My memories of Gopal and Radhakrishnan - The Sunday Guardian Live
- 2020-04-25 21:18
- By sundayguardianlive.com
The relation between my father and me were closer and more continuous than is usual, in this age, between parents and children and they brought with it, at times, obscure pain on both sides. But I have tried not to be swayed by personal affection and have shirked nothing.” About Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s date of birth there has been confusion. The official version is that he was born on September 5, 1688, the second son of Brahmin parents, Sarvepalli Veeraswami and Sitamma. In Fragments of a Confession, there is a short paragraph in which he writes, “In the present account it is not my intention to speak of my personal life, my parents and ancestry, my marriage and family, my likes and dislikes, my struggles and disappointments. No particular good fortune has lifted me above the sphere in which our common humanity struggles along, and I have had my own share of the burdens and anxieties of life. When I joined IFS in 1953, S. Gopal, Dr Radhakrishnan’s son, was director of the Historical Division of the Ministry. Chairman Mao Tse Tung received him in the courtyard of his house, which was situated in Chungnanhai, the most exclusive part of Peking and the most well guarded. The Chairman was taken aback—no one had ever taken such a liberty with the great helmsman—as well as everyone present, including Prime Minister Chou En Lai. But without batting an eyelid, the Vice President of India said, “Mr Chairman, don’t be alarmed, I did the same thing to Stalin and the Pope.” Tensions melted away to everyone’s relief. President Radhakrishnan (he had succeeded Dr Rajendra Prasad) welcomed him at Palam airport.