The October issue of Sahitya Amrut, a Hindi monthly journal published by Prabhat Prakashan to promote good Indian literature, landed on my table and, as always, I avidly turned to the editorial— rather, a set of editorial comments on disparate topics — by Dr Laxmi Mull Singhvi.

The first was in great praise of ancient and modern Tamil writers. “When I read Thirukural by Thiruvalluvar, I get the same intellectual thrill as when I read the Mahabharata or Ramayana. Similarly, when I read Jayakanthan (who received the Jnanpeeth award for 2002) or Manisekaran Kovi, I have the same ennobling literary experience that I get from reading Premchand, Amritlal Nagar or Agyeya.” His second editorial was on his plans to set up a ‘Global Academy for Vedic Mathematics’. Then there was a comment on extra-marital love as portrayed sensitively by some female and male writers in recent Hindi publications.

The last comment was an angry denunciation of the UPA government’s affidavit before the Supreme Court denying the existence of Lord Ram. “There can be no other perverse example of such politically motivated insult to the history, culture and ethos of our nation.”

“Wow, what a learned man!” I said to myself, something I have unfailingly done every time I have heard a speech by Dr Singhvi, read his writings, or had a conversation with him. The very next day, on October 6, I read the news on the Internet: “Dr. L.M. Singhvi passes away.”

... contd.