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| Late Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy |
This
is a tribute to my father Late Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy on his 110th
Birth Anniversary, based on the article that I had written two years ago in
Kannada, part of which has been published in the book “Mangaluru Darshana” jointly
published by the DC of Dakshina Kannada, Mayor of Mangaluru City Corporation
and Chairman of MUDA.
This article covers the life and times of Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy with inputs
from my sister Dr. Veena Isloor and my brothers Srikanth, Kamalakanth and
Radhakanth.The incidents and narrations are true to the best of my knowledge,
and the article is written without prejudice to anyone mentioned within, living
or dead.
- Kudpi Rajanikanth Shenoy
- Kudpi Rajanikanth Shenoy
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Undivided Dakshina Kannada District has produced great writers, journalists and playwrights over the last century. One man was a legend of his own times, having inculcated all those three abilities, dedicating his entire life for the field of literature. He is none other than my father, Late Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy, who kindled a spark of humour in every story that he wrote, incited a penchant for reading among the readers of his articles, in other words, he can very well be called as “PG Wodehouse of Kannada literature”. Apart from small booklets of 16 to 32 pages named ‘Ondaanemaale’ and his own brainchild ‘Prabhat’ weekly Kannada newspaper which he published until his last breath; he also wrote, directed and staged many dramas that ran for 100’s of successful shows during the Nineteen Sixties. His dedication to Kannada literature was like a red feather in the crown of Mangaluru city. No wonder, his creativity, his vision, his perfection, his hard work, his workmanship and his success are fine examples not only for his generation, but also for the generations to come.
Birth, Childhood, Education:
Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’s family hailed from Kudpi or Kudupu near Mangaluru town, later settled down in Mangaluru indulging in trading about Three Centuries ago. Yet, the family is renowned as ‘Kudpi Shenoy family’.
On August 29 1907, a boy child was born to a couple settled in Karangalpady, Kudpi Narasimha Shenoy and Kalyani Bai. Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy, popularly known as ‘Kudpi’, was the third among the children and the eldest surviving son. His elder brother Madhava succumbed to Typhoid and he also lost his father when he was just 12. With the help of his maternal uncle advocate Adige Varadaraja Shenoy, he completed his schooling up to 4th Form or SSLC. He was not lucky enough to study further or complete college education, since he had the responsibility of looking after his mother and his younger siblings. Thus he went in search of a decent job and was employed as proof reader in Prabhakar Press Udupi.
Though he didn’t have college education, he was a voracious reader. He found a treasure of books in his uncle’s house and he read them all. Thus he improved his general knowledge and developed passion for literature. During his school times, he was active in writing and dramas. His teacher MN Kamath was impressed by his talents and he had presented him his fountain pen and told him, “With this pen, write good stories, and be a famous writer!”
“My father had kept that pen intact in his safe keeping until his last breath”, reminisces Kudpi’s daughter Dr. Veena Isloor.
Undivided Dakshina Kannada District has produced great writers, journalists and playwrights over the last century. One man was a legend of his own times, having inculcated all those three abilities, dedicating his entire life for the field of literature. He is none other than my father, Late Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy, who kindled a spark of humour in every story that he wrote, incited a penchant for reading among the readers of his articles, in other words, he can very well be called as “PG Wodehouse of Kannada literature”. Apart from small booklets of 16 to 32 pages named ‘Ondaanemaale’ and his own brainchild ‘Prabhat’ weekly Kannada newspaper which he published until his last breath; he also wrote, directed and staged many dramas that ran for 100’s of successful shows during the Nineteen Sixties. His dedication to Kannada literature was like a red feather in the crown of Mangaluru city. No wonder, his creativity, his vision, his perfection, his hard work, his workmanship and his success are fine examples not only for his generation, but also for the generations to come.
Birth, Childhood, Education:
Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’s family hailed from Kudpi or Kudupu near Mangaluru town, later settled down in Mangaluru indulging in trading about Three Centuries ago. Yet, the family is renowned as ‘Kudpi Shenoy family’.
On August 29 1907, a boy child was born to a couple settled in Karangalpady, Kudpi Narasimha Shenoy and Kalyani Bai. Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy, popularly known as ‘Kudpi’, was the third among the children and the eldest surviving son. His elder brother Madhava succumbed to Typhoid and he also lost his father when he was just 12. With the help of his maternal uncle advocate Adige Varadaraja Shenoy, he completed his schooling up to 4th Form or SSLC. He was not lucky enough to study further or complete college education, since he had the responsibility of looking after his mother and his younger siblings. Thus he went in search of a decent job and was employed as proof reader in Prabhakar Press Udupi.
Though he didn’t have college education, he was a voracious reader. He found a treasure of books in his uncle’s house and he read them all. Thus he improved his general knowledge and developed passion for literature. During his school times, he was active in writing and dramas. His teacher MN Kamath was impressed by his talents and he had presented him his fountain pen and told him, “With this pen, write good stories, and be a famous writer!”
“My father had kept that pen intact in his safe keeping until his last breath”, reminisces Kudpi’s daughter Dr. Veena Isloor.
Marriage, Family Life:
Kudpi married Ramabai, youngest daughter of school master from Bantwal Krishna Shenoy and Radha Bai in the year 1936. The couple had 8 children. Eldest was daughter, Dr. Veena Isloor who studied MBBS in Christian Medical College Vellore, settled with her husband Dr. Suresh Isloor in Shivamogga with own nursing home by name Sahyadri Hospital since last 52 years. Kudpi always wanted his daughter to be well educated, and the way he looked forward keenly to her return with Medical graduation is still remembered by his younger children.
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| With his beloved wife Ramabai |
Kudpi groomed up all his children well, gave them good education, inculcated good manners and made them fine citizen. The moral stories, anecdotes, riddles and words of wisdom he used to quote, the guidance and encouragement he used to give, has worked wonders in making his children successfully settle down in life and reminisce over the good times they had with their father. Though Kudpi didn’t accumulate wealth or buy properties, his children have maintained the books, furniture and artifacts from his collection in immaculate condition even today in his memory.
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| With Rathnavarma Heggade of Dharmasthala in 1957 |
Soon after losing his eldest son Chandrakanth, a grief
stricken
Kudpi
was clueless about shifting his residence to some other house. Then Rathnavarma
Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala came to his help and he offered a big
bungalow with 8 rooms that he had constructed next to his official residence ‘Veera
Bhavana’ in the prestigious Ballal Bagh area of Mangaluru on a very nominal
rent of Rs.50/- for 4 months. After the completion of 4 months, Kudpi was ready
to vacate that house, but Rathnavarma Heggade allowed him to stay there
indefinitely, as he had dropped the idea of making that house a choultry. Thus
Kudpi continued to stay in that house for the next 16 years on a rent of
Rs.65/- per month! When the next Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade asked him to
vacate the house and let it for opening Law College
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Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
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| Our old home at Veera Bhavan, Ballal Bagh Mangalore |
Kudpi
not only loved his own children, he also cared for neighbourhood kids like his
own. Whenever he visited Mumbai with his work, he used to bring goodies like
peppermint, biscuits, pen, pencil, eraser, toys and games and also distributed
them among the neighbourhood kids and felt contented to see them happy. When my sister was senior house surgeon in Mysore
Kudpi never looked back or calculated money when it came to running the home. He was a good philosopher and guide, a father figure to his naive wife Ramabai, who was almost half his age during their wedding. He taught her the significance of maintaining the home clean and neat, groom up the children, cook good food and also help their neighbours in case of need. Whenever she wanted entertainment, he arranged for a taxi to drop and pick her from the cinema hall and also provided an escort to take care of her. Though Kudpi never stepped into the kitchen or cooked anything in his life, he used to guess the ingredients and methods of cooking rare dishes that he used to taste in restaurants and guide his wife to make them exactly the way he wanted them! In the mid Sixties when cooking gas was first introduced by Esso Gas in Mangaluru, he was one of the few who got a connection for home, so that his wife could manage without the hassle of lighting kerosene or charcoal stove.
In 1959 he purchased a new National Ekco 8 Band Radio for the entertainment of his family members. He also purchased a Hercules bicycle for his son Shashikanth to reachGovernment College
Kudpi never looked back or calculated money when it came to running the home. He was a good philosopher and guide, a father figure to his naive wife Ramabai, who was almost half his age during their wedding. He taught her the significance of maintaining the home clean and neat, groom up the children, cook good food and also help their neighbours in case of need. Whenever she wanted entertainment, he arranged for a taxi to drop and pick her from the cinema hall and also provided an escort to take care of her. Though Kudpi never stepped into the kitchen or cooked anything in his life, he used to guess the ingredients and methods of cooking rare dishes that he used to taste in restaurants and guide his wife to make them exactly the way he wanted them! In the mid Sixties when cooking gas was first introduced by Esso Gas in Mangaluru, he was one of the few who got a connection for home, so that his wife could manage without the hassle of lighting kerosene or charcoal stove.
In 1959 he purchased a new National Ekco 8 Band Radio for the entertainment of his family members. He also purchased a Hercules bicycle for his son Shashikanth to reach
My brother Kamalakanth reminisces, “In the year 1964, Kasturi Bar Soap had organized a competition. Prize winners were announced in the papers and the final round was in
Kudpi’s office was in Car Street Car Street
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| With Ramabai at Ootacamund |
My mother Ramabai was a loyal wife to Kudpi. She used to
prepare all his favourite dishes whenever he demanded. She also used to prepare
4 cups of tea and store it in a flask for him to consume during late hours when
he sat down to write on the veranda. One night as Kudpi was writing something,
he smelled something burning and to his worse fears, the back room of the house
was on fire! A domestic helper woman had carelessly dumped cinder along with
ash from the bathroom kiln in a cane basket, that caught fire and the fire
spread to the woodwork of the roof! Kudpi hurriedly woke up Ramabai and her
nephew Damodar who was staying in our home for his graduation. The three of
them worked together, drew water from the well and put off the fire without
much ado. Next morning, as D. Puttaswamy the neighbour asked about burnt smell,
Kudpi hushed up giving reasons that it was just the cane basket that caught the
fire and emanated the burnt smell. He also ensured that the wife and children
maintained secrecy about it and also got the burnt wooden beams replaced
without much ado!
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| With a dignitary and D. Puttaswamy(Right) in Dharmasthala |
Personality, Routine:
5 feet 6 inches tall, small build, longish face, wheat complexion, always wore clean white Muslin Dhoti and Cream colour Kurta with fine cotton material from Shurrock Mills, and a Gandhi cap over the head, dignified look and gait, straight talk and action, movement as slick as mercury, slightly short tempered, in other words a no nonsense man; these are the qualities that highlighted the personality of Kudpi.
His inimitable style of narrating humour with a serious look and a smile following the narration was not easy for most of his contemporaries to imitate. He never looked down upon the poor and the needy. He always helped them in time of need monetarily and morally. He had the rare quality of adjusting to different types of people irrespective of their social and financial status, if not their knowledge level. Cleanliness, simplicity, honesty, perfection, command over the three main languages English, Kannada and Konkani, proper usage of grammar, variety in his write-up, were his hallmark and thus he became very popular as a writer, journalist during his times.
Kudpi was also very meticulous about his food habits. He maintained a steady 133 Pounds (60 Kgs) body weight always. He rarely fell ill, and as far as I remember, during my 20 years with him, I saw him falling ill only twice or thrice. His tolerance to pain and suffering was a puzzle even to his close friend, our family physician Dr, B. R. Hegde! He had the knowledge of medicine and he mostly took self medication in times of minor ailments. When our sister Veena was a school going child and she had Typhoid after the Second World War, she had bleak chances of surviving. Those days most of the doctors would give some concoction or home remedy to such deadly ailments and ask the family members to pray for the recovery of the patient! In such trauma, Dr. B.R. Hegde said, “Kudpi there is a new wonder drug in the market by name Chloromycetin, which can cure typhoid. Why not try that? Two capsules cost Rs.45/-. She should be administered 3 capsules a day for 5 days and she may recover. Why don’t we take a chance?”
Those days, for 45 Rupees a family of 10 people could sustain for a month! Kudpi never looked back and he gave his consent. Thus our sister recovered from Typhoid and today she is 79 year old practicing doctor who has cured thousands of women and children with her treatment and care!
His daily routine started with waking up at sharp 6:00am, after the morning rituals, he would take a walk around the house and check if things were alright. Then he would dust the furniture, polish his favourite porcelain ‘Shiva Bust’, light a ‘Punugu Ambar’ or ‘Sugandha Shringar’ agarbatti, then switch on the radio and tune in Radio
Then he would have a cold shower with his favourite Malabar Glory, Cinthol or Mysore Sandal Soap, sip a cup of tea and smoke a cigarette as he read the daily Kannada and English newspapers sitting comfortably in his easy chair. Exactly at 9:15am, he used to have his breakfast, change his dress and walk to the nearest bus stop in Lalbagh carrying his office bag and wait for the route no.8 bus that ran from Karnataka Polytechnic to Hampankatta via Car Street. If he missed that bus, he never looked back and he would walk all the way to
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| With Manel Srinivas Nayak, MLA at the Vidhan Soudha Bangalore |
His daily routine does not end there! He spent time until late hours reading books and writing stories, dramas and articles for his paper past 2:00am. No signs of sleeping a wink, for enough tea would be ready in a flask on one side, thanks to his faithful life partner Rama Bai, and his daily dose of beedies and cigarettes along with an ash tray on the other, for inspiration and to stay alert!
This late night habit of his went to extremes at times, and one early morning at 5:00am, our neighbour D. Puttaswamy saw the light in the verandah still on, and he curiously asked, “Did you wake up early, Mr. Kudpi?” My father coolly told him that he never slept a wink, and he didn’t even realize about it, since he was deeply engrossed in writing something!
Because of his straight forward nature and denial to obligations, he refused to use his influence with the then Education Minister C. Subrahmanyam of
My brother Kamalakanth has a different story to share. He used to look after father’s press and office from Sixth standard until he completed PUC. He also used to help father according to his abilities. One day father had to go somewhere, and he told Kamalakanth to stay until he returned. So, Kamalakanth just sat there, waiting for father to return. Clock turned Eight, Eight Thirty, Nine, Nine Thirty. There was no sign of father returning! Kamalakanth didn’t take liberties, fearing that father might scold him if he moved out of his office. Finally he received father’s phone call at 10:00pm and asked him what he was doing until late hours in the office! Then Kamalakanth sighed in relief, gained courage, left the office and went home. Knowing father’s strict nature, all the children obeyed as he instructed and never went against his orders!
I have memories to share from my primary school times. On February 22nd 1966, when the annual Spring Festival called ‘Vasantotsava’ was celebrated, father gave 8 Annas(50 Paise) each to me and my elder Radhakanth to spend on refreshments at the make shift canteen they had arranged in the school. Radhakanth spent that amount over some snacks and lemon juice, while I was two minded about spending my pocket money. I also had the urge to buy something for home which all can share and eat. On my way back from school in the night, my classmates Ravi Kumar and Naveen Kini suggested many things. The last suggestion from Naveen was to buy whole roasted Peanuts at a Bakery near our home. For 50 Paise I got one ‘Ser’ peanuts and took it home, handed it over to mother. Mother was surprised and she asked me why I spent my pocket money on peanuts while I was supposed to have refreshments at the canteen! I naively replied that no one had ever brought such a heap of peanuts in our home, and I wanted to bring and share that with everyone. Mother complained to father and father scolded me and ordered me to return the peanuts immediately and get back the 50 paise from the bakery! He added that he can not tolerate such indiscipline. I was astonished that my good deed was not recognized by anyone, and father scolded me instead of appreciating my deed! I pleaded that I shall not repeat the mistake again. After many years I could understand that he actually expected me to spend my pocket money the way I was supposed to, and not take liberties.
Many people visited our home to see Kudpi. Mostly on Sundays when he was in the bathroom taking showers, I would hurriedly call him aloud, saying someone was waiting to meet him. Then he would shout back and say “Let them wait for a while. They have come for their work, not to help me. I am half way through bathing. I can not come out right now. Ask them to sit and wait for me!”
Religious views, Rational approach:
Though Kudpi believed in existence of god and followed religious rites because he was born in an orthodox GSB family, he never gave scope for blind belief. I don’t remember having seen him enter the temple any day and perform pooja. Though he had his office in
Sometimes when a seer of any popular mutt visited Mangaluru,
he used to go along with his cousin Kudpi Vishwanath. R. Shenoy and receive the
seer at the airport and drop them to a local temple or mutt. He also used to
attend the sermons by such seers in professional interest and publish feature report
in his weekly newspaper Prabhat. He also used to perform the annual
Krishnashtami pooja at home in the presence of Pandit Venkatesh Acharya of Acharya Mutt Car Street
I strongly assume his publishing weekly astrology and articles on temples, gods, festivals, mutts and religious heads was in the larger interest of the readers and not out of his own belief. I would like to point out two incidences to support my assumptions.
In the year 1976, when the noted Rationalist Dr. Abraham Kovoor came to Mangaluru to address a meeting at the Don Bosco Hall, I was a member of the South Kanara Rationalist Association founded by Narendra Nayak, and I was also a volunteer at the meet. Yet, I didn’t inform father about my activities, about the function, didn’t even give him the invite to the function, thinking that he may discourage me or tell me not to indulge in such activities. I was surprised when he called me the next morning, smiled and asked me all about the function! He also published the news in the very next issue of his paper.
In another incident, M. Subrayan was the official astrologer writing weekly astrology column in Prabhat paper. Subrayan was ill for over a month and then Kudpi was in a dilemma about how to publish it in the absence of Subrayan. Suddenly an idea flashed to his mind and he dished out two year old issues of Prabhat and copied the same predictions that were printed in those issues and sent them for printing! He has described pretty well about the fraud that happens in the name of astrology, in a satirical story in his Ondaanemaale publication by name ‘Jataka Pathana’.
Journalism:
After working for two years in Prabhakar Press, Kudpi joined Kanteerava paper as co-editor. He also worked as co-editor of ‘Rashtrabandhu’ and ‘Swadeshabhimaani’, thus contributed in his own way for the freedom movement. In 1935 he established his own newspaper ‘Prabhat’, printed and published it at the City Press and reached the summit of success. Prabhat office functioned on the upstairs of the premises by the corner ofCar Street Bombay
My
brother Srikanth knows in and out about Kudpi’s struggle to establish the press
and shift it to different places over the years. In the year 1940, Kudpi
started a public limited company named Prabhat Printers Limited and he was the
Managing Director. He printed not only Prabhat paper and his other publications
there; he also undertook printing of other publications such as Manmohan
Kamath’s ‘Sandhyadeepa’ and V.J.P. Saldanha’s ‘Kannadavani’ papers for some
time in the Sixties. The press functioned in a house in Sundar Rao’s Compound
opposite Mission High School Azizuddin
Road Besant College MG Road
Kudpi’s sons assisted him during school/college vacation by working in his office and press, proof reading, book binding, pinning etc. My elder brothers still recall having earned some pocket money as well as appreciation from father for the work they did those days in the Fifties and Sixties. In the mid Fifties, my first three brothers Chandrakanth, Shashikanth and Srikanth came out with a hand written illustrated children’s magazine in 200 page note books, resembling Chandamama and Balamitra. They called it ‘Jnanodaya’ and circulated them among their neighbourhood boys and earned some money. They published such 10 issues in three years, an achievement perhaps unparalleled by any boys of their age then!
Special issues of Prabhat exceeded 200 pages, carrying a feast of colourful feature articles, stories, dramas and poems. Not just film world, they highlighted achievers with pictures, write up and pictures on Dharmasthala, also extensive coverage on commercial activities of Mangaluru. Thus Prabhat had international standards when it came to coverage and looks! Kudpi was a close ally of Manjayya Heggade and Rathnavarma Heggade of Dharmasthala. He was in charge of the Exhibition held in 1957 at Dharmasthala during the ‘25th Sarva Dharma Sammelana’, he managed it very well and also published a souvenir to commemorate the event. He printed and distributed colour photos of theManjunatha Temple
I strongly assume his publishing weekly astrology and articles on temples, gods, festivals, mutts and religious heads was in the larger interest of the readers and not out of his own belief. I would like to point out two incidences to support my assumptions.
In the year 1976, when the noted Rationalist Dr. Abraham Kovoor came to Mangaluru to address a meeting at the Don Bosco Hall, I was a member of the South Kanara Rationalist Association founded by Narendra Nayak, and I was also a volunteer at the meet. Yet, I didn’t inform father about my activities, about the function, didn’t even give him the invite to the function, thinking that he may discourage me or tell me not to indulge in such activities. I was surprised when he called me the next morning, smiled and asked me all about the function! He also published the news in the very next issue of his paper.
In another incident, M. Subrayan was the official astrologer writing weekly astrology column in Prabhat paper. Subrayan was ill for over a month and then Kudpi was in a dilemma about how to publish it in the absence of Subrayan. Suddenly an idea flashed to his mind and he dished out two year old issues of Prabhat and copied the same predictions that were printed in those issues and sent them for printing! He has described pretty well about the fraud that happens in the name of astrology, in a satirical story in his Ondaanemaale publication by name ‘Jataka Pathana’.
Journalism:
After working for two years in Prabhakar Press, Kudpi joined Kanteerava paper as co-editor. He also worked as co-editor of ‘Rashtrabandhu’ and ‘Swadeshabhimaani’, thus contributed in his own way for the freedom movement. In 1935 he established his own newspaper ‘Prabhat’, printed and published it at the City Press and reached the summit of success. Prabhat office functioned on the upstairs of the premises by the corner of
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His teacher and mentor MN Kamath's article in Prabhat Press Club Mangalore on 27.5.1965 |
Kudpi’s sons assisted him during school/college vacation by working in his office and press, proof reading, book binding, pinning etc. My elder brothers still recall having earned some pocket money as well as appreciation from father for the work they did those days in the Fifties and Sixties. In the mid Fifties, my first three brothers Chandrakanth, Shashikanth and Srikanth came out with a hand written illustrated children’s magazine in 200 page note books, resembling Chandamama and Balamitra. They called it ‘Jnanodaya’ and circulated them among their neighbourhood boys and earned some money. They published such 10 issues in three years, an achievement perhaps unparalleled by any boys of their age then!
Special issues of Prabhat exceeded 200 pages, carrying a feast of colourful feature articles, stories, dramas and poems. Not just film world, they highlighted achievers with pictures, write up and pictures on Dharmasthala, also extensive coverage on commercial activities of Mangaluru. Thus Prabhat had international standards when it came to coverage and looks! Kudpi was a close ally of Manjayya Heggade and Rathnavarma Heggade of Dharmasthala. He was in charge of the Exhibition held in 1957 at Dharmasthala during the ‘25th Sarva Dharma Sammelana’, he managed it very well and also published a souvenir to commemorate the event. He printed and distributed colour photos of the
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| Coloured photos of various monuments in Dharmasthala, 1957 |
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| Navabharata Kannada Daily |
In ‘Basiga’, the souvenir of Dakshina Kamnnada Jilla Sahitya Sammelana held at Karkala, Kudpi has written in detail about the growth of journalism, in an article ‘Journalism in Dakshina Kannada District’. Those trained by Kudpi in his Prabhat paper and press started their own and prospered. B.V. Baliga was a close ally of Kudpi. He not only wrote articles in Prabhat, he started his Konkani magazine ‘Panchkadaayi’ under guidance from Kudpi. Kudpi taught him the right usage of Konkani in journalism and encouraged him to run the magazine smoothly.
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Kannada scholar Dr. Vamana Nandavara has written essay about Kudpi’s journalism.
Kannada scholar Dr. Vamana Nandavara has written essay about Kudpi’s journalism.
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Stories, Essays, Literature:
Since the day he started Prabhat weekly until the Nineteen Sixties, Kudpi wrote hundreds of humour stories, anecdotes and essays. ‘Jeevanada Sogasu’ written in 1935 was his first article. He also compiled the articles that he wrote in Prabhat weekly from time to time and published two such compilations with short stories, namely ‘Meere Mattu Naanu’, ‘Japan Belaku mattu Itara Kathegalu’ in 1948. In 1949 he published the essays ‘Malegaalada Sapnagalu’ and ‘Aayaasavillada Ogatugalu’ in the form of books.
‘Meera Mattu Naanu’ has 15 humour writeups that revolve around a cool husband and his restless wife narrating the funny incidents that happen in their daily life. The hero in those stories is always positive in his thoughts and actions with high tolerance for questions and utmost patience to answer them. Meera is a modern woman with tomboyish nature, nagging, short tempered and adamant. The dialogues between them can incite a roar of laughter among the readers, imagining the scenes that happen in a typical local family, their arguments, blow hot and blow cold. There is never a day when Meera and her husband do not argue and fight. There is no evidence, that following the fight they stop talking with one another and get separated. Everything happens within a day and ends overnight after which, both get rejuvenated for a new fight!
‘Japan Belaku Mattu Itara Kathegalu’ has 16 humour stories. One can find similarities between the characters in these stories and Sir P.G. Wodehouse’s stories. Yet, these stories highlight the lifestyle, culture and traditions of our town, if not word play and witty dialogues, which Kudpi has cleverly adapted in them.
‘Kasada Dabbigalu’ is a compilation of 24 essays. Every character and the situation if not the place, seem rather realistic and not give scope to believe that they are fictitious. One can very well sense the strong whiff of contemporary Kannada literature at its best, if not sharp witted crisp dialogues in these essays.
Stories, Essays, Literature:
Since the day he started Prabhat weekly until the Nineteen Sixties, Kudpi wrote hundreds of humour stories, anecdotes and essays. ‘Jeevanada Sogasu’ written in 1935 was his first article. He also compiled the articles that he wrote in Prabhat weekly from time to time and published two such compilations with short stories, namely ‘Meere Mattu Naanu’, ‘Japan Belaku mattu Itara Kathegalu’ in 1948. In 1949 he published the essays ‘Malegaalada Sapnagalu’ and ‘Aayaasavillada Ogatugalu’ in the form of books.
‘Meera Mattu Naanu’ has 15 humour writeups that revolve around a cool husband and his restless wife narrating the funny incidents that happen in their daily life. The hero in those stories is always positive in his thoughts and actions with high tolerance for questions and utmost patience to answer them. Meera is a modern woman with tomboyish nature, nagging, short tempered and adamant. The dialogues between them can incite a roar of laughter among the readers, imagining the scenes that happen in a typical local family, their arguments, blow hot and blow cold. There is never a day when Meera and her husband do not argue and fight. There is no evidence, that following the fight they stop talking with one another and get separated. Everything happens within a day and ends overnight after which, both get rejuvenated for a new fight!
‘Japan Belaku Mattu Itara Kathegalu’ has 16 humour stories. One can find similarities between the characters in these stories and Sir P.G. Wodehouse’s stories. Yet, these stories highlight the lifestyle, culture and traditions of our town, if not word play and witty dialogues, which Kudpi has cleverly adapted in them.
‘Kasada Dabbigalu’ is a compilation of 24 essays. Every character and the situation if not the place, seem rather realistic and not give scope to believe that they are fictitious. One can very well sense the strong whiff of contemporary Kannada literature at its best, if not sharp witted crisp dialogues in these essays.
Among the books Kudpi authored in Ondaanemaale, there are
short stories, moral stories, humour, if not dramas. His most selling books
were ‘Panditana Piteelu Mattu Itara Kathegalu’, ‘Jatakapathana Mattu Itara
Kathegalu’, ‘Ee Yugada Thenkaara Kumara’, ‘Saahasada Kathegalu’ and ‘Huchhu
Kathegalu’. Apart from short stories, he also wrote short plays that became
famous, such as ‘Satyavanta Baabi’, ‘Baabige Baasinga’, ‘Naareeshwararu’, and
‘Chunaavane Arthaat Banaavane’. Then there were books on general knowledge and
travelogues including ‘Aesopana Neeti Kathegalu’, ‘Vinoda Vihaara’, ‘Pradhaanaamaatya
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’, ‘Namma Desha’, ‘Namma Kannada Naadu’, ‘Sarvajnana
Vachanagalu’, ‘Sri Kanakadaasara Bhajanaageetegalu” and of course the
unabridged ‘Srimad Bhagavadgite’ sold for One Anna, which he published with
financial sponsorship from D. Puttaswamy and Dharmasthala Manjayya heggade’s
daughter Vimalamma Ballal.
I still recall how we brothers joined hands and packed 50
books each of Ondaanemaale in bundles and arranged them in shelves in
chronological order at our home ‘Veera Bhavan’ in Ballal Bagh within three days,
when the press was shifted to new premises in 1967.
Kudpi’s friend Harekal Venkatramana Pai took possession of the entire collection of Ondaanemaale from Prabhat Office and dumped them at his home, few years after the passing away of Kudpi. He patiently wiped them clean and sold some copies at Kannada Sahitya Sammelans for One Rupee each.
Kudpi’s friend Harekal Venkatramana Pai took possession of the entire collection of Ondaanemaale from Prabhat Office and dumped them at his home, few years after the passing away of Kudpi. He patiently wiped them clean and sold some copies at Kannada Sahitya Sammelans for One Rupee each.
Ondaanemaale was talk of the town those
days,
and
school, college students used to wait and enquire about new issues of
Ondaanemaale at Venkat Rao’s Nityananda Granthalaya, B.
Damodar Baliga & Sons and Bhoja Rao And Sons, if not at Prabhat Office.
Ondaanemaale was like encyclopedia for the poor with hunger for Kannada
literature and general knowledge. Some of the renowned scholars reminisce over
their difficult days, when they collected small change with difficulty and
purchased Ondaanemaale to satiate their hunger for literature! Ondaanemaale was
like red feather in Kudpi’s cap of achievement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sabiha Bhoomigowda, Vice Chancellor of Akkamahadevi Women’s University has written in detail with fair analysis, about Kudpi’s literary achievements, stage activities and Ondaanemaale, in a book published by the Kanthavara Kannada Sangha named ‘Ondaanemaaleya Saahasi Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sabiha Bhoomigowda, Vice Chancellor of Akkamahadevi Women’s University has written in detail with fair analysis, about Kudpi’s literary achievements, stage activities and Ondaanemaale, in a book published by the Kanthavara Kannada Sangha named ‘Ondaanemaaleya Saahasi Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’.
 |
| PC: https://www.mangaloreuniversity.ac.in/dr-sabiha |
Stage and Drama:
Kudpi was deeply involved with stage and dramas. He was adept at writing a new drama overnight. Discerning viewers who demand top notch humour mostly had the opportunity to watch and appreciate his dramas in the Nineteen Sixties. Kudpi had the knack to create the right characters and find the right actors to do full justice to those roles. ‘Purusha Vadhu’ written in 1936 was his first published drama. ‘Baabige Baasinga’, ‘Satyavanta Baabi’ and ‘Naareeshwararu’ published in Ondaanemaale in the Fifties have not only received acclaim from the readers, they also have been enacted on stage at many schools and colleges. ‘Naavu Saahukaara Kuladavaru’ is a mirror that reflects the double standards, arrogance and megalomania of the rich class belonging to the older times. Kudpi has rightly exposed the true colours of politicians in ‘Chunaavane Arthaat Banaavane’, in which one can see how election campaign of useless candidates is highlighted, how sycophants run behind them and misguide them, also the agents and middlemen who play double game and make hay when the sun shines. Perhaps what we can deem as its sequel, ‘Saitaananodane Karaaru’ has not been printed as yet, but e-book of the same has been released. If the theme of the two dramas is relevant even today, one can very well understand the far sightedness of Kudpi about common man!
In 1955 he wrote an essay named ‘Namma Rangabhoomi’ which was like a guide for drama artists and directors. Every aspect of drama has been well discussed by Kudpi in that essay. It gave a modern touch to the stage activities of early times, we can say.
In the year 1960 when All India Kannada Sammelan was held in Manipal, Kudpi was approached by the conveners to write and stage a drama to add spice to the event. Thus he wrote “Sanyasi Gongadi”, a comedy play and staged it with his artist friends. When a swami entered the audience with his side kicks hailing him, entire audience was stupefied, stood up and paid respect to the swami, thinking that he was real! Then when the swami reached the stage and the drama continued, the audience realized that he was part of the drama! That’s how innovative Kudpi was, and shows his expertise showing variety with his experiments on stage.
 |
| 'Sanyasi Gongadi' artistes 1960 |
 |
| Kala Bhavana office bearers with noted Kannada scholar A. Na. Kra. |
After Kudpi’s passing away, his friend Late Krishnagopal of
Mahaveer Press started work on printing Sanyasi Gongadi drama book, but he
could not complete it more than 30 percent. Then in the year 1996, my mother
Rama Bai took interest, got it fully printed and published. Kudpi translated
Sanyasi Gongadi into Konkani in 1970 and named it ‘Bhangraachi Goddadi’. Yet
another Konkani drama ‘Dolyaan Khelu’ was also staged successfully at many
places. Karnataka
Konkani Sahitya
Academy
In
the mid Nineteen Sixties, Kudpi was secretary of Kala Bhavana, a trust that
used to hold week long drama festivals every year. He was also instrumental in
holding stage camps for amateurs.
Kudpi apart from writing and staging his own plays has also translated and staged the Matrati play ‘Ekach Pyala’ in Kannada with the title ‘Onde Gutuku’. We three brothers Shashikanth, Kamalakanth and I used to assist him in writing manuscript copies of some of his dramas in the late Sixties and the early Seventies.
Some of the friends who have acted in Kudpi’s dramas are SR Balgopal, Krishnagopal, Ramananda Choorya, Manel Krishna Nayak, BV Baliga, Mohan Rao, Basti Narayana Shenoy and Srinivas Bhat. Those days, they used to act and show dramas for free. They didn’t chased money, rather acted out of academic interest and to expose their creativity. Kudpi also wrote clean script without vulgarity or double meaning in any of his dramas.
Sense of humour, Humanity, Generosity:
Kudpi had a huge fan following because of the high sense humour he had. At any function or meeting, if Kudpi was to speak, there would be a huge crowd waiting for a roaring overflow of mirth. The way he narrated any funny incident with a serious expression on his face was an art not possessed by many! He never showed self praise or forced anyone to follow him.
Havanje Venkatesh Shenoy a friend working for City Press was residing in Ballal Bagh area. He talked, walked and worked like express bus according to Kudpi’s observations! One fine morning Kudpi was waiting for the bus for office. Venkatesh Shenoy appeared from a distance. As he neared, Kudpi suddenly jumped and blocked his way and held him by the hand, asking him why he was in such a hurry! Mr Shenoy pleaded to let him go.
Kudpi said “What’s the urgency maaraaya! Stay a while, let’s talk for a while!”
Shenoy pleaded him again and again and finally Kudpi let him go!
My colleague in Syndicate Bank Huruli Ramachandra Rao, son of ‘Kanteerava’ editor Late Huruli Bheema Rao has another story to narrate.
One day Huruli visited Prabhat office along with his son, small boy Ramachandra. Kudpi saw Ramachandra and askd Huruli “How many loads of soil has this boy carried uphill?” meaning, how far he had studied! Mr. Rao also added that when his father and my father met, it was an explosive meeting full of wit and humour!
Kudpi’s sense of humour also worked in trying to instill good behaviour among us boys. Here, you may recognize the spontaneous choice of dialog with a whiff of sarcasm and wisdom in my father’s query, and also escapism in my reply!
We had shifted from Ballal Bagh to a house on rent at Ashok Nagar in July 1974 for three months. That house had attached bathroom. One afternoon my father came home for lunch and he headed for the toilet. When he came out, he had a matchbox in his hand. He came straight to me and handed over the matchbox to me, saying “Take this. You had left it in the bathroom.”
I was shocked and annoyed that he came to know about me secretly smoking cigarettes! Yet I was cool, and I said “It is not mine. Why do I need a matchbox?”
”Maybe there was power failure and you wanted it for lighting a candle.”
”Power failure and lighting during day time?” I showed surprise.
Immediately Kamalakanth came to my rescue and he said “Father, I think the matchbox is yours, and you had forgotten to pick it earlier!”
Then father had no doubt, that both of us were hidden smokers and one thief tried to save other!
He slyly smiled and replied, “You maybe right. At this age of mine, I naturally tend to forget things!”
My brother Radhakanth reminisces that during his school times, he stood 3rd in his class, while two other boys Suyajna Joshi and Jayavardhana came first and second always. When he told that to father, father asked him, “Could it be possible that Jayavardhana’s rival’s name is Apajayapatana?” Radhakanth is all smiles, when he narrates that incidence.
He had compassion for financially, physically and mentally challenged people in the walk of life. He encouraged them into doing jobs and also paid them handsome wages. There was an ex-military jawan by name Sankappa who was hit by a shell during war and had mental disability, which stopped public from employing him. Sankappa used to roam around the Ballal Bagh area, shouting swear words aloud, often throwing stoned at those who teased him. Kudpi called him from time to time and gave him the job of cleaning the garden. He not only paid him decent wages, but also arranged for sumptuous meal at home for him after the work.
Vamayya was a physically handicapped man with one limp arm. One weekend in the early Seventies, Vamayya was employed by Kudpi to do some chores. Vamayya was very slow in his work compared to normal workers, but Kudpi paid him full wages, also gave him three meals and coffee, and kept him happy. When any neighbour was in need of financial assistance for children’s’ education or for medical expenses, Kudpi immediately used to instruct Ramabai to give them small loans and not to embarrass them by insisting on repayment even when they were not able to repay the money on time.
Regarding Kudpi’s concern for hard working people, I must tell the story of Bantwal Vasudeva Shenoy, a retired school master who ran a small shop in Ballal Bagh selling general items. Father used to send me to Mr. Shenoy’s shop to get his brand of cigarette No. 10, which cost 12 paise per pack.
One day, as usual I brought a pack of cigarette, father examined that and told me “Immediately return this and get No. 10. He has given Gold Flake by mistake!”
Vasudeva Shenoy was obviously confused with the two brands of cigarettes, because they both had yellow coloured packs.
I was surprised that father was not happy about getting cigarettes that cost actually twice the cost of No. 10! When I suggested him about gaining, he was furious, and he shouted, “Go immediately and exchange it. Never have such greed and mean thoughts in your mind. An honest hard working man is losing money and we should be honest enough to see that he does not incur loss at our cost!
Hobbies:
Having performed three major roles in life such as a successful journalist, writer and playwright, Kudpi had many hobbies. Most important one was his inclination towards Hindustani Classical music. He was fond of playing flute and harmonium. Whenever sangeet kacheris were arranged in Mangalore during his hey days, he never missed any. He admired Hindustani maestros such as Bala Gandharva, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bismillah Khan, Abdul Kareem Khan, Pannalal Ghosh, Bhimsen Joshi and other contemporaries. He had good rapport with his childhood friend Harekal Ramachandra Pai (Ramanna) who used to host Hindustani Kacheris at his house. I recall that my father used to mention about Pandit Bhimsen Joshi having stayed at Harekal Ramanna’s house for months, before he became a maestro. Father used to take me along with, to Hindi Prachar Samithi where gaayan kacheris took place from time to time. I also remember having slept on his lap during couple of such kacheris that went on until late nights in the mid Nineteen Sixties! I think he wanted to inculcate good taste for Hindustani Classical music among his children.
Apart from Hindustani Classical, he also appreciated old Hindi film songs by K.
L. Saigal, C. H. Atma and Pankaj Mullick. It was fun watching him nod his head
to the melodies that played on Radio Ceylon
Kudpi had a penchant for photography and art. He possessed a second hand Kodak Brownie camera that he had purchased inBombay Car Street
He was a good artist. He drew sketches with Indian ink and published them in
his newspaper and other publications. The best one was perhaps a sketch of my
brother Kamalakanth when he was a small baby that he drew for the Ondaanemaale
book ‘Kumara’.
His liking forHollywood movies made him watch
‘Frankenstein’ by Boris Karloff many times. He also liked Charlie Chaplin
movies and Hindi films by Sohrab Modi, Mehboob Khan, V. Shantaram, K. L.
Saigal, Sandhya, Nadia, Suraiya and others. Though he knew all the cinema house
owners in Mangalore those days, being a self made man, he never accepted free
pass. He would rather purchase tickets paying the entertainment fee which
worked out at less than 50% of the total charges, and facilitate his family
members to watch some classic films of yesteryear.
He was a voracious reader, and he had a wide collection of a variety of books and magazines in his collection. Apart from receiving Kannada books from authors for the courtesy of review in Prabhat paper, he also used to buy second hand books from Bangalore and Bombay, get them leather bound in his press with golden letters engraved in them. He had two big book cases full of English and Kannada books, most of which are now in my possession. He admired works of authors par excellence such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Anton Chekov, Saumerset Maugham, Guy De Maupassant, O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Jane Austen and likes. He had the full collection of Sir PG Wodehouse, who was his most favourite humour writer. Most of those books were leather bound and are still in good condition.
Of the Kannada writers, he had interaction with A. Na. Kra., Da. Raa. Bendre,
Shivarama Karantha, Manjeshwar Govinda Pai, P. K. Narayana, S. V. Parameshwara
Bhatta, H. L. Nagegowda, T. Chandraraja Shetty, Kaiyaara Kinhanna Rai, Aerya
Laxminarayana Alva, Kedambadi Jattappa Rai, Pa. Gopalakrishna Adiga, and many
others. Apart from those stalwarts, he also had the collection of Ku. Vem. Pu.,
Daasharathi Dixit, Bee Chi, T. P. Kailasam, Triveni and Saisuthe.
Among general books, his collection ranged from Book of Knowledge, Children’s Dictionary, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s discourses, Arabian Nights in Kannada, Biography of Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajaji, Subhaschandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, V. D. Savarkar, Madanlal Dhingra and many more. He used to receive copies of Illustrated Weekly, Reader’s Digest, Bhavan’s Journal, Sudha, Mayura, Utthana, Karmaveera, Yugapurusha, Vikrama, Chandamama and Balamithra by post. He never looked back when it came to spending over books and magazines for himself and his family members. The way he used to narrate the story “The Hound of The Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a true hair raising experience for us!
Kudpi apart from writing and staging his own plays has also translated and staged the Matrati play ‘Ekach Pyala’ in Kannada with the title ‘Onde Gutuku’. We three brothers Shashikanth, Kamalakanth and I used to assist him in writing manuscript copies of some of his dramas in the late Sixties and the early Seventies.
Some of the friends who have acted in Kudpi’s dramas are SR Balgopal, Krishnagopal, Ramananda Choorya, Manel Krishna Nayak, BV Baliga, Mohan Rao, Basti Narayana Shenoy and Srinivas Bhat. Those days, they used to act and show dramas for free. They didn’t chased money, rather acted out of academic interest and to expose their creativity. Kudpi also wrote clean script without vulgarity or double meaning in any of his dramas.
Sense of humour, Humanity, Generosity:
Kudpi had a huge fan following because of the high sense humour he had. At any function or meeting, if Kudpi was to speak, there would be a huge crowd waiting for a roaring overflow of mirth. The way he narrated any funny incident with a serious expression on his face was an art not possessed by many! He never showed self praise or forced anyone to follow him.
Havanje Venkatesh Shenoy a friend working for City Press was residing in Ballal Bagh area. He talked, walked and worked like express bus according to Kudpi’s observations! One fine morning Kudpi was waiting for the bus for office. Venkatesh Shenoy appeared from a distance. As he neared, Kudpi suddenly jumped and blocked his way and held him by the hand, asking him why he was in such a hurry! Mr Shenoy pleaded to let him go.
Kudpi said “What’s the urgency maaraaya! Stay a while, let’s talk for a while!”
Shenoy pleaded him again and again and finally Kudpi let him go!
My colleague in Syndicate Bank Huruli Ramachandra Rao, son of ‘Kanteerava’ editor Late Huruli Bheema Rao has another story to narrate.
One day Huruli visited Prabhat office along with his son, small boy Ramachandra. Kudpi saw Ramachandra and askd Huruli “How many loads of soil has this boy carried uphill?” meaning, how far he had studied! Mr. Rao also added that when his father and my father met, it was an explosive meeting full of wit and humour!
Kudpi’s sense of humour also worked in trying to instill good behaviour among us boys. Here, you may recognize the spontaneous choice of dialog with a whiff of sarcasm and wisdom in my father’s query, and also escapism in my reply!
We had shifted from Ballal Bagh to a house on rent at Ashok Nagar in July 1974 for three months. That house had attached bathroom. One afternoon my father came home for lunch and he headed for the toilet. When he came out, he had a matchbox in his hand. He came straight to me and handed over the matchbox to me, saying “Take this. You had left it in the bathroom.”
I was shocked and annoyed that he came to know about me secretly smoking cigarettes! Yet I was cool, and I said “It is not mine. Why do I need a matchbox?”
”Maybe there was power failure and you wanted it for lighting a candle.”
”Power failure and lighting during day time?” I showed surprise.
Immediately Kamalakanth came to my rescue and he said “Father, I think the matchbox is yours, and you had forgotten to pick it earlier!”
Then father had no doubt, that both of us were hidden smokers and one thief tried to save other!
He slyly smiled and replied, “You maybe right. At this age of mine, I naturally tend to forget things!”
My brother Radhakanth reminisces that during his school times, he stood 3rd in his class, while two other boys Suyajna Joshi and Jayavardhana came first and second always. When he told that to father, father asked him, “Could it be possible that Jayavardhana’s rival’s name is Apajayapatana?” Radhakanth is all smiles, when he narrates that incidence.
He had compassion for financially, physically and mentally challenged people in the walk of life. He encouraged them into doing jobs and also paid them handsome wages. There was an ex-military jawan by name Sankappa who was hit by a shell during war and had mental disability, which stopped public from employing him. Sankappa used to roam around the Ballal Bagh area, shouting swear words aloud, often throwing stoned at those who teased him. Kudpi called him from time to time and gave him the job of cleaning the garden. He not only paid him decent wages, but also arranged for sumptuous meal at home for him after the work.
Vamayya was a physically handicapped man with one limp arm. One weekend in the early Seventies, Vamayya was employed by Kudpi to do some chores. Vamayya was very slow in his work compared to normal workers, but Kudpi paid him full wages, also gave him three meals and coffee, and kept him happy. When any neighbour was in need of financial assistance for children’s’ education or for medical expenses, Kudpi immediately used to instruct Ramabai to give them small loans and not to embarrass them by insisting on repayment even when they were not able to repay the money on time.
Regarding Kudpi’s concern for hard working people, I must tell the story of Bantwal Vasudeva Shenoy, a retired school master who ran a small shop in Ballal Bagh selling general items. Father used to send me to Mr. Shenoy’s shop to get his brand of cigarette No. 10, which cost 12 paise per pack.
One day, as usual I brought a pack of cigarette, father examined that and told me “Immediately return this and get No. 10. He has given Gold Flake by mistake!”
Vasudeva Shenoy was obviously confused with the two brands of cigarettes, because they both had yellow coloured packs.
I was surprised that father was not happy about getting cigarettes that cost actually twice the cost of No. 10! When I suggested him about gaining, he was furious, and he shouted, “Go immediately and exchange it. Never have such greed and mean thoughts in your mind. An honest hard working man is losing money and we should be honest enough to see that he does not incur loss at our cost!
Hobbies:
Having performed three major roles in life such as a successful journalist, writer and playwright, Kudpi had many hobbies. Most important one was his inclination towards Hindustani Classical music. He was fond of playing flute and harmonium. Whenever sangeet kacheris were arranged in Mangalore during his hey days, he never missed any. He admired Hindustani maestros such as Bala Gandharva, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bismillah Khan, Abdul Kareem Khan, Pannalal Ghosh, Bhimsen Joshi and other contemporaries. He had good rapport with his childhood friend Harekal Ramachandra Pai (Ramanna) who used to host Hindustani Kacheris at his house. I recall that my father used to mention about Pandit Bhimsen Joshi having stayed at Harekal Ramanna’s house for months, before he became a maestro. Father used to take me along with, to Hindi Prachar Samithi where gaayan kacheris took place from time to time. I also remember having slept on his lap during couple of such kacheris that went on until late nights in the mid Nineteen Sixties! I think he wanted to inculcate good taste for Hindustani Classical music among his children.
 |
| With friends in the Nineteen Thirties |
 |
| With his close friends - LS Nayak on the left, Harekal Ramanna in the center |
Kudpi had a penchant for photography and art. He possessed a second hand Kodak Brownie camera that he had purchased in
 |
| Indian ink sketch of Kamalakanth |
His liking for
He was a voracious reader, and he had a wide collection of a variety of books and magazines in his collection. Apart from receiving Kannada books from authors for the courtesy of review in Prabhat paper, he also used to buy second hand books from Bangalore and Bombay, get them leather bound in his press with golden letters engraved in them. He had two big book cases full of English and Kannada books, most of which are now in my possession. He admired works of authors par excellence such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Anton Chekov, Saumerset Maugham, Guy De Maupassant, O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Jane Austen and likes. He had the full collection of Sir PG Wodehouse, who was his most favourite humour writer. Most of those books were leather bound and are still in good condition.
 |
| With A Na Kra |
 |
      |
 |
| With Dr Shivarama Karanth, noted Kannada scholar and Yakshagana exponent |
Among general books, his collection ranged from Book of Knowledge, Children’s Dictionary, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s discourses, Arabian Nights in Kannada, Biography of Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajaji, Subhaschandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, V. D. Savarkar, Madanlal Dhingra and many more. He used to receive copies of Illustrated Weekly, Reader’s Digest, Bhavan’s Journal, Sudha, Mayura, Utthana, Karmaveera, Yugapurusha, Vikrama, Chandamama and Balamithra by post. He never looked back when it came to spending over books and magazines for himself and his family members. The way he used to narrate the story “The Hound of The Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a true hair raising experience for us!
 |
| Teak Wood Dressing Bureau with Mirror |
 |
| Some of his collections (Note the dates written on the blade covers, which show the dates he started using them) |
 |
| Pen Stand with Ink Cups, Ash Tray |
 |
| Gillette Razor, blades and Khadi Handkerchiefs |
 |
| Petrol Cigar Lighters |
Kudpi was a collector of antique Victorian and Bengali
furniture for home. Some of the furniture he got made by expert carpenters are
majestic, strong and are in good taste. Our home in Ballal Bagh was like a
museum, full of antique furniture and collector’s items! He wanted his
favourite carpenter to make a Piano Table for writing as seen in some Hindi
movie. He took the carpenter along with to the movie, showed him the item and
told him to make it exactly like the one he showed, using rose wood. That table
is with my brother Kamalakanth now. He also used to dust and polish the
furniture himself daily, and keep them in immaculate condition, cautioning us
boys from time to time about maintaining them well without making scratches on
them or carving them with blades and knives!
Kudpi’s other hobbies were collecting fountain pens, lighters, coins, stamps, key chains, ash trays and crockery. He had in his collection 6 decade old Parker Pens, 1950’s Gillette Shaving Razor, Persian glass and ceramic oil jars, German Binocular and a filigree adorned flute. He also used to buy porcelain and wooden dolls fromMysore Mysore
Other Activities:
Other than journalism, writing, drama and his hobbies, Kudpi had an urge to do something for the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community in which he was born. So he chalked out a plan to compile a big volume containing 1001 pages called “Gowda Saraswata Brahmana Samaja Darpana” with a ‘Who is who’ section. He worked on that for 2-3 years, visited many towns and collected lot of info from GSBs settled in many places, but he could not complete the work, owing to discouragement and lack of interest shown by typical GSBs. He used to mention that GSBs were mostly self centered; all they cared for, was making money and eating good food, not bothered about doing service to the community! All he could achieve was less than 10% during those three years of hard work, forcing him to abandon the plan.
Noted Kannada film producer director Vadiraj had an idea to make a Konkani film in the year 1975, simply because there was 50% subsidy from the State Government for Regional language films. He approached Kudpi for the script. Kudpi agreed immediately because it was child’s play for him. Vadiraj suggested that the story should be a murder mystery, Kudpi shunned the idea saying Konkanis were mostly peace loving people not indulging in murder and violence, a humour or social theme would suit the film, but he finally had to agree because Vadiraj insisted that the story has to be detective.
A few months down the line, almost 60% script was done, but Vadiraj gave Kudpi shock of his life saying that he had dropped the idea of Konkani film because he had started work on ‘Kaakana Kote’ Kannada film already! He had not paid a single paisa advance to Kudpi for writing the script and it was all in good faith.
Kudpi was disheartened, his health deteriorated due to the hard work going wasted, sleepless nights showed on his health too. By then he was almost 69 years old.
Patriotism:
Being an active Congress worker, Kudpi was very active in the freedom struggle. He used to publish underground publications against the British and distribute hand bills locally to incite love for the Nation.
My sister Dr Veena Isloor remembers an incidence that happened in the Nineteen Forties.
One day when father was away and our mother Rama Bai was alone at home with small kids, Police came with search warrant and knocked on the door, asking for Kudpi. Our mother Rama Bai had presence of mind, she refused to open the door in absence of our father, asked the police to wait outside till he returned from office, ran inside and burnt all the hand bills and by the time father returned and let the policemen in to search the house, there was no evidence left for them to frame him and put him in jail!
That shows that Kudpi was firm in his thoughts and actions, was also brave to face any adverse condition, was very patriotic, he had more concern for the Nation than his own wife and kids!
Kudpi’s other hobbies were collecting fountain pens, lighters, coins, stamps, key chains, ash trays and crockery. He had in his collection 6 decade old Parker Pens, 1950’s Gillette Shaving Razor, Persian glass and ceramic oil jars, German Binocular and a filigree adorned flute. He also used to buy porcelain and wooden dolls from
Other Activities:
Other than journalism, writing, drama and his hobbies, Kudpi had an urge to do something for the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community in which he was born. So he chalked out a plan to compile a big volume containing 1001 pages called “Gowda Saraswata Brahmana Samaja Darpana” with a ‘Who is who’ section. He worked on that for 2-3 years, visited many towns and collected lot of info from GSBs settled in many places, but he could not complete the work, owing to discouragement and lack of interest shown by typical GSBs. He used to mention that GSBs were mostly self centered; all they cared for, was making money and eating good food, not bothered about doing service to the community! All he could achieve was less than 10% during those three years of hard work, forcing him to abandon the plan.
Noted Kannada film producer director Vadiraj had an idea to make a Konkani film in the year 1975, simply because there was 50% subsidy from the State Government for Regional language films. He approached Kudpi for the script. Kudpi agreed immediately because it was child’s play for him. Vadiraj suggested that the story should be a murder mystery, Kudpi shunned the idea saying Konkanis were mostly peace loving people not indulging in murder and violence, a humour or social theme would suit the film, but he finally had to agree because Vadiraj insisted that the story has to be detective.
A few months down the line, almost 60% script was done, but Vadiraj gave Kudpi shock of his life saying that he had dropped the idea of Konkani film because he had started work on ‘Kaakana Kote’ Kannada film already! He had not paid a single paisa advance to Kudpi for writing the script and it was all in good faith.
Kudpi was disheartened, his health deteriorated due to the hard work going wasted, sleepless nights showed on his health too. By then he was almost 69 years old.
Patriotism:
Being an active Congress worker, Kudpi was very active in the freedom struggle. He used to publish underground publications against the British and distribute hand bills locally to incite love for the Nation.
My sister Dr Veena Isloor remembers an incidence that happened in the Nineteen Forties.
One day when father was away and our mother Rama Bai was alone at home with small kids, Police came with search warrant and knocked on the door, asking for Kudpi. Our mother Rama Bai had presence of mind, she refused to open the door in absence of our father, asked the police to wait outside till he returned from office, ran inside and burnt all the hand bills and by the time father returned and let the policemen in to search the house, there was no evidence left for them to frame him and put him in jail!
That shows that Kudpi was firm in his thoughts and actions, was also brave to face any adverse condition, was very patriotic, he had more concern for the Nation than his own wife and kids!
After independence, every August he printed the tricolour
flag on paper to decorate classrooms in schools, and he distributed them for
free to school kids. Kudpi had seen Gandhiji and Subhaschandra Bose personally
during his hey days. Yet, when Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975 and
snatched freedom of press, he was very much hurt, he not only withdrew his
support for Congress but he also kept away from politics in general.
Last Days:
Lost freedom of press due to emergency, shattered dreams due to failed projects and aging made Kudpi a bit depressed during his last two years. Though he had good health and was very much active, he had evidently stopped talking at length, advising people or correcting them when they went wrong.
February 1st, 1977.
My brother Kamalakanth had setup his dental clinic in Shivamogga and almost the entire family was at Shivamogga for the proposed inaugural of the clinic on February 3rd, 1977.
Srikanth was at Manipal attending his office in Syndicate Bank Head Office. I was in Manipal studying Medical Laboratory Technology diploma course. Father was alone at home with my sister in law, Srikanth’s wife Prabha Shenoy. We were all supposed to go to Shivamogga on February 2nd.
Last Days:
Lost freedom of press due to emergency, shattered dreams due to failed projects and aging made Kudpi a bit depressed during his last two years. Though he had good health and was very much active, he had evidently stopped talking at length, advising people or correcting them when they went wrong.
February 1st, 1977.
My brother Kamalakanth had setup his dental clinic in Shivamogga and almost the entire family was at Shivamogga for the proposed inaugural of the clinic on February 3rd, 1977.
Srikanth was at Manipal attending his office in Syndicate Bank Head Office. I was in Manipal studying Medical Laboratory Technology diploma course. Father was alone at home with my sister in law, Srikanth’s wife Prabha Shenoy. We were all supposed to go to Shivamogga on February 2nd.
At around 9:30am soon after father had his breakfast and tea
and get ready to go to office, he suddenly shouted “Prabha!” and collapsed on
the bed. Sister in law came running from the kitchen and she saw him on the
bed, holding his chest and visibly in pain. She immediately alerted the
neighbours, Dr Shevgoor Upendra Kamath came rushing and by the time he examined
Kudpi, he had already expired! He had his first heart attack, a massive one,
taking away his life without making him suffer for long or making him bed
ridden.
Though Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’s Seventy years of active and successful life as a journalist, writer and playwright made him live in the minds of Kannada lovers of west coast forever, a legend of his own times, his pen had ceased to write. Even today, he is alive within the newspaper, articles, publications, books and dramas he had showcased and archived, if not in the works of those young writers whom he had supported, who have grown and become famous today to carry forward his legacy.
Though Kudpi Vasudeva Shenoy’s Seventy years of active and successful life as a journalist, writer and playwright made him live in the minds of Kannada lovers of west coast forever, a legend of his own times, his pen had ceased to write. Even today, he is alive within the newspaper, articles, publications, books and dramas he had showcased and archived, if not in the works of those young writers whom he had supported, who have grown and become famous today to carry forward his legacy.
3 comments:
Thanks for the article Rajani. Good stuff.
got inspired .. you have most of memories captured ..
Thank you Sumit Gupta
Regards,
Rajanikanth Shenoy, Kudpi
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