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My other brother
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Pratap Simha, the lesser-known brother of M. L. Jaisimha, was a contrast
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Driving down from Germany to India in a Mercedes Benz! That was Pratap Simha, lesser-known brother of M.L. Jaisimha, Test cricketer, selector and commentator. In 1969, Pratap, accompanied by his wife Malati and children Uma, Uttam and Kiran hit the road. They got as far as Kabul, where a dreadful accident and the urging of our ailing mother Savitri, forced him to give up the adventurous expedition he had embarked on.
The eldest son of M.G. Lakshminarsu and Savitri, Pratap Simha on completion of schooling at Mahbub College High School was invited in 1946 to the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) by its Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishna, philosopher-statesman and later to become President of India.
Sports seemed to run in the family's genes, as he won many tennis tournaments at the Union College in Schenectady, New York. In the near future he wouldn't quite match up to his more talented kid brother, Jaisimha.
When Pratap came from the US on a vacation in 1952, we had a surprise lined up for him. My friends Subhashini, Shirley Lima, Ramani Ramchandu and others welcomed him by dancing to Put your right hand out, put your right leg out and shake it all about, boogie, woogie. After helping out our father during the construction of the Tungabhadra Dam, Pratap married Malati in 1954, then working with the US Consulate in Chennai. They went back to the US, where he grew in stature and affluence.
Our brother-in-law C.R. Narasimhachar remembered that in the late 70s, Pratap served as Honorary County Administrator of Schenectady and later as its Surveyor, which corresponds to a City Planner here. His Long Beach apartment overlooked the sea.
Even when away in the US, his roots were in India, recalled Lulu Ramamurthy. The Americans began rainwater harvesting more than a century ago Pratap remarked when told of the rapidly depleting ground water levels in Marredpally.
A civil engineer by profession and a stern disciplinarian, his lifestyle was in marked contrast to the flamboyance of younger brother Jai, whom he doted on nonetheless.
Malati's death in 2000 shattered Pratap and he spent hours recording memories of friends, wanting to write her biography.
He was never one to forget friends, on his last trip to Hyderabad visiting his Marredpalli Cricket Club team mate George Mathew at home with a bottle of champagne as a gift. Our sister Usha the first to pass away in 1995, Jai in 1999 and Pratap on May 23, 2006. His departure leaves the world poorer and I will miss Pratap Anna .
INDIRA LINGAM
(As told to A. Joseph Antony)
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