D.P. MY ROLE MODEL by Lakshmi Radhakrishnan

D.P. MY ROLE MODEL:

Whenever I pass through Mount road I recollect my pleasant times with my periappa, periamma and cousins at their residence ‘Chandrika”. They had an open house for their nieces and nephews. Kalpakam periamma was an excellent cook and a very warm person. We enjoyed their hospitality. They nourished us with food for stomach and thought. We would listen to his travel experiences in the North India and his shikar with rapt attention.

I’ve heard from Vasu Mama and others about his helping nature. He would go out of his way to help people. Many people owe it to him to their present financial and social status.

My association with my periappa began only in 1960 when I was in college. He was a voracious reader; he read from classics to modern fiction. He is instrumental in introducing me to the world of books. His mastery over English, Tamil, Sanskrit and Hindi and his memory is amazing. He used to quote with ease from Upanishads, Tulsidas, Kabir, Milton, and Shakespeare.

My father and he were good friends and I feel they were members of “Mutual Admiration Society”. Both were of different personalities but the common bond between them was their love for literature, history and their keen sense of humour. When and wherever they met we could hear peals of laughter. Their repertoire of jokes was extensive and they used it appropriate to the occasion. They could laugh at themselves. Many a times their sense of humor irked the listeners partly because they could not understand or they took it personally. This would make this pair more amused!

I owe it to him my love for literature, and Upanishads. He had a Sanskrit scholar teaching him Brahma Sutra Bhashyam, the Bible of Advaita. My natural inclination to learn Vedanta and Sanskrit was strengthened by him. I would recall with gratitude his supply of books to me which he brought from Moore Market, a haven of second hand books at that time.

He was an excellent conservationist. If “charisma is the transference of enthusiasm”then he was the most charismatic person. He would appreciate good food and often ask my mom about pickles. He was able to create a rapport with all regardless of age or social/financial status. His childlike attitude made him dear to us.

I’ve not done justice to my portrayal of him in words. But in my heart I am filled with gratitude and admiration. I can only add a sloka from Subhashitani which describes him completely. “As is the mind so is the speech , the deeds are according to the speech , The mind, speech and actions of the noble are one and the same”