Maanasi Sridhar writes on First Badaga – Dharmalingam

Maanasi.R.Sridhar writes :

Sir, firstly congratulations on putting together such an insightful and organized website about the Badaga community. Your work has definitely enriched my knowledge of the finer nuances of our culture.

As I was going through your work , I was pleasantly surprised to come cross a mention of my grandfather A. Dharmalingam ,in your ‘first badaga’ category. However , I felt just the mere mention of his name didn’t do justice to his identity. So, I felt it was my duty to provide the following information. Hope you will find it useful for your website. Thank you very much! First Badaga Journalist – ANDI GOWDER DHARMALINGAM ( Kanerimukku Village) Married to N.Thangamma from Dhimhatty He was a reporter for the ‘Madras Mail’ and later for ‘The Hindu’ from the late 1940’s until 1973. After his retirement from ‘The Hindu’, he continued to work as a journalist for the news agency, UNI (United News of India) till his death.

During his illustrious career he rubbed shoulders with personalities such as K.Kamaraj and M.Bhaktavatsalam (former Chief Minister of the State).He also had the privilege of meeting and interacting with leaders of colonial India like Lord Monutbatten and also our first Prime Minister Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Through such interesting anecdotes from his life, his legacy as a journalist still lives on, inspiring generations of writers in our family.

Thank you very much Maanasi Sridhar, for your words of encouragement on this website. On ‘First Badaga’, this is preciously the type of feed back I was hoping for from relatives and friends, to give greater details about those great “First” Badagas, who have done our community proud by their deeds and words. I am aware that your grandfather Dharmalingam was also closely associated with Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder.

Can you send a photo of your grandfather for publication.

I can see from your ‘words’ that you are also very good with writing. Surely, it runs in the family. Thanks once again.

Wg Cdr JP