A Tribute To The Creative And Critical Genius That Was D. V. Gundappa

Padma Bhushan Dr. D. V. Gundappa (1888-1975), popularlyknown as DVG, had a multi-faceted personality. His versatile genius was evenlyspread across many fields, ranging from the critical to the creative. Aprodigious polymath, he contributed as a journalist, litterateur, poet, philosopher, connoisseur of arts,political thinker, social worker, and above all, ‘virakta rāṣṭraka’ – a responsible,selfless citizen.

D. V. Gundappa was a self-made person. His formaleducation extended only up to the Lower Secondary level, as he failed the Matriculationexamination. This, however, did not deter him from taking to a life committedto letters. In a span of seven decades, he wrote extensively, trying to educatepeople in matters related to social welfare. In doing so, he never sought toacquire riches for himself.

Affluence was unknown to him. He assumed a cavalierattitude when it came to making money. “Do I not look well fed?” was his question.DVG’s personality was marked by a special charm that could make people aroundhim feel comfortable at once.

Conversations with him were seldom unimpressive.He was a man full of stories about ‘Old Mysore’ and its people. As much as hewas a go-to man for top-notch journalists, Dewans and the likes, he was alsoequally wanted by common people.

Pushcart drivers, tailors, carpenters, courtesans,construction-site workers, vegetable vendors, bairāgis – everyone consideredhim their own. That he treated all these people equally and with the sameaffection is a pointer to his inherent spiritualism.

Thanks to his unfailing wit, he could make the mostboring of situations come alive. Nothing dull or drab was allowed with him around. Ananecdote serves well to illustrate this-

It was the time when the library in Gokhale Institute ofPublic Affairs (GIPA) was being set up. All members were busy arranging rowsupon rows of books. Soon enough, the monotonous work proved boring. DVG washimself involved in the work, and he spotted a book titled ‘Recovery andRemanufacture of Waste Paper’. His sense of humour was ignited at once. Heexclaimed, “What an apt description of my profession!” Needless to say,everyone around burst into peals of laughter.

Self-effacement was one feature of DVG’s personality thatstood out . We can observe this in a letter he wrote to his son, Dr. B.G.L.Swamy, the world-renowned botanist. He wrote-

…We know it and we are gladthat you are keeping yourself busy and fully occupied. You know I share thephilosophy that work is worship. I am sure you do not consider me a lazy man.But my philosophy equally insists that we should not be loud about our beingactive. I have drawn your attention to the epithet applied by Valmiki to SriRama – akliṣṭa-karmā.He never made others feel that he was struggling or suffering. He kept hishardship to himself. He communicated joy and never the opposite…

....We should takecare to hide our hardship. This is a point of self-discipline. It is of greatvalue to the life of the soul. Indeed, the habit of containing one’s sufferingbecomes really a strength for the soul.

Please do not think that I have not seen your object insaying that you are busy. Your time is all given over to duty and you have notime to spare for what is not urgent. This is quite right.

We must avoid unnecessary correspondence. Otherwise wewill not get time for worthwhile things. But at the same time it should notlook as though we are pitying ourselves and are exhibiting ourindustriousness.

The rishi that he was, DVG only preached what he practiced.

Journalism was DVG’s chosen profession. Through thisplatform, he worked ceaselessly to clear many weeds from public life. Duringthe formative period of his career, he came under the influence of Sir M.Visvesvaraya, who used to scour the newspapers daily, looking for youngjournalists. The passionate and sincere writing of DVG was spotted by him atonce, and he went on to mentor him.

When DVG entered the field of journalism,there was a dire need for a newspaper with an objective outlook. This was notedby him in a letter written to a friend –

No one can gainsay that there is nowin the Mysore state an urgent need for an independent newspaper to organise asalso to articulate public opinion on all matters connected with the welfare ofthe people. The absence of open criticism and unbiased discussion of publicaffairs in the past few years has proved in an unmistakable manner the impedingnecessity for a strong Press as an instrument of vigorous public life.

To thisend, he started some periodicals like ‘The Karnataka’ and ‘The Indian Review ofReviews’. DVG was an ardent advocate of democracy. He was unafraid to point outits shortcomings, even as he was proud to exhibit its merits.

Though his basic orientation was unambiguouslyprogressive, DVG was a critic of mindless modernism. What he wrote of the samein 1911 seems to echo our thoughts today-

God save us from servile and apish imitation of thewesterners. God help us to assimilate the practical and rationalistic spirit ofthe West and to avoid the extreme individualism, the extreme socialism and theother ugly offsprings of its rank materialism.

As much as he is an inspiration to scores of peopletoday, DVG also drew inspiration from many people. The environment in which he thrived hadthe presence of many stalwarts.

Gopala Krishna Gokhale, one of the pioneers ofthe Indian national movement, had a profound influence on him. Gokhale’s famousstatement, “Public life must be spiritualised” struck all the right chords inDVG; so much so that when he started Gokhale Institue of Public Affairs, hechose this statement as its motto.

Jnāninā caritum śakyaṃ samyag-rājyādi-laukikam ofSri Vidyaranya is the other motto of the Institute. The Social Service League,GIPA’s forerunner, was instituted by DVG as early as 1913. His conscientiouseffort in working towards the betterment of society never died down with age. It only grew stronger.

A man of DVG’s acumen is hard to come by in any countryat any point in time. His consummate scholarship was an invaluable asset to manyorganisations – both public and private.

They flourished under his ableguidance. Mysore Legislative Council and the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (tomention a few) had the benefit of receiving his critical insights in full for agood number of years. Thus equipped, they could meet their objectives in a morequalified manner.

DVG’s contributions in all these organisations were at thefundamental level. He never occupied positions of influence. Explaining this,he said-

I feel the country today has particular need of that type of publicmen that would serve without getting entangled in power politics.Power-politician is at the root of the poison-tree of communalism whose existencewe are all so loud in deploring. Let some of us keep out of the competition anddo our best from outside the seats of power.

Disinterested, unconditionalservice to the society was an ideal upheld by DVG. He remained fiercelyindependent all his life, not restricting his services to any political partyor organisation. Freedom, taken in its central elements, means “independence ofgrowth”, as explained by S. Radhakrishnan, and this applies particularly wellto DVG. His thoughts never seem to lose their edge; they are relevant not justin our time, but for all time to come.

DVG is perhaps best remembered today as the poet ofMankutimmana Kagga – “A Foggy Fool’s Farrago,” in his own words. Not manypeople would know that this work was first published with his name as theeditor, while ascribing it to Timma guru, an unassuming schoolteacher from anunknown village. This was his plan to escape cheap publicity.

Some friendspersuaded him to put his name as the author in subsequent editions; and,fortunately for us, he agreed. This work, which talks of life’s joys andsorrows in a philosophical vein, has risen to the status of a KannadaBhagavad-Gita.

DVG believed that literature has the ability to transport lifefrom the plane of the mundane to that of the extraordinary. He spoke of it thus– “It is my belief that literature has the power to fill life with gladness anddevelop the prime strength of the human spirit, and that this is a necessarypart of one’s equipment.”

All his writings are but brushes that paint this visionin myriad hues. DVG’s thoughts on the necessity of literary culture forpolitical workers requires mention here. He observed, “Who sighs for beauty isa poet; who strives for it is a statesman.” This, taken in the light of the sadstate of affairs of the political discourse today, speaks volumes of the manand his timeless thoughts.

As a savant committedto the development of the Kannada language, he worked tirelessly to cultivateit for “better expressiveness of the modern spirit”. In this regard, hetranslated Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. He even wrote biographies of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and DewanRangacharlu – exemplary works in that genre even to this day.

HisJivana-dharma-yoga is a seminal contribution to the interpretation ofBhagavad-Gita. The Gita is a jivana shastra, DVG said. People who need couragein times of crisis can get it in abundance by reading the Gita. It is a manualfor right living. This work was awarded the Sahitya Akademi prize and is themost inclusive expression of DVG’s thoughts on sanatana dharma.

Samskriti is another of DVG’s works. As the nameindicates, it is a monograph on various aspects of culture. The characteristicsof a cultured person as listed by him in this work is perhaps the bestexposition of the subject:

1. svasthāna-parijñāna (Understanding of one’s status)

2. pareṅgita-parigrahaṇa (Understanding of others’intentions)

3. svārtha-niyamana (Regulation of self-interest)

4. samanvaya-dṛṣṭi(An orientation towards harmony and reconciliation)

5. sarasate (A certain grace and amiability)

The feeling uppermost while reading his pithy prose iscaptured by YNK (Y.N.Krishnamurthy, former editor of the famed Kannada newspaper Prajavani) when he wrote ofJnaapaka-chitra-shaale or ‘The Gallery of Portraits from Memory’ –

This is remarkablewriting. It looks as though DVG was the only man who kept his eyes and earsopen to what went on around him.

This work is a genre by itself, and finds noparallel in world literature. Sandeep Balakrishna describes it best:

What Jnaapaka-chitra-shaale really is, is that it is at once hisautobiography; it is a rich, primary source of the cultural, social, andpolitical history of the time; it is also an intimate, minute canvas of thegeography of the places he lived and worked and travelled, and above all, it isa kaleidoscope of the lives of the people illumined in there by the light ofhis pen.

DVG was also a champion of traditional versification,possessing great felicity in handling classical meters. His Antahpura Gitegalu, set toraga and tala, is one of the best collections of songs composed in Kannada.There is perhaps no genre in literature that he touched and did not turn intogold.

The published writings of DVG are well over 8000 pages.The Department of Kannada and Culture of Karnataka has brought out these ineleven volumes. Many of his English writings, unfortunately, remainunpublished.It is fitting to describe him in the words of ThomasCampion:

Thus, scorning all the cares

That fate or fortune brings,

He makes the heaven his book,

His wisdom heavenly things;

Good thoughts his only friends,

His wealth a well-spent age,

The earth his sober inn

And quiet pilgrimage.

Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh’s guidance and critical inputsat every stage in writing this article were invaluable. My sincere thanks to him. Thanksare also due to Arjun Bharadwaj and Hari Ravikumar. Translations from Kannadaare mostly mine. At some places, I have also reproduced those of Sri V.Sitaramiah, from his book ‘D. V. Gundappa’, published by the Sahitya Akademi.