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VOL. XXIII No. 13, October 16-31, 2013
The life & times of Dr. K.N. Kesari
by T.K. Srinivasa Chari

Dr. Kesari (inset) and his Kesari Kuteeram in Royapettah.

The waves of the Bay of Bengal almost lapped the Fort St. George, British flags were aflutter, soldiers with their weapons marched in open grounds and young women, generally afraid of them, sat inside their houses when they passed by. Till 1910 gaslights illuminated streets, workers pilfered kerosene and, as a result, streets were plunged in darkness. The gullible public were conned by men who worked in tandem first raising a hue and cry that someone had fallen into the Cooum, and then others quietly relieving people in the crowd of their money and fountain pens and escaping. The first cheat would pretend to go after his own partners and narrowly escape. ‘‘Old Chetty people, Nayudus and Mudaliars wore turbans. The turbans were long and broad and were in different colours. There were three people to tie this on one head and they were given 1 or 2 annas. In George Town, a fat dark man named Ramdas used to give baths to others. He would give a clean bath chanting the kirthanas of Ramdas and his charges were only four annas. His services were, however, not available for everyone.’’ Before the advent of trams and cars, horse-drawn coaches and bullock carts were in vogue in Madras. The carts came by the name of Rekhla, Madras Coach, Brougham, Bombay Coach, and horse-drawn carriages were called Phaeton, Landau and Landaulet. Madras vignettes such as these and more find place in the Life and Times of Dr. K.N. Kesari released this year.

‘‘All the high buildings in Madras were built during my time. The High Court building was erected when I was studying in the Govindappanayakkar High School belonging to the Pachaiyappa’s College. One Perumal Chetty took the contract to construct the building. It was built with black stones. Lifts were used to take the stones up. Schoolchildren used to watch the lift with amusement. If I felt lazy to attend school or if I had not studied my lessons, I also was in the habit of spending time near the building and one could say it was built under my ‘supervision’! The Old High Court was situated in the Collector’s office,’’ writes Dr. Kesari.

Dr. K.N. Kesari with daughter Vasantha Kumari and grandson.

The editor of the book K. Balakesari writes on his grandfather that Dr. Kota Nara Kesari was not merely an Ayurvedic physician who founded the Kesari Kuteeram in 1900, but also an educationist who set up the Kesari Schools of Chennai, a patron of arts and culture (the Music Academy in the 1940s functioned in the campus of his bungalow Kesari Kuteeram in Royapettah and, incidentally, noted singer P. Unnikrishnan is his great grandson). He was also the publisher of Telugu magazine Gruhalakshmi and a patron of Telugu women writers and artistes.

While being a straightforward autobiography of a multi-faceted personality, it draws attention for other reasons. The book was first recorded in Telugu by the author between 1948-50 when he was in his early 70s, and published under the title Chinnanati Muchhatlu (Memories of My Early Days) in 1953. It was translated in English over a period of time by his younger daughter the late Vasantha N. Menon when she was a high school student. Being a faithful rendering of the Telugu original, the English version retains the style of Kesari following a first person narrative. One of Dr Kesari’s grandsons K. Balakesari (his first daughter Sarada Devi’s son) chanced upon his aunt’s English translation in the latter part of 2002 and between February and June 2003 circulated by email the contents of the manuscript to the close descendants of the senior Kesari to get them to know the life story of their illustrious kin. After a decade, it was decided to publish it as a book with photographs from yesteryears too. Kesari’s daughters were born from his second marriage to Madhavi of Kerala. She was well versed in Ayurveda, and helped in the growth of Kesari Kuteeram.

One of the chief reasons for Kesari to write his memoirs was to set right the then misapprehension that he was born in a wealthy family and his ancestors were learned men, when he actually belonged to a poor family and lost his father when he was five months old. But by the time of writing the memoirs, Dr. Kesari’s Kesari Kuteeram Ayurveda Oushadashala started in 1900 was well established in Madras and Trichur with agents selling medicines in Bezwada (Vijayawada) and Bangalore (all the four southern regions of the country had been covered). His story, therefore, is a rise to eminence from poverty. His father died in 1875 leaving his mother 10 annas (a little more than half rupee).

Kesari had a troubled childhood in his native Inamavamelloor near Ongole even having to resort to begging before his distraught mother had enough money. Even while she skipped her meals, she fed him with what she earned by stitching blouses. When her suffering became too much to bear, Kesari set off to Madras walking all the way and traversing the Buckingham Canal by boat. In later years, when there were still no trains, Kesari writes fondly of the 10-day journey to his village by boat at a cost of a rupee. The salty breeze stirred the appetite of the boatmen and travellers; the latter carried food with them while the former cooked their own food. The journey was spent in singing songs and telling stories.

When Kesari first reached Madras from Inamavamelloor, he stayed in an agraharam in Kothwal Chavadi along with other Brahmins who came from the north and eked out a living by performing pujas and begging and eating at dharmasalas. But disgusted with the way he was living, he went to a teacher called Ramanujachari in Bandar Street in George Town, and learnt stories from the epics. Then, he moved on to Hindu Theological High School where he got a scholarship to study English, Telugu and Sanskrit. But with help for his education hard to come by, he started looking for work and apprenticed under Ayurveda physicians like Mahadeva Sastry and Pundit D. Gopalacharyulu of the Kanyaka Parameswari Ayurveda Dharma Vaidyasala. Soon, he started his own clinic, Kesari Kuteeram. He recollects how he issued his first advertisement in the Andhra Prakasika published from Mount Road. At a cost of Rs. 5, the advertisement (published in full in the book) is a dialogue between two women, one consoling the other and recommending that she have an ayurvedic pill for a happier married life. Following the publication, the pill ‘Tamboolaranjani’ started earning a daily revenue of Rs. 100 for Kesari Kuteeram.

In his epilogue, the author acknowledges another medicine formulated for women’s uterine problems. ‘Lodhra,’ brought him all his wealth. The narrative reflects the contentment of Dr. Kesari who rose in life the hard way, building many meaningful relationships and institutions that rekindle interest in his life and times.

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Smile a While with Ranjitha Ashok
The Life Times of Kesari
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