K.
CHANDRASEKHARAN
If
anyone deserved a full-length biography for splendid and spectacular
achievements as the result of a powerful intellect and administrative ability,
Dr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar would be that one far above many others of his times
and perhaps of more future generations to come. It is an unfortunate
circumstance that though nearly thirteen years had rolled by after his demise
in 1966, no sign of any attempt, even on a shorter canvas, of his life and work
has appeared. The generation that happens to have known him in flesh is also
passing away; and the need for many in our country to be acquainted with his
remarkable dynamism and capacity for unbelievable diligence in carrying out his
ideas into reality is imminent. The present day confusion in the hearts of our
rulers in making any decision and the determination to translate it into
executive action may easily contrast with what as an administrator he could do,
despite the very conditioned powers he exercised under a foreign rule.
Born
as he was in an affluent home, it did not thwart his brilliant pursuits of
studies in school and college. It was no less a
striking instance that he scored a first place in the B. A. examination winning
a gold medal for mathematics. If his father, Sir C. R. Pattabhirama
Aiyar, had felt that his son should go through a disciplined student course,
the training he had received secured him an astounding facility to work hard
and reap favourable results.
No
sooner was he called to the Bar which was then the natural sequence to an
enterprising young man in his choice of a profession, than he rose with
enviable ease to the first ranks among his compeers, many of whom later became
outstanding examples of legal acumen and lucrative practice. On the Original
Side of the High Court of Madras, his work assumed such proportions that he had
little time to avail himself of equal opportunities to appear before Appellate
Benches. As a cross-examiner of witnesses and winning verdicts for clients he
happened to be second to none of the leaders of that period. If a
cause celebre such as the one in which Dr.
Besant was pitted against his client on the Original Side got him an unusual
and lifelong friendship with an opponent like Dr. Besant, it
proved how much conspicuous should have been his powers of forensic eloquence
and agility to drive a formidable adversary to the straits of not only
accepting defeat at his hands but also an undying admiration from her as long
as she lived. Endowed with a gift for bright oratorical effects of speech, he
could dazzle listeners with extracts of quotations from sources in
French, Sanskrit and Latin, which had been assiduously cultivated by him during
his student days.
Law
did not exclusively possess him to the disadvantage of robbing him of a being
whole man. Law and literature equally shared his acquisitive intellect, and
there was no occasion when he had failed to impress his listeners with an all
round ability to master any subject that may have to be usefully drawn upon
while in his wide and variegated legal work. The Advocate-Generalship, which
was a coveted position for the lawyer of those days, came to him while he had
hardly completed his fortieth year. A long line of predecessors in that office
had made the post one of considerable expectations for the legislators and
members of the legal profession. He not only satisfied every bit of a
none-too-easily satisfiable and critical Bar but
equally the outer world of experienced statesmen.
A
unique feature of his personality was the amazing quality of eliciting
approbation from a vast community of administrators, both foreign and Indian,
of his proving equal to any new high office under the Crown during the British
regime. Normal it became for people to associate his name as probable
whenever any new office was announced in the governmental administration. It
was in such a manner he was appointed a Member of the Executive council of the
Governor of Madras in succession to his Advocate-Generalship, even before the
period of that office was coming to its close. And then, what a panoramic
succession of events and projects initiated by him with an alacrity that had
never been witnessed before! Oppositions of every nature he could withstand in
launching his new schemes for long-range benefits to the country, which
is essentially agricultural and requires a steady flow of water facilities for
producing food for an incredibly fast-increasing population. Needless
here to mention by name under his direction the many projects inclusive of dams
and hydro-electrical schemes in several places of the then Madras Presidency.
Politics
was one of the attractions to the successful lawyer of those pre-Gandhian days.
So, he joined the Congress where he soon became one of the secretaries of that
national organisation and addressed many meetings with a self-assurance and
commanding influence.
Once
experienced in administrative work of an onerous type, his services were sought
by some of the Native States. Yet having been closely connected with Travancore
as its Legal Adviser for sometime, he was persuaded to take up the Dewanship of that State, which in the short period of a
decade he turned out into a model State for phenomenal enterprises in the
industrial, social and cultural spheres. Everybody who visited that State
returned with only undiluted appreciation of the man behind all the progressive
activities with which the State abounded. An enthusiasm and loyalty to the
ruler of that State led him to opt for its independence and its
non-merging with the Indian Union brought about by the Iron Man, Sardar Patel. It was really a single setback in his
calculations of beneficial activities for the State. Yet the courageous man
that he happened to be, he never showed any sign of defeat but programmed for a
foreign tour which included many a scholarly lecture delivered at various
universities of the
His
achievements were many and varied, but the man was even more a gain to future
generations to follow in some vital respects. His retention of youthfulness and
tautness of physical powers to a very advanced stage of his career,
showed the immense potentiality he was capable of. His day-routine comprised
early rising, shave and bath and an instructed Yogic practice apart from other
ablutions which he went through without much of notice from even the inmates of
his house. Everything of his personal needs was performed by himself without
any assistance. He proved how much self-sufficient one could be even while
being a very busy lawyer and later an administrator of hectic programmes to go
through. He proved ever ready for self-imposed industry and energetic activity.
His looks exhibited no exhaustion at any time; should there have been any worry
for him to engage his mind, he rose above it with a natural resignation that
sometimes made others mistake he flouted conventions. One may remember how in
the year 1930, when his wife passed away after heart-failure, he had to rush
back from his legal engagements in Bangalore and regain his equanimity the very
next day after, to attend the High Court of Madras where in an appeal he had to
make his appearance. One could always feel that his philosophy was more
practical as an Advaitin than many a person filled
with Sastraic lore.
Three things he regularly set before himself to observe.
Rather they were his own methods of viewing public engagements. He would never
be at a function where he had a part to play except on time. He felt, as a
principal speaker by being earlier at an appointed meeting one
would only embarrass the organizers who very often would be
just fussing about the arrangements. Again, if asked to address any students’
union, it was his habit to enquire what time he would have to take, lest his
audience should behave in any manner to evince its impatience. Hardly occurred
any occasion to be thus shown impatience, yet as a caution he would advise
others to follow the golden rule. Yet again another of his advices is not to be
late at any dinner party where the host will be expecting all invitees punctually.
His
preparation carefully of what he was to speak at a meeting is an example to
profit by. Great speakers such as the Rt. Hon. Mr. Sastri and Sjt. Satyamurti never broke the
habit of conscious preparation whenever they had to address meetings. Their respect
for an audience was the chief reason for their earnestness in doing their
allotted task singularly free from clumsiness of any kind. With all that, Dr.
C. P. forced the attention of his listeners by an acquired oratorical pose
which often kept the hearers from straying away even a bit of their attention.
His
handsome mein and active movements gained him more
admirers than normally any other with the same intellectual attainments could
have obtained. Easily lording it over others of public
importance, he invited in any group a wholesome interest and curiosity. Nature
had endowed him with plenty even as his own striving had provided him with rich
attainments. Robust of health, he showed also how much agile of body remained
in contrast to many others of his age. Once getting up the Rajaji Hall’s
unending steps, someone tried to push a chair towards him in the expectation he
would need a little rest after the stiff climb. Still, he made it clear that he
never noticed that kind offer. This incident took place just a few days before
he left for
Indeed,
it is significant how his end came to him. While at the National Liberal Club,
Always
quick in his repartee at debates, evidently he wanted to challenge Death also
in his attempt. But the implacable authoritarian as Time is, it would reveal no
sign of relaxation of its superiority over mortals. Still it is certainly to Dr
Ramaswami Aiyar’s lasting credit that even Death had
to pause before finally catching him unawares.