PATTABHIRAM - A SEASONED
JOURNALIST
Dr. D. Anjaneyulu
[Sri Mamidipudi Pattabhiram was a regular
contributor of a widely appreciated feature article on the political scene to
our TRIVENI after the demise of his illustrious father Venkatarangaiah garu who
used to write for our journal. When his article did not appear once (on account
of his illness) readers made anxious enquiries. His absence is a great loss to
the 70 year old journal. - Editor].
If youth habits
excitements, age has its anxieties. Especially after completing the biblical
span of three score and ten. The exit of old friends and close contemporaries
leaves one all the more lonely.
Mamidipudi Pattabhi
Ram (who passed away on 28 June, 1997) was one of my oldest friends and
colleagues in the profession. I knew him for almost half-a-century (49 years
to be exact). When I joined the Indian Express, in Madras in May 1948 as a sub-editor, he was already there in
the Editorial Department, with a
service of a couple of years.
He had shifted to The
Hindu later in the same year (i.e. in November) and continued there, without a
break, till the end of his career, his life in fact. He died in harness, after
a service of 49 years. It was probably a record in English daily journalism in
India, may be with a few exceptions. It was by dint of sheer hard work and
unstinted loyalty to the institution that he rose to the position of Associate
Editor.
Pattabhi Ram (Pattabhi
to close friends and MPR to others) made a mark in the profession because of
qualities that wear well. He was not flashy or flamboyant. Whatever he wrote
was well documented, comprehensive in scope, balanced in judgment, restrained
in expression. He kept a low profile and was allergic to sensation and
controversy. But he stood his ground, when anyone tried to challenge his facts
or contradict him with insufficient evidence and other data at one’s disposal.
He was also an able
all-rounder. After adequate experience as a sub-editor, he was put in
reporting. He did well, first as a Staff Correspondent in Calcutta, later as a
member of the New Delhi bureau of the paper. In 1973-74, while in Delhi on
transfer, I had the opportunity of meeting him now and then. Once he took me
along with him when he met Dr. S. D. Sharma, then Congress President for
gathering news. It was obvious that he was respected by all the dignitaries
concerned, as he was reliable and kept confidences.
Earlier, while in
Madras, he was sent out on a tour of Andhra Pradesh for gauging the mood of the
people on the eve of the elections in 1957. His reports were perceptive; and he
was able to anticipate correctly the victory of the Congress.
Journalism is a
profession in which entrants come in all shapes and sizes. Or, to put it more
precisely, with different academic backgrounds, intellectual equipments and
professional skills. Pattabhi Ram came to it with ample resources in all these
respects. After Economics Honours from Loyola College, he took his Law degree
and was apprenticed in the chambers of V. Govindarajachari (who was later
elevated to the Bench). But before long, he switched over to journalism.
In 1947-48, I used to
see him, a slim six-footer, clad in Khadi, entering the Express Office, them
situate on Round Thana in a building, later to be occupied by Udipi Sri Krishna
Bhavan. Having trodden the same path, i.e. Honours and Law, with training in
journalism, I was, partly atleast, encouraged to emulate his example by joining
the Express first, and later The Hindu, where I could see him at work as a
colleague for about five years.
Businesslike in his
work, he was quick to grasp and prompt in subbing. Never fussy about anything,
he seldom spoke about himself. It was part of his good breeding. His respect
for his father (Prof. Venkatarangaiya) was unqualified. He collaborated with
him in the preparation of a book on Local Self-government besides writing one
on Indian elections on his own. Small wonder that in cultivating a spirit of
objectivity, he was deeply influenced by the example of his father, who was a
distinguished academic.
Indian politics, with
particular reference to Andhra affairs, was his forte. For many years till the
end of his life he contributed a regular feature on the Indian political scene
to the TRIVENI quarterly as his father did earlier in his time. He had wide
contacts with political leaders and civil servants in Delhi and Hyderabad,
apart from those in Madras where he spent the best part of his adult life. His
friends and acquaintances were drawn from all linguistic and cultural groups.
In his personal life,
Pattabhi Ram could be described as an enlightened conservative. He was widely
travelled, but he had not gone “Phorren” in his way of life. He represented in
himself a happy blend of enterprise and caution, sociability and reserve, openness
and deep roots.