Unforgettable memories of Nittoor

Nittoor Srinivasa Rao, the late centenarian celebrity, is fondly remembered as a staunch Gandhian who had the honour of having served as the chief justice of the High Court of Mysore State, the first chief of the Vigilance Commission of India and also as the acting Governor of Mysore State.

He was kind enough to visit my house occasionally. It was a great honour and rare pleasure for us to enjoy the privilege of his ennobling company. These visits were opportunities to enlighten ourselves with the wealth of information he possessed in his mental encyclopaedias.

On one such visit, I took the liberty of asking him the secret to his longevity. With his characteristic smile he replied, “I have not done anything in life that I regret. That keeps me peaceful and content.”

“And the secret of your good health even at this age, sir?” came my next query. “Oh that! Maybe I listen more to my stomach than to my tongue. Our tongues can be thoughtless, you see. They tempt and compel us to eat more than we should, and there ends their responsibility. Whereas the poor stomach takes the full responsibility of our well-being.” That explained why he specified his dose of half an Idli or two spoons of Upma with quarter cup of coffee or tea whenever my wife insisted on serving him something.

“And now, the secret of your popularity, sir?” I persisted in my questioning. “Well, I do not know about my popularity,” he quipped, in the classic way that great souls respond with humility despite their eminence.“Maybe it is because I am available to anyone who wishes to see me. I like to mingle with people and share their joys and adversities irrespective of their social standing.” His ubiquitous participation in almost all functions amply was evidence to this answer.

I cannot help but digress here to fondly recollect a singularly moving incident. I had invited him to the first birthday celebration of my granddaughter without the knowledge that he was scheduled for eye surgery the very next day. Nevertheless, he managed to attend the function notwithstanding the surgery he had undergone only a few hours before! The word ‘no’ did not exist in his dictionary.

Coming back to my immature ‘catechism’ with the great man, I had one last question for him.

“Pardon me, sir, if my question is a little cheeky, what is the secret of your bewitching smile?” Pat came his reply, his face beaming with that captivating smile of his, “I did not know that my smile made people happy. In fact, the reason is just as much a secret to me!” That was Nittoor—the model senior citizen.