V Sundaram, a former Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, has a collection of unique books and audio recordings in his library. Kumar Chellappan meets him to find out the obsession of this Economics postgraduate with history and music
The British who ruled India with an iron fist from 1857 to 1947 were more liberal and sporty regarding freedom of expression, according to V Sundaram, a former IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. He attributes it to the sense of history and literature in which the people of Britain lead the world. “They chronicle and document everything. There had been sporadic incidents like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. But all said and done, they never tried to put fetters on the horizon of one’s thinking,” says Sundaram (71), an avid collector of antiquarian books, records and memorabilia.
Sundaram had a collection of more than 70,000 rare books in his library at the time of his resignation from the Indian Administrative Service in 1994. “I quit in disgust... I got fed up with the corrupt system and politicians around me who fail to learn anything either from history or the present,” says he.
He justifies his argument about the liberal attitude of the British with evidence. Recordings of the speeches delivered by some of the leading lights of the Indian freedom movement remain fresh in Sundaram’s collection of materials. The 1937 election campaign undertaken by S Satyamoorthy, the Congress leader, is ample proof of the tolerant attitude of the British rulers, he says. In one of the rare recordings in Sundaram’s collections is the no-holds-barred attack unleashed by Satyamoorthy in his thundering voice against the British. “Interestingly, the voice was recorded by a British recording company and sold it to the general public who might have missed to hear the oratorical prowess of Satyamoorthy,” says Sundaram. He adds that Satyamoorthy’s speech would not have reached far away places in the then presidencies of Madras, Hyderabad and Mysore without the approval of the then British Government in Delhi.
The British rulers never censored the speeches or writings of the echelons of the freedom movement. “Jawaharlal Nehru wrote Discovery of India while he was in prison. The British Government did not put any spoke in Nehru’s decision to publish his writings,” points out Sundaram. Though the then political masters succeeded in dividing India on caste and communal lines, they never crossed swords with the Indian activists when it came to one’s freedom of expression, he says.
“It is this penchant for history and facts which helped the British consolidate their hold over colonies thousands of miles away from their homeland. The approach of the British towards anything historical is well defined by Winston Churchill,” says Sundaram. He quotes Churchill to drive home the significance of studying and understanding history. “If you choose to ignore the past, you run the risk of not only losing your control over the present but also forfeiting your right to the future,” Churchill had told the world through his speeches and writings.
Compared to the present day rulers, the British administrators were far more transparent and intellectually honest, says Sundaram, adding: “They did not hid anything from the common man under the pretext of internal security. The British Government allowed to record the entire series of Round Table Conferences held in london between 1930 and 1932.” His collection includes the speeches delivered by A Ramaswamy Mudaliar, who addressed the Round Table Conference as a representative of the Indian princes. “We must be treated on par with other stake holders,” begins the speech of Mudaliar which has been recorded with precision, clarity and sharpness. “More than these technicalities, one has to accept the fact that Mudaliar was an articulate speaker capable of elevating his listeners to a new world because of his vast knowledge and presence of mind,” Sundaram says.
Sundaram rates the 1944 speech delivered by Rt Honourable Srinivasa Sastri as the ‘Kohinoor’ in his collection of recordings. Sastri addressed the students of the Government Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Chennai, on “the books that have influenced him”. That too was recorded by the British company and sold all over so that the words and views of the orator could be enjoyed all over the world. “There were critical comments by him about the British which they could have edited had they wanted. But the Englishmen chose to take it in a sporting manner,” he said.
Srinivasa Sastri was rated as one of the five best English language orators in the 20th century by a team of King George V, Winston Churchill, lady lytton and lord Balfour (the then British Prime Minister). lord Balfour commented that listening to Srinivasa Sastri made him realise the height to which the English language could raise. “How many among our GenNext have heard about Srinivasa Sastri and Ramaswamy MudaliarIJ Sastri, born as the son of a poor priest in Kumbakonam, went on to become the member of the Imperial legislative Council of India without any patronage. Mudaliar, though served as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet under Churchill during 1942 to 1945, was a strong votary of the freedom from the British rule. These leaders spoke from the bottom of their heart. But the present rulers do not consider them fit enough to be introduced to the new generation,” says Sundaram.
Don’t be under the impression that Sundaram’s collection is confined to speeches of eminent leaders like Srinivasa Sastri or Mudaliar. He can play back to you the melodious voice of a 13-year-old girl singing “Ella Arivukalum... Ella Perumakalum (all knowledge... all fame... only because of lord Almighty). It is none other than the queen of melodies, MS Subbulakshmi. “This song was recorded in 1930 in a village hundreds of miles away from the city. The little Subbulakshmi sang without any accompanists,” explains Sundaram about the song.
Though there were no satellite TV channels, mobile phones or social network sites during those days, the sense of nationalism and oneness had spread faster than wildfires. When Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das passed away in 1925, lalithangi, mother of Ml Vasanthakumari, sang a song in praise of him. “Chittaranjan is eternal. He lives in our hearts,” thus went the song. Sundaram has collected lalithangi’s song which was recorded while she sang it in a condolence meeting in Chennai.
It is true that the Quit India movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in August 1942 evoked strong response from the British. All prominent leaders were imprisoned. There were isolated incidents of violence. Though the British Government tried to defeat the movement, it never meddled with the freedom of expression of the native Indians. The campaign asking people to leave schools, courts, offices and business establishments literally rocked the country. Artists travelled all over India, speaking and singing in praise of Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru. Yadugiri Ammal from Nellore, a child widow, was in the forefront of the campaign soliciting support for the Quit India movement. Sundaram’s collection includes “Mahatma Gandhi Mahatmyam”, a Harikatha Kalakshepam (a popular performing art programme incorporating song and speeches) presented by Ammal. “Quit India movement became an instant hit in south India thanks to her artistic skills in inspiring the people. The Britishers themselves recorded the Harikatha and sold it all over Madras and other southern provinces,” Sundaram says.
KB Sundarmbal’s homage to Motilal Nehru at the time of the latter’s death, DK Pattammal, a child prodigy then, singing to the people to join the freedom movement and a concert by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, the titan among Carnatic musicians, are some of the other inmates in his music collection library.
Don’t be under the impression that his collection is limited to Indian artistes and personalities. His could be the only collection boasting of the voice of lord Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning reciting their own poems He has also collected the entire speeches delivered by Churchill during World War II. The icing on the cake is the live recording of the entire function held in While House on April 9, 1963, to make Churchill a honorary citizen of the US. “That was the last time a non-US person was conferred with the honorary US citizenship in the modern times,” says Sundaram.
lack of space and high maintenance cost made Sundaram distribute most of the 70,000 unique books under his collection to various libraries in Chennai. But he still retains some of the books — The British Government in India (two volumes; authored by lord Curzon) published in 1925 and The History of the Indian Mutiny by Charles Ball (1860). The British Government in India has detailed descriptions about the Government House in Calcutta, by far the finest government house in the Raj. lord Curzon, the Viceroy, gives a vivid account of all major establishments built during the tenure of the East India Company and the early days of the British Empire. The History of the Indian Mutiny is a word-by-word account of the 1857 uprising. Ball, the author, cobbled up the entire run-up to the revolt, what happened during the mutiny and the fallout of the rebellion which resulted in the taking over of the administration of India by the British. What adds value to this rare book is the pictures taken by Steel lithographs, popularised by Daniell Brothers of london. Camera was yet to be invented at that time. They have brought our raw reality through these sketches. There are 73 live pictures which include the great Papanasam Falls in Tirunelveli.
“It is an undiluted and true account of the happenings. We should ask the youth in the country to read these books to get the true picture of the freedom movement. Most of the history books taught in schools and universities have been coloured and polluted by the authors,” he says. The state-sponsored extinction of history — a true study of the past — is responsible for the denationalisation of the country, adds Sundaram.
“History is like a flickering lamp while we stumble along the trail of the past trying to reconstruct its scenes. The past fills us with wonder. I get excited when I read about the renaissance period,” says Sundaram, who incidentally is a post-graduate in Economics.