Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Dr. T.S.R. Prasada Rao (Pedanannagaru from here on) has been one of the most influential personalities in my life. My earliest interactions with him were less in person and more through the letters he used to write to my father from Baroda where he was a scientist in the Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL). He was already a hero in our family by that time, when I was perhaps barely in my primary school. Completing a Ph.D. and working in such a big government organization as a scientist were huge achievements. Not only my father but all of us used to eagerly look forward to his letters to get to know his new achievements, which included the new countries he had travelled, to attend conferences and important scientific meetings.
When he was selected to be the Director of the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) in Dehradun, it was time to celebrate, not just in our family but the entire extended family. I was just in my first year of engineering at that time and most of my knowledge about him was still only through the anecdotes that we used to hear from my father (the enormous affection my father had for Pedanannagaru and their special bonding needs an entirely separate essay). It was clear from those stories that he was destined for greatness from the very beginning. We learnt that his charismatic personality, which I could only witness much later, was apparent even in his childhood. My father used to tell how he mentored his peers and the younger folk from a very young age, on the importance of education in one’s life. He walked the talk by completing a Ph.D. in science. I don’t know if his educational achievements inspired his generation but they absolutely did inspire every single family member in our generation.
We heard so many times about the difficulties he faced in getting through his bachelors in science and then through the doctorate degree in Andhra University because his own father (my grandfather) rarely showed any responsibility towards the education of his children. One example that stays with me is the incident when Pedanannagaru had to use his social capital in the village to borrow money and pay off his university dues to receive his Ph.D degree. He never forgot these difficulties and ensured that no one in his knowledge needed to struggle to get education, no matter if it is just a tenth standard or a Ph.D. The number of people in the extended family that benefited from his generosity is uncountable.
I have had the opportunity to know him closely only after he retired. He used to attend the family functions more frequently and that gave us opportunities to meet him. I had also started to work by that time and our paths crossed more often because both of us had to travel professionally (Pedanannagaru had a very active professional life much after he retired). These interactions in hotels and guest houses he stayed were memorable for several reasons. Since I never stayed with him, this is when I learnt about several new aspects of his personality. He was extremely fond of sweets but because of his diabetes, his consumption was restricted when he was at home. Traveling, particularly without Peddamma (his wife), was a blessing for him from that perspective. As soon as I enter his hotel room, the first thing he would say: “Mohan, akkada sweets untai choodu (Mohan, see, there are some sweets there).” Offering sweets to his visitors was an excuse for him to eat sweets – I guess he used to feel less guilty with “social” sweet consumption.
The other aspect that came to the fore in my personal interactions with him in hotel rooms is his religiosity. He was extremely pious (I used to have this stereotype in my mind that scientists are rational and cannot be religious) but never rigid. When I visited him (I think I stayed back in his hotel room for the night on a couple of occasions), he would come back to the hotel after a long day at work but after spending a little time with me he would take a break and spend the next half hour praying. He would read Vishnu Sahasra Namam every single day no matter if it was 11:30 pm. Praying was more important for him than where and when he was doing that. This was a revelation for me having seen the rigidity with which so many people I knew, including my parents, performed “pooja.”
I realized that he was also genuinely secular in his religiosity. While I always suspected that that would be the case, the clearest evidence, however, came only after his passing away last year. When he passed away and his last rites were performed in our ancestral village, Avidi, one of the visitors to see him off was a gentleman from the local church. He told us that a few years before, knowing about the welfare activities Pedanannagaru was undertaking in the village, a few people from the church visited him and sought donations for some activity in the church. He didn’t think even for a second to write a check for 50,000. He did this despite the protests from his village cousins and his other friends. For him, it didn’t matter that it was a church, it only mattered that the church was in his village.
That brings me to the other unique facet of Pedanannagaru: his indescribable love for his village, Avidi. He was literally obsessed with the village. After his retirement, it was perhaps a no brainer for him that he would do everything to help Avidi. He firmly believed that his professional and personal success would not have been possible if not for the love the villagers showered on him when he was growing up. He used his professional influence to raise millions of rupees to revive temples, provide financial assistance to the elderly, create basic infrastructure such as a sewer system and toilets, improve the school infrastructure, and so on. In his conversations with me, he often expressed frustration that folks in his village didn’t share the level of obsession he had for the village. I can’t blame them – it is impossible for any other human being to gather similar levels of passion for the welfare of his/her village. I was extremely happy that his family decided to perform his last rites in Avidi and the villagers turned up in large numbers to pay their respects – rarely any person would have a better farewell to his/her life.
My personal bonding with him grew stronger and stronger over time. In his last few years, I used to speak with him more often, and I knew that he looked forward to my calls. He was extremely proud of my professional success – he would often say that if anyone can replicate his level of success in the family, it would be me. I have little doubt that I will ever be able to come anywhere close to his achievements but that very thought made me extremely happy. Honestly, when I became closer to him and had the opportunity to know him more personally, my perception of his professional success paled in comparison to the positive energy and the humanity he brought to his interactions with others. If I can bring a fraction of that positive impact in others’ lives, it will make me more happy than any professional success will bring.
Pedanannagaru will live fresh in my memory in every minute of my life. Everyone has to leave this world but we will miss a few people in our life regardless of that fact of life. For me, he will be one of those few.