Page 2 - PowerPoint Presentation

APPA 1920 -2014

This being my father’s centenary year my mother and I felt the need to do something , however
small, to commemorate his life and times. There were so many people who were so special to
him and vice versa , so many lives he has touched , so many thoughts he has influenced so it
was really hard to pick the ones we wanted to share memories of him .

After much deliberation we decided to make it just a family tribute. We asked people with whom
he shared very special moments and in whose life he played a significant role to participate. We
requested everybody who contributed to share one word that reminds them of him and why they
chose that word. They were also requested to share a time when they had either seen him
applying this quality to his life or had influenced them in their own life.

A devoted family member, a devout Gandhian who was jailed during the Indian freedom
movement , a senior diplomat, a person with a passion for both Tamil and English literature , a
strong advocate of woman’s rights, a believer that education was the source to eradicate poverty
etc etc . There were many facets to the man. As a father he made sure that I knew his failings
( “ learn from my mistakes”) especially the famous Karnampet temper !! His childhood was very
harsh and he always credited my mother with helping him conquer his pent up anger over the
years and teaching him the power to forgive. I especially wanted to mention this as he would not
have wanted to be portrayed as the paragon of virtue that people often viewed him as. He
learned to conquer all the monsters and negativity and emerged a better human being over the
years.

Attached is a small collection from the family – hopefully his close friends and other family
members can also relate to some of it.

Miss you Appa…. Venkatji – you are really are our star of Bethlehem even today.

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