The Becoming of Annavaru

Dr Rajkumar passed away Last afternoon. He would have turned 77 on the 24th of April.
And this should happen exaclty 3 days after I post on Life and Death - Ironic?

Its not even 24 hours since the incident and the aftermath is already hitting us hard on the head. The death of the Kannada Mega superstar has sent a smoothly functioning city into haywire. It has aroused emotions and fuelled anger and wrath. Its understandable that a state so deep rooted in culture has such feelings for the demise of an old man, but should the passing on of a "Legend" lead to riots and road roka's?

The Local Daily's headline reads "Star passes on" And Alongside it says "Fury and Fire Grip City"

Im guessing that Kannada film activits and the general pro kannada movement and anti social elements are at play for these spurious incidents. Vandals are reported to have broken windsheilds and set ablaze to vehicles in many parts of the city. There also have been reports of stone pelting. Protestors had ensured that by 4pm all the shops all around town were closed.. in the name of mourning. Offices were asked to close. Theatres were forcibily stopped.
Thank god all schools and most colleges have study holidays going on now!





These incidents got me thinking.
What is the use of Vandalism? What do these people think their final outcome will be? Why should a city mourn? Who instigates such riots? Who controls such behaviour? The public. or a few who hold the masses by a leash and move them like pawns on a chess board.? Who operates the Remote Control? If anyone has answers for these questions please do tell me.

All of us remember the Rajkumar Kidnapping. And then the time he was admitted to the hospital. I guess the public should have been mentally prepared for what bangalore has seen is the last 24 hours!

Another intersting Irony to note is that , the same village , Singanallur , has given Karnataka its most famous, and its most notorious, citizen. Rajkumar, born Muthuraj, shares a birthplace with a certain Koose Muniswamy Gounder - more notorious as the sandalwood smuggler and brigand Veerappan.

But that defenitely is one of life's little ironies - for there could be nothing as disparate as the cop-killing, elephant-slaughtering Veerappan and Rajkumar, the matinee idol, an accomplished singer of both film tunes and bhajans and, by all accounts, an aesthete who has, in his advancing years, developed a marked penchant for religion. Incidentally, most of his devotional songs are in honour of Raghavendra Swami - who ranks among his followers the likes of Tamil film icon Rajnikanth, and classical singing doyen Bhimsen Joshi.

The Prayer

Oh doyen of Kannada film industry, Annavaru (elder brother), Mannina Maga (son of the soil) , Kannada Kanmani (Kannadas Darling) , Oh Matinee Idol, Role model to millions of Kannadigas, Sinagullur Puttaswamaiah Ganallur Muthuraj, aka, Dr. Rajkumar... The City mourns for you, The City Burns for you, The city weeps for you, The city Riots for you.
I plead with you. Wherever you are, please influence the minds of your fans and other and make sure they are spiritually at peace.

The Flipside

Frankly Dr.Rajkumar made no difference to my life, or the life of the people I am close to. Until Today.
The karnataka government has declared a holiday today. There will be no offices and schools. Most shops still remain closed for fear of vandalism.
Therefore we have a LONG weekend. My next work day would only be Monday! Yippee! I get to catch up on my sleep, my reading, my bloggin, my mails, my accounts, Spend some quality time with Ammu, and catch up on all that's been pending.

On a lighter note you do wonder why all the halla over the death of someone who was 77. I guess the classes will never understand the masses. And vice versa. I guess we do live in 2 different worlds, like the Ennoi and the Morlocks (from H.G.Well's time machine). Some friends I know are wishing the event happened when we were in college. So that we could cherish this holiday even more. The Irony?

Here's Something to Lighten up the moment. Im sure the ladies will like the way the tush-shake of the tight white pants. Something For you to Remember the Doyen oF Kannada Cinema By. May his Soul Rest in Peace.