Page 172 - Demo

From a life full of travel and hectic schedules PVG Raju now became very quiet and home-bound. In Vizianagaram, he withdrew almost completely from public life and focussed his energies on getting better. He had mastered yoga in the 1950s under the tutelage of Swami Jnanananda and now practised some asanas and pranayama diligently every day. His speech continued to be a problem and someone advised him to learn how to sing and practice every morning. He took the advice seriously and engaged a music teacher who came by every morning. His daughter remembers this phase with amusement - getting up to the drone of the tambura and her father and the teacher going through Sa, Re, Ga%u2026. and so on. This didn't go on for long as he probably felt that singing was not for him. His consistent efforts to improve his speech paid off and he probably regained about 80 per cent of his voice over time. PVG Raju had become dependent on others physically and this was particularly irksome for a man who valued his freedom and was used to moving around on his own at short notice. His family too had become very protective and there was a virtual ring fence around him which vetted his visitors and this too was a source of frustration for him. Every once in a while, he would lose his temper, but he was not given to raising his voice and ranting, as many are prone to do. The only indicator was that he would fling his spectacles away in a fit of rage. People who came to see PVG Raju often commiserated with him %u2013 a meteoric career cut short and the steep fall. He was sensitive to how people reacted to seeing him and would take pains to cheer them up by talking about karma and how one needs to go through life. He would say that the accident was part of his destiny and he had to accept it, but that then he 158