Controversy in death and life

( Photograph is courtesy Daiji World )  

Teerthahalli a sleepy and quiet hamlet in Karnataka at the foothills of the Western Ghats is home to some of the states iconic writers and tallest literary figures. 

U.R. Ananathamurthy who died a few days ago is one such personality who was brilliant and unconventional and rarely shied away from controversy. He received the Jnanpith award in 1994, one of many Kannada writers who have done so and the Padma Bhushan in 1998.

His novel in Kannada, Samskara, translated to English by A.K.Ramanujan where Ananthamurthy describes the throes of a religious man midst of a decadent and rotten village of Brahmins and their archaic customs.This particular effort did not endear him to the Brahmin community even more so when he was a part of the community.

He was in the wake of controversy again after a Kannada news channel telecast a report about scholar and former Vice Chancellor of the Kannada University M M Kalburgi’s comments at a public programme. Speaking at a programme on Kalburgi had referred to remarks made by U R Ananthamurthy about idol worship in a collection of essays called “Bettale Puje Yake Kudadhu” (roughly translated as “Why nude worship is not acceptable”). The book was published in 1996.

In an essay in the book, Ananthamurthy talks about a childhood experience in which he urinates on a particular deity of the village, in a bid to challenge his traditional upbringing and the prevailing Hindu belief that everything was sacred. Many Hindu’s were not amused and URA was charged with hurting religious sentiment.

URA also decided that Narendra Modi smelt of fascism and wrote unstintingly against Modi, even threatening to leave the country should Modi be the nation’s Prime Minister. Not surprisingly he was presented with tickets to Pakistan, soon after Modi won the May 2014 general elections, leaving him rather red faced. However, after Modi became the Prime Minister, he did a complete U-turn, saying the remark was made when he was overcome by emotion and failing health.

On his death right wing activists allegedly burst crackers to ‘celebrate’ his demise leading to so called ‘secular’ organization calling for protests against this act. 

Ananthamurthty was a quiet man from a quiet place and I’m sure would be chuckling at both: the folk who celebrated his demise and those that are protesting against those that did. The irony is that Murthy believed in free speech and expression and I’m sure he would defend that even in death when on the receiving end of public opinion.

Ironically the funeral ceremonies were conducted in true Brahminical fashion with fifteen priests chanting Hindu hymns from the Vedas and performing the last rites while his son lighted the funeral pyre. This was apparently as per the wishes of Ananthamurthy, the man who courted controversy in life and death.