On 24th of December, an icon of our profession Narayan Varma, Narayanbhai to all of us, breathed his last. I am writing this editorial, a tribute to him saddened by the feeling that he will not be there to correct my mistakes. For the last 30 months, my editorial has passed under his watchful eyes. This time, this piece will reach you without having had the benefit of his critical examination.
Born in 1931, Narayan Varma was a one-man institution. This small piece is inadequate to describe this doyen of the profession, yet to pay my respects, I must make this attempt. He was truly a giant, in every sense of the term, and a gentle one at that.
The words BCAS and Narayan Varma are inseparable. To Narayanbhai, the Society was like his very own child. He was involved in every activity, be it core subjects like taxation, accounting, auditing or offbeat areas like human resources. He was the President of the BCAS in the year 1978 -79. While the Society was very dear to him, he also actively participated in other institutions. He was the President of the Chamber of Tax Consultants (CTC) for the years 1988-1990. While his contribution to the profession was a sterling one, his role as a social activist was equally significant. He made the Right to Information Act, his mission and made it into a movement.
My first interaction with Narayanbhai, was nearly 3 decades ago at a Residential Refresher Course (RRC). I was a young enthusiastic Chartered accountant, participating in group discussions vociferously, in a manner bordering on irreverence. He heard me patiently, and encouraged me to express my views even though they differed from that of the group. During my journey at the Society from a member of various committees to its President, I had the opportunity of sharing many a moment with him. He always came across as a thorough professional, a visionary, but above all, a lovely human being. He was popular with young members and often acted as a bridge between them and seniors. Being young at heart he empathised with the thoughts of youngsters. As a mentor he nurtured a large talent pool, and with his departure we have lost a father figure.
The Journal, the flagship of the Society was very dear to him. He chaired the Journal committee in 1984. He was a member of the Editorial Board from the time it was constituted in 1991. He was the publisher of the Journal for more than two decades. He floated many new ideas. Many features that are popular today in the Journal, were his ideas. Namaskaar, the feature with which the Journal begins today was encouraged by him, the features RTI (Right to Information), Cancerous Corruption were contributed by him. He did not fear failure, and always attempted to tread new paths. He has so many achievements to his credit that if one were to list all of them one would have to possibly devote one entire issue of the Journal for that purpose.
If one were to select three of his qualities which one would do well to inculcate in ones persona, I would choose, pride in the profession he belonged to, his love for innovation and his adherence to democratic principles.
He always made it known to all concerned that this was a profession that did not get the recognition that it deserved. In fact, after he departed I had an occasion to speak to the past president of the ICAI – Mr. T.N. Manoharan. He mentioned that it was Narayanbhai’s idea that all Chartered Accountants should describe themselves with the designation `CA’. He pursued this idea tirelessly with the ICAI, and today it is an accepted designation.
Innovation was his mantra. He always yearned to start something new. Many ventures, such as the Budget Booklet, were popularised by him. He was a visionary and realised that, in the new world chartered accountants would have to think differently, and would have to acquire skills and the mindset which management students had. He was instrumental in structuring a new course for Chartered Accountants in the field of business consultancy jointly with the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. Many young Chartered Accountants benefitted from this course and their careers reached new heights. These innovations were not limited to the professional sphere. Even in the social field, he preached innovation. He published the RTI Booklet, which helped many citizens. He has been an avowed RTI activist, was a guiding force to the Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), and an inspiration for Dharma Bharati Mission. When he participated in the activities of all these organisations, he came across as a very sensitive person.
The third quality which endeared him to me was that he was a true democrat and respected views of others. I recall a large number of meetings of the Society, the Editorial Board, the Journal Committee when he put across for consideration his innovative ideas. At times those were rejected because his thinking was well ahead of the times. Yet, after his ideas were rejected he willingly went along with the decision of the majority. Despite being a Titan, he took extreme care to ensure that his overpowering personality did not dwarf others.
If we are truly to pay our respects to this great soul, we should try to inculcate in ourselves his sterling qualities. We should follow his ideals, we should not only become good professionals, we should try to become responsible citizens and above all good human beings. If we take steps in that direction, we will have paid homage to him.
