The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Reporter's Diary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 07, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Reporter's Diary

Different strokes

MINISTERS ARE known to issue directions and also dictate terms. Though they usually arrive late at public functions, they still manage to be the centre of attraction on every occasion. But it was a different case altogether on Sunday at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Karnataka State Vishwa Karma Samaj.

The organisers, who repeatedly tried to pacify the restless audience by announcing that the chief guest will arrive shortly, made the available guests speak till the crowd shouted them away.

And when the chief guest, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, finally arrived three hours behind schedule, a child artist Shivaprasad K. Achar from Puttur literally directed Mr. Kumaraswamy to look straight at the audience. The direction was so stern that Mr. Kumaraswamy did not dare even to wink an eye.

Now if you are wondering how the little boy could issue directions, here is a bit of news. The boy, who is famous for drawing and sketching figures in minutes, was called on the dais to sketch the portrait of the Chief Minister. He managed to make the Chief Minister sit still for a few minutes till he completed his sketch and walked away with a cash prize of Rs. 3,000 from the Chief Minister.

For a rainy day

THE UNSEASONAL rain that has been hitting the city, at some places late at night elsewhere in the afternoons or evenings, may prompt some Bangaloreans to go back to an almost forgotten custom. Going around with a neatly rolled up umbrella that, for those a bit older, can serve as a walking stick while climbing steep stairs.

Umbrellas are a round-the-year accessory in some areas of coastal Karnataka. Elsewhere in this region only the farmers look towards the sky in the mornings. For many city dwellers rain clouds look no different from others and they will of course, not be seen, walking around with an umbrella. Waterproof jackets with hoods are what they prefer. Not exactly handy to shoo away a street dog or a stray cow that gets too close to you.

Over and above

ROOFTOP TRAVEL is risky. All those overcrowded, jam-packed, rickety buses traverse the length and breadth of our motherland's hinterland in sweltering heat. These buses are so crowded that passengers literally go over the top. Rooftop travel, for them, is kind of a feel-good moment. Compared to the packed existence inside, such rooftop travel is preferred any day. But for the denizens of this city, travelling atop the BMTC buses is a strict no no. Of course, you have those low flyovers, which would most definitely wipe out all rooftop passengers. If rooftop travel has never struck its roots in Bangalore, another favourite pastime of bus passengers has quietly disappeared. With automatic doors, drivers ensure that no passenger travels on the footboard. But for those living dangerously, too much safety is boring.

Punctually late

The pace at which the Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP coalition Government came to power forced journalists to believe that those running the Government will act with the same swiftness. However, they have of late started entertaining doubts about whether the Government will maintain the momentum given the fact that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is always behind the schedule for any programme.

On Sunday, he arrived three hours behind schedule to inaugurate a convention of the Vishwakarma community. Whether the Chief Minister, who always says his father H.D. Deve Gowda is his guide, has started emulating him in attending events behind schedule is anybody's guess.

Afshan Yasmeen, K. Satyamurty,

Rasheed Kappan,

Anil Kumar Sastry

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail