Eminent academician S Ramaswamy passes away at 86

S Ramaswamy, a renowned English professor at Central College who held an equal authority on Sanskrit literature, passed away at the age of 86 last week.

He was suffering from breathing problems and died due to multiple organ failure, his son S Ranganath told DH.

A man of many accomplishments, Ramaswamy was born on March 27, 1932, and spent most of his days in Malleswaram. He aced his BA and MA in English Literature from Mysore University with gold medals. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles.

What set him apart was that he was not just a Shakespearean scholar but also well versed in Sanskrit.

A passionate theatre personality, Ramaswamy was awarded a PhD Degree by Bangalore University for his thesis on American playwright Tennessee Williams. It was his passion to teach literature that took him to the theatre.

Later, he founded the Bangalore Little Theatre (BLT) in 1959. As a theatre artist, he has essayed diverse roles such as that of a sumo wrestler, the third witch in Macbeth and a baby dinosaur.

In a career spanning 38 years, Ramaswamy taught many accomplished personalities like K S Nissar Ahmed, writer P Lankesh, PES University Chancellor Dr M R Doreswamy among others.

He has written 40 books in English and Kannada and translated several books, including S L Bhyrappa's 'Sartha'.