Virarajendra I (1780 - 1809), a Kodagu king of Haleri dynasty built Virarajendrapete at the place he first met and received the British Governor Abercromby of Bombay. In course of time, it developed into an important town called Virajpet. Many coffee and tea estates came into existence in and around the area. One of the estates near Kandangere village was developed by Anantharama Iyengar, who lived there with his wife Sringaramma. To this couple was born a son in 1918 who was named Sampath, now famous as M. A. Sampath Iyengar. He had his early education there and the family moved to Mysore almost 8 decades ago for the schooling of Sampath Iyengar. Otherwise he would have ended up in Kodagu as an estate owner. Loss of Kodagu is the gain of Mysore.

After obtaining a degree in Mysore, the young Sampath thought of becoming an Advocate, as they were in the forefront of freedom struggle of our country. But there was no law college in the then Mysore State. This did not become an obstacle. He went to Bombay University and obtained his Law degree and was called to the Bar in 1946. Since then he has been practicing law for the past 65 years. Thus his law practice has also completed shastipoorty. Today at 94, he is still practicing and I do not know if this is a record for any advocate.

Young Sampath made a name for himself as an advocate and came to the notice of Nittoor Srinivasa Rao (who lived for 100 years), a legal luminary and a Chief Justice. He introduced Sampath Iyengar into the portals of High Court at Bangalore. As a HC advocate he drew the attention of another great advocate Venkataranga Iyengar (later became famous as Writ Iyengar). On his recommendation, Sampath enrolled himself as an advocate of Supreme Court of India. Afterwards, he never looked back.

Just like a doctor, an advocate has a golden touch (hastaguna) and Sampath had it in plenty. Whenever he touched a brief that automatically saw success. Those were the days when everybody believed “Justice prevails”. Judges were afraid of the brilliant advocates.

Once a rich man approached Sampath Iyengar and requested him to take up his case. He refused as it was not a just case. The rich man offered double the fees but he was not moved and told him that the case was a bundle of lies and hence he would not take it. The angry rich man, before going out, said "If this is your attitude, you will have to close down your office." The rich man is proved wrong by Sampath.

Cheque - bounce case:
Sampath Iyengar has handled thousands of cases and some of them are interesting. About half – a - century ago, a youth was convicted for a cheque - bounce case. The youth approached Sampath Iyengar. On finding the youth innocent, he took up the case and with the help of V. Krishnamurthy, won the case but did not take the fee. Then onwards he stopped taking up criminal cases and concentrated on civil suits.

A famous painter was commissioned by the Mysore Palace for some paintings (which adorn the Palace even now). Due to some misunderstanding, the painter was not paid remuneration. So he filed a case against the Maharaja. The Palace officials approached Sampath Iyengar to take up the case and with the help of his senior, argued that a case was not maintainable against the Maharaja and won the case and also the admiration of the Maharaja. Recognising his service, the Mysore Bar Association made him its President.

He represented many companies like LIC and Banks. He also took active interest in co - operative movement and held many important positions in many Co - op. Banks. Sampath Iyengar feels that his clients are his gods; to secure justice to them is his worship. Thus he maintained high degree of professional ethics. When he won the case of a rich temple, the authorities offered him a generous fee. He refused to accept it and told them to do some special puja and send the prasadam to his house.

An educationist:
This advocate evinced keen interest in the field of education also. His long standing association with NIE which has already made a name for itself throughout the country and abroad has added many feathers to its cap during the leadership of Sampath Iyengar. Recognising his services, NIE Trust has made him President - Emeritus for life. A great honour indeed! He also had association with Sarada Vilas, Sirmath Polytechnic, Ramakrishna Ashram etc.

Religion and culture are Sampath Iyengar's strong forte. The famous Vontikoppal Venkataramanaswamy temple has become Tirupati at Mysore. As the President of the Temple Trust, Sampath Iyengar has introduced innovative programmes such as publication of religious books like Bhagavad Gita. No cultural or religious functions can take place in Mysore without him.

Married 64 years ago, Sampath Iyengar's wife Vaidehi is a strong support behind all his success. The couple are leading a highly contented life with two sons — one an engineer and a doctor (Dr. Ranganath, a neurologist) — daughter – in - law Dr. Jayashree, a Gynecologist and many grand - children.

He has received many awards and honours for his services in law, social service and culture — Vijaya Vocational Award, Vaishnava Sabha, Tyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha, Tatayya Award, Senior Advocate award, Nittoor Srinivasa Rao award etc. Perhaps the honour of “Grand old man of Mysore” would be more apt.

At 94, he stands erect which is true literally and figuratively. The citizens of Mysore (Manvantara) have planned to felicitate him on his 94th birthday today. We pray Mavinakere Ranganatha (his family deity) to shower his choicest blessings on this couple and make them hit a century.

Courtesy: Star of Mysore