The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘My father has now become calm’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘My father has now become calm’

B. S. Satish Kumar

Yeddyurappa’s son says that he is a strict disciplinarian

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

joyous moment: Family members of B.S. Yeddyurappa exchanging sweets at their residence in Bangalore on Friday.

BANGALORE: It is celebration time for Chief Minister-designate B.S. Yeddyurappa’s family. They have been getting greetings from friends and relatives continuously and their house is full of bouquets.

In a chat with The Hindu on Friday just before his father left for the Raj Bhavan to receive the formal invitation from the Governor to form a government, 32-year-old Vijendra, the youngest son of Mr. Yeddyurappa, said that his father had become “calm” in the last three months. “This change is really good for him as he is going to take up a great responsibility,” he said. Mr. Yeddyurappa has three daughters and two sons.

“We are a close-knit family with my father at the helm. But it is only in the last three years that we have started speaking to our father freely. He is a strict disciplinarian and used to get angry at us whenever we committed any mistakes,” says Mr. Vijendra, an advocate by profession.

He recalls the day when he bunked school and went cycling. Sensing some mischief, his father came to the school on a bicycle to know if his son had bunked. He slapped the young offender after tracing him.

“We miss our mother at this time. We wish she was alive to see this occasion. Because she took care of our father for over nearly 40 years,” recalls Mr. Vijendra. His sisters Padmavathy and Umadevi agree.

He says that his father was very particular that his children should be disciplined. According to the family members, Mr. Yeddurappa’s day starts around 5.30 a.m.. “He will have a 90-minute walk from 6.30 a.m. It is the only time when he relaxes. It is during this time that we (family members) speak to him. After he gets ready for the day, he becomes very busy with political matters and even has breakfast with party leaders and legislators,” Mr. Vijendra says. He says that his father is a stickler for time and has given strict instructions to his family members to switch off their mobiles when they speak to him as that would take more time.

Interestingly, Mr. Yeddyurappa was a film buff and would watch a movie every week till about 10 years ago. The late thespian Rajkumar was his favourite hero.

But, now he hardly finds time to watch movies.

However, he watched the latest Kannada blockbuster Mungaru Male with his family members at Shikaripur recently.

Mr. Vijendra says the family members were tense when Mr. Yeddyurappa took charge of the Finance portfolio as he never had any academic background in economics. “However, after he delivered his first budget, we are confident that he can handle any position with ease and also deliver goods,” he said.

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