a 7-year old Sai Krishna of Pandavapura (a tiny village near Mysore), a mini-Avatar and an alleged protégé of Sathya Sai Baba. This exposition compelled many godmen to admit that they did not have special abilities. The committee was dissolved in 1977, as he was forced to resign from the office of Vice Chancellor. In 1985, Narasimhaiah challenged a godman, Shivabalayogi, who claimed that he could let down rain by praying. To test the claim, Shivabalayogi was to specifically fill up the T.G. Halli reservoir by rain to feed Bangalore. It never rained. Although a Hindu by birth, Narasimhaiah refused to practice religious rituals. He did not perform tonsure (cutting the hair off the head) upon the death of his father. He would eat food during a solar eclipse to demonstrate that it does not cause indigestion, as Hindus believed to be so and would fast. He did inaugurate the procession at Dasara, a festival with homage to Goddess Chamundeshwari, in 2004. But he explained that it was out of respect of "tradition and culture". His famous quote is: A poor teacher complains, an average teacher explains, a good teacher teaches, a great teacher inspires. Awards and honours Narasimhaiah was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1984, the third highest civilian awards instituted by the Government of India, for his services in literature and education. He received the Tamrapatra award for his participation in the Indian Freedom Struggle. For his contribution to the popularisation of science he won the Sir M Vishweshwaraiah Award. He was also the only Indian to be elected Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP International), set up by Paul Kurtz in the USA. He received the Sahitya Akademi book prizes for his books Horaatada Haadi and Tereda Mana. In 1983, he was elected the president of Indian Rationalist Association. He was awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti, the second highest civilian honour, and Basava Puraskara (2001) of the Karnataka state government. He also received the Karnataka Nataka Academy Fellowship in 1990, the Nadoja award (equivalent to Honorary Doctor of Letters) by Kannada University at Hampi, in 1996, and Honorary D.Lit from the Gulbarga University. In 1995, the Government of India (under the ministry led by Deve Gowda) appointed him Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority. In 1980, the Karnataka state government under Gundu Rao nominated him to the Karnataka Legislative Council,