ಆದರೆ ಆ ಹುಡುಗಿ..? ಮರಳಿ ಬರುತ್ತಾಳಾ..? ಇರುವ ಒಬ್ಬಳೇ ಮಗಳು, ಹದಿನೆಂಟು ವರ್ಷ ಸಾಕಿ ಸಲುಹಿದ ಮಗಳು, ಬಂಗಾರ ಬಾಳು ಬಾಳಬೇಕಾದವಳು ಹೀಗೆ ಸತ್ತುಹೋದರೆ ತಂದೆ ತಾಯಿಗಳ ಗತಿಯೇನು..? ಆ ವೇದನೆ, ನೋವು, ಕರುಳ ಮಿಡಿತ ಇವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಹೇಳಲಾಗುವುದುಂಟೇ..?

    ೨೦೦೧ರಲ್ಲಿ ಶುರುವಾದ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಯನ್ನೇ ತೋರಿತು. ನಾಲ್ಕು ವರ್ಷ ಪೂರೈಸಿದ ಮೂರನೇ ಬ್ಯಾಚ್ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಹೊರ ಬರುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ established ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಹೊರಬಂದ ಜುಲೈ ೨೦೦೮ ಬ್ಯಾಚ್‍ನ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದ ಕ್ಯಾಂಪಸ್ ಸೆಲೆಕ್ಷನ್ ಅವಕಾಶಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕವು. ದಿವಂಗತ ಜಿ.ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಪ್ಪನವರ ದೂರದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಶುರುವಾಯಿತು. ಅವರ ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲೇಜು ಕಟ್ಟಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಹಂಬಲವಿತ್ತು. ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಉತ್ತಮ infrastructure ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ವಿಧಾನ ಸೌಧದಂಥಾ ಕಟ್ಟಡವಿದೆ. ಐ.ಟಿ ಕಂಪನಿಗಿರುವ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗಳ ಖದರ್ರಿದೆ.

    ಆದರೆ ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಪೂರಕವಾಗಿ ಉತ್ತಮ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮೊದಲ ಆದ್ಯತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾಗಬೇಕು. ಆದರೆ, ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಆರೋಪವೆಂದರೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲಿನ, ನೆಲದ ಗ್ರಾನೈಟ್ ಕಲ್ಲು ಒಡೆದು ಹೋದರೆ, ನಾಳೆಯೇ ಸರಿ ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಆದರೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೋದರೆ ಆ ಸ್ಥಳಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮರ್ಥರನ್ನ ಕರೆತರುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಆಗುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಗೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುವ ಅವಕಾಶಗಳಿದ್ದವು. ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ.ಯ ಜೊತೆಗೇ  ಶುರುವಾದ ಓರಗೆಯ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಲ್ಲೇ ಇದು superb ಎನ್ನುವಂತೆ performance ತೋರಿತ್ತು. ಇನ್ನೇನು ಬಿ.ಐ.ಇ.ಟಿ.ಯನ್ನೇ ಹಿಂದಿಕ್ಕುತ್ತದೆ ಅನ್ನುವಷ್ಟರ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಬೆಳೆದುಬಿಟ್ಟಿತು. ಆದರೆ, ಆದ್ರೆ, ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಬೇಕಾದ Dedicationನ್ನ ಮ್ಯಾನೇಜ್‍ಮೆಂಟ್ ತೋರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಉತ್ತಮ ಅನುಭವಿ ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್‌ಗಳನ್ನ ಕರೆತರಬಹುದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದ್ರೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ money matter ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಪಿ.ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಮಾಡಿದವರಿಗೆ, ಮಾಡುವವರಿಗೆ ರಿಸರ್ಚ್‍ಗಾಗಿ ಇರುವ, ಒದಗಿಸಲಾಗುವ, ಅವರ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಾಗಿ ಇರುವ ಅವಕಾಶಗಳೂ ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ಸಿಂಗಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಿಷ್ಟನ್ನ ಅನುಭವೀ ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್‌ಗಳನ್ನ ಕರೆತರಲು ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ಉನ್ನತಿ, ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ, Status ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಏರುಗತಿಯಲ್ಲೇ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಐ.ಐ.ಟಿ ಮಂದಿ ಸಿಗದಿದ್ದರೂ ಸೂರತ್ಕಲ್‍ನಂಥ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನ ಕರೆತರಬಹುದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬ್ರಾಂಚಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂ.ಟೆಕ್, ಪಿ.ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಂದಿ ಎಷ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಂತಾ ಗಮನಿಸಿದರೆ, ಹುಡುಗರಿಗೆ ಆದರ್ಶಪ್ರಾಯವಾದ, ಸ್ಫೂರ್ತಿದಾಯರಾದ ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್‌ಗಳು ಎಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಂತಾ ಕಣ್ಣು ಹಾಯಿಸಿದರೆ ನಿರಾಶೆ ಕವಿಯುತ್ತದೆ. ನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿದ ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಲೇಜು ಏರಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹೌದು, ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿಯ ಅಡಿಟೋರಿಯಂ ಹಾಲ್ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಯಾವ ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಯಾವ ಒಂದು ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್ ಕಲ್ಚರ್‌‍ಗೂ ಸರಿಸಮವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ infrastructure ಇದೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನ ನಿರ್ವಿವಾದಿತವಾಗಿ ಒಪ್ಪಬಹುದು.

    ಆದ್ರೆ, ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಳಶವಿಟ್ಟಂತೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟವೂ ಇರಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಬಯಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ತಪ್ಪೇನಿದೆ..?

    ಒಂದೇ ಬಿಲ್ಡಿಂಗ್‌ನಲ್ಲೇ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಅಂತಸ್ತುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಬ್ರಾಂಚುಗಳು ನೆಲೆಸಿರುವುದೂ ಕೂಡಾ Inter branch interferenceಗೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬ್ರಾಂಚ್‍ಗೆ ಬೇರೆಯಾದ ಕಟ್ಟಡವೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬ್ರಾಂಚ್ ಕೂಡಾ ತನ್ನದೇ ಆದ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತ ಹೋಗಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಅವಕಾಶಗಳಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಒಂದೇ ಕಟ್ಟಡವಿದ್ದಾಗ, ಪ್ರಿನ್ಸಿಪಾಲರು ಎಲ್ಲ ಬ್ರಾಂಚುಗಳ ಮೇಲ್ವಿಚಾರಣೆ ನೆಡೆಸುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಎಲ್ಲ ಬ್ರಾಂಚುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿತ ಸಾಧಿಸುವತ್ತ ಸಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ಬ್ರಾಂಚುಗಳು autonomous ಆಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಪ್ರತಿಸಲವೂ ಪ್ರಿನ್ಸಿಪಾಲರು ಬ್ರಾಂಚ್ ಹೆಚ್.ಓ.ಡಿ.ಗಳನ್ನ ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ವಿಷಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ, ಅವರು ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್‌ಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ರೇಗುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಲೆಕ್ಚರರ್‌ಗಳು ಹುಡುಗರ ಮೇಲೆ ರೇಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದು ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಡೆ ನೆಡೆಯುವ ಸಂಗತಿಯಾದರೂ, ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡಳಿತ ವಿರೋಧಿ ಅಲೆ ಉಂಟಾಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಬಾರದು.

    ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಏಕೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಯಿತೆಂದರೆ, ಒಂದು ಬೇಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿತನಕ್ಕೆ, ಲೋಪದೋಷಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನದೇ ಆದ internal matters ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆ ಅಂತಾ ತಿಳಿಸಲಿಕ್ಕೆ.

    ಡ್ರೈವರ್ ಮಾಡಿದ ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ಮ್ಯಾನೇಜ್‍ಮೆಂಟ್ ನೇರ ಹೊಣೆಯಾಗಿರಲಾರದು. ಆದರೆ, ಪರೋಕ್ಷವಾಗಿ..? ಕೆಲ ತಿಂಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕಾಲೇಜು ಬಸ್ಸು ಬಿ.ಡಿ.ಟಿ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ಕಾಂಪೋಂಡಿಗೆ ಗುದ್ದಿ ಕಾಂಪೋಂಡು ಬಿದ್ದುಹೋಗಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೆ ಮಳೆಯ, ಕೆಸರಿನ ಕಾರಣ ಕೊಡಬಹುದಾದರೂ ಜೀವಹಾನಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಗಲೇ ಮುನ್ನೆಚ್ಚರಿಕೆ ವಹಿಸಿ ಡ್ರೈವರುಗಳನ್ನ ಹದ್ದುಬಸ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿಡುವಂತೆ ಆದೇಶಿಸಬಹುದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆರೇಳು ಬಸ್ಸುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಐನೂರಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹುಡುಗ-ಹುಡುಗಿಯರು ಓಡಾಡುವಾಗ ಎಚ್ಚರಿಕೆ ವಹಿಸುವುದು ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ. ಹುಡುಗರ ಬಸ್ಸು, ಹುಡುಗಿಯರ ಬಸ್ಸುಗಳು ಒಮ್ಮೆಗೇ ಹೊರಟಾಗ, ರೇಸಿಗೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟಂತೆ ಕೆಲ ಡ್ರೈವರ್‌ಗಳು ಡ್ರೈವ್ ಮಾಡುವುದೂ ಇತ್ತು. ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಂಡಳಿ ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಂಡಳಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೇ ಆರೋಪಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಚಾಲಕರ ಅಜಾಗರೂಕತೆಯೂ ಇದೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ, ಮೇಲ್ವಿಚಾರಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವವರು ಟೈಮ್ ಲಿಮಿಟ್‍ಗಳನ್ನ ಹಾಕಿ ಒತ್ತಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಾಲಕರಿಗೆ ಗಾಡಿ ಓಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದರಿಂದಲೂ ಅನಾಹುತಗಳು ಸಂಭವಿಸಬಹುದು.

    ಎ.ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ.ಯು. ಕಾನೂನಿನ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪಿ.ಯು.ಸಿ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳನ್ನ ನೆಡೆಸಬಾರದೆಂಬ ಕಾನೂನಿದೆ. ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಎ.ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ.ಯು. ಸಮಿತಿಯವರು ಬಂದಾಗ ಅದನ್ನ "ಸರಿಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡರು" ಎಂಬ ಆರೋಪವಿದೆ. ಇರುವ ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಕಾಲೇಜನ್ನೇ ಉತ್ತಮಿಕೆಯ ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುವ ಬದಲು ಒಂದೇ ಕ್ಯಾಂಪಸ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ, ಒಂದೇ ಬಿಲ್ಡಿಂಗ್‍ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪಿ.ಯು.ಸಿ, ಎಂ.ಬಿ.ಎ. ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳನ್ನ ತೆರೆಯುವುದರಿಂದ Education standard ಯಾವ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲೂ ಎತ್ತರಿಸಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನ ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಂಡಳಿಯ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಲಿಂಗರಾಜ್‍ರವರು, ಸಂಸದ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಸಿದ್ಧೇಶ್‍ರವರು ತಿಳಿಯಬೇಕು.

    ವಿದ್ಯೆ ಕಮರ್ಷಿಯಲೈಸ್ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಅದನ್ನ ಒಪ್ಪಬೇಕು. ವಿದ್ಯೆ ಪಡೆಯಲಿಕ್ಕೆ, ವಿದ್ಯೆ ನೀಡುವ ಆರ್ಗನೈಸೇಷನ್ Insfrastructure setup ಮಾಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಅಪಾರ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದ ದುಡ್ಡು ಬೇಕು. ಆದ್ರೆ, ಅದೇ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರವಾಗಬಾರದು. ವ್ಯಾಪಾರವೇ ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆಂದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಅಡಿಕೆ, ಮೈನಿಂಗ್‍ನಲ್ಲೇ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಮಾಡಬಹುದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಇದೇ ರೀತಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರೆ, ಟಾಟಾರಂಥವರು, ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್.ಸಿ.ಯಂಥಾ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯವನ್ನ ಕಟ್ಟಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತಾ..? ಎರಡು ಮೂರು ದೋಣಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲಿಟ್ಟು ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬೀಳುವ ಬದಲು ಒಂದೇ ದೋಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗಿ ದಡಸೇರುವುದುತ್ತಮ.

    ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ, ಈ ದುರ್ಘಟನೆ ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ.ಗೆ ಕಪ್ಪುಚುಕ್ಕೆಯಂತೆ ಎಂಬುದಂತೂ ದಿಟ.

    ಈಗ ಆದದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ಮುಂದಾದರೂ ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಿ. ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ದಾಪುಗಾಲು ಹಾಕಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಸಾತ್ವಿಕ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಜಿ.ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಪ್ಪನವರ ಕನಸನ್ನ ಅವರ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ನನಸು ಮಾಡುವರೆಂದು ನಂಬಬಹುದೇ..?

Karnataka, September 17 (Compass Direct News) – A mob of about 300 people attacked and torched a Christian prayer hall on Sept. 7 in Bada village, Davangere district just after prayers concluded at about 9 a.m., according to the The Hindu. The assailants broke the asbestos ceiling and windows and set fire to material inside, including Bibles, a cross and a pulpit, the daily reported. A pastor identified only as Lukas E., who was at the site of the attack, described the attackers as “locals” but refused to name them. Police have registered a case, though the pastor said he did not wish to file charges against anyone because they were his “own people.” Villagers who accused the pastor of “converting the locals” by luring them with gifts and by “demeaning Hindu gods and religious customs” told the newspaper that the attack was “spontaneous.” A police official told Compass that 10 persons have been taken into custody. The incident occurred even as prohibitory orders were in force for an area within a 200-meter radius of three other prayer halls in Davangere town, which have been under attack since mid-August. The Hindu nationalist Hindu Jagarana Vedike had threatened to forcibly close down these “unauthorized places” if the district administration did not do so by Sept. 6, stated the daily.

Karnataka – Police on Sept. 6 arrested a pastor in Terekere, Chikmagalur district. Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that on Aug. 31 nearly 40 Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists had disrupted Sunday worship of Emmanuel Church and threatened pastor C.S. John, warning him to hold no further Christian worship. On Sept. 6 nearly 25 intolerant Hindus came to Emmanuel Church, shouting anti-Christian slogans and making false conversions allegations against Pastor John. A GCIC representative told Compass that the Hindu extremists forced Pastor John to a local police station and filed a false complaint against him for “malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings,” and insulting a class of people’s religion or religious beliefs. With GCIC intervention, the pastor was released on bail on Sept. 8.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Aug. 31 stormed Sharon Church in Holalkere block of Chitradurga district, Karnataka beat the pastor, dragged believers out of Sunday worship and forcibly applied Kumkum red circles on their foreheads. As is customary in India, police were mute spectators. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that as pastor N. Kumar had finished preaching, nearly 25 intolerant Hindus led by area extremists identified only as Srinivas, Hanumantha and Basavaraj barged into the church shouting “Jai Bajrangi [Hail Lord Hanuman].” Armed with wooden clubs and saffron flags, the extremists slapped Pastor Kumar and made false accusations of forcible conversions. According to GCIC, the extremists threatened the assembly of around 35 believers that they had to convert to Hinduism or else be smacked with clubs. Grabbing him by his collar, the extremists dragged the pastor outside the church, other frightened believers were made to follow, and kumkum was applied to their foreheads. The believers were warned that they would be tonsured if they worshipped in Sharon Church again. The watching policemen then took Pastor Kumar to Hollakera police station. The GCIC brokered a compromise between the Hindu extremists and the church: Pastor Kumar did not file a complaint, and the extremists agreed not to harass the believers. Kumar was given first aid at Hollakera government hospital for a bleeding ear.

Karnataka – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists on Aug. 31 stormed Full Gospel Church at Sharavati Nagar, Old Hubli, beating a pastor and others and making false allegations of forced conversions. Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), reported that as worship was going on a group of nearly 30 extremists led by D. Kabadi, Jagadish Katti Satish and another person barged in shouting Hindu devotional chants, walked up to the dais and slapped and punched the Rev. David Perumal. When pastor Thankaraj Dhansingh rushed to the aid of Perumal, he too was repeatedly hit on his head and back. The Hindu extremists cursed congregants and chased them away. Police arrived and took Rev. Dhansingh and Perumal to the police station, with the intolerant Hindus following shouting anti-Christian slogans. With the GCIC’s intervention, a First Information Report was filed against the extremists, George said. Perumal was admitted to a medical clinic for treatment. At press time no arrests had been made.

Karnataka – About 30 Hindu extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) on Aug. 24 handed over a pastor and 10 others to the Frazer town police station for preaching the gospel and pressured police to file a case against them in Bangalore. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the pastor, identified only as Nelson, and the 10 others were preaching and distributing gospel tracts in Doddigunta when the extremists began threatening them and took them to a police station, where they were arrested for “hurting religious sentiments,” statements conducive to public mischief and unlawful assembly. The Christians were released on bail after two days.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists on Aug. 27 disrupted a prayer convention, accused a pastor of forced conversions and beat him in Kala Bhavan, Gadag. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Hindu extremists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) disrupted the two day-prayer meeting held with prior police permission, brutally beat a pastor identified only as Santosh and dragged him to the police station. The extremists forced the pastor to give a written statement saying he would not conduct future prayer meetings or share the gospel with anyone. He was released after he was forced to submit a written statement to police. Again on Aug. 28, the intolerant Hindus threatened the pastor at his house, saying that they would burn him and his family if they did not leave the area within 24 hours. The pastor filed a police complaint. GCIC told Compass that a First Information Report was not filed, and that the two parties reached a compromise.

Karnataka – Police on Aug. 27 arrested a pastor on charges of hurting religious sentiments and “uttering words with intent to insult the religion of any class” after Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists filed a false complaint of forcible conversion against him in Arasikere, Hobli, Davangere. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that nearly 100 extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal came by van to the Full Gospel Assembly Church. Pastor K.P. Rajshekar was not at the church building, and the Hindu extremists angrily asked four Christians identified only as Nagappa, Umesh, Yogaraju and Mallesha Naik, about allurements they supposedly received to convert to Christianity. Asha Devi, a GCIC representative, told Compass that the extremists also forced the four believers to the Yellamma Temple, smeared vermillion on their foreheads and made them bow to Hindu idols. “However, they have not renounced Jesus Christ,” Devi told Compass. As is customary in India, police jailed the victims of Hindu extremist aggression. At press time, the GCIC was seeking their release on bail. The extremists had also demanded that the four Christians provide details about the pastor and other families who worshiped there and subsequently went to Pastor Rajshekar’s house, dragged him out and shoved him into the van along with his wife Anapoorna and daughter Geetha. They took them to a police station and filed bogus charges of fraudulent conversion against the pastor and his family.

Karnataka – Police on Aug. 24 detained a pastor after Hindu extremists stormed an evangelistic meeting, attacking the pastor and bringing forth false witnesses to testify against him in Ramalingeshwara Camp, Koppal district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Pastor Jeeva Prakash of the Bethesda Prayer House was preaching at a gospel meeting in Ramalingeshwara Camp, where nearly 100 believers had congregated, when a mob led by two local extremists identified only as Virupakshappa and Giri of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh barged into the assembly shouting curses. They slapped Prakash and attempted to make him chant “Jai Sri Ram [Hail Lord Rama].” In spite of repeated hitting and punching on his stomach and head, Pastor Praskash staunchly refused to give in, at which point the extremists dragged the pastor and a few others to a police station, the report stated. GCIC regional coordinator Laxminarayan Gowda told Compass, “The extremists brought two persons identified only as Chinnappa and Lakshmamma, who falsely testified that Prakash had promised them money to attend the meeting.” With GCIC intervention, the pastor and believers were released at around 10:45 p.m. without being charged.

Orissa – Evangelist Prem Dan Khora was arrested on Aug. 22 after Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) filed false complaints of “forcible” conversion and destruction of idols against him in Dasamantapur, Koraput district. According to the Global Council of Indian Christians, Khora was distributing gospel tracts in the area when Hindu extremists from the VHP were demonstrating against a commission set up to probe the December 2007 anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal district. The extremists snatched the tracts and thrashed him for nearly an hour, leaving him barely conscious. They dragged him to the police station, where he was arrested for “hurting religious sentiments” and trespassing. GCIC told Compass that the whereabouts of the evangelist remained unknown at press time.

Maharashtra – Kashinath Kadale, a tribal Christian laborer, was allegedly beaten and hanged to death by seven anti-Christian assailants from Jamblipada village in Thane district on Aug. 21, the national daily Times of India reported. At midnight the attackers barged into the house and thrashed the couple, with Kadale’s wife Tai escaping and returning hours later only to find her husband hanging from the roof. She filed a complaint with Jawahar police, saying they were sleeping in the house when they were attacked by seven unknown men. The Rev. Sanjiv Andrap, the village pastor, was quoted by Times of India as stating that the reason for the attack was that the villagers opposed Christian families and wanted them to leave the village. Over the last three years, on five occasions villagers had tried to evict the Christian families from the village, the daily reported. But the report stated that Inspector Rajendra Naik of the Jawahar police station said that the allegation made by the deceased’s wife was untrue, that the couple was drunk and “abused” the seven people who were going past their house. According to the police investigation, the seven people had an argument with the couple and later left. Abraham Mathai, vice-chairman of the minority commission told Compass that tribal peoples in the Thane area are constantly vulnerable to attacks from the local Hindu extremists.

Karnataka – Hindu extremists in Chikka Savananoor village, Gadag district on Aug. 20 beat an evangelist, made false accusations of forced conversion, dragged him to the village temple and tied him to a pillar to mock him. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Nagaraj Yellappa Limbuji, a private tutor who worships in Shalom Prayer Hall, was en route to work when a group of nearly 20 intolerant Hindus stopped him on the road and made false allegations of forcible conversions. The extremists slapped Limbuji before taking him to the village temple and tying him to one of the temple pillars. The GCIC’s Sajan K. George told Compass that the extremists kept him tied to the pillar for nearly one and a half hours, continuously mocking and cursing him. “One of the believers in the village informed the police, who arrived and set him free,” George said. “Limbuji has refused to register a complaint as he has forgiven the extremists.”

Andhra Pradesh – Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Aug. 17 demolished the half-built Jesus Prayer House Church building in Uppal hills, Hyderabad. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that nearly 20 extremists led by Shekar Reddy marched towards the church structure under construction and, armed with iron rods, began harassing pastor David Raj, who was supervising construction. They made false accusations of forced conversion. Reddy also claimed that the land belonged to Hindus and that Christians had no right to worship or construct a church in the area. The intolerant Hindus shoved Raj to the ground and began demolishing the church building. Lion Francis, regional GCIC coordinator, told Compass that Pastor Raj filed a complaint at Uppal police station, but at press time no arrests had been made.

Uttarakhand – Six Christian workers and a Bible college student were beaten by a group of Hindu fanatics on India’s Independence day, Aug. 15, reports The Persecution Times. The mob became enraged after they saw Bible college student Rasul Sarvak passing out gospel literature with a team of other students from the college. When the mob attacked, the other students were able to escape, but Sarvak, the youngest in the team, was captured and beaten as the intolerant Hindus tried without success to force him to deny his faith in Jesus. “You are trying to make our country a Christian nation,” they yelled at him. They dragged Sarvak to the police station, where officers placed him in custody to protect him from the furious mob. Four Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers arrived at the police station for Sarvak’s release, but the fanatics stopped them outside and beat them at length in the presence of police. Two more GFA workers drove up to the police station and were also brutally attacked, with one of them suffering a severe eye injury. The mob vandalized the GFA vehicle and threw it in a ditch. They then turned to the vehicle used by the first group of GFA workers and tried to burn it, but police at last stopped them. The Hindu extremists left, and police transported Sarvak and the six GFA workers to another station to keep them safe. There, some local Christians came and filed paperwork, and the group was released.

Report from Compass Direct News

NEW DELHI, September 10 (Compass Direct News) – As tensions continued in the eastern state of Orissa, Hindu nationalist groups intensified attacks on churches and Christian institutions in the southern state of Karnataka.

Hindu extremists launched attacks on churches and leveled false charges of “forcible” conversions against Christian workers as the Karnataka government, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), prepared to close down churches.

Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told Compass that a mob of more than 200 people attacked the Mission Action Prayer Fellowship church in Bada village of Davangere district on Sunday (September 7), accusing the Christians of “forcible” conversions.

The attack took place during the worship service. Besides assaulting believers and the pastor, the mob burned the Bibles, musical instruments and furniture in front of the church. They also vandalized the church building.

Media accompanied the mob, and local TV channels telecast the attack, George added.

The Hindu daily reported that the incident occurred despite a government ban on the gathering of four or more people within a 200-meter radius of three other prayer halls in K.T.J. Nagar police station limits in Davangere town, “which have been under attack since mid-August.”

The police arrested 10 people for instigating the attack.

The daily also reported that extremists of a Hindu nationalist group, the Hindu Jagarana Vedike, carried out a procession the following day (September 9) demanding the immediate release of those arrested. The newspaper quoted the extremists as rationalizing their attack on the pretense of the alleged forcible conversions.

“Had the authorities been alert and not given room for forcible conversions, such incidents would not have happened,” one Hindu nationalist told the newspaper.

The state convener of the Hindu group, Jagadish Karanth, complained that missionaries from seven countries, including the United States, France and Germany, had been funding churches and pastors in Davangere to motivate people of other faiths to join their fold. He said he had documents to prove that a pastor had written to a Christian missionary saying he had converted 6,000 Hindus into Christians within just two years.

Bogus Worship License Requirement

George of the GCIC said the commissioner of Davangere City had issued notices to demolish three churches – Eternal Life Church, Divine Healing Ministry church and Jesus Prayer Hall – in the city, claiming that their buildings were illegal. The three churches have been sealed.

The order was issued because these churches were facing allegations of fraudulent conversions by the Hindu extremist Hindu Jagarana Vedike, according to The Indian Express newspaper, adding that the Davangere deputy commissioner labeled the churches “unauthorized.”

A representative of the Christian Legal Association (CLA) told Compass that the Davangere deputy commissioner had also sent notices dated Aug. 30 to 13 other churches asking them to obtain a “license” for holding worship services.

“This is a violation of the religious freedom enshrined in the Indian Constitution,” said the CLA source. “There is neither any such requirement anywhere in the country, nor is there any provision for such license in any government authority.”

The CLA representative also said Hindu extremists were going from village to village in Davangere to identify Christian houses.

“The extremists demand that some identity cards be shown to prove their religious affiliation,” said the representative. “Such a data can be extremely dangerous. We fear the Hindu groups may be planning organized attacks.”

Besides the collection of data by extremist groups, district authorities are also surveying churches.

On Sept. 8, The Hindu quoted Deputy Commissioner K. Amar Narayan as saying that he had instructed the police to conduct an area-wide survey of churches and prayer halls to check how many of them were “authorized.”

Asked if the survey would also be conducted on places of worship of other religious faiths, Narayan said that it would be “exclusively” on churches because of the present controversy surrounding them. He said the survey would be completed in two or three days.

Bogus Conversion Charges

Christians have been at the receiving end of a spate of “communally tinged” incidents in recent weeks in Karnataka, mainly in Davangere district, The Indian Express newspaper said on Monday (September 8).

The newspaper quoted Davangere Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil as saying that there had been allegations of forced conversions in the district for the last 12 months. Patil added that the police had identified 75 churches across villages in the district where security was enhanced.

Some police officers of the district told the newspaper that there was “nothing new” about allegations of “forced” conversions. “Maybe because the BJP is in power they are getting highlighted,” an assistant commissioner of police said.

The Indian Express also suggested that the recent spate of attacks was triggered by the state education ministry’s show-cause notices to over 2,000 Christian schools for staying shut on Aug. 29 to protest the violence against Christians in Orissa.

All Christian schools in the country remained closed on Aug. 29 to show solidarity with victims of anti-Christian violence in Orissa that started after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples were killed on August 23 in Kandhamal district. The VHP blamed local Christians for the assassination, though Maoists or extreme Marxists claimed responsibility for it. More than 56 people have been killed and hundreds of houses and churches burned in the violence.

The newspaper also pointed out that over the past two successive Sundays, police cases had been registered in Karnataka’s capital Bangalore against nearly 25 people, leading to the arrest of as many as 12, including a U.S. citizen, on charges of “promoting enmity between different religious groups” and “insulting religious feelings.”

Local police officers at Frazer Town and Ulsoor police stations, where cases had been registered, told the newspaper they had received complaints from members of Hindu groups alleging forcible conversions and use of inducements against the arrested persons.

Bogus ‘Communal Harmony’

The Hindu newspaper reported that Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who completed 100 days in office yesterday (Sept. 9), said that “all efforts would be made to maintain communal harmony.”

What communal harmony is for the chief minister, however, was clear when he told The Hindu, “The rule of law will prevail. Nobody has the right to indulge in forcible conversions, and inducement to pave the way for conversions is banned. However, I will direct the district officials and district in-charge ministers to ensure that such activities are kept under check.”

Yeddyurappa also claimed that there has been no communal clash in the state “for long,” and “we will maintain this record.”

“I call upon the people to refrain from paying heed to rumors which are aimed at fomenting trouble and tarnishing the image of the government,” he added.

According to a 2001 Census, Christians form less than 2 percent of the total population of 52.8 million in Karnataka.  

Report from Compass Direct News

It was a festive atmosphere in the Dinga Electronics ™ campus on Thursday. A small gathering witnessed the launch of a revolutionary product in the field of consumer electronics.

Shri. Muthappa Rai, renowned reporter of the world-famous newspaper "Karavali Ale",      was in Udupi to cover a murder scheduled later that evening.  After a pressing request by Logik, that this report would fetch him the PULL-it-Saar prize, he reluctantly came to     cover the event.

Chief Dingologist P.S.L.V. Babu, and Senior Dingineer Sadagopan Ramesh, described       their motivation to create the Audio-Phish™.

" It was just unbearable. We couldn't tolerate it any more. People like Himesh Reshammiya were inflicting aural torture the likes of which, we have never heard before". " And then there were these countless reality shows as well. Mindless retards. Horrible Horrible. " - Mr.Babu said reflecting his profound thoughts to our now, hapless reporter.

"We felt we owed it bigtime, to the society, and to the future generation. We realized      the need for a product that would obviate these crass voices once and for all. " said Sadagopan Ramesh, looking obviously pleased, with this new found attention.

Ramesh continued. " We hit a roadblock mapping Reshammiya's voice to current noise models. Even Gaussian seemed melodious compared to him. Which is when we took the aids of Dha, a man so well known in audio processing circles.

" Of course. What were you thinking? Gaussian it seems.Pfft. The Himeshian model is so so complex. It is not just-white-noise. " remarked Dha, in between games of Minesweeper, slyly gaining some Google-juice in the process.

After months of hard-work, The Dinga team has proudly launched the Audio Phish [ codenamed De Reshammiya Filter].

" This is still a prototype. We have just managed to make him sound like Sonu Nigam as of now. It will take us at least months, if not years, to get some decent sounds." quipped Ramesh. " Questions from anyone in the media? ", he said, obviously pointing to the one and only Muthappa.

" Now, what if Himesh comes to know of this, and sticks it down his . umm. throat? Wouldn't that limit your sales to just one piece, and achieve similar results.?" asked Mr.Rai, beaming at having come up with such a brilliant doubt.

" Actually, make that two. One for each naris/nostril. Yes. That is a valid point. Which is why we are not seeking much publicity. We are just planning to put all this info up on a third-rate blog. And now, your paper as well. " Mr.Babu replied, delicately avoiding any references to the atrocious piece of trash, that is Karavali Ale.

" Any copyright suits expected?"

" Probably just one. For flicking that pic from HHGTTG".

" That's it gentlemen. This is a joyous moment for us, for we know, that in our own humble way, we have saved millions from an imminent brain-freeze."

Mr. Muthappa Rai looked exuberant as this pathetic show came to an end, and he bouncily jumped in joy.

The dingologist, and the dingineer rejoiced in their unique way.

"Hey, isn't that the Bingo guys?. Are you planning on a merger?" asked the ever-inquisitive Rai.

" Listen, dude. Question time is over." "Damn. The news shouldn't have come out so soon. Yes , we're planning on a new food-products division. We are yet to decide on a name though. "

" Bingo-Dinga, and Dingo-Binga both sound like African cuss-words". mentioned Logik, haughtily considering himself so important that he had to do a self-reference.

Regular readers might be aware of the deal. Takal obviously irritated with the lack of publicity for Davangere Food Products, took on Dha in a verbal duel.

Dha says - " You know what. You'd anyway be killed in that weird incident, by Sads, who would be taking over Davangere Semi Conductors. And if he doesn't, I'll certainly sh00t you, and take over Davangere Food Products". , fondly reliving his glorious days on Dc++.

Takal says- " Ha Ha. D.F.P's output would just be self-sufficient for its CEO then." taking a violent jab there, and making a below-the-belly joke.

Dha replied- " Don't ejaculate with joy there, Yoga-Boy. I know all about your deeds. "

Looking exasperated after this vicious remark, Takal left the scene, vowing to avenge this defeat.

While the day drew to a close, the absence of famous Wildlife Photographer, and avid Hornithologist S.U.Saravanakumar, was deeply regretted. Despite an official invite from Logik, it is said that he went off to  Manipal, to watch the cheer-babes at the newly formed Udupi Premier League Kabaddi matches.

Dha, obviously gleaming with joy, at having directed such a great project, went on to address the gathering.

" This, in my not-so-humble opinion, should be the IEEE standard for Indian Humour blogposts".

He also shouted " All Hail the Son of Bosey", for no apparent reason, before he was whisked off for security reasons, still maintaining the ambiguity in the minds of the readers, whether this was a tribute or a parody.

Cheerio.

Last month we three - Me, Satish Raikar, Swamy Tribhuvananda (my colleagues) thought of learning driving a car. We straight way went to well known Car Driving School in the Davangere City. Perfect Driving School is the name of the School. They have Santro at this branch and they have four branches in the city (Nice Management Strategy). Few tips who want to learn now and whoever is still in thinking mode.

1. If you are still in thinking mode, then my advise to you is "JUST GO AND REGISTER". Do not procrastinate

2. Try to select Driving school where u know a person. This is because getting a good instructor is the most important thing while learning. By this I mean that even if it is THE BEST driving school but unluckily you have got a worst instructor, then learning car driving becomes difficult. So keep in mind that you have done little bit of research to find out who is a good instructor and not the good school. If you have got both i.e. good school and good instructor then you are lucky. Now luckily we got both.

3. Ask them what is the fees they are charging. Few details you should check here are:

a) What is the total amount they are charging?

b) Is there any installment facility? c) If you can pay in installments, then how many? or how is it designed? For ex. Our total fees, after negotiations (because we were three in number), we could reduce the fee to Rs.2600. This we were supposed to pay in three installments - First Rs.1000 while registering, second Rs.1000 after 8 days i.e. on 9th day and last balance Rs.600 we were asked to pay on the day they got us DL (Driving License) .

d) So, our fees included both Learners License as well DL (Final Driving Licence). So we thought we have made a good bargain. Indeed, it was a wonderful bargain.

e) Do not forget to choose a proper slot. We had chosen and was suggested by the driving school too that we learn from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm which is peak period. We were really lucky to get this slot. Always choose peak periods. Because I have seen people learning during early morning hours. My suggestion to you people is that you never choose that slot as you hardly learn anything during non-peak hours.

4) After deciding upon fees and terms and conditions starts your actual learning classes. Here few things which you have to keep in mind are:

a) If your instructor is good, he will allow you to try many things and will always be supportive even if you do  mistakes.

b) Always remember, he too has got a clutch and  a brake with him. It is not single brake and single clutch car. Driving school cars are having double clutch and double brakes as he too should have control along with learner.

c) First day, if you are a first timer, you have to learn getting control over steering. I think this requires one day and atmost two days. As per our contract, the driving happens not on hourly basis but on Kilometers basis. Each day they used to teach driving till the speedometer showed 5 kms. In Bangalore, it seems, fees is charged on hourly basis and not on kilometer basis. Anyway, you should be able to get control over steering within one day. This is what you will be taught.

d) From second day onwards, concentrate on how to start the car - First insert the key, switch it on while holding the full clutch, see that the gear is in neutral and the hand-lock is down. If you move the hand lock down, the car  doesn't move at all. It is totally locked as steering gets locked totally. All these things should happen almost simultaneously and not in exact order as written above. You can always put the gear in neutral, then switch on, hold the clutch and move the hand lever down. One more hind here is that do not have your footwear on while learning. Remove your footwear as FEEL of the three levers - Clutch, Brake and Accelerator is very much necessary. Please do not use shoes atleast for 12 days, then you can start learning driving wearing footwear, ofcourse, this again would be different but not difficult after 12 days.

e) Then holding your clutch down fully, put the first gear. Once the car is in first gear, remember that you release the clutch slowly by your left leg while you press the accelerator with the right leg. Now this should happen simultaneously, if you don't press accelerator then car gets off. You will have to restart. Learning this would take time and will learn over a period of time and never in one or two days if you are totally new to driving.

f) Now as the car moves and picks up 20kms/hr speed, then immediately push down your clutch by your left leg and put the second gear.

e) Increase the speed of the car and if it crosses 30 kms/hr speed, put the third gear.

f) If the car next slows down to 20kms/hr speed, then come back to second gear.

g) While turning the car, hold the clutch, better if you are in second gear, but it is very much ok even if you are in third gear. Holding the clutch, turn the steering while slowly and simultaneously release your clutch and slowly pressing the accelerator.

And in the process, you will come to know about many other clues of driving a car.

    ಇನ್ನ ಜಾಗೃತ, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತ ಮತದಾರ ಮಹಾಪ್ರಭುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕು. ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ ನೆಡೆದ ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಷನ್ ಎಲಕ್ಷನ್‍ಗೆ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದೆ ಮತದಾನಕ್ಕೇ ಅಂತಲೇ. ಬಹಳ ಜನ ಕಟಕಿಯಾಡಿದ್ದರು ನಿನೊಬ್ಬ ಓಟುಹಾಕದಿದ್ರೆ ಯಾವನಿಗೂ ಏನೂ ಆಗಲ್ಲ ಅಂತಾ. ಹೋದಾಗ, ಇರುವ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳನ್ನ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಗಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುತ್ತಿ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ೨೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತಿರುಗಾಡದ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನ, ಕೇವಲ ಹೆಸರು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೆಲವು ಹೆಸರೇ ಕೇಳದ ಏರಿಯಾಗಳನ್ನ ಸುತ್ತಿಬಂದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಸಮೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಬಡವರಿದ್ದಾರೋ, ದಲಿತರಿದ್ದಾರೋ, ಸ್ಲಂ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿದ್ದಾರೋ, ನಿರ್ಗತಿಕರಿದ್ದಾರೋ ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಎಲಕ್ಷನ್ ಅಂದರೆ ಹಬ್ಬದ ವಾತಾವರಣ. ಕೆ.ಟಿ.ಜೆ ನಗರ, ನಿಟ್ಟುವಳ್ಳಿ, ಆಜಾದ್ ನಗರ, ಹಳೇ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು ಜನಸಂದಣಿಯ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವು. ಜನ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ..! ರೋಡ ತುಂಬೆಲ್ಲಾ ಜನ. ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳೂ, ಸಚಿವರಾಗಿದ್ದವರೂ ಆಗಾಗ ಬಂದು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.  ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ ಬಂಟಿಗ್, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರಸ್ತೆ ತುಂಬೆಲ್ಲಾ ತುಂಬಿಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ಯಾವ ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಕಾಣಬರದ ಉತ್ಸಾಹ, ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸು, ಹಬ್ಬದ ವಾತಾವರಣ. ಜನ ಓಟು ಹಾಕಲ್ಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಕ್ಯೂನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತಿದ್ದರು.  ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೆಲವು "ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತರ, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತರ" ಏರಿಯಾಗಳನ್ನ ತಿರುಗಾಡಿ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಎಸ್.ಎಸ್.ಲೇ ಔಟ್, ವಿದ್ಯಾನಗರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಮೆಡಿಕಲ್, ಡೆಂಟಲ್ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಿರುವ ಬಡಾವಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಆಂಜನೇಯ ಬಡಾವಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲಕ್ಷನ್ನಿನ ಕುರುಹುಗಳೇ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮತಗಟ್ಟೆಗಳ ಬಳಿ ಒಬ್ಬರೊ ಇಬ್ಬರೋ ಇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಮತಗಟ್ಟೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೇ ಎಂಬುದೇ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುವಂತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ, ಅದೇ ಕೆಳ ಮಧ್ಯಮ ವರ್ಗದ ಜನರಿರುವ ಏರಿಯಾಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮದೊಂದು ಓಟು ಇದೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಕೈ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಮತಗಟ್ಟೆ, ಅಣ್ಣಾ ನಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಷಕ್ಕೇ ಓಟು ಹಾಕಿ ಗೊತ್ತಲ್ಲಾ... ಅಂತಾ ಅನ್ನೋ ಮಂದಿ ಇದ್ದರು.

    ಎಷ್ಟು ವಿರೋಧಾಭಾಸಗಳಲ್ಲವಾ? ನಾವು ಯಾರನ್ನ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತರು, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತರು ಅನ್ನೋದು? ಮತ ಹಾಕದವರನ್ನಾ? ಕೈಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಗಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾರತ ಹಿಂಗೇ ಅಂತಾ ಹೀಗಳೆಯುವವರನ್ನಾ..? ನಮ್ ದೇಶ ಇನ್ನು ಉದ್ಧಾರ ಆಗೋಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋ ಜೋಬದ್ರಗೇಡಿಗಳನ್ನಾ..? ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಯೋಚಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ.  40*60 ಸೈಟುಗಳಿರುವ, ಮನೆಗಳಿರುವ ಏರಿಯಾಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬರೋ ಇಬ್ಬರೋ ಇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಎಲಕ್ಷನ್ನು ಬಂತೆಂದ್ರೆ, ರಜಾ ದಿನ ಕಳೆಯಲು ತಮ್ಮೂರಿಗೋ, ಮಗನೂರಿಗೋ ಪಿಕ್‍ನಿಕ್ ಹೊರಟುಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ನೋಡೋದು ತಲೆಗಳನ್ನ, ಎಣಿಸೋದು ತಲೆಗಳನ್ನ, ಓಟುಗಳನ್ನ. ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯವನ್ನಲ್ಲ. 10*10 ಇರೊ ಕೆಳಮಧ್ಯಮ ವರ್ಗದ, ಬಡವರ, ಹಿಂದುಳಿದವರ ಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತು ಓಟುಗಳಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಒಬ್ಬರ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬಂದರೆ, ಅವರನ್ನ ಒಲಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ, 10ಓಟು ಅನಾಮತ್ತಾಗಿ ಬಿತ್ತು ಅಂತಾನೇ ಅರ್ಥ. ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತರ ಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರು, ಇಬ್ಬರು ಇರುವ ಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಇರುವ ಮಂದಿನೂ ಓಟು ಹಾಕದಿದ್ರೆ, ರಸ್ತೆ ಚರಂಡಿ ಲೈಟು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಬರ್ತವಾ? ಕೈಯ್ಯಾಗೆ ಜುಟ್ಟು ಹಿಡ್ಕಳಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳದ ಮಂದಿಯನ್ನೇನಾ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತರು, ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತರು ಅನ್ನೋದು?

    ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಅಬ್ಬರ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿತ್ತೋ ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಿಮೆಂಟು ರೋಡುಗಳಾಗಿವೆ. ಪಾಪ, ಬಡವರು, ಸೂರಿದ್ದೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಜಾಗವಿರುವವರು, ಮಲಗೋದೇ ರಸ್ತೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಓಟುಗಳಿರುವ ಕಡೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಿಮೆಂಟು ರಸ್ತೆಗಳಾಗಿವೆ. ಅದೇ ವಿದ್ಯಾ ನಗರ, ಆಂಜನೇಯ ಬಡಾವಣೆ, ಎಸ್.ಎಸ್.ಲೇ ಔಟ್‍ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಸರಿಯಾದ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ರಸ್ತೇನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಯಾಕಂದ್ರೆ, ಬರೀ ಮಾತಿನ ಮಲ್ಲರು ಸಿಗಬಲ್ಲರು, ದೇಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪುಂಖಾನುಪುಂಖವಾಗಿ ಭಾಷಣ ನೀಡುವ ಮಂದಿ ಸಿಗಬಲ್ಲರೇ ಹೊರತು ಮತದಾರರಲ್ಲ.  ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೆ ಮತದಾನ ನೆಡೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲವೋ ಆ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳನ್ನ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷಿಸಿಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವು ಅಸಲಿಗೆ ಸವಾಲುಗಳೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅವರ ಮತಗಳು ನಿರ್ಣಾಯಕವಲ್ಲ. ನಿರ್ಣಾಯಕ ಮತಗಳಾಗದ ಹೊರತು ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ 10-15 ವರ್ಷಗಳಾದರೂ ಏರಿಯಾಗಳು ಧೂಳು ಮಣ್ಣಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಇರಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದನ್ನ ನಮ್ಮ ಮಾನ್ಯ"ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತ, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತ" ಮತದಾರರು ತಿಳಿಯುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ.

    ಹರಿಜನ ಕೇರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಬಡವರ ಏರಿಯಾಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜನ ಹೆಂಡ, ಹಣ, ಸೀರೆ, ಪಂಚೆಗಳಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಮತಗಳನ್ನ ಮಾರಿಕೊಂಡಿರಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ, ಅವರು ಮತದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ತಮ್ಮ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಮತಗಳು, ತಮ್ಮವರ ಮತಗಳು ನಿರ್ಣಾಯಕವಾಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದು ಮಹತ್ಕಾರ್ಯವಲ್ಲವೇ? ಇವರು ವಿವೇಚನಾಪೂರಿತ ಮತದಾರರಾಗಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಇರಬಹುದು ಆದರೆ, ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತ ಮತದಾರರು. ಮತದಾನದ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯಿದೆ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ.

Ganesh K, Davangere- 2ganesh@gmail.com

ಬ್ರಾಂಡ್ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಅಂದರೆ, ಕೆಲವೇ ಸಾಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ,

ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆದೋಸೆ (ಸಾಗರ್ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆದೋಸೆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್, ಗುರುಕೊಟ್ಟೂರೇಶ್ವರ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆದೋಸೆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್)

ಖಾರ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ, ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ(ನಾಲ್ಕು ರೋಡು ಕೂಡೋ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಸರ್ಕಲ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಲಭ್ಯ..!)

ಬಿ.ಎಸ್. ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಅಂಗಡಿ(ಕಾಳಿಕಾದೇವಿ ರೋಡ್)

ಮುರುಘಾ ಮಠ, ಶಿವಯೋಗ ಮಂದಿರ

ಶಾಮನೂರು ಶಿವಶಂಕರಪ್ಪ(ಎಸ್.ಎಸ್)

ದಶಕದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಜವಳಿ ಕಾರ್ಖಾನೆಗಳಿದ್ದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮ್ಯಾಂಚೆಸ್ಟರ್(ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಕಾಟನ್ ಮಿಲ್ಲ್ಸ್, ಡಿ.ಸಿ.ಎಂ)

ಭಾರೀ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ, ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯ ವಹಿವಾಟುಗಳ ಸ್ಥಳ, ಈಗ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿದ್ಯಾಕೇಂದ್ರ

ಊರ ದೇವತೆ ದುರ್ಗಾಂಬಾ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ

ಅತ್ಯಧಿಕ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ಇರುವ ಜಾಗೆ(ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಆ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗಿನ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಗೀಳು ದಾವಣಗೆರೇದೇ)

ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಬ್ರಾಂಡು ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಅಸಲಿಗೆ ಖಾರ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಂದಿಗೆ ಅದು ಇನ್ನೂ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ದಿದ್ರೆ ಬೆಂಗಳುರು ತುಂಬಾ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ ಅಂಗಡಿಗಳಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ್ವವು. ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನವರಂಗ್ ಚಿತ್ರಮಂದಿರದ ಬಳಿಯ "ನಳಪಾಕ"ದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ, ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ರುಚಿ ನೋಡಿ ಬನ್ನಿ. ಹಾಗೇ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ವಿಜಯ ನಗರ, ಆರ್.ಪಿ.ಸಿ ಲೇ ಔಟ್‍ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಾ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ, ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ, ನರ್ಗೀಸ್ ಮುಂತಾದವು ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಸಿಗುತ್ತವಂತೆ. ಮುಂದಿನ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ ವಿಳಾಸ ಒದಗಿಸುವೆ. ಇಷ್ಟ್ ಹೇಳಿ ಬರೀ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ರೆ ಬೆಂಗಳುರ್ನೋರ್ ಏನ್ ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕು ಅಂತಾ ಕೇಳ್ಬಾರ್ದಲ್ಲ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ..! ಬಸವನಗುಡಿಯ ನೆಟ್ಟಕಲ್ಲಪ್ಪ ಸರ್ಕಲ್ಲಿನ "ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರು ಕೊಟ್ಟೂರೇಶ್ವರ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ದೋಸೆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್"(ಆ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಎರಡು ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಗಳಿವೆ. ಅದೂ ಒಂದೇ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ. ನಾನು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ನೋಡಲು ಸಣ್ಣ ಆಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ. ಇದು ಬಸ್ ಸ್ಟಾಪ್ ಇರುವ ಸಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೆ.)ನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಾ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಐಟೆಂಗಳು ಲಭ್ಯ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಟೇಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ನೋಡಿ. ಹೌದು ಜಿಹ್ವಾಚಾಪಲ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆಹಾರವನ್ನೊದಗಿಸುವುದರ ಬಗ್ಗೇನೇ ಏಕೆ ಬರಿತಿದೀನಿ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ಸಂತೋಷದ ಗಳಿಗೆಗಳು, ವಿಚಾರ ವಿನಿಮಯಗಳು, ಚರ್ಚೆಗಳು, ಹರಟೆಗಳು ನೆಡೆಯುವುದು ತಿಂಡಿ ತೀರ್ಥ ಸೇವನೆಯ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ. ರುಚಿಕಟ್ಟಾದ ಪದಾರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇವನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಲೇ, ನಮ್ಮ ಗೆಳೆಯರ, ಕುಟುಂಬವರ್ಗದವರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಜೀವನದ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣ ಸವಿಗಳಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳಿಯುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ಖಾರ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ "ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ನಂಜಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡಿ"ಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಗೊಂಡರೆ ಅದರ ರುಚಿನೇ ಬೇರೆ..! ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಅದರ ರುಚಿಗಾಗಿ ಸಂಜೆ ಆ ಸಣ್ಣ ಅಂಗಡಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಜನ ಕ್ಯೂ ಹಚ್ಚಿರ್ತಾರೆ..! ಸಂಜೆ ೭ ಕ್ಕೆ ತೆಗೆಯೋದು. ಖಾರ ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಾಕು ಮಾಡೋದ್ರಲ್ಲಿ ಎತ್ತಿದ ಕೈ. ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ದಶಕಗಳುಕಳೆದವೋ ಏನುತಾನೋ ಆ ಅಂಗಡಿ ಶುರುವಾಗಿ. ಈಗಲೂ ಸಣ್ಣ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಕೈಯೊಡ್ಡಿದರೆ ಖಾರ, ಘಾಟಿ ಕೈಗಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ..! ಅಷ್ಟು ದೊಡ್ಡಗುಣ. ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಹಾಗೆ ತಿಂದು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೋ..? ನಂಜಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡಿಯ ಒಂದು ಫೋಟೋನ್ನ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಸ್ವಾರಸ್ಯದ ಸಂಗತಿ ಹೇಳ್ತೀನಿ ಕೇಳಿ. ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಗೆ ಹೋದಾಗ, ನಂಜಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡಿ ಫೋಟೊ ತೆಗೀತಿದ್ದೆ. ಆವಾಗ ಒಬ್ಬ ಸಫಾರಿ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡ ಮಧ್ಯ ವಯಸ್ಕ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಕೆಕ್ಕರಿಸಿ ನೋಡಿ, "ಯಾವ ಡಿಪಾರ್ಟಮೆಂಟು?" ಅಂತಾ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದರು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಐ.ಟಿ ಅನ್ನಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಅವಕಾಶ ತಪ್ಪಿಹೋಯಿತು..! (ಐ.ಟಿ. ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಇನ್ಕಮ್ ಟ್ಯಾಕ್ಸೂ ಆಗಬಹುದು, ಇನ್ಫಾರ್ಮೇಷನ್ ಟೆಕ್ನಾಲಜೀನೂ ಆಗಬಹುದಲ್ವಾ..!)ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಸಾಫ್ಟ್‌ವೇರ್ ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ ಎಂದೆ. ಆತನಿಗೆ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಬರಲಿಲ್ಲ..! ನಾನು ಒಬ್ಬ ಬರಹಗಾರ. ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಒಂದು ವೆಬ್ ಪೇಜ್ ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಅಂದಾಕ್ಷಣ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬರುವಂಥವನ್ನು ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಬೇಕೆಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಅಂದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ನಿರಾಳನಂತೆ ಕಂಡು ಬಂದ. ನಾನು "ನೀವು ಏನ್ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇದೀರಾ ಸರ್?" ಎಂದಾಗ ಆತ "ಇನ್ಸ್‌ಪೆಕ್ಟರ್" ಅಂದ. ಈಗ ಡಿಪಾರ್ಟ್ಮೆಂಟು ಕೇಳುವ ಸರದಿ ನನ್ನದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ನಾನು "ಯಾವ ಡಿಪಾರ್ಟ್‌ಮೆಂಟು?" ಅಂದೆ. "ಹೆಲ್ತ್ ಡಿಪಾರ್ಟ್‌ಮೆಂಟ್" ಅಂದರು. ಆಮೇಲ್ ಗೊತ್ತಾಯ್ತು ಈ ವಯ್ಯ ಯಾಕೆ "ಡಿಪಾರ್ಟ್‌ಮೆಂಟು" ಕೇಳಿದ್ದು ಅಂತಾ..! ಆಮೇಲೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತಾದ ಮೇಲೆ, ತುಂಬಾ ರಶ್ ಇದ್ದ ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಲೀಕರಾದ ನಂಜಪ್ಪನವರ ವಂಶಸ್ಥರು, ನೀವು ಕಾಣಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಾ ಅಂದಿದ್ರೆ ನಿಮ್ಗೇ ಮೊದ್ಲು ಹಾಕಿಸ್ತಿದ್ದೆ ಅಂದು ಅವರಿಗೇ ಮೊದಲು ಕೊಡಮಾಡಿದರು..! ನಂಜಪ್ಪನವರ ಅಂಗಡೀಲಿ ಮೈಸೂರುಪಾಕು ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕು. ತುಪ್ಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮೈಸೂರುಪಾಕು...ಬಾಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ರೆ ಕರಗುವಂತಿರುತ್ತೆ.. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲಾದ್ರೂ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಗೆ ಹೋದ್ರೆ ನಂಜಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡೀಲಿ ಖಾರ, ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಾಕು ತೊಗೋಳೋದು ಮರ್ತುಬಿಟ್ಟೀರ..!

ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ದೋಸೆಗೆ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಹೆಸರು ಅಂಟಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು ೯೭ರಿಂದೀಚೆಗೆ ಅಂತಾ ಕಾಣುತ್ತೆ. ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು, ಲೇಖಕರು ಒಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ "ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಭವನ"ದ ದೋಸೆ ತಿಂದು ಆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್‌ ಗೆ ಒಂದು ಮಹತ್ವದ ಸ್ಥಾನ ತಂದು ಕೊಡಲಿಲ್ಲವೇ..? ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ಎಸ್ಸೆಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಕೂಡಾ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ತಿನ್ನೋ ಫೋಟೋ ಪೇಪರ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದಿತ್ತು. ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ೯೭ರಲ್ಲಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಾಗಿ ರಚನೆಯಾದಾಗ ಜೆ.ಹೆಚ್.ಪಟೇಲರು ಸಾಗರ್ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆದೋಸೆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ದೋಸೆ ತಿಂದಿದ್ದರು. ಆಗಿನಿಂದ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಸುದ್ದಿಯಾಗಿ ಈ ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಳೆದು ನಿಂತಿದೆ. ಅದು ಜೆ.ಹೆಚ್.ಪಟೇಲರಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೇ, ಹಲವಾರು ಕಾರಣಗಳೂ ಇದ್ದವು. ಆದರೆ ಪಟೇಲರಿಂದ ಮಹತ್ವ ಬಂತು. ಈಗಂತೂ ರಾಜ್ಯಾದ್ಯಂತ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆದೋಸೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ !

ಈಗ ನಮ್ಮೂರು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ವಿದ್ಯಾಕೇಂದ್ರ ಬಿ.ಐ.ಇ.ಟಿ(ಬಾಪೂಜಿ ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಟ್ ಆಫ್ ಟೆಕ್ನಾಲಜಿ), ಜಿ.ಎಂ.ಐ.ಟಿ(ಜಿ.ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಪ್ಪ ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಟ್ ಆಫ್ ಟೆಕ್ನಾಲಜಿ), ಯು.ಬಿ.ಡಿ.ಟ(ಯೂನಿವರ್ಸಿಟಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಪ್ಪ ದೇವೇಂದ್ರಪ್ಪ ತವನಪ್ಪ )ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳು, ಜೆ.ಜೆ.ಎಂ(ಜಗದ್ಗುರು ಜಯದೇವ ಮುರುಘರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ), ಎಸ್.ಎಸ್.ಎಂ(ಶಾಮನೂರು ಶಿವಶಂಕರಪ್ಪ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಪ್ಪ), ಎ.ವಿ.ಕೆ(ಅಜ್ಜಂಪುರ ವಿರೂಪಾಕ್ಷಪ್ಪ ಕಮಲಮ್ಮ) ಮಹಿಳಾ ಪದವಿ ಪೂರ್ವ, ಪದವಿ ಕಾಲೇಜು, ಡಿ.ಆರ್.ಎಂ(ಧರ್ಮ ರತ್ನಾಕರ ರಾಜನಹಳ್ಳಿ ಮದ್ದೂರಾಯಪ್ಪ)ಪದವಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಕಾಲೇಜು, ತರಳಬಾಳು, ಅನುಭವ ಮಂಟಪ, ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ತಿಮ್ಮಾರೆಡ್ಡಿ ಕಾಲೇಜು, ನೂತನ್ ಮುಂತಾದ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಿಂದಾಗಿ ೯೦ರ ದಶಕದಿಂದಾಚೆಗೆ ಜವಳಿ ಕಾರ್ಖಾನೆಗಳು ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಮಹತ್ವದ ವಿದ್ಯಾಕೇಂದ್ರವಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯಿತು.

ಇದು ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್ ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಅಂಗಡಿ. ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲೇ ಮದುವೆ ಜವಳಿಗೆ ಹೆಸರಾಂತ ಅಂಗಡಿ. ಸೂರತ್ ನ ಮಿಲ್ಲುಗಳಿಂದ ಸೀದಾ ಖರೀದಿ ಮಾಡುವುದರಿಂದ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಬೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೀರೆ, ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಳು ಲಭ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಸಗಟು ವ್ಯಾಪಾರದಿಂದಾಗಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮದುವೆ ಜವಳಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಖರೀದಿಗಾಗಿ ಈ ಅಂಗಡಿಯನ್ನೇ ಹೆಸರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆಂದರೆ ಅದರ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗಬಹುದು. ಇದು ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯನ್ನು, ಅದರ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಉಜ್ವಲಗೊಳಿಸಲು ತನ್ನ ಪಾಲಿನ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಮುನ್ನೂರಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕೆಲಸಗಾರರು(ಒಂದು ಅಂದಾಜಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಮೊದಲು ಅಷ್ಟಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಇನ್ನೂ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಆಗಿದೆ.) ಹಗಲೂ ರಾತ್ರಿ ದುಡಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ೯ಕ್ಕೆ ಶುರುವಾದರೆ ರಾತ್ರಿ ೧೧ಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುವುದು. ಶಿಫ್ಟ್‌ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ನೆಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. "ಆದರ್ಶ ದಂಪತಿ" ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಾಯೋಜಕತ್ವವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಈ ಅಂಗಡಿಯು ಜನಪ್ರಿಯತೆಯ ಶಿಖರದಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆಗೊಳ್ಳಲು ಅನುವಾಯಿತು. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕೆಲವು ಅಂಗಡಿಗಳೂ ಕೂಡಾ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್.ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಗಟು ಖರೀದಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ದಾವಣಗೆರೆಯ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಜನಕ್ಕೆ ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನ ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಬ್ಬಕ್ಕೆ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡರೇನೇ ಸಮಾಧಾನ. ಹಬ್ಬ-ಹರಿದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಅಂಗಡಿಯ ಮೆಟ್ಟಲು ಹತ್ತಲಿಕ್ಕೂ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಷ್ಟು ಜನಸಾಗರ. ಕಾಳಿಕಾದೇವಿ ರೋಡ್ ಪೂರಾ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್.ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಅಂಗಡಿಯವರು ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆ ತೊಗೊಂಡಂತಿದಾರೆ..! ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲೇ ಹಲವಾರು ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಅಂಗಡಿಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಜನರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್.ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಅಂಡ್ ಸನ್ಸ್.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಿಂದ ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಟ್ರೈನಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತುಕೊಂಡಾಗ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳ ಮನೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್.ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಅಂಗಡಿಯ ಜಾಹೀರಾತು. ತುಮಕೂರು ದಾಟುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬೀಳತೊಡಗುತ್ತದೆ. ತಿಪಟೂರಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಅವರದೇ ಒಂದು ಅಂಗಡಿ ಇದೆ. ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲೂ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಅಂಗಡಿಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಜನರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಈ ಅಂಗಡೀದೇ..! ಒಂದು ಬ್ರಾಂಡ್ ಅಂತಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಇದು ಸಾಧ್ಯ.

(ಮುಂದುವರಿಯುತ್ತದೆ.)