Background
Navaratna Srinivasa Rajaram was born on 22 September 1943 in Mysore City, then in the Kingdom of Mysore now in Karnataka, India. His ancestors were Vedic Brahmins belonging to the Madhva-Deshastha sect who came to Mysore in 1638, accompanying Shahji Bhonsle (father of the famous warrior Shivaji) when he became the Governor of Karnatak. Rajaram's father Navaratna Srinivasa Rao (1913–2002) was a leading surgeon of his time and his mother was Nanda Devi (1922–1996). Her father Ramohalli Vyasa Rao (1881–1958) was an eminent geologist and industrialist who founded several successful companies and also a scholar of note. The major early influence on Rajaram was his paternal grandfather Navaratna Rama Rao (1877–1960), a renowned administrator and friend and mentor of leading figures like India's Governor General C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), polymath K.M. Munshi, composer Vasudevacharya, and musician M. S. Subbulakshmi– to name a few. Rajaram spent much of his early youth with his grandfather whose personality, associations and scholarship left a profound and lasting influence on him. Like his grandfather, Rajaram too became proficient in several languages gaining recognition and awards as a writer both in English and in his native Kannada at an early age.