R T Narayan (in pic), 73, foster father of actress and Congress candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency Ramya who passed away following cardiac arrest in Mandya on Saturday afternoon, was never seen, but his name was always heard in the power corridors during the S M Krishna government (1999-2004).
He had always maintained a low profile. The buzz in the Congress circles and in Vidhana Soudha was that nothing would move without his prior consent in those days.
A BSc (Agriculture) graduate from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Narayan was a bachelor and used to operate from a suite in Taj West End on the Race Course Road. Though he ran Kanva Industries in Mysore, he came to prominence only after Krishna became the chief minister. He continued to stay in the hotel suite till he breathed last.
More than being an industrialist, Narayan was known in political and power circles as S M Krishna’s ‘personal friend’. Despite a number of allegations against him, neither he nor Krishna spoke or reacted in public. “Their’s was a 40 year friendship,” said former Minister D K Shivakumar who knew Narayan from very close quarters. “He was a great human being and his death is a big loss to Krishna and his friends,” Shivakumar said.
Congress MLA Vasu said he knew Narayan for the last 25 years. “Narayan was actively involved in his (Krishna’s) political affairs especially, when he was the chief minister,” he said
Sources in Mysore industrial circle remembered that Narayan was not mingling with anyone and he was not a member of any of the industries associations though he was an industrialist. “We had heard that he was powerful when Krishna was CM,” said an industrialist . Former Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Suresh Gowda said Narayan was a regular visitor to Vontikoppal Club where he used to play tennis. “In recent years he was not found in the club and was in Bangalore,” he added.
Narayan’s family sources said that he had suffered a cardiac arrest 11 years ago too. He had worked for 14 years in Mumbai before he came back to Mysore to establish Kanva Industries, they added. His last rites will be held on Sunday.