"No regrets, no regrets, no regrets....!"

....This is the first line of the poem written by Sri Kulamarva Balakrishna (born 4.11.1934), an international fame journalist, who is presently settled in Austria, was at Padubidri near Udupi today (13.3.2011) along with his family members, to meet his relatives and close friends in a specially arranged luncheon party. He has developed a farm near Padubidri which is called as ‘Taravaadu’ (the base or original house). His sister is staying there to look-after the farm house.

Though he is aged and ailing, he has visited his home-town enthusiastically and with great reverence to the mother-land.

Sri Kulamarva has started his journalistic career in ‘Thayinaadu’ in early ‘50s and then shifted to ‘Samyuktha Karnataka’. Later he went to Mumbai where he has worked for ‘Free Press Journal’, ‘Times weekly Journal’ and ‘Blitz’ weekly etc.  Then he started his own weekly titled “Hi” which was highlighting the underworld activities of Mumbai. He rose in to prominence for his investigative write-ups. “Hi” was concentrating on investigative reports in general and the under-ground activities of Mumbai in particular. In 1975 when the emergency was declared he was in trouble. Police started harassing him for his writings. Though he was very close to late Smt. Indira Gandhi, he never showed any consideration in his writings. By this time he had lost his job and went to Austria with the help of an Austrian friend.

He is a Sanskrit scholar, secured “Sahithya shiromani” degree from Mahajana Sanskrit College, Nirchal, Kasaragod. (My grand father Vyakarana Mahopadhyaya Aramanadka Shankara Shastry was Principal in this Institution from 1918 to 1935 till his premature death, when he was just 46 years of age. Shri Shastry was a great Sanskrit scholar and renowned poet in Sanskrit. Later a Memorial Hall was constructed there in his name).  In the beginning Shri Kulamarva has worked as a Sanskrit teacher for one year at Mundaje, near Dharmasthala (Karnataka). Later he entered in to journalism field because of his writing aptitude. He has translated Sanskrit works such as Jayadeva's “Geethagovinda” and Kalidasa's “Kumarasambhava” etc. in to Kannada which brought him name and fame. In early '50s he had edited a collection of short stories in Kannada titled “Mandaara maale”.

Kulamarva Balakrishna with my daughters Artha, Ayana, wife Shaila and son Agama.

Sri Kulamarva is a true Gandhian and a multi-faceted person. In a hour-long interview, he said, “…in the real sense I am a universal person. There is no boundary for me. Though I am residing in Austria, far from India and from our language and culture, I am not feeling that I am an alien person there. There are no regrets for the past.”

Incidentally, I have to note here that he is my wife’s cousin-brother and several writers, poets, journalists, Doctors, Lawyers and state award winning agriculturists and progressive farmers are there in his family group. (He married an Austrian lady and having a son who is studying Law in Austria). His thoughts and writings are available in my web page.