Persons and Personalities

Persons and Personalities ¹

It is a very handsome and attractive volume. I rose from its perusal with a flush of pleasure and a sense of kinship with its gifted author. The kinship is an ancient one, for towards the late V. Krishnaswami Iyer, Mr. Chandrasekharan's great and greatly lamented father, I have felt a more than pious regard. In January 1912, when I was a college lad at Madras, one morning all Madras, young and old, thronged at the crematorium to pay the last honours to one who had been tragically cut off, still in the prime of life though already at the zenith of glory. I was among the crowd and stood close to the bier, and my own feelings and impressions found expression in the words of tribute paid by Mr. (afterwards Justice) Napier that it was impossible to believe that his vivid and intense personality could be stilled by the hand of death. Later in the day I wrote a column-long "In Memoriam" which the genial and gentle Editor, the late Dewan Bahadur C. Karunakara Menon, published prominently in the Indian Patriot. This ancient bond between Mr. Chandrasekharan and myself was the other day happily revived when the authentic Mr. Venkataramani in a recent issue of Triveni likened us to each other in the spirit in which we react to life and literature. And now with this volume before me, I feel the more drawn towards him, though I am only too, too sensible of the high praise which Mr. Venkataramani thus bestowed upon me.

Shall I say with the illustrious writer of the Foreword to this volume: "I like what I like and dislike what I dislike and I do not always know why." But if what I have said above gave me a good start in favour of the talented writer, the work has manifold merit kindling in me the desire to know the author more and meet him in the flesh. Through the pictures drawn with intimacy and subtle artistic reserve, I feel that I am made familiar as much with the painter as with the subjects of his study. A word, an expression, a sentiment, and running through and through the work an unmistakable fragrance of his own great parentage, and the reader who knows anything of South India knows at once the conspicuous title of Mr. Chandrasekharan to distinction in the land.

Personal portraiture is not an easy task. Sometimes it is made an art, often it degenerates into an artifice. Characteristics are balanced, a smart turn is given to an acid thought, and to be a public man is more to be blinded by the lime-light of criticism than to be heartened by charity in public life. But Mr. Chandrasekharan is a lofty artist. He renders generous praise, brightening up the picture here and there with just a hint or suggestion of some weakness of his subject which is as accurate of fact as it is innocent of malice. For instance, the Rt. Hon. Mr. Sastri will readily admit his inherent disinclination to ‘grow warm towards others.’ When he and I happened to be in London together recently and I often took the liberty of calling on him at the unusual hour of near midnight at his flat in Kensington, Mr. Sastri would quietly pull off his clothes and stretch himself on his bed, just leading me on with a question or two, only to show that he had not actually fallen asleep. I must at the same time confess to an incident, two decades old, when happening to be his companion in the corridor compartment of the S. I. R., I received from his lips the highest praise that has ever come to me in this life. I cherish its recollection with undiminished pride. Sir Alladi will only too gladly affirm the tribute to the generosity springing within his reminiscent soul. Nor would the accomplished and far-travelled Sir C. P. mind the touch that he is ‘never slow to impress these facts on others.’ The picture of the family friend fills the mind of the present writer with affectionate memories of one who filled such a place in his own family. The venerable Dewan Rahadur Ramachandra Aiyar will only confirm with fresh warmth how by prayer he got his rewards and repeat the injunction to others to go and likewise pray. And undoubtedly there are others elsewhere who equally with the distinguished Mr. Venkataramani enjoy being discussed, whether praised or abused.

But I must not take the reader through all the sketches drawn. I can assure him that he cannot find elsewhere finer estimates of those who, whether in politics or the professions, have built up the history of our Presidency during the last quarter of a century. The aristocratic politician Mr. Sastri, "C. P." with his matchless eyes and marvellous versatility, the favourite of fortune born with a spoon of gold, Sir Alladi the architect of his own magnificent fortune and fame, Dr. Rangachari whose professional benefaction is the theme of praise for rich and poor alike, the dignified and high-souled Mr. Venkatarama Sastri who in a flash revealed the principle of a life-time, the fiery Satyamurthi favourite of the platform and the stage with his unequalled gift of parliamentary debate, these and others are presented by Mr. Chandrasekharan with that touch born of intimate knowledge and nice appreciation. His criticism is subtle and there is felicity in his writing. And his diction is simple but elegant, graceful but not ornate. It is a delightful volume and the drawings of Mr. Ram Mohan Sastri add to its attraction.