Dr H. N. Murthy - Few Reminiscences by Dr (Mrs.) Sharadamba Rao

Dr H. N. Murthy

Dr. H. N. Murthy was an extraordinary Clinical Psychologist, who had a thorough knowledge of Freud’s Psychoanalysis, Jung’s views on racial unconscious and also of neo-Freudians like Adler, who tried to explain the concept of inferiority complex as responsible for abnormal behavior driving one to the mental asylum. Dr. Murthy worked in Hospital for Mental Diseases (HMD) in Ranchi, where I was most fortunate to meet him as a family friend and also as a family member  during the years when he lived with his old parents. We saw him off at the railway station, when he boarded the train to Calcutta on way  to Bangalore and Belgium.

I had access to his bookshelf in his residence near HMD and while

Dr R. B. Cattell

searching for a Bengali Book ”Ramakrishna kathavali” I saw a big book ”Interpretation of Dreams“ by Sigmund Freud, which I read again and again, as it was very interesting. This was the starting point of my desire to study Psychology and also later on to appear for an exam. This culminated in getting M.A. degree in Psychology from Banaras Hindu University. The dissertation as part of the exam was based on data of Schizophrenics. Here was the significant role and guidance of Dr. H. N. Murthy. My research work on 16 Personality Questionnaire led to my contact with Dr. R. B. Cattell of IPAT, Illinois University and my introduction to Culture-fair intelligence Tests. This paved my way to NCERT and my research in Education Psychology, as revealed in my life sketch. My further trip to Leipzig, the birthplace of Psychology as an experimental Science and to Berlin to work on motivation in learning, using an electronic maze  and  relating the learning to personality factors fetched me D.Sc in Psychology. This is again a research in EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. All this outcome has been possible due to my introduction to Psychology by MENTOR Dr. H. N. Murthy.

"Interpretation of Dreams"

Dr. H. N. Murthy was a philosopher and scholar. He was an introvert by nature in my understanding. He had been a very keen researcher, who wanted to switch over to the scientific method of quantifying the behavior of Schizophrenics and Manic Depressives, in terms of behavior which can be measured as against qualitative method of Psychoanalysis. This is reflected in his effort in constructing various scales to measure the symptoms of severe mental disorders. He could have written books conveying his experimental findings, if he was more worldly during his active professional life. Such a book would have helped the generation of clinical psychologists in treating mental disorders effectively and rehabilitate them as normal individuals of the society. Indeed, the departure of Dr. H. N. Murthy from this world, is an irreparable loss to the field of clinical Psychology.

About Dr (Mrs.) Sharadamba Rao

Smt. Sharadamba Rao

Smt. Sharadamba Rao hails from the district of Tumkur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Born in 1930 to devout Brahmin parents, she had a cultured and intellectual upbringing. She is married to Dr M. S. Subba Rao, a renowned plant physiologist and former vice-chancellor. During her days at Ranchi, she came in contact with Dr H. N. Murthy in her search for Achintya Kumar Sen Gupta’s “Ramakrishna Kathavali” in his library. There she came across Sigmund Freud’s “Interpretation of Dreams” – a find which would herald an exemplary course in the field of clinical psychology. Enchanted by the book, she decided to embark on procuring a degree in psychology. This quest brought her to Benaras Hindu University in search of a Master’s degree in psychology. An M. Sc in Pure Mathematics in her armamentarium helped her a great deal in being eligible to pursue the said Master’s in psychology. It was in these years that Dr H. N. Murthy came to occupy the position of a “surrogate teacher” to an avid, aspiring student of psychology.

In fact, Dr H. N. Murthy would suggest a comprehensive study on a collection of 50 co-

Prof Klix

operative schizophrenics at the Ranchi facility. Sharadamba Rao took up this endeavour in earnest. Her mathematical background aided her plenty in successfully extrapolating meaningful analysis of the vast data. Such a scale of study (on schizophrenics) having never been taken up before, caught the attention of Dr Raymond B Cattell who would extend an invitation to her to the United States. But as fate would have it, a scholarship from Germany (arguably the birth place of modern studies in psychology) saw Sharadamba Rao embark for Berlin to meet the famous Prof Godschaldt. Prof Godschaldt not being in attendance led her to meet Prof Klix under whom she completed her D. Sc. (Post-Doctoral Degree) on the subject of “Motivation in Learning” by doing experimental research with an electronic maze using Dr R. B. Cattell’s 16 factors.

Smt. Sharadamba Rao came back to India and in 1976 settled in New Delhi to work at NCERT. Her work on improvement of UPSC exams was significant. She later relocated to Bangalore, where she worked in bridging NCERT’s ideas and techniques with State Educational Programs from 1984 till 1990 whence she retired. She currently stays with her husband at their Bangalore residence.


P.S.: Smt Sharadamba Rao passed away on the 4th of January, 2014 at her residence in Bangalore, exactly a day after this article was posted on our blog. We extend our sincere condolences to her family members and pray that her soul may rest in peace.