“The word Ugadi actually consists of two parts — Yuga meaning ‘era' and adi meaning ‘the beginning' and suggests ‘the beginning of an era' and this particular day marks the creation of the universe by Lord Brahma himself,” says Vidwan V. Ramakrishna Sastry.
At 94 years, the founder and publisher of Karnataka's most popular and respected almanac, the Vontikoppal Panchanga Mandira's Mysore Panchanga, often just referred to as the Vontikoppal Panchanga, laments that jyotisha (astrology) is often reduced to a money-making vocation, offering quick remedies and lacking deeper insight into the Vedic system.
“Astrology is no longer the scholarly science and art form it once used to be,” he says. “Most present-day astrologers lack a holistic view of things, are barely aware of the deeper intricacies and interconnectedness of all things.”
“Most of the ancient Shastras are considered invisible and subject to debate and discussion regarding evidence, but not Jyotisha, because it's visible proof are the sun and moon themselves, and our life on earth is always influenced by their celestial patterns. Jyotisha is one of the important Vedangas,” he says. The Vedangas are six secondary disciplines traditionally associated with the study and practice of Vedas. “Jyotisha Shastra is believed to originate from Lord Suryanarayana or the Sun himself and is considered to be the eye of the Vedas as it illuminates the path of life. It is the divine lamp of celestial knowledge given to us to navigate through the darkness of ignorance. “
In his chequered life, Ramakrishna Sastry has worked as a ticket checking inspector in a private bus company, Sanskrit scholar, Hindi tutor, Kannada high school teacher, amateur theatre artiste, author, publisher and salesman. But probably the stars foretold that he would take forward and enrich the Jyotisha tradition of his forefathers, who were court astrologers in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore. He has passed the baton to his eldest son R. Kumar, and now he recounts the story of the almanac and his legacy.
He learnt the long-established astrological mathematical calculations from his father when he was barely eight years old. “Those days were different, there were no calculators, computers and even paper was a luxury, so we used to do all rough calculations on a wooden slab with a thin layer of rangoli spread on it, using a small wooden stick for writing and our fingers for erasing. The process was temporary, intensely focused and one always had to be mindful as errors meant calculating all over again.”
The almanac has been published since 1887-1888, so this is its 126th year. But it was called the Vontikoppal Panchanga only from 1933, when Ramakrishna Sastry moved to Vontikoppal, Mysore, and began publishing it himself. After financial uncertainties, legal problems, distribution mismanagement, family issues and other stumbling blocks, the almanac slowly became established for its accurate content and scholarly merit. In 1977, Karnataka State adopted it as its official almanac and it continues to be used as a reference for declaration of state festivities and holidays.
The man behind the almanac and his story have remained largely unknown, but he has a philosophical view of that. “All my struggles in nurturing and building this almanac are only a test engineered by the divine to see if this was meant to be.”
Perennial appeal
The small bookshop owners along the Malgudi-esque Lansdowne Building in Mysore still swear by Vontikoppal Panchanga and its consistent merit and robust sales. Kumar, who inherited the bookshop from his father, says “Vontikoppal Panchanga has been Karnataka's foremost and favourite almanac publication for years now and continues to outlive and outsell many of its new and old competitors.”
The cover has been the same for over seven decades and is fascinating to the visual artist. “On the cover page,” explains Ramakrishna Sastry, “we have all the Trimurtis – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – and their consorts Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati, because in our Sanatana Dharma, the male and female principles are considered equal in importance. The universal remover of obstacles, Ganesha and his brother, leader of the army of Devas, Karthikeya also feature in the design to complete the principal deities. My intent was that anybody, regardless of traditional preferences, should be able to access this almanac. Like prayer, I wanted the cover design to underscore the universality of worship and the chief idea was to appeal to everybody, rather than mere segments of tradition, and my friend Vasachar illustrated it for me.”
