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Lesser known facts about Radhakrishnan
Highlights
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in a very humble family in Tiruttani, a pilgrim town of composite Madras. In the initial years of his education, he did not show any sign of talent but gave the impression that he was a truant.
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The following article gives certain interesting details about his early education and transformation at Vellore under the extraordinary scholar Sarvepalli Narasimham. His stay at Rajahmundry, which no biographer has attempted so far, is described in detail
The heights of great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight But they, while their companions slept Were toiling upward in the night”-HW Longfellow
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in a very humble family in Tiruttani, a pilgrim town of composite Madras. In the initial years of his education, he did not show any sign of talent but gave the impression that he was a truant.
Once his father, Veeraswamy was fretting and fuming over his lack of progress and educational backwardness, Late Dr B Ramaraju, a noted writer and professor of Telugu of Osmania University, revealed about young Radhakrishnan’s miraculous change in his life through Swami Pranavanandha (previously known as Sarvepalli Narasimham) as narrated in the hagiological account of Swamiji.
Sarvepalli Narasimham, the younger brother of Veeraswamy, pacified, cajoled and coerced him into taking the lad Radhakrishnan along with him to Vellore. Prior to his arrival to Vellore, Radhakrishnan was a dismal failure in his early education at Tiruttani and Tirupathi.
Many relatives including his maternal uncle suspected his calibre and refused to offer his daughter for marriage with Radhakrishnan. In the carping words of one of his uncles: “This creeper is not likely to climb the scaffold,” but his arrival to Vellore heralded his tryst with destiny and his uncle Narasimham profoundly affected astonishing change in his life.
His uncle’s benevolent influence and motivational instruction helped Radhakrishnan abandon his boyish, erratic ways of learning. He scorned delight and lived laboriously, Sarvepalli Narasimham is a polyglot and his versatile knowledge of the Hindu Scriptures, particularly the ‘Ramayana’ is commendable, his house was an open university.
Many British officers used to come for his instruction in Telugu and Sanskrit. His articulation of any language is chaste, flawless with sonorous intonation. In this highly inspiring, learning environment he has astoundingly transformed the truant son of Veeraswamy and the once veritable dud is metamorphosed into an extraordinary scholar and eloquent speaker to scale the dizzy heights of position and power carving out a niche among the world leaders.
However, it is regrettable to note that not even a single biographer including his son S Gopal besides Radhakrishnan in his autobiography “My Search for Truth” has ever cared to record this incredible, amazing life-turning incident in Radhakrishnan’s life.If one reads the life of Radhakrishnan carefully, two persons have been instrumental in moulding his destiny.
One person is his uncle Sarvepalli Narasimham and his cousin, who gave books free of cost to Radhakrishnan. This kind gesture of his cousin compelled him to choose philosophy instead of his favourite subject physical sciences. In the words of S Gopal: “His choice of subject was more by accident than by design.”
It seems that he endeavoured hard to get away from the pursuit of philosophy but only to be foiled by circumstances. At Christian college under the benign influence of Prof Hogg, he became an avid, omnivorous reader and ultimately won the accolades for his maiden, masterly thesis ‘Ethics of the Vedanta’ in his MA final year.
Initially he was appointed in the post of Malayalam lecturer even though he taught philosophy in Presidency College. During this period, he had to face indigent circumstances and lived in chill penury for the sake of supporting his parents. A senior member of faculty working in Government College at Palghat complained against Radhakrishnan stating that his junior was working in Madras where as he was compelled to work at Palghat, a remote place.
The director of public instruction immediately transferred Radhakrishnan to Rajahmundry in June 1917, and issued orders of transfer to his senior in Madras. Even though senior citizens nostalgically recount the stay of Radhakrishnan at Rajahmundry, adequate attention and space were not provided in the biography by his son, Dr S Gopal. When I brought this to his notice during my meeting in Chennai, he tersely remarked: “I was not provided with the required material from any reliable source.”
Later, I strove hard to glean some facts and details about his brief but significant stay at Rajahmundry. He was transferred from Madras to Government Arts College, Rajahmundry, when O Couldrej was its principal. The principal was held in high esteem and adored by thousands of students including the noted Telugu novelist Adivi Bapiraju.
It is curious to learn that the young professor and the principal have little regard for each other and their association is lukewarm. But his son Gopal interestingly records that his father often remembered the pithy saying of his Principal Couldrej: “There is no obstructing the man of destiny.”
Radhakrishnan stayed in a tiled house behind the present Kotipalli bus stand. He used to squat on a mat and evaluate the students’ answer scripts, besides listening to the Carnatic vocal music of the sister of Iswara Dutt, a veteran English journalist. Occasionally, he used to ramble along the banks of the Godavari in the evening with his Cambridge educated colleague, Duggirala Gopalakrishniah the “Andhra Ratna” of AP. Latter being an adept in astrology; he seemed to have predicted that a dazzling career awaited Radhakrishna and soon would leave this place.
In Aryapuram, he met frequently a Sanskrit scholar who taught the intricacies of the Vedas and Upanishads. During his stay at Rajahmundry he wrote an excellent discourse on Tagore entitled ‘The philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore’, which claimed the worldwide attention and admiration of the Bard of Bengal, Tagore himself, whenever YS Narasimha Rao, a man of erudition and authority on Rajahmundry and its culture, went to Delhi and met Dr S Radhakrishnan, the latter was always enthusiastic and eager to enquire about certain persons including sanitation.
The same information has been corroborated by the late Prof. Satchidanandha Murthy of Andhra University in his biography on Radhakrishnan: “Who ever met him from Rajahmundry he invariably enquired about Avasarala Rama Rao, Vasundara and in a characteristic humorous tone about the sewage pools in the by lanes of Rajahmundry and further adds in the book.”
The days Dr S Radhakrishnan spent at Rajahmundry were the happiest and most fulfilling years of his life.” Dr Radhakrishnan envisioned about setting up of Andhra University at Rajahmundry but his plan fell through due to strong political reasons.
Wherever he went, he became the cynosure of all eyes for he captivated the minds and hearts of his learned audience either in India or abroad with his mellifluous cadence of expression and stentorian voice. He was a walking library with amazing encyclopaedic range of learning.
He could move the heart of Stalin, a dictator and charismatic, spiritual leader Gandhi equally well with his eloquence. In his speeches or writings, we come across numerous sentences which have the lyrical quality coupled with epigrammatic force and they leave a profound impact on the listeners as well as readers.
As a model teacher, eloquent speaker prolific writer and empathetic administrator, he left his footprints on sands of time leaving behind us a rich legacy proudly to be possessed, admired and emulated.
By:NK Visweswara Rao
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