As the death anniversary of the Father of the Nation approaches, it is worth commemorating another eloquent son of the soil who was born in the same year as Mahatma Gandhi. V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, born just 10 days prior to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, won a multitude of admirers due to his unparalleled English diction. He rode like a colossus and his sparkling speech at the League of Nations, where he was representing India as a delegate, still stands as a shining example of how English should be spoken. Though his views on politics were different and, at times, diametrically opposite to those of Gandhiji, both remained close friends till the end.
This master of a flawless accent had humble beginnings in Kumbakonam as the son of a poor priest, with his parents finding his primary education largely unaffordable. However, his academic excellence helped him graduate at the Government Arts College in Kumbakonam in 1988 and find employment at Municipal College, Salem. Sastri edited The Educational Review and later also founded the journal Indian Review. His potential was recognised by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who urged him to become a member of the Servants of India Society. On Gokhale’s demise, he took over the reins of the Society. From then on, Dame Fortune held Sastri in her tight hug. Accolades started pouring in and he never looked back. Between 1920 and 1922, Sastri first joined the Council of States, then became a Member at the Imperial Council and and toured extensively countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As India’s delegate to the Second and Third Round Table Conferences, he took Gandhiji’s remarks in 1931 with a pinch of salt.
Will it not be in the fitness of things if the Tamil Nadu government installs a statue of this gargantuan personality and the Centre places a photograph of this icon in the amalgam of other photos hung in the Centre hall of Parliament?
Mani Natarajan,
Chennai
