New Delhi, Apr.18 (ANI):The Sharada Prasad Memorial Lecture held at the India International Centre on Saturday evening by noted author Ramachandra Guha brought many memories back to my mind , as well as many in the audience who had interacted with "Shourie" during their career. They included former bureaucrats, authors and lovers of music.
I first met Sharada Prasad in 1957 when he was passing through Delhi on his way back to Bombay (now Mumbai). He had worked as the News Editor of Indian Express at the young age of 25, when he was selected to undergo a course at Harvard on communication.
I met him when he called on my uncle Mr. U.S. Mohan Rao, who was the Director of the Publications Division in Delhi at his residence in Civil Lines, near the Old Secretariat.
They knew each other in Mumbai, when my uncle was head of Hind Kitabs and had published works of many national leaders like Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Radhakrishnan and books on Mahatma Gandhi by D. G. Tendulkar. Mohan Rao was asked to come to Delhi by B. V. Keskar who had become the Information Minister.
Mohan Rao asked Sharada Prasad in Kannada:" Do not go back to Bombay ; join the National Government and do some public service."
Sharada Prasad agreed. That was a weekend and next week, he joined the Publications Division as an editor. His formal inclusion in the assignment was confirmed by the Union Public Service Commission later.
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When I used to call on my uncle during weekends, he used to tell me about the qualities of Sharada Prasad, who had been given the task of compiling a book on speeches made by Jawaharlal Nehru. One day, an agitated Mohan Rao told me that he was questioned by the Secretary of the Information Ministry for 'editing' the speeches of the Prime Minister. The secretary had already sent a note to the Prime Minister, which was endorsed by Jawarharlal Nehru himself.
Mohan Rao was very upset. He drafted a note to the minister as to why it was necessary to edit the speeches. Three days later, Mohan Rao told me that the note was seen by the Prime Minister. Jawaharlal Nehru sent back the file, saying,"The Director of the Publications Division is right, I am sorry."
I used to meet Sharada Prasad, when he became the Chief Editor of the Yojana , the first editor of which was Khushwant Singh. I too moved out of Delhi on various assignments. Sharada Prasad was asked by Indira Gandhi to be her Information Advisor in 1966. He continued to be the Advisor, except for a short spell in the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
After many assignments, I returned to Delhi in 1969. By that time he had been asked by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to be her Information Advisor. I used to visit Sharada Prasad at his residence near Rabindra Nagar and met persons like Shivarama Karanth, the noted Jnanapeeth Award winner and cartoonist R.K. Laxman, who used to stay with him when they visited Delhi.
I recall my interaction with his wife Kamalamma, whom he had married when they came to know each other in prison as students in Mysore, and their children Ravi Vishveshwarayya Prasad and Sanjiva Prasad.
Sharada Prasad was a great lover of music, painting, literature and cricket.
I used to interact with him and get his advice and support in his room at South Block, sometimes with Mohan Rao and and run into senior officers like G. Parthasarathy, Natwar Singh and R.K. Narayan.
I used to be in touch with him when I was head of the Defence Public Relations, News Services Division of the All India Radio and the Principal Information Officer of the Government. He would keep me informed about important developments almost every day when I was the spokesperson of the Government of India.
On superannuation, he became the head of the Indira Gandhi Memorial, along with assignments to guide the Indian Institute of Cultural Relations and National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad.
As Sanjeeva Prasad said at the memorial meeting, he was a freedom fighter, journalist, editor, writer, translator, bureaucrat, teacher and cultural scholar. The Padma Bhushan award sat lightly on him.
During the weekend, Holenarsipur Yoganarasimhan Sharada Prasad would have been observing his 92nd birthday
Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be reached at raoramamohan@hotmail.com.