Padma Shri awardee, Mathoor Krishnamurthy, dies at 84

The passing away of noted scholar Mathoor Krishnamurthy has left a huge void for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the institution he nurtured since 1972. He will be remembered for spreading the Bhavan culture across the state and, of course, in London where he spent 22 years. “In his death, we see a lot of unfulfilled dreams. We have to work on how his initiatives can be carried forward,” said HN Suresh, director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Mathoorji, as he is known among those close to him, was a multi-faceted personality. His most-unique facet was his mastery over Kavya Vachana or Gamaka, a special performing art of Karnataka. The Padma Shri awardee had brought out 220 audio cassettes that narrate poetry from the Kumaravyasa Bharata.

While this is a significant achievement for the personality who specialised in the art of giving commentaries, pravachanas and became a familiar face on TV, his work as a writer is no less. He has 40 books—interpretations and commentaries on Indian classics—to his name. The scholar was all set to launch a book on the five women of Mahabharata. His love for the epics, the Vedas, the Upanishads, and ancient knowledge is well-known.

“He was passionate about two subjects—the Vedas and Mahatma Gandhi,” said Jayanthi Manohar, a writer closely associated with Mathoor. “He was so generous with his time and warm to everyone he met,” she says. The Kuvempu University conferred the Doctor of Literature title on him. That was just one of the several honour he received—19, including the Padma Sri awarded to him in 2009.

Dr Mathoor did not start out being a writer. Born in a poor family of Sanskrit scholars in the small village of Mathoor in Shimoga, his path was riddled with difficulties. He started out as as a time-keeper with the Minerva Mills in Bangalore, before working as a bus conductor. He went on to become a reporter and then a sub-editor with a Kannada daily.

His next assignment and probably the biggest challenge of his life was in London—he was sent there to start a Bhavan’s centre in 1972. He returned only in 1994. Today, it is described as a ‘Gateway to Indian culture’ in the UK, an institution of national eminence that received a grant of one lakh pounds.

But the 22-year-long journey was riddled with, what seemed to Dr Mathoor, insurmountable difficulties. “He had arrived in London with no money and stayed at the YMCA. One night, he contemplated suicide by consuming sleeping pills. Just then, pages of a book kept on the table flipped and stopped at the part which narrated how Hanumantha in the Ramayana wanted to commit suicide when he could not find Sita. Mathoorji took courage from the story and decided to soldier on,” said Ramanuja.