Veteran writer S.M. Vrushabhendra Swamy, who passed away on Wednesday, was known for his unique hobbies and down-to-earth attitude in literary and academic circles here.
One of his hobbies was to attend all the literary programmes, irrespective of their magnitude, and record speeches.
It was common to see Swamy, always clad in a ‘bandhgala’, coming to functions with an audio recorder in hand and two battery cells in his pocket. As soon as the function started, he would switch on the recorder and sit in the audience.
‘A value of their own’
Swamy recorded those speeches for his personal use. He used to say that speeches at literary functions have a value and beauty of their own, and they needed to be heard again and again. And, he would gladly share these recordings if anyone requested them.
He had even archived several speeches.
“This unique habit has indeed helped preserve and conserve some of the memorable speeches delivered in Dharwad. He attended most of the functions and recorded the speeches. Even budding writers could get the recorded copies of their speeches at Swamy’s archives. Some of my own speeches have been safely preserved by him,” said poet Hema Pattanshetti.
