles in all kinds of political activities. He is not accountable to anyone. A politician takes on various avatars such as chanting slogans on the street, conspiring in a closed room, knowing the pains that have afflicted the hearts of the people, familiar with the stunts that can stir up the hearts of people, screams, ostentation, the façade of humility, strategy, threats, and so forth. For him, this is a mere vocation. The politician treads the path trodden by doctors and lawyers in their chosen professions to achieve personal gains – hustle, conspiracy, scheming, publicity, and so on. In a democracy, a politician’s vocation achieves prosperity. It is a kind of business.

An administrator is of a higher standard than the kind of person described previously. He has responsibilities that are clear and well-defined. He has people both above and below him. The officials above him would have made his duties clear. Getting those below him to perform those duties is the administrator’s responsibility. He has to discharge his duties within the rules and legislations of the State. If the State is a human body, he is like the bones. The heavy and significant parts are carried by him.

A statesman is of a higher grade than an administrator. The word ‘statesman’ is considered to have great weightage, and hence, it is used to describe only a handful of people who have successfully rendered public service. There are four distinct qualities of a statesman –

1. Amongst hundreds of actions a State would require, a statesman will make it clear to himself as to what is possible for him to undertake.

2. He will plan his duties based on an order of priorities. He never pushes a task of first priority to second place. And he does not bring a task that can wait for some time to first place. Gaining wisdom of such important and peripheral tasks is a challenge in itself.

3. Even to perform the duties considered most necessary, he will think about the aptness of time. Are the time, place, and present situation suitable to begin the work? When is it appropriate to begin a certain task? What kind of place and situation are convenient? Without evaluating such criteria, one cannot take up a task on whim.

4. Practical Wisdom: He considers the availability of financial and human resources to accomplish a great project. How to strengthen something that is weak? How to stabilize over-enthusiasm? How to make the uninteresting exciting? How to bind your opponents so as to make sure they don’t open their mouths? Who should be unleashed against whom? How to earn what from where? Such clever and strategic thought process is at the heart of statesmanship.

Seshadri Iyer had all these four qualities. That was the reason he won the deep admiration of a critic as severe as Lord Curzon. In Europe, Bismarck ⁵ and Cavour ⁶ were the only two who had rose to fame as able statesmen. Just like Mysore, the states of Prussia and Naples were small provinces. However, those two States had the freedom to sign treaties or wage wars with other States. Making use of those opportunities, Bismarck and Cavour conspired with the neighboring states, expanded their kingdoms, and lifted them up. Had Mysore been given such an opportunity, Seshadri Iyer had the statesmanship enough to have used it for the welfare of the Kingdom of Mysore – this is an indisputable fact evident from history.

To be concluded…

This is the seventh part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

Footnotes

Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 8)

[[Sir K Seshadri Iyer (Part 8) Source: prekshaa]]

APPENDIX

‘Deśābhimāni’

One of the most important political situations during Seshadri Iyer’s tenure was related to newspapers. In the city of Mysore, a person by name Srinivas Iyengar was running a Kannada weekly called ‘Deśābhimāni.’ That newspaper often carried anti-government critiques and commentary. I have not seen that newspaper, only heard about it. Apparently, satirical pieces often appeared in it. For example, a conversation between a villager and a city dweller. The villager is asking questions about history. The urbanite is answering him. “Initially,” he says,
“the Britishers used to be rule Mysore in the past.”

The villager asks, “Hāgādarè īga yāru āḻuttiddārè?” [“In that case, who is ruling now?”]

The city-dweller quips, “Īga Cāmappa aḻuttiddānè!” [“Now, Chamarajendra is crying!”]

(In place of the long ‘ā,’ a short ‘a’ was printed, which totally changes the meaning. This was later claimed to be a typographical error!)*

One fine day, when the mocking and jesting breached the limits of morality in one of the articles, Seshadri Iyer apparently turned red in fury. Soon after, it turns out that government officials seized the typesetting materials and took them into their custody. The newspaper shut down. The owner of the press didn’t get even the typesetting sorts and the machine back; apparently, they were dumped in some police station. Srinivas Iyengar fought tirelessly to get them back. It didn’t happen. After him, his children tried their best to procure the typesetting material. That was when I got introduced to them. Even they couldn’t regain the lost materials. Nobody came to know where the typesetting sorts and the machine went. That is how the story concluded.

Oriental Library

The person who established the Mysore Oriental Library—a library of the East—was Seshadri Iyer. Hundreds of ancient Sanskrit treatises, unprinted and unprotected, were getting degenerated and lost in the most unpopular of places. Observing this, to save such treasures and to prevent them from getting lost, he established this institution. The most important duties assigned to the Oriental Library were the following: collection of palm-leaf manuscripts, pieces of handwritten work, and stone inscriptions; examining them, enlisting them, and preserving them by keeping them in suitable shelves with serial numbers marked; and refining the treatises useful for people and publishing them.

A great scholar by name A Mahadeva Sastri was appointed for this job. Mahadeva Sastri had translated into English many Sanskrit treatises such as Bhagavad-gītā Śāṅkara-bhāṣya and the Śāṅkara-bhāṣya on Taittirīyopaniṣad. Treatises like Taittirīya-saṃhitā and other works related to Veda and Vedāṅga that were published under his editorship are authoritative works. In this manner, by establishing such a system, the service that Seshadri Iyer has done to the śāstras and culture of the Hindus is quite memorable. However, I have heard that the system has gone helter-skelter lately.

Ban of Infant Marriages

It was Seshadri Iyer who drafted and brought into force the regulation titled ‘The Mysore Infant Marriage Prevention Regulation 1894.’ This law was enforced to end the tradition of marrying off girls below the age of eight. The significance of this social reform need not be articulated much. The fact that people have accepted it so gracefully bears testimony to its importance. When this social reform had just been introduced, there were one or two occasions of resistance to it. Thereafter, it has earned an approval from everyone.

I am reminded of a story related to this regulation to prohibit infant marriage. A schoolmaster by name Srinivasacharya married a seven- or eight-year-old girl after he lost his wife when he was around fifty-three or fifty-four years of age. The girl’s father had also been a schoolmaster who was retired. The wedding took place in Tirupati. The reason being that the laws of the State of Mysore do not apply to the Kumpaṇi State. (Kumpaṇi means Company, i.e., the East India Company. People used to call British India as ‘Company’ even though it had been a long time since the rule of the East India Company ended.) A dispute about this marriage surfaced.

1. The wedding did not take place inside the State of Mysore.

2. Even the girl had become older than the prescribed age.

In the case of that Acharya, rather than going to any courts, the government penalized him in some manner through the education department itself. Perhaps he was expelled and later retired. The interesting detail comes now. After the passage of some time, on the day of the girl and the old man’s ‘śānti-prasta,’ the Ācārya’s sister, who was a seventy-year-old woman, apparently advised her brother thus: “Śīnappa, don’t put the arecanut like that into your mouth. Your eyeballs may pop out. Ask Padma to chew it in her mouth, soften it, and spit it into yours.”

An explanation is unnecessary, isn’t it?

* * *

Amongst Seshadri Iyer’s other social reform projects, two are prominent –

1. Institution of separate schools for the educational development of the people who belonged to a category that used to be known as the Pañcamas during those days and is known as Harijans now.

2. Establishment of night schools for the benefit of people such as farmers and carpenters, belonging to the labour class, who during the day had to toil relentlessly for their livelihood.

For the year 1970, these reforms may not seem to be remarkable. But these were huge during Seshadri Iyer’s era. No other government in India had brought about such great reforms until then. For the commoners of that time, this had appeared somewhat unusual.

Concluded.

This is the eighth and final part of an English translation of the third chapter of D V Gundappa’s Jnapakachitrashaale – Vol. 4 – Mysurina Diwanaru. Edited by Hari Ravikumar.

* There are a couple of subtleties that are lost in translation. The verb used by the villager is ‘āḻuttiddārè,’ which means ‘(is) ruling’ and is the respectful form of address. The verb used by the urbanite is ‘aḻuttiddānè,’ which means ‘(is) crying’ and it is the familiar form. The newspaper intends to say that the administration of the kingdom is chaotic and so the king is weeping; instead of saying it directly, they have resorted to such a trick.