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April 10, 2026
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"And in his left he held a basket full Of all sweet herbs that searching eye could cull Wild thyme, and valley-lilies whiter still Than Leda's love, and cresses from the rill."
"Where scattered wild the Lily of the Vale Its balmy essence breathes."
"And leaves of that shy plant, (Her flowers were shed) the lily of the vale, That loves the ground, and from the sun withholds Her pensive beauty; from the breeze her sweets."
"The lily of the vale, of flowers the queen, Puts on the robe she neither sew'd nor spun."
"White bud! that in meek beauty dost lean Thy cloistered cheek as pale as moonlight snow, Thou seem'st, beneath thy huge, high leaf of green, An Eremite beneath his mountain's brow."
"And the Naiad-like lily of the vale, Whom youth makes so fair and passion so pale, That the light of its tremulous bells is seen, Through their pavilions of tender green."
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.