An axlom says - "simplicity in the characteristic of greatness” which relates to Balanna a very simple person who adopted to lead a simple living style of life.
His simple attire were a white dhoti or wrap around and safari shirt.
He was a non-vegetarian and loved them. He presumed consumption of coffee as an energizer. He was a chain smoker and only at his old age days he realized the risk factors and reduced them gradually. He was a pre-dawn riser and his day would begin with a hot cup of coffee, then a long brisk walk followed by some physical exercises, all which helped him to remain fit, energetic and active throughout his lifetime. He would then fresh himself, offered prayers, then had his breakfast. His food intake would be split with break intervals even if he loved them, as he preferred his food to be quantitative.
He remained detached from materialistic world. He had been an extremely active person throughout his lifetime, one could rarely find him sick on bed as he was highly cautious of his health care. He would wind up his day with fruits especially apple, milk and badam nuts.
He was a voracious reader, in fact, all the leading newspapers and magazines would be on his table. He also loved writing and his hand writing was so elegant that it never appeared to be of an VIII failed and school drop out person. He had fascination to pick up variety of pens.
He did not have knowledge about cooking. His kitchen job would sometime be during pre-dawn hours, when he woke up to write something and to just have a hot cup of coffee, he would heat the milk and add it to the preserved coffee decoction, that was all he did in the kitchen.
He was a workaholic, never drained of his energy. He was always punctual on the sets and even much early. His dream was that he should be actively involved in his acting profession unto and never to retire his last breath.
He was an exuberant and a diligent family man and shared a precious bonded relationship with his family and his interaction with them were always humorous. He was a very good compromiser, be it with his family or fraternity friends. Wife is the core of a man’s life and his wife’s role in the family was multifaceted for which he adored her and admitted the fact that she was indeed the protector of the family as she nursed him and the family gracefully and also shouldered the family responsibilities. In fact he considered her as the goddess of security of his family. Of course disagreements and difference of opinion did exist and occur which happens in every family, but they together brushed them aside and burried the ill feelings for the smooth sail of the family.
In fact he took the self responsibility heating water for his family members bathing purpose by utilizing the abundant availability of fire based in his premises.
He was down-to-earth person. He respected his children’s freedom to lead their life and was also too liberal with them, but on the other hand his wife disciplined him and her children too. He was a home-loving bird and preferred returning back home hastily soon after the pack-up of his film schedules, even if it meant to be a midnight journey. Back home, during leisures, he would join his children to play indoor games, such as carom board in spite of being aware to be a perfect loser. He was also bad at playing cards with few of his fraternity friends, again to be a loser. He always kept his profession and family apart.
As far as his temperament was concerned he always tamed his temper and remained serene, nothing could infuriate him unless and until he was provoked. He always tried to remain mentally balanced. He shared his personal feelings with his wife who stood as a pillar to support and protect his interests. On certain occasions he presumed he was being taunted at times which did pain him, but his amazing attitude was never to carry the burden of ill-feelings forward but to burry them right away. His calm demeaneur played as a tool for his existence in the film industry for five decades. He respected everybody’s feelings and he was an epitome of not only simplicity but of humility too. He was always ahead willing to support anybody, either morally or emotionally. He disliked to flaunt his success, nor betrayed respect towards anybody, be them young or old.
He held his producers, directors and his fraternity colleagues in high esteem. He looked upon his producers and directors with due respect as his "FEEDERS", he equally held his loving audience in high esteem without whose encouragement he would have been an abandoned child. He integrated with everybody around in a humorous warm regards. All of these characteristics attributed as a support to him. His attitude remained of gratitude forever.
He honestly acknowledged the hardships of his producers as he had grown with them during his phenomenal journey and hence for the same reason he never deliberately hiked his remuneration nor demanded a fat pay packet even during his successful peak periods. He was highly conscious not to trouble his producers and even to remind them of his balance dues, he only made requests, explaining the reasons for his monetary requirements.
He harped on dignity and self respect. Due to his short of hearing disability, he was compelled to accomodate either his wife or someone of his family member during his outstations camp. In those circumstances, his home kitchenette went along with him just to strip his producers of additional expenditure of his family member and he also ensured separate billing of his family member for their eatables or beverages to be handed to him for which he footed the bills.
He was a non-controversial person, never harboured ill-feelings towards anybody, even if it meant that they did not support him.
He loved sharing, and shared the responsibility of his family household shopping. He had deep sympathies towards the poorer section of society. He would buy vegetables or fruits from petty vendors in the market so as ensure that they earned that extra income for their family. Many a times in the market locality, he distributed food stuffs bought from nearby food stalls amongst poorest, be it children elderly persons or handicapped. Though these gestures were minor ones, still he derived a contentment of generosity by sharing from his restricted income. Whenever he visited the market locality he did wrap his face with an head pull over cap and a shawl so as to keep his identity a guessing game and thus kept the public from flocking to him and at times when few tried to identity him, he would change his body language simply limp and walk away.
He believed that religion shouldn’t be a barrier for social integrity, and expressed that his religion was humanity.
The only issue his wife constantly tried to educate him was of hygiene which he never acknowledged. Even his personal room was untidy. He restricted his family members to tidy up his room or set right in order the heaped piles of papers, files or books. In fact he kept his personal room locked, fearing somebody meddling them, misplacing them or even losing them.
He was a decorous person and loved to share his glories with all. He would turn solo if he was not involved with his busy schedules and always aspired to never retire from his film activities. At times he was misunderstood and also at time he had miscontinued or wrongly interpreted due to his short of hearing disability. There were times when he was subjected to humiliation but nothing made him to be driven into vaccum, though he felt the pain, yet, his ever churning spirit within him would bounce back in no time. He was a man of comity and aspired to ensure that people around him were cheerful, for which he would even create an humorous atmosphere.
Being a person by virtue of moral values, he refrained from trading his self respect. Most of the time he would pawn his articles of gold or silver or his wife’s jewellery to raise to money. He rigorously resisted from seeking financial favours, but, unfortunate there were instances which demanded him to seek them, but, he always ensured to return them with a special gratitude with a “thanks” note. He was never a spendthrift but was wise and had a watch on his expenditures and thus curtailed all untroubled expenses. He left no liability or debts behind nor child he own any due amount to any institute or private agency. He was indeed a man of simple living with great thoughts. He was a perspicacious person who was quick to understand the pulse of the situation which inturn prompted him to act sensibly. Even at times of being marginalized, he in his own terms would retrospect with his early life and dealt issues compatibly. He was the last man to create professional rivalry nor did he nurse grudge against anybody, but he was committed for an enliven environment. He was judgemental and though he couldn’t hear people speaking out, but still he captured their mood swings and emotions and voluntarily offered to support them to come out of their distress. He did well guard his emotions. He believed in everybody’s right of freedom to live.
He had a superb memory and he savoured incidents and tales etched in his memories forever.
During times of impecunious, he braved them through thick and thin but disliked surrendering or succumbing to failures, as he strongly believed in sailing with faith than being drowned without it.
He loved and bred animals as cows, buffalos, dogs, sheep, and poultry. He cared them so much that even at times when he missed to fetch house-hold items but never failed to carry their fodder. He also instructed his wife not to kill the bred chickens to be cooked for his food. The animals too loved him and awaited for their master’s vehicle to reach home with fodder in time. He was indeed a great man with a great soul.
A MESSAGE:- To have contentment in one’s life is to experience joy as their share of life and hence whatever is their share will certainly come to them but whatever is not their share, may never come to them. Happiness and sorrows lies within us and it is for us to decide to be happy or not. Sorrows may lead to spell the sickness of life. Let us avoid this sickness and bound ourselves to achieve contentment to enlighten our lives.