AVVAI – 85
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Sweetest Superhuman
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My first angel Thiru. T. Ramalingam introduced me to Appa (Dr. Avvai Natarajan). This was sometime in 1980-81. I was Ramalingam’s understudy. He had mentioned Appa much before I could get to see him in person. Kumudam had once altered Appa’s name with the salutation and initial – Avvai Thiru D Natarajan – into Avaithirudi Natarajan, a homonym (the conqueror of audiences) describing the prowess of his speech. This introduction was etched in my mind. Appa took to me easily. He was large hearted. Everyone is a ‘Raja’ to him from the street vendor to the life-long associate. His mouth would utter the magical word, ‘Raja’, hundred times a day. Appa’s ‘Raja’ brought an instant connect and made one feel a genuine warmth from him. The ‘Raja’ was just the beginning.
The more I saw Appa, the more I was fascinated by him. He seemed a paragon of knowledge, who carried scholarship innately but never on his sleeves. Never did I sense any immodesty in him for his knowledge. Appa’s talks, both on stage and off it, revealed the depth and breadth of his reading. But he was equally curious to learn. His questions were probing. His thoughts unorthodox. He had the inimitable gift of conveying deep ideas simply and humorously. Once at Ayya Aru. Shankar’s house, (my other angel), he delivered his views on Das Capital after the translator’s speech. Punning on ‘Surandal’ or exploitation he said the word simply evoked images of mothers scraping the remainder of the idli from the idli pans. Appa was contending that an idea as fundamentally revolutionary as Marx’s exploitation and surplus capital will take ages in a reactionary society such as ours, to sink.
Appa is a great role model and mentor. Oftentimes, he would launch into discussions on myriad subjects ranging from – arts, science and history. His insights were refreshingly new and open. He made you feel, despite your youth, an equal partner, breathing gravitas in you. It was a joy to be around him and his associates. Invariably surrounded by a motley group of Tamil scholars, organizers, researchers and aspirers like me, Appa simply revelled in being around people. Rarely was he alone. To travel with him for meetings was a wonderful experience. He made sure that his fellow speakers (he would have recommended us in the first place) got the same kind of food and treatment that was accorded to him. His thoughtfulness and caring were legendary.
I would often visit him at the secretariat and like many of his visitors, would be asked to partake of his spartan diabetic meal of some rice, pulses and buttermilk. He would considerately inquire about me and my plans and dreams. It was a pep talk. Sharing and caring was ingrained in his DNA.
It was this affection and attention that made us frequent him. For those like me from modest backgrounds but with ambition, he served as an inspiration, model and patron. Here was someone who had used Tamil – one of the many non-utilitarian languages for modern needs – to reach the heights of civil service. Speaking English with a flair, Appa made up for any lack of modernity in Tamil. His quotes disclosed both his memory power and his breadth of reading in both tongues. I realized that Tamil was his wife while English remained his mistress. Appa, a devoted husband was in in the thrall of his paramour. Tamil savants had rarely displayed Appa’s flair and ease with English, at least not those I know of. And if they did, in the colonial times, they could not make inroads into civil service. In fact, Tamil scholars stayed as far away as possible from the portals of government or authority, confining themselves to a small Tamil world. No wonder their vistas were limited and not cosmopolitan as Appa’s.
I was therefore fascinated with the multifaceted Appa who traversed the diverse worlds of literature, language, arts and government comfortably. Critics felt that as a government servant, Appa had turned too pliant. I felt that some of the criticism was jealousy and the rest sprang from ignorance of the challenges of being a civil servant. Appa enjoyed a great deal of respect from all quarters. Be it a book launch, an anniversary, a felicitation, a music recital, a dance performance, or a conference as big as the Fifth World Tamil Conference, Appa was ubiquitous, eagerly sought out and avidly listened. He was simply erudite, smooth, carefree and charming.
An expansive heart, laissez faire attitude and mentoring nature are all second nature for Appa. Many of us came to call him Appa rather early on. I know TKS Villalan, K. Sumathi, Ramalinga Jothi and I call him Appa with much fondness and relish. Like many of my ilk, I was taught to call my father ‘daddy’. Avvai Appa was the only one that I had ever called Appa. It gave me immense pleasure and even a sense of quietude. He of course treated me like a son.
I must have had the fortune of spending hundreds of days with him. He introduced me to a select few like Savithri Raghavendra aunty whose hearth was open to me to visit anytime, simply because I was Appa’s protégé. This was not the only door that Appa had opened for me. (On her interventionJustice Bhaktavatsalam advised the University counsel to approach my case constructively and they did. I had to obtain an ‘equivalency certificate’ for my LL.M., from the United States. In the West LLM is a one-year full time program as opposed to the two year part time back home..) How can I ever repay Appa for all those wonderful memories?
Appa was an intrinsic part of my life from 1981-89, playing a role in my higher studies to marriage. Of the three letters of reference to the US schools, one was inevitably his. I remember the high-mindedness he associated with me, every time he had to write a letter for me. I took pride flaunting his letter, crafted in the rare stationery from South Africa with Secretary – Tamil Culture and Development printed on it. It proved an ace and got this initiate to the US.
A proud Appa was there to see me off at the airport. I was perhaps the first of his many proteges who were off to the US for studies. A year earlier, along with Kaviarasar Ponnivalavan and Aru Shankar Ayya, he had felicitated me following my enrolment into the bar. Appa saw much promise in me.
I had joined the UN in 1993, after another stint in the US for my PhD (1989). In 1996, Aru Shankar Ayya and Appa felicitated me at my first book launch. Kalaignar Karunanidhi launched the book. But from August that year my contacts with Appa grew scarce after 1996 when I returned to the United Nations.
In the meantime, Aru Shankar Ayya and Appa played a pivotal role in my marriage. Usha’s father was much taken that Appa had sought his daughter’s hand for me. It is a different story that Appa much to my discomfiture had privately wondered ‘Yaen Raja ippa enna avasaram kalyaanathuku?!’ I am beholden to them.
I melted inconsolably, when on 26 April 2015, despite his age and debilitating health, Appa joined the funeral cortege for my dad in the scorching sun. Appa has been a severe diabetic for decades. Yet that had never stopped him from anything, much less extending his bountiful patronage. I have never seen his morale or enthusiasm flag. In many ways he is a superhuman and owing to his illness perhaps the sweetest superhuman. Hundreds owe their place to him, his inspiring speeches, thoughts and benefaction. Unorthodox yet pragmatic, his benevolence is limitless. I am most fortunate to have Appa as my non-biological dad. Today an octogenarian, Appa is more complete than ever. Just being in his presence gives you a deep sense of quiet, reflection and fulfilment. God bless him. May his tribe increase.
Dr R Kannan
Political Affairs Officer – UN Assistance Mission in Somalia.
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