Ramakoti: Apostle of the Renaissance

Born in the last years of the last century, Ramakoti–Kolavennu Ramakotiswara Rau–belonged to an illustrious band of brilliant men that represented the undaunted spirit of resurgent India. His life and work have enriched human character and culture. His immortal legacy is enshrined in the tomes of Triveni, journal of the Indian Renaissance, which has been shedding a steady lustre on the minds and hearts of thousands for over forty-three years. Ramakoti is gone but the lamp lit by him remains to light the path of posterity.

Ramakoti’s father was a flourishing lawyer in the Zamindari township of Narasaraopet in Guntur district. He was legal adviser to the Rajahs. Only son of his well-to-do parents, as a child, he had more than the necessary affection and attention. He developed all the traits of an aristocratic youth. Yet, he was simple and innocent. He remained so till the end.

EARLY EDUCATION

While he had his early education in his home-town, he joined the Noble College in Masulipatam for his Intermediate. Masula was then the centre of national awakening. Konda Venkatappayya had set up legal practice there before he migrated to his home-town, Guntur, after it became a district headquarters in 1904. Venkatappayya built up the Krishna district conference, and founded the celebrated Telugu weekly, Krishna Patrika, to propagate the message of new India. He was, later, to become the founder of the Andhra movement, and the most important disciple of the Mahatma in the South.

Kopalle Hanumantha Rao, Mutnuri Krishna Rao and Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya were in the prime of their life radiating the vibrations of the new-life. The unwanted partition of Bengal, a foretaste of Pakistan, awakened the slumbering people of India resulting in the emergence of the Swadeshi movement. There was a country-wide call for a switch to national education. The national call and the message of the Brahmo Samaj reached Andhra through Babu Bipin Chandra Pal and had its most intense impact on Masulipatam. Vandemataram, the militant salutation to Mother India, echoed and re-echoed in class-rooms of schools and colleges. Hanumantha Rao, Krishna Rao and Pattabhi started the Andhra Jateeya Kalasala (the Andhra National College). At their request, Nandalal Bose, with the blessings of the Gurudeva, deputed Pramod-kumar Chatterji to teach art at the Kalasala.

SOCIAL REFORM

The spirits of Ramamohan Roy and Rabindranath from Bengal, and Gokhale and Tilak from Maharashtra were hovering over the sea-port town of Masulipatam. Veeresalingam and Chilakamarti were creating modern Telugu literature and had launched the social reform movement from Rajahmundry. Venkata Sastri, the Poet Laureate, was teaching at the Hindu High School, Masula, and promoting modern poets by the score.

It was in this surcharged atmosphere that Ramakoti spent two of his most impressionable years in Masula, imbibing the spirit of the new times. Masula remained his source of inspiration and sustenance. Ramakoti was a good student and passed out from the college in first class. Like all rich students of the time, he joined the Madras Presidency College for his B. A. He took his degree with distinction in English. During his stay in Madras he came into close contact with the Theosophical Society and the activities of Dr. Annie Besant. Ramakoti had all the sartorial fastidiousness, as well as the inward refinement, of an official theosophist.

STUDY OF LAW

The royal path for an opulent graduate of the time led him to the Law College to which Ramakoti also went. It was when he was studying Law that he married Rajyalakshmamma, beautiful daughter of a rich landlord from Berhampore. The youngman sent a sandalwood casket as the first present to his bride. He was fond of the delicate scent of sandal. He was among men what sandal is among perfumes.

After taking his Law degree, he returned to Narasaraopet to set up practice in accordance with the wishes of his parents. His mind and make-up were, however, not in tune with that clever and worldly profession. He was dreaming of a commonwealth of culture. The shape of it was yet nebulous.  

THE MAGIC CALL

In 1921, came the magic call of the Mahatma and Guntur district fell heart and soul into the freedom struggle. Konda Venkatappayya, Gollapudi Sitarama Sastry, Unnava Lakshminarayana, Vedantam Narasimhachari, all advocates, were in the vanguard of the non- cooperation movement. A number of lawyers suspended practice. Ramakoti also gave it up.

At this time Prakasam, the Lion of Andhra, abandoned a princely practice at the Madras High Court and founded an English daily newspaper, the Swarajya, to spread the message of Gandhiji. He gathered round him a spirited band of youngmen to run the paper: Panikkar, Krupanidhi, Khasa Subba Rau, Varadachari, G. V. Krishna Rao and others. Ramakoti was one of them. The rigours of a daily newspaper were too much for sedate Ramakoti. He gave it up.

TEACHING PROFESSION

Swaraj was not yet in sight, and Gandhiji devoted himself to constructive programme. Most of Ramakoti’s colleagues returned to their professions. An offer came from Hanumantha Rao in Masulipatam. Would he take up a teaching job as Vice-Principal of the National College? Ramakoti welcomed it. It suited his temperament. Apart from Hanumantha Rao who was Principal, Adivi Bapiraju, Katuri Venkateswara Rao and Viswanatha Satyanarayana were on the teaching staff. What a coterie of celebrities! Later, Ramakoti became Principal of the college.

There was difference of opinion on the question of seeking Government aid to run the institution, and Ramakoti left it. Adivi Bapiraju, the poet-artist, was one with him. It was through Bapiraju that Ramakoti came into contact with Oswald Couldrey, Principal of the Rajahmundry Arts College. Couldrey inspired and moulded youngmen like Damerla Rama Rao, the artist, Kavikondala Venkata Rao, the poet, as well as Bapiraju.

COMMONWEALTH OF CULTURE

Chavali Venkatakrishnayya, an advocate of Narasaraopet, was another dreamer that joined the Rau-Raju group. In the course of their discussions the shape of the commonwealth of culture, Ramakoti was visualising, came into sharp relief. It was a journal. To start with, it should be in English. All the three went to Madras, the multi-lingual metropolis of the South, and gathered more support. On Christmas Day in 1927, at ‘Malabari House’ in Vepery, in the presence of a distinguished gathering of poets and artists, Triveni, Journal of the Indian Renaissance, was launched into an uncertain world. Venkatakrishnayya presided over the meeting. Ramakoti was Editor and Bapiraju, Associate Editor. Bapiraju designed the first cover and C. Jinarajadasa of the Theosophical Society wrote the first article.

Ramakoti used to explain to us: Traditionally, Triveni denoted, on the physical plane, the confluence at holy Prayaga of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati. On the spiritual plane, it signified the convergence of the yogic powers that run through the ida, pingala and sushumna nadis. In the terminology of the Sankhya philosophy, Triveni stood for the three gunasin creation–Satwa, Rajas and Tamas. It embraced all the esorteric significance of the holy number three; the Trinity standing for creation, preservation and destruction of the Universe. It might indicate the dhatusor the powers of life in the language of Ayurveda. It suggested the three paths of God-realisation–Bhakti, Jnana and Karma and so the virtues of love, wisdom and power. He would devote the Journal to art, literature and history. So he would go on.

No one can deny that this noble editor had achieved all his objectives in handsome measure. He did draw together idealist writers from far and near. Indeed he made many. Beauty in form and content were the twin standards that he had set for his journal. For sometime he refused advertisements altogether. Even later, baser type of selling tactics never found a place in his volumes.

The Triveni office became in course of time the intellectual Mecca of the cultured. Distinguished scholars and writers like Jinarajadasa, Navaratna Rama Rao, D. V. Gundappa, Masti Venkatesa Iyengar, K. S. Venkataramani, K. Balasubrahmanya Aiyar, K. Chandrasekharan, B. V. Subrahmanyam, K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar and M. Chalapathi Rau have all associated themselves with the work of Triveni in some form or other and have, contributed to the style and distinction of the journal.

HIGH-CLASS PRODUCTION

The Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri described the work and worth of Triveni in these words:

“The Triveni is a high-class production–bright and elegant. Its appeal is to a highly cultivated, select few. To make it succeed is a difficult task. The men and women among us, who combine taste, judgment, leisure and means are not many. I am inclined to congratulate you on the success you have attained. I wish somehow the writers and subscribers could try to make it possible for you to keep up the beautiful Triveni.”

If Ramakoti had not attained success in the commercial sense, he passed away with the satisfaction that he had served a cause, a rare cause. Through Triveni he had established inter-communication among those who wrote in different Indian languages and he had taken the message of India abroad.

Ramakoti did not lack support. He had it in plenty, Rajagopalachari, Radhakrishnan, Mocherla Ramachandra Rao, Govindarajachari, Mirza Ismail, Tej Bahadur Sapru, C. V. Raman and a host of others had extended their unstinted assistance in the running of this beloved journal. But Ramakoti’s ideals were too high to be attained, his fastidiousness was too strict to be observed, his sense of beauty was too etherial to be realised, his standards of writing were too intellectual to be maintained and last but not least, his sense of business was too childish to succeed. He set his vision on the stars above in a world where men are prone to grope in the mud. A lightning does not last. A beautiful flower must fade. So was Ramakoti.

A few weeks ago I met him for the last time. He was confined to bed with vision almost lost. His voice and memory were perfect. He asked about everyone of the old friends whom he called the ‘Triveni family’. He said: “They have all become memories.” Now, dear Ramakoti has himself become a memory to us–a sweet and lasting memory.

–From Andhra Pradesh