Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....
The year
1957. The venue the open quadrangle of Govt. Arts College, Anantapur. The speaker Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the Vice-President of the Republic of India. The audience staff and the students of the college. The meeting arranged at short notice. No chairs. No introductions. Pin drop silence in the quadrangle. After a four line prayer cum welcome composed by the lecturer in Sanskrit and rendered by him. Radhakrishnan spoke briefly for about ten minutes on Indian cultural heritage and the role educationists, teachers and students had to play in building the nation..
I was standing very close to him and observed him keenly. He was thin and frail of body. He was of medium stature but looked tall. He was fair in complexion. He made an imposing figure in his immaculate white dhoti, buttoned long cream coat, gold rimmed spectacles and sparkling white turban. He wore shinning black half shoes and was stockinged. He had chiselled features, a well-proportioned nose, intent eyes, firm lips and a determined chin. He looked serene and saintly.
He stood motionless and still as he spoke, his words poured forth in a mellifluous flow, continuous and controlled in measured units. His English was flawless and simple, his presentation lucid and analytical, precise and penetrating. His voice was sonorous and musical, the intonation rising and falling in cadences, not a muscle of his face twitching. Sanskrit quotations in verse and prose rolled smoothly into his talk with equal and effortless ease with perfect timing. The audience held their breadth as his resonant voice reverberated in the quadrangle. Orator par excellence as he was, he was in his element as he was on the old but familiar ground. He was once on the teaching staff of the college.
As he walked towards the entrance at the end of his speech he stopped for a moment and addressed my colleague Mr. Bhaskara Rao standing next to me. “Aren’t you Bhaskara Rao? So you are working here. How are you?” in Telugu.
Mr. Bhaskara Rao, Lecturer in Sanskrit, did his M.A. in Sanskrit in Banaras University when Radhakrishanan was its Vice-Chancellor. This incident speaks of Radhakrishnan’s memory in remembering his students and friends by name long after parting. It also reveals his deep belief in fellow-feeling and human touch with men and matters, young or old, big or small.
It may not be out of place if I mention how his magic of human approach and personal touch worked wonders. I refer to Joseph Stalin of Russia, who we read, confessed with tears in his eyes that Radhakrishnan was the first among the world leaders and ambassadors who treated him as a human being and not as a monster.
5th September is Dr. Radhakrishnan’s birth day and celebrated as Teacher’s Day in the country.
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