UG Archive

Introduction I have always thought a photograph reveals the photographer more than it does the subject. In that sense, the following writing is rather autobiographical. My association will with UG, which started in 1981, has been long. He visited my family and me at least once every year since then, till the beginning of 2006, after which time he stopped visiting the US. These essays not only tell about my acquaintance and association with UG, but also about how he affected me personally in my thought and in my life in general. It's hard to pinpoint and say definitely this is where UG's influence stops and my own thinking and life start. The other influences in my life have been Gora, the follower of Gandhi, Chalam, the famous Telugu writer and J. Krishnamurti. Yet, there has been a certain ongoing enquiry in my mind ever since I was conscious, namely, “Who am I?” You can say it is that which gave me a core identity and drove my thinking. It is what made me interested in all th

In January 1982, after my first dental treatment (at the age of 48), on our first wedding anniversary, Wendy and I drove up to Mill Valley. We were pretty late in arriving, probably around 3:00 PM. UG said he hadn't eaten his lunch yet. It looked like he was waiting for us. I apologized. Wendy and I were shown our room. She was given her first sewing chore (UG used to call it “sweatshop”) of mending some pants for Valentine. Valentine talked to me on the balcony for a minute. She said UG liked being with me. Then we all stood on the balcony overlooking the canyon. On the second day, I made cauliflower pakodis for everyone. Terry kept the place immaculately clean, the glass table in the living room and all. I sat there in the morning and UG was sitting across the table. I remarked that I sometimes felt as if there was no separation between him and me, as if we were one continuous person. He replied that he felt that way all the time. The next morning, there was a large group of peop

Gstaad and Bangalore, 1986 Bangalore, 1990 Carmel, 1991 Yercaud, Mysore, Bangalore and Madras, 1994 Hemet, California and Gstaad, 1995 Palm Springs, December 1998-January 1999 A Few Other Travel Memories My Last Visit with UG For many people, knowing UG involved traveling to places all over the world, for as UG would boast, ever since he was in his teens he never stayed in one place more than six months. Even at an advanced age he managed to keep moving, He rented Chalet Sunbeam in Gstaad many summers and people would visit him there from all over. He would make brief trips to other countries in Europe from that base. While I knew him, he visited California almost every year, first staying in the Mill Valley area, then in Palm Springs. He also made regular brief visits to New York, passing through, as it were. He often went to India, staying for some time with Chandrasekhar and Suguna in Bangalore before and during the time they cared for Valentine, and after. He of course made trips t