High-scoring silver innings

Law and behold
He is 82, but senior lawyer C Harikrishnan can still remember every single of the 630 sections in the Old Companies Act of 1956. It’s just when you ask him detailed questions about his family — like which school his grandchildren go to — the senior lawyer designate (and former state cricketer) is stumped. “That’s because the former is my profession, the latter my indulgence.I don’t need to remember the finer details, I just need to remember to enjoy all the moments,” says Harikrishnan, who though “retired” comes out of his retirement when called for consultations in high-profile cases. Although he does not speak much about the cases, his colleagues say “the stakes involved are in hundreds of crores”.
Harikrishnan just smiles when asked about them. “Well, over the years (he joined the bar in 1960) I have built a reputation of having a computer in my brain,” laughs Harikrishnan, a Burmese refugee. “Every law can be interpreted in several ways. There is always another view. I guess people see value in the way I see it from different angles,” says Harikrishnan, who also taught for several years at the Madras Law College, and has seen at least 30 of his students grow into high court judges.
Healer, teacher
‘Tell me about yourself’. It’s been Dr K V Thiruvengadam’s (Dr KVT) opening line to every patient for the last 60 years. The dossier-firstdiagnosis-second approach, says Dr KVT, has been his philosophy a doctor and teacher, and served him in good stead through his career as researcher at institutions including Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, and Government General Hospital.
A physician, who at 91 sees patients every day, his most important lesson is — “You need to treat the whole patient, not parts of them.” Dr Abraham Varghese, famed doc-author and former student speaks of Dr KVT’s “power of touch and holistic treatment” in his writings.
Dr KVT, admits that his 100-crunches, spot running and cycling routine, has been reduced to a stroll in the garden. And yet he spends every waking moment reading medical journals to keep himself updated. “No computer for me, my journals are enough,” says Dr KVT, who continues to see patients because “a lazy brain is a precursor to Alzheimer’s”.
Over the years, Dr KVT has garnered numerous awards like the prestigious Dr BC Roy award from the Medical Council of India, and the Padma Shri, all of which line the walls of his clinic-home “in order of importance”. But while the government awards are displayed in the reception area, the plaques for teaching sit in his inner sanctum, right beside him. “The ones outside matter to people walking in, but these here, given for my teaching, remind me my life has mattered. To my students, the next generation of healers.”
The dance must go on
CV Chandrasekhar has just returned from Delhi after receiving a Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship in Bharatanatyam. He still has a hectic teaching schedule, which leaves him no scope for a breather. “You’ll never see me sitting like this and passing instructions in a class,” he says, demonstrating a certain informality. “Instead, I’m sitting one minute and moving the next,” he says, springing up from the floor to a striking ‘abhinaya’. “You should know what your body can do,” he says.
For this octogenarian, the semblance of age is only seen in mild bouts of forgetfulness that hit him once in a while. And yet, when it comes to his dance, he deftly remembers 71 years of it in flawless detail.
All his tutors — Dandayudhapani Pillai, Karaikkal Saradambal, Rukmini Devi and Sarada Hoffman — have influenced him. “There was something fluid about the way dance was understood back then,” he says. “When ‘athai’ (Rukmini Devi) taught me an ‘ashtapadi’, she asked me to go to Papanasam Sivan’s house every day for five weeks, and learn it from him. I can’t think of something like that happening today. Learning was beautiful and unconditional. It was no examination,” he says.
On a strong wicket
The grass is always green for 81-year-old M K Iqbal for whom the cricket ground is a second home. Playing since 1945, the veteran was a celebrated name in Madras league cricket in the 1970s and has been coaching for free for the past 40 years.
Getting on to the field and keeping pace with youngsters gives him a high that he is not ready to give up just yet. The last of the ‘old school’ cricketers, who believes in the idea of the gentleman’s game, Iqbal is particular about disciplining his students before talking about square cut. “The interest in the game keeps me going,” says the founder and director of AVM Cricket Academy.
“In our days there was no animosity, but a lot of camaraderie among opposing teams. If a batsman hit a boundary he used to be encouraged by everyone on the field,” says Iqbal. With no secret fitness regimen, he credits his years as a cricketer for the Parry & Co team for his good health. The all-rounder, known for his sound technique, has focused on training adolescents and formed the academy in Saligrammam in the late 1980s. “I like to work with children because they have a lot of enthusiasm,” says Iqbal, who coaches children every weekend. Giving back to the game being his sole motive, he set up the under-12 cricket academy in Kadappa district, AP and set up another academy in Muscat. TNN