BANGALORE: A number of journalists, students, media veterans and the Governor of Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan paid rich tributes to renowed journalist V K Narasimhan at his centenary homage programme organised at Khincha Auditorium at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Wednesday.
Columnist Kuldip Nayar released ‘God’s Own Marxist’, the centenary volume on V K Narasimhan on the occasion.
The audience burst into laughter when the dignitaries narrated interesting anecdotes related to Narasimhan.
“He was a Nara amongst Simhas and a Simha among Naras,” claimed E S L Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh, also revealing that he had taken his name after his mentor VKN.
“After my family became related to V K Narasimhan’s family, I used to go to their house for tuitions. I was studying Physics then and the elders told me that after completing MSc, I should take up Aeronautical Engineering at MIT. My heart sunk and I sought counselling from VKN and after that, I took up Political Science. He was my mentor and it is because of him that I stand here. He belongs to a rare breed of journalists who had conviction and courage built into his personality. He was not merely a critic, but a nation builder and that in my opinion is the hallmark of a true journalist,” said Narasimhan.
Recalling the instances of the past and VKN’s days during the emergency, speakers like Kuldip Nayar, R Seshadri, N Ramanuja, made the crowd both shed a tear and laugh.
“He was a prolific writer and a crusader for freedom of the Press, yet very down to earth. I had once been to the Indian Express office when he was the editor and saw him walking towards the water cooler with his glass tumbler. That is the simplicity we must im-bibe,” said ESL Nar-asimhan.