Guru K Sivanandamurthy is a household name in the land of Telugus. The octogenarian breathed his last at Warangal in his humble ‘kutir’. He was not just the run-of -the-mill guru who spoke on upkeep of Hinduism; there is much more to him than just that. Few knew his impeccable English writing skills on every subject under the sun; he tackled the most difficult subjects in an easy conversational manner — it could be just about astrology, astronomy, literature, science, history, philosophy or politics- he could put it across succinctly and convince his harshest critic with a rationality that was astounding. His yogic physical structure could never give away his actual age and years flew by with none of his followers ever detecting that time was catching up under the guise of years, and that he was really growing old. At least not those who knew him way back in the 70s at Warangal where he worked as a ministerial staff in the office of the State police department.
To all those who visited him, he was more like a friend and mentor and though one fell into the habit of addressing him as ‘guruvu garu’ , he related to each one as an equal so much so that the diffidence and awe while in his presence was almost absent in many of his earlier followers. His talks on spirituality were spiced with anecdotes from daily life and never seemed difficult to digest for any of the present day youth who strayed in, usually led by an elder or a friend.
He was a homoeopath who disbursed medicines for minor/major ailments and for all the bigwigs who later began to venerate him, Sivanandamurthy was a forecaster of their business or political fortunes along with a dosage of the spiritual pill. He was a sterling example of a karma yogi as defined in the Bhagavad Gita.
He was mundane only as far as earning a living for his family was concerned. He went through life’s responsibilities with a cordial detachment, smiling at misfortunes, successes, changes and what not, subtly but steadily eschewing the householder’s mantle for that of an ascetic who still lived in society, cleansed it and its inhabitants who came under his purview to the best of his abilities.
This socially conscious ascetic started diverting his attention — and that of his followers — from his persona to the welfare and upkeep of Hindu culture and tradition, without as much spelling out his orthodoxy. He directed his followers in later age to take charge of a charitable trust he desired to promote in the name of Sanatana Dharma which spun off various other arms like the Andhra Music Academy, the Siva Ganga eminent citizens awards, Pratibha puraskars, free medical camps, Andhra Pradesh history and heritage series on television, a literary organisation and a Facebook page in keeping with the times.
The Andhra Music Academy annual festivals which began in 2001 were one of their kind. Despite internal squabbles which is more a reality than illusion no matter who the founder is, the festivals were held for a week or so in Hyderabad. The best of bests in classical music, dance and drama vied to perform for the Andhra Music Academy and the ambience was a la Chennai during ‘season’. The USP was the photo-cum-artefact exhibition in the foyer which spoke of Telugu heritage and Telugu leaders who made the land proud. School children in droves came year after year to diligently be led in a single file through the exhibition which varied every year and was a visual delight of an encyclopaedia. Even seasoned adults would stream in early to the main music or dance programme of the day, just to leisurely gaze at the exhibits while reading its brief write-ups.
It was a loss to Hyderabad when the festival moved over to Visakhapatnam a few years later. The founder guru’s involvement was genuine but never authoritarian. He trusted the members and their views and made it a point to show his care and appreciation of the artistes by being present at the venue in the first row every single day, despite his busy schedule and aging ailments if any. During these week-long festivals eminent and upcoming artists were provided a platform to perform. The veteran artistes were felicitated with the titles of ‘Sangeetha Vidya Nidhi’ and ‘Natya Vidya Nidhi’ in the field of music and dance respectively. From 2007 year began the five-day ‘Vaggeyakara festival’ with an objective to preserve the endless bhakti literature in the form of masterpieces in musical compositions penned by great composers of those era. Free music learning centres were opened at Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and other district headquarters of Andhra where ‘Sarada Sangeetotsavam’ is an annual feature to this day.
The Guru chose his abode at the beautiful Bhimli near Visakhapatnam where he stayed for decades, but perhaps had such a sub-conscious affection for Warangal and its people that towards the end of his life, he suddenly chose to shift to Warangal despite failing health. And so like himself, having done his bit to the society, he bid goodbye to the world with a loving heart and a welcome smile that turned heavenwards this time!
A father figure
At times it so happens that a small incident in life leads to a significant transformation that is unbelievable even as it occurs, till one feels its aftermath as it unfolds itself time and again throughout life. It may not be so in everybody’s case, but it is not rare either, if one looks back at certain turning points that have placed a person where he/she is!
Guru Sivanandamurthy came into my life as a homoeopath who was sought by my parents to treat me for my bronchial asthma early in my teens. My parents were posted in Warangal at that point of time as doctors. His charming smile and warm welcome went down well with my parents, me and my sibling and soon we began making weekly visits to his house either to sit in his presence as he discussed philosophy with my parents or for the morning puja before he left for office, or at tea time where he would exchange pleasantries in which his wife Ganga and his children would also participate.
Come Navaratri and the Lalitha pujas would start early with families, in batches, participating in turns through the nine days. My sister and me had the privilege (now it seems so) to sit on either side of guruvu garu with a familiarity only a father can give and get, and do ‘kumkumarchana’ under his close monitoring. This we did for a couple of years or more and it had a telling effect on me, born into a Vaishnava sect, and foraying into Sakthism.
On his way back from his office at Mamnoor battalion, he had to pass by my house. He would take pains to get down and teach me Yogic exercises keeping my short, lean stature in view which should not be an impediment to my delivering children in future. The Yoga postures improved my pelvic muscles and I’m indebted to him for life for the smooth sail of my motherhood.
He would choose my dissertation topic with affection, knowing my mental make-up and what suited my nature. So it was that I did my M.Phil dissertation on Somerset Maugham novels and the theme was ‘The thread of detachment that runs through Maugham novels’! At that time, he told us that he was an avid writer on various topics to the Illustrated Weekly under the pen name of ‘Panini’. We were surprised at his literary excellence considering he proclaimed to be just a graduate.
Somehow I was too young to realise his spiritual elevation and treated him like a confidante without realising he was actually mentoring me! His cordial, casual affectionate demeanour must have also contributed to this. His was the final word on my choice of a husband at the time of my marriage. There can be no greater emotional bond than between a guru and sishya.
As I was undergoing labour pains and was being wheeled into the labour room of the maternity nursing home, my first cry was for my ‘guruvu garu’ to be by my side! While all others around me felt it was ridiculous to invite a male into the labour room, my dad understood my ardent longing to see ‘him’ and so he came in to hold my hand and stroke my head gently, reassuring that everything would go well and I'd be blessed with a daughter (my desire). With that I let go his hand in utter confidence. The presence of a person matters not, when his memories live on in the heart for now and ever after!
