‘Satgamaya’, the house of former Supreme Court judge V. R. Krishna Iyer, has always been a beehive of activity.
It played host to the mighty, the poor and the downtrodden, and artists with equal élan, thanks to its occupant of more than 30 years, who in terms of knowledge, achievements and acceptance is well qualified to be the first citizen of the city.
No one ever seemed to have enough of Krishna Iyer Swamy, as Krishna Iyer is affectionately addressed. Things were no different at Satgamaya two days ahead of Mr. Iyer’s hundredth birthday that falls on Thursday according to the Hindu zodiacal system. His birthday, going by the date on records, is on November 15.
The house is being given a fresh coat of paint to herald the special day for Mr. Iyer. Though he was discharged from hospital, where he had spent more than a week after being brought with symptoms of pneumonia, on condition of complete rest, there was no dearth of visitors. It has left his exasperated personal secretary Ramanathan V. Krishnan to plead with them to see reason.
For four days starting from November 13, Mr. Iyer would perhaps have one of the most hectic schedules of recent time. Mr. Iyer will start his birthday with a two-hour long puja at Siva temple from 7 a.m. A book release, cake cutting and dinner have been lined up for November 14.
Satgamaya will wake up to the music of sopanasangeetham on the morning of November 15, and other events will follow. However, the most significant event of the day would be the coming together of the family members at Bharat Tourist Home.
The four-day-long birthday celebrations will be wrapped up with two major events. A public function attended by the Governor to celebrate the birthday will be followed by a seminar at the High Court conference hall on ‘Present Indian judiciary,’ which would witness the participation of eminent jurists.
Citizens of Kochi will then honour Mr. Iyer at a function to be held at Durbar Hall that will be attended by eminent personalities, including the Chief Minister.
