The Hindu : National : A Man for All Seasons

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 07, 2006

National

National

A Man for All Seasons

Ammu Joseph

A film maker, poet, mathematician passes away

Pattabhi Rama Reddy (1919-2006)

Pattabhi Rama Reddy, noted film maker, poet and mathematician, passed away in Bangalore in the early hours of Saturday, May 6. He was 87.

Pattabhi, as he was universally known to young and old, received wide acclaim for the path-breaking Kannada film, Samskara, based on U.R. Ananthamurthy’s novel of the same name. It won the national award for best feature film in 1971. It also received numerous international awards, including the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Samskara triggered the art film movement that flourished in Karnataka in the 1970s.

Among his other films are Chanda Marutha, Sringara Masa, and Devarakadu in Kannada and Pellinati Pramanalu, Krishna Arjuna Yuddham, and Bhagichakram in Telugu. In 2005 he received the Puttanna Kanagal Award from the Government of Karnataka in recognition of his lifetime achievement in cinema.

Pattabhi was also a celebrated poet. His first book of poems, Fidelu Ragala Dozen, written over six decades ago, ushered in the modern phase in Telugu poetry. The pioneering volume, now in its tenth edition, has influenced generations of writers and is still widely used and quoted. He subsequently wrote several other books of poems and riddles.

Pattabhi and his late wife, Snehalatha Reddy, were also active in theatre, as founding members of The Madras Players during their years in Chennai in the 1960s.

Pattabhi was deeply concerned about political and developmental issues. Both he and Snehalatha were active in post-independence politics, supporting the Socialist Party of India and sharing the political ideology of Ram Manohar Lohia, Gopal Gowda and Jayaprakash Narayan. The couple was actively involved in the resistance against the Internal Emergency (1975-77). Snehalatha, who suffered health complications during her year-long imprisonment during that period, died prematurely, soon after she was released on parole.

Pattabhi was one of the founder members of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. He was also a founding director of the Concerned for Working Children (CWC), a private development agency that addresses the problems of working children and promotes children’s rights.

Pattabhi was born into a land-owning family in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to their home when he was a little boy proved to be a turning point, with several family members joining the freedom movement and, later, the Congress Party.

He studied in Shantiniketan under Rabindranath Tagore. After receiving his undergraduate degree there he went on to study English Literature and History of Cinema at Columbia University, New York.

His interests ranged from mathematics to spiritualism. He enjoyed intellectual inquiry and debate, often using a provocative question or two to turn a mere conversation into a lively discussion.

Pattabhi was a quietly charismatic man for all seasons. A wide variety of people of different ages and from diverse backgrounds and fields were drawn to and inspired by him. He had a number of endearing qualities that earned him widespread respect and affection. His Buddha-like serenity was complemented by the unmistakable twinkle in his eyes and, often, the mischievous smile on his face. Even as he aged gracefully and graciously, he did not lose his zest for life and his spirit of adventure.

He will be missed by daughter Nandana Reddy, son Konarak Reddy, son-in-law V.K. Harindran, daughter-in-law Kirtana Kumar, and grand-daughter Zui, as well as numerous other relatives, friends and admirers.

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