Rethinking the Social Media in the Age of Bans

 

The debate over social media has entered a new phase. The Chief Minister of Karnataka, in his recent budget speech has announced that the state would introduce restrictions on social media use for children under sixteen, citing concerns about digital addiction and the psychological effects of excessive online exposure. Reports suggest that other states too are contemplating similar actions. These discussions on banning the social media are not occurring in isolation. Across the world, governments are grappling with the same dilemma. Countries such as Australia has enacted strict laws restricting social media access for minors, while several European nations are debating comparable policies. Such concerns and anxieties driving these decisions are understandable. 

Anyone who spends time on social networks is familiar with the flood of forwards, unverified claims, and sensational opinions that circulate endlessly. Social media platforms are frequently blamed for spreading misinformation, fuelling addictive digital behaviour, and amplifying unverified claims that many derisively label “WhatsApp University”, an epithet for the avalanche of misinformation that overwhelms digital conversations. 

In such a climate, rush to ban, regulate or restrict the medium appear both inevitable and politically attractive. However, a deeper question deserves reflection, is the platform the real problem, or is it the way we choose to use it?

Amid the torrents of triviality that populate the social media digital spaces, one occasionally encounters genuine nuggets of intellectual value—posts that inform, educate, and inspire.These reminders of scholarship reveal an important truth: the medium itself is not inherently flawed. The responsibility lies largely with its users—how they engage with it. 

History offers instructive parallels. Whenever transformative technologies emerge, society experiences both their benefits and concerns. The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in the fifteenth century revolutionised the spread of knowledge. Books became more accessible, literacy expanded, and ideas began to circulate more widely than ever before. Yet the same printing presses also produced material filled with superstition,propaganda and sensationalism. The technology itself was neutral; its consequences depended on the intentions of those who used it, and therefore banning technology makes no sense. 

The pattern has repeated itself with nearly every major communication innovation—from radio to television and now to the digital networks. Social media is the latest chapter in that long historical narrative. Digital landscape today is not entirely devoid of meaningful content. A growing number of institutions - ISRO, Nobel Prize, Discovery, NASA - scientists and scholars have begun using these platforms to communicate directly to wider audiences. These examples illustrate an important point: the same platforms that spread filth can also disseminate knowledge.

The real challenge for the government is not merely to ban or regulate social media but to facilitate populating it with better and more meaningful content. This challenge assumes significance for India, where nearly two-thirds of the population is under the age of thirty-five and millions of young people rely on digital platforms as their primary gateway to information. Every year, government ministries, universities, publicly funded institutions and policy bodies produce a vast array of content, reports, surveys and scientific studies—often at public expense. Yet much of this valuable knowledge remains buried within ministry websites, institutional archives or technical reports that rarely reach the wider public. Only a small circle of specialists, policymakers or researchers are benefitted from this. For the vast majority of citizens, including the country’s digital-native generation, this knowledge might as well not exist.

The result is a peculiar paradox of the digital age: while societies speak of transparency and knowledge sharing, enormous reservoirs of information remain confined to institutional silos.

Social media can offer potential remedy.

Instead of allowing Social media to be dominated by sensational forwards and superficial debates, government and public institutions could proactively bring credible knowledge into the digital public sphere. Ministries, scientific laboratories, universities and public sector organisations could collaborate with young communicators, educators and digital creators to translate complex content into accessible summaries, short videos (reels), visual explanations and engaging narratives that younger audiences consume.

Such initiatives would not only improve public understanding but also democratise access to knowledge that taxpayers have already funded. Information that lies buried within institutional portals could reach millions through platforms that young citizens interact with daily. Equally important is the responsibility of scholars, educators and professionals who care about public knowledge. Rather than abandoning social media to superficiality, they too must be motivated to engage actively with these spaces. Thoughtful participation—whether through explaining scientific discoveries, contextualising historical events or sharing insights from research—can gradually reshape the quality of online discourse.

Finding knowledge in the digital age, however, still requires discernment. A helpful metaphor comes from the life of the pioneering scientist Marie Curie. In her research on radioactivity, Curie processed tonnes of pitchblende ore to isolate tiny traces of radium. The process demanded patience, perseverance and an unwavering belief that something valuable lay hidden within seemingly unremarkable material. Navigating social media today requires a similar effort. Amid vast quantities of digital “ore,” there are indeed fragments of genuine insight waiting to be explored. 

A society’s digital culture ultimately reflects the collective choices of its citizens. If millions circulate misinformation, misinformation will flourish. But if millions share thoughtful ideas, credible knowledge too will find its audience.

The question, therefore, is not whether social media is inherently harmful or beneficial. The question is whether we are wise enough to use it well.

In India, the challenge is not merely to regulate technology but to elevate its use. Governments, scientists, educators and communicators must recognise that the digital public space is here to stay. Rather than dismissing it or retreating from it, they must help shape it.

In the rush to regulate technology, societies would do well to remember an old journalistic wisdom: don’t shoot the messenger. The real task before us is not to silence the platform, but to ensure that it carries better messages.

Tribute to Dr VB Angadi on his passing

In Memoriam: Dr. Veeranna Basavabtappa Angadi (1944–2026) - The Architect of Inclusive Economics and Academic Excellence.

Dr. Veeranna Basavantappa Angadi (VB Angadi) was not merely an economist; he was a bridge between the complex world of global finance and the stark realities of rural India. Born on 8 April, 1944, in the village of Hire Bomnal, in the turbulent pre-independence era of the Raichur district of the Nizam’s Hyderabad, he carried with him the silent history of the Kalyana Karnataka region. His journey from a village witnessing the brutality of the Nizams' Razakars to the corridors and high echelons of the Reserve Bank of India is a story of quiet, relentless perseverance. 

Dr VB Angadi passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early morning on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, at around 5.30 AM in his home, situated at the  RBI Hemal CHS, Andheri West, Mumbai. Incidentally, the RBI Hemal CHS, which was home to him after he retired from the RBI in 2004, owes its existence to his untiring efforts and perseverance as the founder President of this society, which is now home to many retired RBI officers.

Like many of his contemporaries born during the pre-independence period, he was one among those who grew up seeing the poverty-ridden India that was shaking the shackles of colonial rule with a fight for its independence. Post independence, with no foreign rule hangover, and his parents not so well off in his village in Hire Bomnal that did not have any schools to study, his father, Basavantappa Angadi, decided to put the young Veeranna for free education in a Lingayat (Veerashiva) Math in Koppal: The famous Samsthana Shri Gavimath. This centuries-old Lingayat Math (800 to 1000-year-old historic Lingayat monastery) situated on a rocky hillock in Koppal (which has recently gained massive prominence as a major spiritual and social hub in North Karnataka) was an important education and spiritual centre where free education was imparted for children, more specifically for the Lingayat community. Known for its unique 24/7 Trividha Dasoha (providing free food, education, and shelter), this Math has now become one of the most revered centres of faith, often attracting lakhs of devotees during its annual fair, similar to a "Kumbh Mela of the South".

The young Veeranna studied at this historic Math, which offered him free education, food, and a stay during his early school days. He completed his schooling at this math school, during which his brilliance was noticed by his teachers. After completing his intermediate, he was motivated by his teachers at the Math to move to Dharwad, which had by then gained prominence for its education. His poor family conditions did not come his way since he had earned a recommendation from the Seers in Koppal Govimath to the Muruga Math in Dharwad.

The Murugha Math (Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Mahaswamiji Math) is one of the most influential Lingayat religious and educational institutions in the Hubli-Dharwad region of Karnataka. It has played a pivotal role in the socio-cultural fabric of North Karnataka for over a century. This Math in Dharwad is a branch of the primary Chitradurga Murugha Math. It follows the teachings of the 12th-century philosopher-saint Basavanna, the founder of Lingayat, focusing on "Kayaka" (work) and "Dasoha" (service/charity). The Dharwad branch gained significant prominence under the leadership of Sri Mrityunjaya Swamiji, who is often revered as the "Architect of Modern Dharwad’s Educational Landscape." He arrived at the Math in the early 20th century and transformed it from a purely religious centre into a hub for social reform.

Sri Mrityunjaya Swamiji realised that students like Veeranna, from rural areas, were unable to pursue higher education in Dharwad due to the high cost of living. Around 1915, he began providing free food and shelter to a small group of students within the Math premises. By the 1920s, this Math grew into a structured Free Boarding Home (Prasad Nilaya). It was revolutionary because it allowed students like Veeranna Angadi, from impoverished backgrounds, to stay in the city and attend school or college without paying for room or board. While this math was initially focused on Lingayat students to preserve the community's educational advancement, the Math eventually expanded its philanthropic reach. Under subsequent seers like Sri Mahanta Swamiji, the focus shifted toward inclusive education for all communities, though it remains a cornerstone of Lingayat heritage. It was at this Math that Veeranna Angadi stayed and pursued his graduation and post graduation studies in arts with economics as his specialisation. 

All through his studies, he grew up amidst students of his ilk, who were beneficiaries of a system that offered them free education. This had a lasting impact on Veeranna Angadi, which later became an inspiration for him to improve the plight of his community in his village. 

Post his Master's, Veeranna managed to earn a teaching assignment in a small town, Ilkal. It was during his stay at Ilkal that he became familiar with the lives of the weavers' community, who had made Ilkal a prominent place in textiles, with Ilkal Sarees becoming a brand of its own. However, as time passed and with the onset of the textile industry and mechanised production of textile clothes, the weavers in Ilkal started facing problems which appealed to  Veeranna, motivating him to pursue his Doctoral studies on this subject under the title "Power-looms and Handlooms in Bijapur District". He earned a PhD from the Karnataka University during his teaching days in Ilkal. Later, he was offered a principal's position in a college in Sankeshvar, Belgaum district. By then, he had married Shanta Angadi and had four children, the eldest, Vidya Angadi, later became my wife, Vidya Khened. He made a profound impact at both Ilkal and Sankeshwar colleges during his stay in these institutions. While at Sankeshvar his attention was drawn to an economist position in RBI, Mumbai, which to him was an institution of excellence in economics that he always looked up to, and it took no time for him to decide to make an attempt to join RBI. 

Meritorious that he always was, he got selected and joined the RBI and was posted at its headquarters in Mumbai. He rose in rank and files at the RBI, contributing to the institution. He worked in the economics department with RBI and during the days of Late Manmohan Singh, who was the Governor of RBI from 1982-85, Dr. Veeranna worked with him on measures of monetary restraint, curbing inflationary expectations, stability of exchange rate etc. Veeranna Angadi, in a way, has also played a small part in the later Economic Reform Policy that Manmohan Singh scripted and introduced, based on his experiences at RBI. This became the cornerstone of the 1991 economic liberalisation that Manmohan Singh introduced as the Finance Minister, which served as a turning point in the policy framework for the Indian Economy.

Although Dr. VB Angadi started his working life as a teacher at a college in Ilkal and later as the Principal in Sankeshwar College, his professional life was defined by two great pillars: Policy and Pedagogy.

The RBI Years were truly transformative for Dr. Angadi. It was here that he could use his interest and passion for economics to the fullest. Impressed by his contributions, the RBI provided him a lifetime opportunity to undertake a postdoctoral study at Princeton University. His one-year stay and studies at Princeton University were one of the most illustrious chapters of his life. Staying in the very precinct, once inhabited by Albert Einstein, Dr. Angadi engaged in high-level research alongside other economists of repute, which I understand also included Jeffrey Sachs, a well-known proponent of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Sustainable development has increasingly emerged as the central framework for addressing the persistent challenge of global poverty. The work of Jeffrey Sachs, with whom Dr. Angadi worked in Princeton, provides a powerful intellectual foundation for understanding how economic growth, social equity, and environmental stewardship must advance together. When viewed alongside the grassroots-oriented perspectives associated with Dr. V. B. Angadi, the conversation becomes especially relevant for countries like India, where development must be both rapid and inclusive.

Sachs consistently argued that poverty is not an intractable destiny but a solvable problem with the right mix of targeted investments, institutional reforms, and international cooperation. His advocacy of the Millennium Development Goals and later the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasises measurable outcomes in health, education, and livelihoods. Crucially, Sachs highlights that extreme poverty often persists not because of a lack of knowledge, but due to gaps in implementation, financing, and political will.

Dr. V. B. Angadi’s approach, rooted in field realities and institutional experience, complements this macro-development vision. Where Sachs provides the global roadmap, Angadi’s perspective underscores the importance of last-mile delivery, community engagement, and context-sensitive innovation. In the Indian setting, poverty alleviation cannot rely solely on top-down economic expansion; it must also leverage local knowledge systems, capacity building, and accessible science and technology interventions.

The convergence of these two viewpoints provides several actionable insights. First, investments in human capital—particularly education, public health, and digital inclusion—remain the most reliable poverty reducers. For India and similar emerging economies, the real opportunity lies in synthesising Sachs’s global development economics with Angadi’s ground-level pragmatism. Such a blended approach recognises that poverty alleviation is simultaneously a policy challenge, a governance challenge, and a societal commitment.

In this intellectual crucible at Princeton, Dr. Angadi focused on many Welfare Economics in which RBI could play a role - Financial Inclusion: Developing frameworks to ensure banking reached the "unbanked" in India's hinterlands, Priority Sector Lending, and analysing how credit could be directed to agriculture and small-scale industries to prevent the very poverty he witnessed in his youth. His work always asked not just how much the economy was growing, but for whom it was growing. 

Coincidentally, it was just before his selection for his Princeton assignment that his daughter, Vidya Angadi, was selected for an alliance with yours truly, and our engagement ceremony was conducted at the Jalada RBI quarters in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, in August 1989. On his return from his studies in Princeton, Vidya and I got married in December 1990. 

At RBI, Dr. Angadi undertook different assignments, including teaching faculty at the prestigious RBI Bankers Training College in Mumbai, which offers training to the senior management of different Banks in India. He later rose to become the  Director of the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP) group at the Reserve Bank of India. He was associated with the RBI during a transformative era for the Indian economy. Working closely with visionaries like Dr. Manmohan Singh, he contributed to the research that underpinned India’s shift toward modernisation while ensuring that "Welfare Economics" remained at the heart of the conversation.

Post his retirement from RBI in 2004, he was keen to go back to the area of his interest, teaching and research. He therefore joined the Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management in 2006, which was then a fledgling institute. He took this institution to greater heights during his tenure as the Director of the institution. He also guided many of his PhD students. He continued to remain attached to this institution until his last breath. He served as the Director of this college for many years before retiring and wearing the robe of an Adviser to this institution, a position he held until his passing.

He transformed the Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management (LLIM) in Mumbai. Under his directorship, the institute didn't just grow in size; it grew in "stature and soul," becoming a hub for research-driven management education, attaining the A category status from the UGC.  I had the honour to address the large gathering at LLMI during a conference that they organised on the role of IT in management. It was heartening to see the management's interest in research.

Even as he served with LLMI, his mind was always with the village where he was born, Hire Bomnal. He purchased a small piece of agricultural land in this village and also invested in building a public temple in honour of his father at the village, and also invested in many other community development programs and facilities in the village, including establishing a small village which he equipped with as many resources as possible. I played a small part in these endeavours in identifying science materials in the form of both printed books and materials and digital resources that became a part of this library, which now stands modestly in this village.

Perhaps his greatest title was not "Director" or "Doctor," but "Son of the Soil." His commitment to his ancestral village, Hire Bomnal, serves as a blueprint for "giving back." By establishing a library and mentoring generations of students from his extended family and village, he ensured that the light of education he fought so hard to find would never go out for those following in his footsteps.

"He mastered the macro-economics of a nation, but never forgot the micro-needs of a village student."

It was during the times of COVID and thereafter, Dr Angadi started facing medical problems. He was also suffering from severe diabetes. A couple of years before, he lost his beloved wife, Shanta Angadi, who was a pillar of strength for him and his family. A year later, he also lost his eldest son, Pramod Angadi, who too suffered from severe Diabetes and Kidney issues. Pramod was also staying in Mumbai, separately from his family. Death of his young son immediately after the passing of his wife left the devastated Dr VB Angadi shattered, and he had to stay all alone in his Andheri Hemal flat. 

Unfortunately, although he has four children, his younger daughter, Veena Patil, and family stay in England as its citizens, and similarly, his younger son, Basavraj Angadi, and family are settled in Australia as Australian citizens. Although my wife and I were posted in Mumbai during the time of the demise of his wife and son, we were separately staying in our office quarters in Worli, Mumbai. On the passing of his son, my wife tried hard to bring him to our home. However, he was hesitant to stay with us, believing in those age-old traditions that he should not stay in his son-in-law's place. When his wife was around, he was managing well, staying together. However, post the death of his wife and elder son, he stayed alone and managed with house help, and of course, distant support from my wife, who used to ensure that he visited us frequently, and she too visited him frequently. Staying alone started taking some toll on his health, and then Covid came. When there was a complete lockdown, he had great difficulty during the lockdown period, although my wife tried supporting him with whatever she could manage, asking my office colleague staying in Andheri to support him as far as possible. 

Fortunately, being a Government servant who could travel in office transport during the Covid period in early 2020, I took the first opportunity to shift him from his home in Andheri to our office quarters in April 2020. Ever since, he has stayed with us, passing through trials and tribulations until his demise. 

During the Covid period, he started facing severe problems with his prostate, which he had neglected despite Doctors advice. Attending to his medical problem during the peak of Covid was a major issue. My wife and I somehow managed to take him to Jaslok Hospital for his prostate problem, where, after examination, the Doctor - Dr Raina, advised that he must undergo Prostate surgery at the earliest. Unfortunately, he being a diabetic patient, with his higher sugar levels and hypertension, the operation had to wait till his sugars were stabilised. Fortunately, his operation (July 2020) went off well; however, he developed some complications during postoperative care. He had a mild cardiac arrest, which resulted in his being shifted to the ICU in Jaslok.

Fortunately, since he was in the hospital, he came out of the cardiac arrest. But then, when in ICU, during his cardiac examination, the Doctors discovered six major blocks (98%), and we were advised that he must immediately undergo bypass surgery. This was a shock for us, more so since that was during COVID, and the situation was unimaginable. Moreover, he had already faced a major health issue of a cardiac problem post his prosthetic surgery, and risking a bypass surgery was a big ask with his diabetic problem and hypertension. Moreover, his son and daughter were abroad, and the decision whether to let him go under the scalpel for bypass fell on my wife and me, which was an extremely difficult decision to take. With the advice of my classmate Doctor friends, including a cardiologist, we decided that he must not undergo the bypass, which, according to my Doctor friends, was inadvisable then, a period of uncertainty. He was therefore discharged from the hospital, and we are advised to constantly monitor his health. We consulted other expert heart specialists in KEM, Breach Candy, Sofia Hospital, and also at Jaslok, and everyone was in agreement with us that putting him on surgery is not advised. Moreover, we were informed that no guarantee for a long life can be given for the bypass surgery, which at best, the Doctor at Jaslok has said, would serve him for another five years. So we decided not to put him to surgery. 

Dr Angadi enjoyed his stay at our Worli office quarters primarily because it gave him a lot of space and time to walk around the lush green campus inside the Nehru Science Centre, and that ambience and an exemplary love and care of my wife for her father improved his health substantially. 

Post my retirement from service, we moved to even better accommodation in the precincts of CSMVS, where I now serve as the Advisor in May 2022, He thoroughly enjoyed his stay with us at the CSMVS campus. He often recalled with nostalgic memories of walking past this museum when he served at the RBI. Unfortunately, due to structural issues with the old building, where we stayed in the CSMVS Campus, we had to move out of this flat. Instead of opting for an alternate rental accommodation, my father-in-law insisted that we must shift to his flat in Andheri, which had remained empty for three years. Notwithstanding his heart ailment and also his other issues with severe diabetes and other comorbidities and hypertension, under the exemplary care and love of my wife, his doting daughter, he improved substantially. He was, however, once again admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital. It was here that we were once again reminded of his heart condition and we were advised that we must ensure that he does not fall down, which could be fatal. This advise he gave in wake of the earlier falls that he had. Unfortunately, he overheard only a part of the doctor's advice that sometimes a fall for him could be fatal since his heart condition is such. 

Against the prognosis of what the Doctors at Jaslok and Breach Candy Hospital had predicted, he continued to live on and even went to college with support from my wife, who left her NGO job to take care of him completely. My wife was highly meticulous and methodical in looking after him and following up with the many medicines that he had to be administered for his heart and kidney issues. He also had to be admitted for one or another ailment in the nearby hospital in Andheri on at least four occasions.  Although his heart condition was improving, and his diabetes was also under control, he faced other problems and started becoming extremely weak and needed complete support for any task, even for mundane tasks - toilet needs and such other. My wife, with support from the other 24x7 support staff we had hired, was exemplary in her caregiving. She served more like a mother than a daughter to Dr. Angadi. The last one year was quite challenging for my wife, since he became completely dependent. She ensured that, whether he likes or not, she always made him speak to his other children - one in the UK and another in Australia and to his grandchildren over video calls, which became an everyday affair. 

His last admission to the Hospital was on 16 February, and he was discharged on 19th, with some support. The Doctor attending to him informed my wife and me that he was becoming overdependent on his daughter and that she must gradually make him adjust to her absence.  This allowed us to attend the marriage of a close friend's daughter in Belgaum. Fortunately, my co brother from England was in India, and he would be there with the caretakers to look after him. My wife and I attended the reception and marriage on 22nd Feb and returned to Mumbai. He was extraordinarily happy to see my wife back. One could see a big smile on his face. It was clear that he missed her for two days. 

On 23rd Feb. night, like on most other days, my wife and her father were seated together in the drawing hall, and as usual, my wife was trying to engage him in one or another conversation patiently to keep his spirit high. However, on his insistence that he wants to sleep, she, with support from caregiving staff at home, supported his movement to his bedroom. In the early morning, when I was in the washroom, I heard the caretaker call my wife to say that her dad was not responding to her call. My wife rushed to his room, and I immediately followed, and so also my co-brother from the UK, who too was also staying with us. He responded to none of our calls or efforts. Suspecting cardiac arrest, I summoned the Ambulance and in less than 40 minutes (so-called golden hour for cardiac arrest), we were at Bellevue Hospital, where he was normally taking treatment and had been admitted several times earlier, including a week earlier. Unfortunately, the doctors declared  that he had passed away due to a cardiac arrest and the resultant multi-organ failure.

On his sudden passing on the early morning of 24 February (5.30AM), no wonder his daughter prevailed in ensuring his wish to be cremated in the village, where he was born, and laid to rest adjacent to his wife in his agricultural fields has been fulfilled, notwithstanding operational difficulties which we had to face. 

His last rites were performed at Hire Bomnal, following all the ritual burial practices that go with the cremation of people belonging to the Lingayat community. Fortunately, his daughter Veena and her husband, who reside in England and his Son, who resides in Australia, also made it to pay their last respect to their beloved father. His last rites were performed in the large presence of village elders and many of his friends and relatives and Villagers and people from far-off places, including Koppal. All other rituals were also performed at his village and in Koppal, where he has a small house.  

On performing his final rites in Hire Bomnal on 26 February, Dr. V.B. Angadi returns to the earth of Hire Bomnal, leaving behind a legacy of brilliance, compassion, and an unshakeable belief that economics is, at its core, the study of human dignity. And that anyone, irrespective of their family hardship and beginning, can rise to the heights that he rose, by sheer hard work and dedication, and contribute back to their society. As a son-in-law, the husband of his doting daughter Vidya, Baby to him, I supported my wife in fulfilling all his last wishes. 

I feel honoured to have played a minor role in his caregiving during his last six years when he stayed with us, and also fulfilled his desire to be cremated at his farmland in his village, which was quite challenging.  I am sure Dr Angadi will miss his "baby", my wife, a lot, who took exemplary care of him not as a daughter but more like his own mother, the words that he uttered innumerable times, often times at the irritation of his daughter. Even a brief period of absence of his daughter scared him, and he would say, come back fast before my passing, angering his daughter.

On his passing, he leaves a legacy for his village where everyone, elders of the village more particularly, look up to him and recall his contributions to his village, which he loved so deeply, and it is where he now resides in eternal peace and bliss, praying almighty that his land be blessed to produce many more Angadis, who could serve his village and community. 

Om Shanti Rest in Peace Dr VB Angadi. 

A Mother’s Blessing, a Narrow Escape, and Darwin’s Day – My Salutation to Smt. Gauramma Devendrappa Gurugunti, on her passing.

Early morning on 10 February, 2026 – around 7 AM – I received a call from Sangamnath, my close friend for nearly fifty years, followed by a brief call from Dr Sumana, the wife of our dearest friend Dr Umeshchandra, that her mother in law - mother of our close friend Dr Umeshchandra Gurugunti, is an extended family to our family, Smt. Gouramma Devendrappa Guruganti, passed away peacefully in her sleep, aged nearly 90, at their residence in Kalaburagi at around 4.30 AM.

While paying my profound respect and homage to the noble departed soul - after returning back to Mumbai after travelling two days (10th and 11th Feb) and seeking her blessings and joining our friend Dr Umesh and family in the last rites to the holy departed soul of Smt Gauramma, at Kalaburagi - I feel blessed to write this tribute to share our experience of the divine blessings that we received from Smt Gauramma - mother to us all - in her passing, which saved us during our journey.

That shocking telephonic news of the passing of Dr Umesh’s mother made me momentarily indecisive in my thoughts as to how my wife and I can reach Kalaburagi in time to seek her last blessings and pay our last respect. Fortunately, Sangamnath planned the schedule and had decided that our two families should travel together from Pune to Kalaburagi. I had to reach Pune from Mumbai as early as we could for the onward journey from Pune. Sangamnath was in Mahabaleshwar, and he had to reach Pune, which he hoped he would by 10AM.

Fortunately, I could manage a taxi to travel to Pune, and both my wife and I boarded the taxi with absolutely no preparation whatsoever, to travel to Pune with the aim to reach at the earliest. We left Mumbai at 7.15 AM, hoping to reach Pune as early as possible, knowing well what the peak time traffic jam and travel will be in Pune. We managed to reach Sangamnath’s house only by 10.55 AM, due to heavy traffic congestion in Pune city. And our two families together departed for Kalaburagi in Sangamnath’s car at 11.05 AM. What divine intervention unfolded on that journey from Pune to Kalaburagi is something I feel I must share, to express that not everything that happens can be explained in scientific terms, perhaps each time, every time.

When we left Pune at 11:10 AM on 10 February, Google Map showed an arrival time at Kalaburagi as 7:30 PM. The distance was over 410 kilometres and we were also to pass through Pune city and its traffic congestion. The cremation, we were informed by Arun Shetkar, our friend, who was managing the arrangements, had to take place before sunset — before 6 PM — as per the guidance of the priests.

The arithmetic was unforgiving. Nearly two hours were spent negotiating Pune’s traffic for barely 60 kilometres. At 1.10 PM, we still had about 350 kilometres to cover in less than five hours. It appeared impossible.

Yet Sangamnath, who once headed the Tata Motors plant at Pimpri from where the very Tata Hexa we were travelling in had rolled out, believed in his machine. More importantly, we believed in our purpose — to see our mother-like Gouramma one last time and seek her blessings before her final journey. Both our wives, despite health constraints mandating them to take breakfast, resolved that we must make every effort to reach Kalaburagi in time to seek the blessings and last Darshan of Umesh’s mother.

Arun kept cautioning us to drive safely. He even offered to arrange a video darshan if we could not make it in time — which, rationally speaking, seemed the only likely option possible. But something remarkable happened. As we advanced on the highway, the expected time of arrival that Google started showing kept shrinking, gradually. Sangamnath had thrown caution to the winds while he drew the Tata Hexa at speed, we would never ever imagine. What seemed impossible began to appear faintly possible with the man and machine collaborating to make this possible. Sangamnath had only one instruction for me: “Tell Arun to wait for us till the last second before sunset.” The distance kept shrinking and so did the expected time to reach the spot of funeral, before the sun set.

Then came the moment that would have changed everything for something terrible, but due to divine intervention - Smt Guaramma’s blessings – it did not.

Just about 15 kilometres short of Kalaburagi and the site of funeral, at nearly 90 kmph speed at which Sangamnath was driving the car, the rear wheel briefly slipped off the tarred edge of the single road on the sharp turning, onto loose, slippery ground near a trench nearly four metres deep on both sides of the road. For a fraction of a second, disaster seemed certain and inevitable. A fall into the trench or a collision with an oncoming vehicle on that narrow two-way road would have been catastrophic.

What followed was extraordinary presence of mind, perhaps Gauramma’s blessed mind at that moment. With remarkable control, Sangamnath steered and braked in a way that the vehicle spun almost 360 degrees and came to rest — without toppling, without collision, without a scratch, and with no vehicle approaching from the opposite side at that exact moment.

We were inches away from a certain tragedy, an accident, which was averted, with not just the man machine collaboration but definitely with divine intent, the blessings of our motherlike figure, Gauramma. We were safe!

In that instant, my so-called rational thinking dissolved. As a science communicator with four plus decades of experience, I have always stood firmly by reason, probability, and evidence. I do not consider myself a spiritual person in the conventional sense. And yet, sitting there in that halted car, heart pounding, one thought overwhelmed us all: We have been spared, by divine intervention.

Spared so that we may reach in time to seek Mother Gauramma’s blessings, one last time

Spared so that we may see our departed mother like figures face.

We saw our mother Gouramma one last time. We bowed. We sought her blessings and finally all of us together completed the final rites of her cremation just in time, before the scheduled sun set.

Was it Sangamnath’s skill that helped us reach safely and in time? Certainly. Was it mechanical reliability? Undoubtedly. Was it coincidence? Perhaps.

In that spinning moment of split-second accident which had positioned us between trench and survival, notwithstanding my four decades of professional experience as a science communicator, I could not help but feel that perhaps God does play dice – and that day, the throw was mercifully blessed by Guaramma.

In the deepest chamber of my heart, which I now believe, I feel it was something beyond all the skills and expertise of Sangmanth’s driving skill or the robustness of the Tata Hexa we were travelling in, it was purely the grace of our motherlike figure, Gauramma and her divine blessings which saved us all from a certain accident and a disastrous consequence which would have followed that helped us to navigate such long distance, without any break to reach the site safe and sound to seek her blessings, one last time.

After paying our last respect we stayed back in Arun’s place and left Kalaburagi to travel back to our respective destinies after reminiscing the motherly love and affection of Gauramma in Dr Umesh’s house with all the family members, her three children, Dr Umesh and his two elder sisters, her daughter and son in law, her grandchildren, her great grandchild.

Sangamnath and I left Kalaburagi next day morning – 11 February – and travelled back to Pune and reached Pune safely at 6.40 PM. After a brief wash and change at his home and hurried dinner, which Mrs Rajalaxmi, Digge had prepared for us, my wife and I took a taxi back home to Mumbai and reached our place at midnight.

This morning 12 February, as I recollected all those events which had passed my mind the previous days, and was thinking what written homage I must pay to the noble departed soul of our mother-like figure, Gauramma, thoughts that came my mind have led to this write up.

As has always been a habit for me to express my thoughts in writing, I also realised that today, 12 February, is the birth anniversary of Charles Darwin — the great naturalist who transformed our understanding of life through the power of natural selection. A thinker who replaced supernatural explanations with scientific reasoning.

To honour the passing of Smt Gauramma Devendrappa Gurugunti, I have also written a blog post of tribute to Darwin on his birth anniversary, reflecting on his legacy, whose link is given below. This post is dedicated to the noble departed Nobel soul of Gouramma.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2026/02/remembering-charles-darwin-on-his-217th.html

For even as Darwin taught us the laws of nature, life occasionally humbles us with experiences that remind us how little we truly comprehend about timing, chance, survival, and grace.

If science teaches us probability, life teaches us gratitude.

Perhaps one need not abandon reason to acknowledge wonder.

Perhaps faith and science are not adversaries but different languages through which we attempt to interpret the same vast mystery.

On Darwin’s birth anniversary, I bow to science.

And in the memory of Gouramma — who loved us all like her own children — we bow to her grace and blessings.

Om Shanti.