By J. Ganesh Ayanna

Dr. Adengada A. Kuttappa, who passed away early this morning at his residence, was  one of the most jovial and exemplary Dentists of our city for the past over 40 years. Past President of Mysore Kodava Samaja, Dr. Kuttappa  was a man genuinely concerned about Kodavas and very helpful too.  He led the Kodava Samaja during his tenure smoothly without controversies. He  was a good listener to ideas and suggestions from others.  I was blessed to work closely with him during his tenure as the President of Mysore Kodava Samaja, when I organised a mega Fund Raising event by Fashion Guru Prasad Bidappa during 2000 at Kaynes Resorts.

This was the largest ever fund raiser organised by Mysore Kodava Samaja to date which finally culminated in Mysore Kodava Samaja making a clear profit of approximately Rs. 20 lakh those days.  Dr. Kuttappa had total faith in me and had given the full responsibility of organising this event and completing it successfully.  He was a leader who had the ability to identify those with talent, nurture and encourage them for the common  good of the  community.   Dr. Kuttappa ensured that he was present in almost all functions of Kodavas both during celebrations or mourning. 

Dr. Kuttappa made his mark in Rotary Mysore too and was very popular in Rotary circles.

Dr. Kuttappa was a good speaker who added colour and poise  to any event he addressed.  His pun and humour was of a very trademark style.  He could carry the gathering very well by his impish sense of humour which Mysore and especially the Kodavas are going to                                                        miss immensely.

As for his professional side, he was a Doyen among the Dentists in Mysore who was probably among the first to establish his Dental Clinic at K.R. Circle  during late 60s. Of course, he was a highly sought after dentist and during his heydays, was a dentist of such fame and repute that it was not easy to get an appointment with him.

Dr. Kuttappa was very jovial and bore a pleasing personality and demeanour. The minute a patient sat on his dental chair he would make him or her forget the impending treatment in store by the power of his sheer humour and jokes that he would crack during the treatment.

He knew the art and style of ensuring his patients forgot the pain during the course of treatment. That was unique only to Dr. Kuttappa’s Dental Clinic. Now it is more than a decade since Dr. Kuttappa retired from being a practicing dentist but many of us, his regular clients, remember him and his dental chair. Above all, the great humour and conversation thrown in as a fringe benefit of visiting his clinic.

May his soul attain moksha is my prayers for him. The front chair which he used to occupy in almost all functions at Mysore Kodava Samaja shall forever remain empty will be a reminder to us about his eternal absence. RIP dear friend Shyam. Personally, it is a great loss to me that my dear friend Shyam is no longer with us.