Annavaru

Last week has been really a disastrous week as far as Karnataka is concerned. We lost the biggest celebrity in the state, Dr. Rajkumar and what should really have been a peaceful procession kicked off a series of events that dent the image of the city in a terrible way. He was the perfect embodiment of Kannada cinema with not a trace of vulgarity and obscenity in his films, which used to be typical family entertainers. I still remember those days when Kannada films used to be played on Doordarshan, the solitary channel of the early eighties and according to me, the golden period of the television world. Initially, the Kannada movies were played on Saturday evenings and would continue after a brief interruption for news(which used to be the dinner break for us!). Later, it was moved on to Sunday evenings. It used to be an assembly of my family members waiting for a good Kannada movie and if it was Annavaru's movie, I could see the relief on my parents' face. Oh! This will definitely be a good movie was the expression that used to adorn their face. Such was the aura of the man. The masses had a lot of faith in him and he used to live upto their expectations.

Aftermaths

People from other states might wonder what the fuss is all about. Why is the whole state mourning for the sake of a single person? But, it is only the people of Karnataka who can really fathom what he really means to the state. He single handedly represented the entire Kannada filmdom, and his love for Kannada was very much visible. He made it a point to stress the importance of the language at any given opportunity. He was definitely a man of principles with a very high moralistic standard. Such was the stature of the man and no wonder everyone in Karnataka could attribute his death as a personal loss.



The spate of events that followed after his death can in no way be justified. The riots that sprang out in many parts of the city was not the kind of response that such a man should receive. People should realise that birth and death are a part and parcel of man's life and after all everyone is mortal. I am sure that whoever was involved in such unruly activities cannot consider themselves to be a fan of the great legend. It was more of a personal vendetta where people took this as an opportunity to settle personal scores. Truly shameful! I felt really sad to read the reports from all the websites about the tense situation prevailing in Bangalore due to his death. Now, I don't understand why people can't see him off in the way he deserves, instead of disrupting normal day to day activities. I am sure even Rajkumar would have been petrified if he had got to see the aftermaths of his death. People should really grow up!