Everyone has a role model. The concept of role model comes into one’s mind even as a child, as Psychologists put it. That way, my role model was my Uncle, Late Sri K Natarajan, who was my father’s younger brother, with whom I spent the years of my adolescence to prime youth. A memorable Smiling Face he had! My praises for him are not for the fact that he was my Uncle, but for the fact of his having proved so very an affectionate human being. Hmmmm…..memories drag me back towards my early days during sixties and seventies!
In a joint family, I was mostly brought up by him with fond and favor right from my birth up to my 10th year of age. Again I came to him when I started my career as a college student. In the middle I was with my beloved aunt(father's Sister) for my schooling, but still I would say, I was in the close vicinity of my Uncle KN!
His closeness taught me so many things! I was a very timid person by nature, always pulling myself inside, not willing to interact with people. He was the one who showed me the outer World! I remember the days when he used to imbibe confidence in me to go out to get things done, interacting with people outside. When people used to envy me for having got an opportunity to stay in College Hostel, I threw that life off and came to live at home with my uncle, and I was that raw and timid to face fellow hostel-mates! He led me into the light of outer World, like making a child walk holding his fingers!
Oh! What a smiling face he had! Be it his Smile or his Frown, it used to tame down people! My admiration for him was for so many….. so many reasons; for his in-born flawless affection, sincere thoughts, clean habits, able administering powers, straight forward dealings, extreme diplomacy, proper reasoning….. and what not! Though traditional in activities, reasonably modern in thoughts he was! He was trademarked for his anger, but there would be an undeniable, proper reason for that!
A Connoisseur of Music, Arts and what not was he! My very little knowledge of Carnatic Music is because of him. A wonderful Music critique was he!
And, his knowledge on Photography during those days of early Forties, was amazing! As I have heard from my father, with a very basic Camera he used to do wonders, which were talk of the town then! A Collection of his photographs had and has always been a thing of Joy for each and every one of us in the family! And not to forget the Caption he used to give for each photograph; so amusing and so true they used to be! He used to show duel personalities, I mean duel figures of the same person, some in action and some less of action! I have attached copies of some such photographs here!
And yet another photograph he gave for us was of all our cousins as children, which has always been a memorable one for each one of us. He asked all of us to come and pose just like that. He used to call it for fun, ‘a photograph of slum children’!
Memories of him keep rolling and rolling, finding no end! Such was his interaction, his sincere affection, his humility, his frankness, his pranks and jokes, his knowledge, his way of imparting the same to others, his love for music, his love for all around him, ………….an endless Saga is he!
K.Balaji
Bangalore
March 17 2012
