The eminent musicologist, noted administrator and Chairman of the National Cultural Organisation, Dr. N.P. Seshadri, passed away here on November 16 after a brief illness. He was 81.
He is survived by his sister Kamala Lakshmanan, wife Sakuntala Seshadri, sons N.S. Parthasarathy and N.S. Padmanabhan, and daughter Raji Gopalan.
Dr. Seshadri served in various capacities in the Government of India. As Joint Development Commissioner of Handlooms, he was responsible for introducing the National Handloom Expo throughout the country and popularised handloom-made clothes which were otherwise eclipsed by powerloom clothes. Dr. Seshadri also played a key role in introducing the Janata saris and dhotis at Rs. 15 apiece which gave an opportunity to many poor weavers to market their products directly to shop owners, thereby removing middlemen.
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Dr. Seshadri was the founder of the National Cultural Organisation (NCO), which he set up on the advice of Pandit Nehru. The first Prime Minister of independent India inaugurated the NCO in 1950. Every year Dr. Seshadri organised many festivals like the Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa and Bharati festivals, mostly in Delhi, which were very popular and in which eminent Carnatic and Hindustani musicians participated. A unique feature of the NCO festivals was that they were thrown open to the public for free at a time when there was no corporate sponsorship of such events. A great devotee of Lord Venkateswara (Tirupati) and Punainallur Sri Mariamman (Thanjavur), he donated large sums to many temples.
Dr. Seshadri was a multifaceted personality. He was also learned in astrology.
As Director, Tea Promotion, in Sydney, Australia, he popularised Indian tea with great distinction. Even Princess Diana sent an appreciative note after he explained the significance of Indian tea while presenting her with a packet. Dr. Seshadri, along with the late Mohammed Yunus and B. Ramadorai, was responsible for establishing ITPO (Asia ’72 at the time of its creation). His association with many great leaders, including Pandit Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Lal Bahadur Shastri, K. Kamaraj, S. Radhakrishnan, Indira Gandhi, Zakir Hussain, Hare Krishna Mahtab and Satya Narain Sinha was well known and widely written about in the Indian press.
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Dr. Seshadri is a recipient of the Padma Shri, Tansen, Thyagaraja, Rashtriya Ekta, Ashoka Mayur, Maha Parasara, National Handloom, Kalaikavalan and Purandaradasa awards.