Giving gracefully

DVG believed in giving gracefully and this aspect dominated his discourses

Dr D V Gundappa, the renowned poet and philosopher, popularly known as DVG, used to be a frequent visitor to our house being a close associate of my father. As a boy of about 6 years, I used to watch him entering our gate with his jubba pocket bulging with spiced ground nuts, which he almost continuously popped into his mouth. Seeing my greedy look, he would put both his hands into his pockets and bringing out his closed fists, he would tell me that the nuts were in one hand and if I spotted it right, they would be mine. I would always touch the correct hand containing the nuts, which he would then hand over to me beaming an avuncular smile.

When I proudly mentioned this story to my father, he smilingly revealed the secret: The great man took out the nuts in both the hands to ensure that I was never disappointed!  

Many years later I had the good fortune of attending some of his thought-provoking lectures at “Gokhale Institute of Public affairs”, a forum for intellectual public interaction, founded by DVG himself in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. By then his immortal masterpiece “Manku Thimmana Kagga” (Dull Thimma’s ramblings) — a collection of philosophical poems similar to the “wisdom poems” of the great medieval poet Sarvajna and considered as the “Bhagavadgeetha” of Kannada —  had captured universal acceptance and popularity as a literary treasure covering the true and profound philosophical essence of life. Once decided, DVG believed in “giving gracefully with no second thought whatsoever, and this aspect seemed to dominate his discourses.

A few years before he was conferred PadmaBhushan, he was honoured by the state government for his invaluable services to Kannada literature, which carried an amount of one lakh rupees — a considerable sum those days. DVG donated the whole amount, then and there, to his brainchild Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs.

This brings to my mind a touchingly unforgettable incident which I came across during my service: An accountant working for a big company belonging to a wealthy businessman had fixed the wedding of his only daughter for which he had sought financial help by way of a fairly big advance, which the latter thoughtlessly refused. Disgusted with the attitude of his employer the accountant left the job.Realising his mistake later the businessman personally contacted the accountant with the money. Alas! It was too late! The wedding had been called off for want of funds and the young bride-to-be lost her mental balance, unable to bear the anguish and trauma of her parents!