Dear friends,
This is the mail I received from one of the readers of the blog. Please try to help in her endeavour to trace the details about her Grand father. Even today, a new follower of my blog is a Sanskrit teacher from Kerala. Let us try to help her.
Good morning Mr. Hariharan Vaidayanathan
I am emailing you from Canada. I just spent a little while reading your website on Tamil scholars. Wonderful site; lots of information. I thought it might be okay to email you about my grandfather.
I have spent the last few days trying to learn a bit more about my grandfather who was a famous Sanskrit scholar and English Professor from Kerala. He died in the early 1970s. I had met him on numerous occasions……always realizing that he was someone important. No one in my family seems to know much about him, professionally. Are you able to help me fill in the blanks on his life.
Here is what I have pieced together so far:
· His name = Shri Doraiswamy Shastri (his older family members called him Krishna)
· Died = mid 1970s; was in his 60s
· Palghat Brahmin – lived in Palghat
· Family were wealthy landowners – lost it all during the 1950s land repatriation in Kerala.
· Had two Masters or doctorates – one in Sanskrit; the other in English
· Was Chancellor of some universities in India and Ceylon (don’t know which ones)
· Was guru to Birla family
· Was speechwriter/advisor to Smt. Bhandarnayake, ex-PM of Sri Lanka
· Was invited often to speak at Sri Shankaracharya Muddam in Kalady;
· Also, in later life toured India speaking about Shankaracharya’s teachings.
· Died = mid 1970s; was in his 60s
· Palghat Brahmin – lived in Palghat
· Family were wealthy landowners – lost it all during the 1950s land repatriation in Kerala.
· Had two Masters or doctorates – one in Sanskrit; the other in English
· Was Chancellor of some universities in India and Ceylon (don’t know which ones)
· Was guru to Birla family
· Was speechwriter/advisor to Smt. Bhandarnayake, ex-PM of Sri Lanka
· Was invited often to speak at Sri Shankaracharya Muddam in Kalady;
· Also, in later life toured India speaking about Shankaracharya’s teachings.
Apparently, when he died there was a huge obituary write-up in Kerala newspapers. No one seems to have a copy.
I am not sure how to track down more information about him. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated
Thank you
Meena
Come on friends. Let us do it
murphy said...Dear Sir
Pranams.
Ananthakodi namaskarams for sharing almost all cartanic songs.Only very few have the broadmindedness.Lot of have boxes of old carnatic cassets donot know how to upload or conver to mp3.
once again thanks a lot.
TO THE APPEAL
Meena
u can traceout ur Grandfather.
Please fwd this message to guruvayoorapan yahoo group web site where lots of sanskrit learned people are inter acting.Some other family mempers name also u can refer
I too try to make the copy ,paste of this message to the gruop
all the best
poorni
