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The things they say
M D.Gopalakrishnan of Emerald Publishers was an old friend, which I suppose is why I was invited to a launch of several books on communication in English published by his son G. Olivannan. When Gopalakrishnan was alive, Emerald focussed on the Dravidian movement seen through Periyar's eyes and it was my interest in its forerunner, the Justice Party that drew us together. Olivannan however, sees greater interest in the State in English-for-communication, and that and other aids to the study of English in College are what he has zeroed in on.
The launch was at the valedictory function of an all-morning seminar on teaching English-for-communication attended by over 50 teachers from 40 colleges in and around the city. Much more at ease than me at such occasions with his Rotary background was a former Rotary Governor, a surgeon, who had a fund of communication stories to narrate. Bringing the house down was the story of when he and a visiting group of Rotarians from Brazil were invited by a fellow Rotarian, the correspondent of a college, to participate in a function, at the college. When the surgeon-governor was introduced to the principal, she gushed, "Oh, I know him a long time. He knows me inside out." And unabashed by the amused glances of the visitors, she raced on, "He was responsible for my children." All that she was trying to communicate was that he had removed some reproduction-impeding fibroids from her, the surgeon embarrassedly had to explain to his retinue.
A few days later, I met Madras-born Dr. Richard J. Bingle, a former Curator of the India Office (British) Library, who was catching up with his Madras days. A visit to Rainey Hospital where he was born was still pending, but he had been to Madras Christian College where his father, Ernest Bingle, had taught History from 1927 to 1944. It was there that P. Sabanayagam, former Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu and our host for the evening, first met the male half of the Bingle family after having been taught by Mary Bingle in the primary section of Ewart's School, when a link of over 50 years between the families was forged.
Richard Bingle's special interest in Madras was as much due to his family connection as to his being responsible for the India Office Library acquiring in the 1970s the Thomas Munro Collection, the papers of that Civilian whom Rajaji thought should be the role model for all other civil servants. Tracing such collections and acquiring them was the most fascinating part of his job, recalls Richard Bingle; not enough of such quests in obscure corners of Britain were being pursued today, he regretted. Sadly, most descendants of major figures of the past also do not realise the significance of papers they hold and tend to pay little heed to them, he added.
Recalling his father, Richard Bingle remembers him describing his first day at MCC, then by the Esplanade and starting of George Town. Sitting on the verandah of the faculty dining room after dinner, Ernest Bingle was welcomed by one of those Scottish missionaries who were the backbone of the teaching staff, with a box of Spencer's Trichinopoly cigars and the words, "If the Lord had not wanted us to enjoy them, he would not have placed such temptations before us in South India!"
S. MUTHIAH
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