By N.S. Anand [[Mob: 9880203279]

My mentor, friend and father (not biological, though) Mr. Volker Stutzer died on 21st November 2022. He has left behind his daughter Dagmer, son-in-law Otto and grandson Oliver.  His wife Lilian predeceased him.

Born on 9th December 1927 in Germany, Volker Stutzer was a war veteran, a journalist, an author and above all, a great altruist. He served as a paratrooper in the Second World War and after surviving the war he chose to be a journalist. Later, he became the Editor of a national newspaper called Passau Neue Presse. After retirement, he wrote several books in German as well as English. He also translated Rig Veda into German.

Mr. Volker Stutzer had great love for India and he adored Mahatma Gandhi to a great extent. He made several visits to India, especially Mysore during Dasara festival.  He always enjoyed the elephant procession. As a polymath, he had good knowledge of the heritage of Mysore city and the rule of the Wadiyar dynasty.

He established a foundation called Mahatma Gandhi Foundation for which he collected funds to educate the downtrodden students in Mysore and Bangalore during the 1980s and continued this mission. More than 100 boys and girls who were educated by the Foundation are well-settled today.

During his first visit to India in 1976, more specifically Mysore, I happened to meet him at my neighbour Mr. Ali Khan’s house. I was just 13 years old at that time. My relationship became so strong with him as well as his family after several visits that Mr. Volker and his wife Mrs. Lilian became my new-found parents.  I was influenced by them to a large extent in my life.

While in Mysore, he always stayed with Mr. Rashid Ali, a Professor of Urdu, Maharaja’s College and Mrs. Nilufar Rashid Ali, and during his stay, I made it a point to visit them every day.

He had expressed his wish that his obituary be put up in Star of Mysore because Mysore was the centre of his altruistic activities. Moreover, he knew Mr. K.B. Ganapathy, who had interviewed him on his visits to Mysore.