JOIN USThis photograph, taken in 1969, is the only one which includes my parents and their ten children — seven sons and three daughters — as well as a few other relatives.
The picture was taken at Em Yes Studios on KG Road immediately after the wedding of my younger sister Lalithamma. My parents are no more now but all of us are alive and living happily without any serious health issues. In fact to celebrate this, I have made a documentary film of our family titled ‘Ten Born and Ten Living’.
Our family came to Bengaluru in October 1949 following the transfer of my father J A Krishna Murthy, an officer in the revenue survey department. Earlier, he had served in Kolar and Tumakuru. We were living in Chamrajpet in a rented house (very close to Shankar Mutt, Shankarapuram).The HRC rules were prevalent then and we secured a tiled roof house which was quite old with many flaws. The area was the centre of many important activities.
We were young and active and never missed any of the events. There was the Sri Ramanavami music festival conducted in the present day City Institute area; ‘Makkala Koota’, where youngsters were active participants; ‘Karaga’, ‘Kadalekai Parashe’ and ‘Hulivesha’ held near City Market and many famous eateries in Chamrajpet and Basavanagudi. I also remember listening to Binaca Geeth Mala at Geetha Restaurant and visiting Prabhat Circus and Gemini Circus.
The other vibrant programmes included cultural activities at Kannada Sahitya Parishat, live orchestra events by Sarasavani and Bharat at Cubbon Park, Congress Exhibition in the present KBS area and Master Hirannaiah’s ‘Mithra Mandali’ dramas. People at that time enjoyed musical ballets by Prabhat Kalavidaru — ‘Cinderella’, Kindarijogi’, ‘Punyakoti’— and rendition of ‘Bhaavageethe’ by P Kalinga Rao, Mysore Ananthswamy and later by C Ashwath.
We would sometimes catch up on some famous movies in different languages screened at theatres situated in the Majestic and Cantonment area. There were lectures by eminent speakers at the Indian Institute of World Culture. Inter-collegiate and public debates (both in English and Kannada) at National College and other places and sports activities in football, hockey, cricket and basketball kept us engaged.
I can never forget the sight of employees of different factories like ITI, HAL, HMT and BEL rushing during the cold mornings to catch their respective buses. The buses used to run fast along the narrow roads, trying to catch up with each other.
Nanjunda Murthy, the seniormost member, became a postgraduate professor of English at Madras University, while the next one, Srikanta Murthy, a civil engineer, joined the Border Roads Organisation. He worked and lived mostly in the Himalayas and reached a top-ranking position. Rajamma became a housewife.
I joined MS Ramaiah College of Engineering (now called MSRIT) and became a professor and head of the department of mathematics. Lalithamma joined the State Education Department and became a senior manager. Eshwara Murthy served at HMT. Chandrashekara Murthy, a talented youngster during his college days, went to the USA for higher studies after his graduation in mechanical engineering. He obtained two MS degrees and worked in a corporate company for three decades. He has formed a charitable trust, ‘Gowri Krishna Trust’, through which he has been providing books, uniforms and shoes to the students of his alma mater, Government Fort Middle School, in which most of us also studied.
Janaki became a teacher at Government Higher Primary School. Sridhara Murthy joined the State Accounts Department, where he became a senior officer. The youngest in the family, Rajashekara Murthy, worked for Karur Vysya Bank for over three decades, took VRS and is now busy building a music school ‘Bhaavasagara’ in his own premises.
Thanks to the efforts of my brother Srikanta Murthy, in 1966, we were able to move to a terraced accommodation in Rajajinagar (with no more leaking roof). We were all excited and felt very happy. We made the most of our stay there by organising ‘Beladingala Oota’ on the rooftop frequently and celebrating festivals like Gowri Ganesha Habba, Mahalakshmi and Deepavali in a big way.
The highlight of our early life in Rajajinagar was the brilliant exposition of ‘Kumara Vyasa Bharata’ by the famous duo, Mathoor Krishna Murthy and Vasudeva Rao, at Sri Rama Mandira and later at Kumara Vyasa Mantapa. Another attraction were the Bhadragiri Brothers, Keshava Das and Achuta Das, who left an indelible impression on our minds.
Since our family was really big, it wasn’t easy to perform so many weddings. We did have some anxieties but with God’s grace, everything worked out well and all the nine members, except me, got married and are living happily with their children in their own houses. I am presently enjoying my life after retirement and have visited nearly 60 countries between 1976 and 2015. I also spend my leisure time attending cultural events in Bengaluru.
All of us meet frequently and remember the good old days of fun and frolic. Whenever I look at this photograph, it seems just like yesterday.
(The author can be contacted on 9342497997).