In the passing of Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the erstwhile head of the Travancore royal family (Dec. 17), the country has lost one of its most respected, industrious and erudite personalities. As a suave and gentle human being, he was easily approachable. He stuck to tradition. His contributions to the city of Trivandrum and to the erstwhile state of Travancore will be remembered for ever.
G. Ramachandran,Thiruvananthapuram
Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, scion of the Mysore royal family, and now Kerala’s Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, will be missed. They were two diverse personalities yet simple at heart. Even though we are a democracy, it does not mean we should not recognise their contributions as they were two kings who went out of their way to help society. The governments of Karnataka and Kerala can certainly do much more to recognise their legacy.
Venkataraman B.,Bangalore