An Independence Month Special: A Journey Back To The Roots

Anirudh Naveen’s grandfather spent his last years immortalising the life of his illustrious ancestor. The author shares his experience of working with him on the memoir and the learnings that came his way in this story of an intergenerational bond.

Sometime around February 2021 on an occasional visit to my grandparents’ house in Pune, grandpa expressed his desire to write a book. On such visits, I would generally help him draft emails, besides enjoying long-winding conversations with him on many issues, from contemporary politics to modern Indian history. This time, while recounting anecdotes from his childhood in Kerala, he announced his mission to write a book about his grandfather and sought my support to fulfil this dream. 

Grandpa- known otherwise for his stoic attitude- became emotional whenever he discussed his grandfather- P. Seshadri Iyer. I assured him of my unconditional support. We outsourced most of the work and I helped plug the loopholes to ensure that everything unfolded smoothly. It was a rewarding experience. One that facilitated a process of self-discovery and offered some valuable history lessons. 

My grandfather, Narayan Rajamani, always emphasised that his retired life was ‘payback time.’ Through his social work, he cultivated an enormous amount of goodwill for himself. But, he also endured many health issues that left him fragile in both mind and body. Yet his willpower never sagged, and around 2016 he embarked on a journey back to his roots. Discussions with close family members and acquaintances- who shared some fleeting memories from their childhood- convinced him about the importance of researching his illustrious grandfather. He compiled nuggets of information into a document and circulated it among acquaintances. The encouraging feedback stimulated him to take the plunge and write a full-fledged book. 

Discovering an ancestor

As I discovered over time, P Seshadri Iyer was an extraordinary man for his times. He was a polyglot, conversant in as many as 18 languages. He learnt Russian to read Tolstoy and Bengali to appreciate Tagore’s poetry! He was initiated into the Ramakrishna order in a village in Kerala's Alappuzha district, named Haripad. Thereafter, Seshadri became an influential figure in his village, gaining renown for his expertise in scriptures and the Bhagavad Gita. Given his facility for languages, he translated books written by luminaries like C. Rajagopalachari and D.D. Kosambi. I grew up reading Rajagopalachari’s ‘Mahabharata’, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my great-grandfather had translated the original Tamil version of the book into English. 

Grandpa wanted the book as a memoir. He wished to intersperse a few anecdotes from life that revealed his grandfather’s compelling attributes. Once, he accompanied Seshadri on a train journey from Madras to Howrah where they shared the compartment with a Christian family. Seshadri launched into a free-wheeling discussion on the tenets of their faith, which soon morphed into a spectacular discourse on Christianity. A stunned grandpa realised that despite being a practising Hindu, Seshadri had mastery over the guiding principles of various faiths. 

History Comes Alive

Some anecdotes provided a very graphic portrait of life in Kerala in the 1950s. Grandpa described his grandmother- Ponnu Ammal- as a very strong and capable lady. The book describes her as ‘the fierce Shakti behind P. Seshadri’. She and her mother-in-law would wake up every morning at 4 am to prepare breakfast, not just for the family but also for Seshadri’s students who visited often. A combination of coal-based and firewood-based ovens was used to cook. Lighting both ovens was an arduous process, taking as long as two hours. Ponnu Ammal was not just a splendid cook; anecdotes revealed her sagacity even otherwise. She once confronted a band of robbers who attacked a group of ladies to snatch their gold ornaments. Her calculated assault forced them to retreat empty-handed. A believer in the principle of Annadanam (donation of food), she would offer refreshments to all the patients who waited for an appointment with an Ayurvedic practitioner, who had set up a flourishing practice in front of their house. She believed donating food constituted the highest form of service. Seshadri endured financial issues but funded the education of a school girl staying far away in a Tamil Nadu village. 'Service before self’ was deeply ingrained in the family. 

Grandpa had fond memories of participating in an annual boat race (jalotsavam) in the nearby  Payippad village along with a group of back-benchers from his class. The competition was to commemorate the installation of a deity in a local temple. It reflected how the temporal and religious domains were subtly intertwined in rural contexts. I discovered how the community was the pivot around which rural life revolved in the 1950s. 

Finding a Purpose

After losing grandma to Covid in 2021, grandpa was emotionally fragile. The book gave him a renewed sense of purpose and he committed himself to it. Consequently, I got to spend some quality time with him. Even while I was busy attending classes or studying, he sent me emails or messages so that I could attend to them whenever I found the time. My inbox is replete with emails sent by him, which will always remind me about his unflinching commitment towards his mission. When I met him in one of our last meetings, he had prepared an elaborate document, with nearly a hundred contacts who had to be sent copies of the books. This must have been a painstaking exercise but he had done it to perfection. He requested me to check for errors, and I was stupefied to find none. He always made it clear that all proceeds from the book were to be transferred to the Ramakrishna Mission, Haripad. The tradition of selflessness he inherited from Seshadri had definitely endured. 

The most humbling milestone for grandpa was receiving a blessing letter from the Most Revered President Maharaj, Ramakrishna Math, Belur. The book begins with this letter. Published in digital format as ‘A Pious Soul: Memoirs of P. Seshadri Iyer’ in October 2021, the book's printed copies were released in October and November 2022. As the project drew to a close, I mooted the idea of writing grandpa's autobiography, but his response remained evasive. As fate would have it, he passed away peacefully a few days later in January 2023. 

In retrospect, I realize that the book was as much an illumination of his value systems as much as it was a captivating portrait of his grandfather. With each chapter, he ensured that he had effectively articulated his deepest convictions.  

In our last moment together on the funeral ground, I silently assured my grandpa’s lifeless body that his legacy too shall be preserved. Another grandson had embarked on a literary journey to immortalize another remarkable life.

All photographs courtesy of the author

Did you help a family member write a memoir or embark on a project with a grandchild or grandparent? Share your comments with us below.