Smt M.S.Subbulakshmi bereaved
Arunkumar Sridharan
'Kalki' Sadasivam dead
Date: 22-11-1997 :: Pg: 10 :: Col: d
By Our Staff Reporter
CHENNAI, Nov. 21.
Sri T. Sadasivam, veteran freedom
fighter and husband of Smt. M. S.
Subbulakshmi, passed away this
morning at a private hospital here
after a brief illness.
He was 95 and is survived by his wife, adopted son, Mr. S.
Thyagarajan and two daughters (through his first
marriage), Mrs. Radha Viswanathan and Mrs. Vijaya
Rajendran.
Smt. Subbulakshmi and other family members were at his
bedside when he breathed his last. The hospital sources
said Sadasivam, who was admitted to the hospital on
Wednesday, died of pneumonia.
Born on September 4, 1902 in Angarai near Tiruchi,
Sadasivam was one of the 16 children of Thiyagaraja Iyer
and Mangalambal. While studying ninth standard, he
dropped out of school to join the revolutionary group of
freedom fighters in Tamil Nadu. Inspired by the speeches
and writings of Lokmanya Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala
Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo, he became a member of the
Bharat Samaj group of Subramania Siva, a radical
belonging to the Tilak camp, and served him (Siva) when
he was afflicted with leprosy.
Sadasivam was drawn to the Gandhian philosophy of
`ahimsa' and `satyagraha' after he listened to Rajaji's
speech in 1920 in Tiruchi, seeking public support for
Gandhiji's civil disobedience movement. He was sentenced
to 15 months' rigorous imprisonment for participating in
the struggle. Immediately after his release in March 1923,
he was re-arrested for participation in the `Nagpur
National Flag' agitation and underwent one year's simple
imprisonment.
Intensely involved in the propagation of `khadi',
Sadasivam was chosen in June 1926 by Rajaji, who by
then became his hero, to manage the Khadi Vastralaya in
Bangalore run by the All India Spinners' Association.
There, he had an opportunity of coming into personal
contact with Gandhiji when the latter came to Nandi Hills
after his appendicitis operation for rest and recuperation.
In the '30s, Sadasivam served the Tamil magazine Ananda
Vikatan as advertising manager. In 1941, he along with
the literary stalwart, `Kalki' R. Krishnamurti, started a
nationalist weekly named after the latter. Later, he also
took over the management of the English weekly
Swarajya.
Married to Smt. Subbulakshmi in Thiruneermalai on July
10, 1940, Sadasivam, then a widower, became her friend,
philosopher and guide. He produced two Tamil films
`Sakuntalai' (1940) and `Meera' (1945), featuring Smt.
Subbulakshmi in the lead roles. The second film promoted
the values of the `satyagrahis' and established Smt.
Subbulakshmi as an outstanding vocalist in the `bhakthi'
tradition.
When Rajaji launched the Swatantara Party in 1959,
Sadasivam associated himself with the party and retired
from active public life after the death of Rajaji in 1972.
Along with his wife, he undertook many philanthropic
activities. In his final years, he was keenly involved in a
project to raise a `mani mandapam' in memory of Kanchi
Paramacharya in Oru Erukkai, three km from
Kancheepuram.
Ram Venkataraman
The sense of loss being felt by the countless fans of Smt.MS and her
family on the passing away of Sri Sadasivam is beyond the usual cliches.
He was a landmark figure on the Political and Cultural scene of South
India.His contributions in both pre and post Independent India were
enormous. Though everyone's departure from mortal life is preordained,
any sort of philosophical debate is not going to negate the feeling of
loss and sorrow. None of us can imagine even in our dreams, MS mami
without Mama at her side. Last I had the honour of meeting them and
talking to them and doing 'namaskaram' to them and get their blessings
was in Feb.97,when they were so magnanimous to visit the wedding of our
daughter and even sing for half an hour. He was quite hale and healthy,
though Mami was in relative poor health. Mama was in his usual gracious
but strict control of all that was going on. I was introduced to that
family through Sri Paramacharya around 1973 and it was a great honour
and good fortune for me and my family to consider Mama and Mami among
our well-wishers and friends. Let the grace of Lord almighty on whom
Mami has spent a lifetime of prayer give Mami the strength to bear the
immense loss.
All our prayers for the whole family - and their 'family' included
literally millions - to accept the reality of life and carry on the
memories and try to uphold even a few of the great principles with
which Sri Sadasivam spent a model life.
Venkataraman