Looking Back - Episode – 2

BGR was undertaking such a long journey on bus for the first time in his life. Even though he had to change to a mini-bus at Someshwar and an ordinary bus again at Agumbe, he had purchased a direct ticket to Shimoga (called through ticket) that was to be exchanged at both the places. The private bus companies had this special arrangement and one had to make payment for the entire journey only at the starting point.

The bus was passing through small towns of the South Kanara district including Manipal, Hiriyadka, Perdoor and Hebri. BGR suddenly became conscious that he was alone. It was for the first time that he was travelling without the company of his elders. He knew he had become independent and had to take all decisions on his own hereafter. He would start earning his salary and had to manage his finances once the appointment was made at the bank. A new vista was opening in the life of the 18-year old young man. In those days there were no dream jobs. For most of the young men the job was only a dream!  The bank job was indeed a coveted one. Was he lucky?

After leaving Hebri behind, the bus passed through a road that was covered by virgin forest on both sides. BGR could also see the beautiful Seetha River flowing on the left side of the road. He saw the immense beauty of nature which was simply marvelous. As the bus was approaching Someshwar, the tall Western Ghats appeared on one side. BGR got down at the place and got ready to get into the mini-bus. But he found a large crowd of passengers and total chaos prevailing. Just then he saw a mini-bus arriving from Agumbe. It had a maximum capacity of carrying 18-20 passengers. The whole crowd simply rushed towards the bus. But they had to first exchange their tickets with the agent and there was no queue! It was just pandemonium and only might appeared to be right!

BGR could not take the risk of joining the mob in view of the trunk he was carrying, that too with the money. He waited for the next bus to arrive. Fortunately the next bus arrived after some time and he managed to get in. But he was asked to keep his trunk on the bus top! Somehow he managed to place it on the top and got back.

The bus started its journey and soon it reached the point from where the famous U-turns of the Agumbe Ghat started. The driver was a master who could negotiate the curves with ease. At the end of each U-turn BGR found the temperature falling proportionately! The climate was slowly changing from the humid and hot South Kanara weather to the pleasant Malnad weather! While BGR was appreciating the comfort of the ideal weather he suddenly remembered that his trunk was on the bus top! He realised that the trunk must have been moving here and there as the bus was taking steep turns! As the trunk was made of hard steel, there was no possibility of damage. However, BGR could only hope that it would not fall down from the top and slip into the steep Western Ghats!

Soon the bus reached Agumbe, the Chirapunji of the South. Agumbe was a junction for people traveling to and from Sringeri, Koppa, Kalasa, Thirthahalli, Shimoga and South Kanara.  The passengers arriving from South Kanara on mini-busses had to change to ordinary busses while those travelling to the coastal places had to get into the mini-busses. BGR found a large crowd of passengers at the bus stand. There was a well known temple of GopalaKrishna in the town. Many families from Malnad used to conduct marriage and Upanayanam ceremonies at the temple (My eldest sister’s marriage was held here in 1954). The Sunset view from Agumbe was very famous. One could see the beautiful view of the sun disappearing in the deep Arabian Sea in the evening from a vantage point on the Ghat.

By the seventies busses started plying directly to Bangalore from Udupi and Mangalore via Shiradi Ghat. Busses from Kundapura started plying via Hulikal Ghat. Also larger mini-busses from South Kanara started running directly from Mangalore/Udupi/Kundapura to Shimoga through Agumbe. The coastal highway from Mangalore to Mumbai made people travel directly to Mumbai. The traffic via Agumbe declined. The necessity to change the busses at Someshwar and Agumbe was no more there. Agumbe lost its importance and turned into a sleepy village.

The sleepy village turned into the famous Malgudi town of R K Narayan in the year 1986. It was late Shankar Nag, the well known Kannada actor and director, who shot the entire TV serial Malgudi Days here. The town got lot of hype in those days and almost gained back its glory. But post Malgudi Days the town went back to sleep once again! It even lost the Chirapunji of the South status to Hulikal, adding insult to the injury! The only consolation was – the very existence of its counterpart Someshwar in South Kanara was totally forgotten!

BGR took his breakfast at the bus stand hotel and got into the Shimoga bus. Soon the bus arrived at Thirthahalli, also called the Parashurama Kshetra. Legend has it that the sage Parashurama could wash away the blood stain on his axe in the sacred Tunga River flowing here. He had chopped off the head of his mother Renuka with the axe at the instance of his father, the great sage Jamadagni! The holy River is known to wash away the sins of all those who take a dip here. An annual festival called Yellamavasye Jaatre is held here in the month of December.

The road from Thirthahalli to Shimoga virtually follows the course of the River Tunga. The bus passed through a place called Gajanoor. Here a mini-dam has been built across the river. An 8-km concrete road from here led the bus to Shimoga. The entire route from Thirthahalli to Shimoga was covered with dense typical Malnad forest.

BGR hired a Tonga from the bus stand to reach the famous Brindavan Hotel on the Bal Raj Urs Road by about 1.30 pm. This hotel was the transit point for the travelers from South Kanara district to Bangalore and Mumbai. A special arrangement was available to keep the luggage so that one could go round the city till it was time to depart. After taking his lunch costing four anas (25 paise), BGR went around Nehru Road. He found the culture and the language of Malnad totally different from that of South Kanara. He later left the hotel at 6 pm to reach the railway station 2 kms away. The ticket to Bangalore was available at Rs5 and 4 anas. The train arrived by 7.30 pm.

There was total chaos on the platform as a large crowd of passengers rushed towards the compartments. Most of them were traveling only up to Birur, Arsikere and Tumkur. BGR could not even sit properly. The compartments were unclean and dirty.  The smoke from the steam engine added to the misery. The journey through the night turned out to be quite forgettable! There was great relief when the train ultimately arrived at the garden city in the early morning at 6.30 am.

------- (To be continued)

A V Krishnamurthy

15^th March 2012

Looking Back

Episode – 1

The Prelude

B Govinda Rao (popularly known as BGR) was my mentor when I joined Canara Bank in Shimoga way back in 1970. Those were the days when we all thought that there was nothing in life to achieve once you got an employment. The scope for our promotion appeared to be very bleak and we thought it fit to spend our spare time in mostly seeing all kinds of films!

BGR had arrived from Bangalore on his promotion as officer. He was a man who appeared to be in a hurry and restless all the time! He had passed his CAIIB examination as a matriculate. He could not really understand how young graduates like us were not even prepared to make an attempt! He took it upon himself to make us career oriented by first asking us to appear for the CAIIB examination.

With his encouragement we came out successful in the CAIIB examination and the promotion followed. We never looked back! All of us owe our successful career in Canara Bank to our beloved BGR. He has been a pillar of strength to us and remains so even after our retirement.

I have been thinking of writing a small biography of BGR since long. In fact I felt my writing skills were not worth if I could not complete this self-imposed assignment! BGR was kind enough to provide me the material. I will be covering only the career portion of BGR’s life, which began and ended in Canara Bank. The story starts unfolding in the year 1959:

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The Bailakare family of Puttannayya-Lakshmi couple at Udupi comprised five sons and three daughters. It was basically an agricultural family with cultivable land of around three acres. The family also had a coconut garden of 20 cents in which the ancestral house was situated. B Govinda Rao (BGR) was born as the third son of the family. BGR passed his SSLC in 1956 through the Secondary School Board of the erstwhile Madras State. South Kanara district was attached to the Madras State at that time. It came under the Mysore State only later in the same year. Being a minor, BGR was not eligible for government and bank jobs till he attained majority in December 1958. So he engaged himself in assisting his father in his agricultural activities. Simultaneously he joined typewriting classes and completed the junior examination with a speed of 65 words per minute.

BGR’s uncle, popularly known as Pema, was the man who initiated the process that ended with his appointment in Canara Bank. Pema had a friend called M R Pai who was a retired Telegraph official, well known in his community and who had close contacts with the top executives of Canara Bank. M R Pai, through his good offices, helped BGR to appear for a written test at the Udupi branch of the bank. BGR performed well in the test and was called for an interview at the Administrative Office of the bank at Bangalore on 4th February 1959. As for the information gathered by M R Pai, those who passed the test were sure to get the appointment and the interview was more or less a formality. Thus it was almost a celebration time for BGR and his family.

Now it was the question of travelling all the way to Bangalore. Unlike today, when even traveling to US is taken as an ordinary short-time journey by air, traveling to Bangalore was not a simple affair in those days. In fact BGR was the first person in his family to undertake a visit to the state capital! There were no direct busses to Bangalore as they could not pass through the narrow and zigzag roads in the Western Ghats. The people from the South Kanara district had to first travel to a place called Someshwar that is located at the feet of the Western Ghats. A narrow road from there through the Ghats would lead to Agumbe (known as the Chirapunji of the South) on the top of the Ghats. This portion of the 13-km journey was to be undertaken on a mini-bus (called taxi in those days). From Agumbe one had to travel to Shimoga by bus via Thirthahalli. The journey from Shimoga was to be undertaken on train that would start at 8 pm in the night.

It was apparent that BGR had to set up his establishment in Bangalore once he secured the appointment after his interview. It made him to go on a purchasing spree! The purchases included a steel trunk with a Godrej lock, a bed roll with a pillow and two bed sheets. The other purchases were two banyans, two white mundus and a pair of chappals. Additionally, the family tailor was ordered to stitch a pair each of pyjamas and shirts. Wearing of pants had not been thought of for ordinary folks in those days - at least in South Kanara! The concept was introduced much later and appeared to be quite fashionable at that time!

Simultaneously BGR also started preparing for the interview. Again it was M R Pai and another friend of Pema, Professor U L Achar, who came to his rescue. The first question to be put to him by the pair was – ‘who was the Prime Minister of India’? BGR responded by telling the name of Jawaharlal Nehru. But the pair appeared to be unimpressed! BGR could not make out what was wrong with his answer! He was told to give the answer in a full sentence as - “Shri Jawaharlal Nehru is the Prime Minister of India”. He was also told to be free and frank during the interview. He was to reply in the affirmative if he was asked whether he was prepared to work anywhere in India! Another advice was to go through the daily English newspaper to keep him up-to-date with the current events.

Another issue cropped up at this stage. It was the question of stay in Bangalore till the appointment was confirmed. Fortunately a distant relative from the side of BGR’s eldest brother’s in-laws landed at their residence just in time. Mr. Padmanabha Rao was a retired official from the Accounts Department (Defence) who had settled down in Bangalore. He asked BGR to come straight to his home at Benne Govindappa Street in Basavanagudi. Needless to say BGR’s parents were much relieved to hear this arrangement.

Pema chalked out a perfect schedule for BGR to attend the interview on 4^th February 1959. He was to leave Udupi in the morning of 1^st February, reach Bangalore on 2^nd early morning and take full day’s rest. A pilot journey to the administrative office of Canara Bank was to be undertaken on the 3^rd. He was expected to perfectly remember the shortest route and was to travel by the same route on the 4^th to reach the bank by 9.30 am for the interview.

The D day arrived early. On the morning of 1^st February 1959, BGR left Udupi on the Shankar Vittal bus. The journey had started with Rs100 cash given by his beloved mother. As a matter of abundant precaution, BGR had kept Rs80 in the trunk under lock and key and only Rs20 in his purse. As he bid adieu to his family he turned emotional. But little did he know at that time - he was leaving behind his beloved family for the start of a career in the bank that lasted for forty two years!

------- (To be continued)

A V Krishnamurthy

10^th March 2012

I Don’t Know, Son! - 40

The Bunch of Jokers!

Son: Mohinder Amarnath had once called the BCCI Selection Committee as a bunch of jokers, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The present committee headed by K Srikkanth really felt itself like a bunch of jokers recently, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The Committee was discussing about the ‘resting’ of senior cricketers including Sachin and Sehwag for the Asia Cup, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Srikkanth was already under pressure as Gavaskar had issued a statement stating that he could talk to Sachin personally to persuade him to retire from one-day cricket, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Just then his mobile started ringing and he saw it was Sachin himself calling him. He immediately concluded that Sachin was announcing his retirement and felt fully relieved, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The conversation went like follows, dad.

Sachin: Hello Srikkanth Sir!

Sri: Hello Sachin. I knew you would not put me in an embarrassing position by forcing me to ask you to quit! Blah… Blah… Blah…

Sachin: But Sir…

Sri: I understand your predicament Sachin. You are close to scoring your 100^th century and it is difficult for you to quit at this stage. But…..Blah…Blah… Blah…

Sachin: But sir….

Sri: I definitely can make out Kanna…..I mean Sachin. You are really great Sachin. I know scoring 99 centuries is itself a record that no one could ever beat! Blah… Blah…. Blah….

Sachin:  But sir….

Sri: Don’t worry Sachin. I will tell Sunil (Gavaskar) that you saved my day by voluntarily announcing your retirement in the interest of youngsters. Blah…Blah….Blah….

 Sachin: (At the top of his voice). But Sir - I rang you up only to tell you that I am ‘available’ for the Asia Cup! You may include my name as usual, sir!

Sri: Oh! What? I understand Sachin! We should allow you to score your 100^th century! Let us make your selection mandatory! It is so important from the national perspective also! Blah… Blah… Blah...

Son: The dialogue ended there and the committee decided to include Sachin’s name as usual, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Tendulkar’s Win-Win Situation!

Son: As far as retirement is concerned, Sachin is said to be taking it as purely a business decision, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: His elder brother and business manager Ajit is said to have advised him to continue playing without minding advices to retire from anybody, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: As per Ajit, Sachin’s brand value will nosedive the moment he retires from cricket including one-day matches, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Ajit is 100% sure that the selection committee dare not exclude him from the team till he scores his 100^th century, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: Ajit says he will jack up Sachin’s brand price the moment he scores his 100^th century, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: In case he continues to fail scoring the coveted century, Ajit hopes to maintain the brand value at the same level, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Tendulkar’s No-Win Situation!

Son: While commercially Sachin is in a Win-Win situation, as far as the game is concerned, he appears to be in a No-Win situation, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: If he scores his 100th century in the Asia Cup, that too against Bangladesh, it would be on record that he could achieve the milestone only against a lowly rated team in a sub-continental pitch, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: On the other hand if he fails again, the people will say he could not score the much awaited century even against a weak team like Bangladesh, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Rohit Sharma follows his Heroes Literally!

Son: It seems the young and upcoming cricketer Rohit Sharma had been advised by his well wishers to follow the footsteps of his childhood heroes like Sachin, Rahul Dravid and Laxman, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Rohit was made to sit in the pavilion during the matches of the current test series in Australia, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He was closely observing the way Rahul, Laxman and Sachin were playing the matches, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He found that all the three made it a point to get out mostly before their score touched two digits by playing some silly strokes, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Rohit got his chance in the one-day series which started immediately after the test series, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He was accommodated by resting seniors including Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He literally followed his childhood heroes by getting out for low scores by playing silly strokes carelessly, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He did this so consistently that the team management abandoned its rotation policy in the end and made him sit in the pavilion, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

5^th March 2012

I Don’t Know, Son! - 39

Govt’s Jeevan Anand Scheme for LIC!

Son: The Government of India has launched its Jeevan Anand Scheme for LIC, dad.

Father: How come? I think you are mistaken. The scheme has been launched by LIC for the public, son.

Son: No father. I am referring to the decision of the government to ask LIC to subscribe to the preferential issue of shares of public sector (PSU) banks including SBI, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The government does not have sufficient resources to subscribe to the issue. But the banks are in need of tier-1 capital and the government does not want to dilute its stake also, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It has found a via media by asking LIC to subscribe, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: For LIC it is virtually an ‘Anand-hi-Anand’ scheme, dad. Investment in PSU banks is a safe bet in the current situation. Moreover LIC need not pay any brokerage and transaction tax on the investment unlike in the open market, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: That the shares will be allotted at a discount from the market rates is an additional Anand (bonus) to LIC. It is grabbing the opportunity with both hands, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

At last a Century from Tendulkar!

Son: Now that Sachin Tendulkar has completed his century, the cricket enthusiasts are expecting him to announce his retirement from one-day cricket, dad.

Father: How come? What century you are talking about, my son?

Son: You have not understood, dad. Let me elaborate.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: According to newspaper reports, Tendulkar had accumulated 90 runs from six one-day matches in the current triangular series, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: By scoring 14 runs in his 7^th match on Sunday, he has completed the century in seven matches, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The way the things are going at present, Sachin does not appear to be in a position to score a century in a single match, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Mamata makes Karl Marx Proud!

Son: The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appears to have achieved in less than a year what the Communist Party of India (Marxist) could not achieve in its 34-year rule, dad!

Father: Go on, Son.

Son:  The basic aim of the Communist party as laid down by Marx is to eliminate capitalism (private sector investment), dad.

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: Mamata had made the Tatas say ‘Tata’ to West Bengal, when she forced them to abandon their prestigious Nano project at Singur in the state, dad.

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: Now the Marwari businessmen who are the backbone of the industry in the state for over 200 years, are shaky in view of the arrest of selective directors of the community in the AMRI Hospital fire tragedy incident, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The Marwari businessmen include the Birlas, Goenkas and Kanorias who own major business ventures in the state, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: There was an expectation that the software industry may get a boost with Infosys and Wipro agreeing to open their campuses in Kolkata, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But now both Infosys and Wipro have refused to invest in the campuses unless the units are given SEZ status, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But Mamata has flatly refused as her Trinamool Party manifesto has clearly stated that it is against granting SEZ status to new units, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

From Popularity to Unpopularity!

Son: Can you name two major topics which stole the limelight in the media in India in the last one year and suddenly lost all the hype, dad?

Father: No idea. Go on, son.

Son: The first topic is the performance of Indian cricket team, dad. The performance of the team went downhill after its famous win in the one-day World Cup final, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The second topic is the Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The campaign lost its moorings after it’s unsuccessful and abandoned show in Mumbai, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

27^th February 2012

I Don’t Know, Son! – 38

Saif Launches Promotion Campaign for Agent Vinod!

Son: There seems to be no limit to the innovative marketing ideas that are being used nowadays in the film business, dad.  

Father: Go on, Son.

Son:  Shah Rukh Khan created a record of sorts in marketing his latest production Raa One, dad! That the film bombed at the box office is a different issue, dad!

Father: True. Go on, Son.

Son: Now Saif Ali Khan has set a new trend in the film marketing by launching his campaign for Agent Vinod in a novel way at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, dad!

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: That the campaign ended with the physical assault on a non-resident Indian, leading to a police complaint is altogether a different issue, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Moral Responsibility!

Son: The pop star Whitney Houston appears to be the latest victim of the goal scoring by the Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: It has now been conclusively proved that every time a goal is scored by Ramsey, an important global personality dies, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It all began on last May when Ramsey scored against Man United and the next day Osama Bin Laden was killed, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He scored again in October against Spurs and Apple boss Steve Jobs died three days later. Three months later, he scored against Marseille leading to the death of Col Gaddafi on the very next day, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The goal keeper of the Sunderland team against whom Ramsey scored his latest goal, is said to be feeling guilty, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: He holds himself morally responsible for the death of Whitney Houston, as he could have saved the goal to prevent the death of the famed singer, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Not the Same Team!

Son: John Inverarity, the chief of Australia’s National Selection Panel, has stated that the Australian team will not be the same without Ricky Ponting, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: In the Indian context, such a statement would have been interpreted as - the absence of Ponting was a great loss to the team, dad. It would have been taken as a sentimental statement, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: But the Australians are true professionals and leave no scope for sentiments, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: What the selection panel chief meant was – the team would be much better in the absence of the ageing Ponting who has been sent out on a compulsory retirement, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Tactical Mistake!

Son: The Indian senior brigade (Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman) is of the opinion that Ponting committed a tactical blunder by issuing a statement that he would leave the matter of his retirement to the selectors, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They say he should have followed their tactics of not giving any scope to the selection committee, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: While Tendulkar and Laxman have kept mum on the issue (of retirement), Rahul has even stated that he would take the decision only after the next test series, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He has taken his place for granted in spite of his unbroken record of getting clean bowled in most of his innings with single digit/zero scores in the recent test series in Australia, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

25^th February 2012

I Don’t Know, Son! -37

The Decision of the Better Half!

Son: It is not for nothing that the wife is often called the better half of the husband, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The wife of the independent director Shankaranarayanan of Manappuram Finance has sold over 80% of her holding in the company, dad. She sold 1.363 million shares in two tranches in the Bombay Stock Exchange, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It appears that the lady took the decision the moment she came to know that RBI had warned the gold-loan company for having accepted public deposits, dad!

Son: It is no wonder that already two major private sector banks in India are headed by the fair sex, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: In fact, the government is expected to announce the appointment of three women as CMDs of major public sector banks shortly, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The non-working Team!

Son: The oil ministry has recast the entire team of officials that handled the sensitive matters including the multi billion-dollar deals and the issues between Reliance Industries and the government, dad.

Father: True. Go on son.

Son: RS Sharma, the former CMD of ONGC, has said that such wholesale change would affect the oil exploration sector adversely, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He has also stated that there is already a slowdown in decision-making (the CAG effect) as bureaucrats are being extra cautious, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He added that this suits the scheme of things, as already no one is working there in the oil ministry, dad!

Son: He concluded that it won’t affect the sector much in any case, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Pranab not to lose Sleep Anymore!

Son: The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has stated that he is losing sleep over the government’s ballooning subsidy bill, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son:  It appears the Congress President Sonia Gandhi has taken the issue very seriously, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: Rumours are that the veteran Congress leader from Bengal could be the next Congress candidate for the post of President of India, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Pranab has spent a major part of his life in preparing the budget of the Government of India, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: He need not worry about the budget anymore even for his salary, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: The salary of the President of India is directly debited to the consolidated fund of India. It does not need any budgetary allocation, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Ram Gopal Verma’s New Film!

Son: The recent slapping incident between Shah Rukh Khan and Shirish Kunder (husband of Farah Khan) appears to have given some ideas to the Bollywood producer, screen writer and director Ram Gopal Varma, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Varma is known for basing his films on real life characters, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The feud between Shah Rukh and Shirish started when Shah Rukh refused to act in the film – Tees Maar Khan, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It has now ended with the slapping incident and the compromise arrived at immediately thereafter, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Varma is now thinking of launching a film called Thappad Maar Khan, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: He wants Salman Khan to play the role of Shah Rukh in the film with Vivek Oberoi playing the role of Shirish Kunder, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Varma is fully confident that the animosity between Salman and Vivek will also end once the slapping incident in the film is shot, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

14^th February 2012

I Don’t Know, Son! -36

VTU VC under Probe – First Class or Second Class?

Son: The Karnataka Governor has appointed a retired judge to probe the allegation against the Vice Chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) that he made false claims about his academic credentials to get the post, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son:  The allegation was that the VC, H Maheshappa, had made a false claim that he had secured first class in BE, while he had actually secured a second class, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: The judge appears to have a tough job on hand, dad. He has to first decide whether the VC had secured first class or second class, dad!

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: Maheshappa has 25 marks-cards for the ten semesters he studied in the Mysore University, dad! He had failed in seven semesters out of ten and had ultimately managed to get through the BE degree, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It appears that the selection committee had given weightage to the perseverance and the number of attempts made by Maheshappa, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: It found him perfectly fit to be the VC of the prestigious university in the name of the legendary Sir MV, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The Lawyers and the Law!

Son: The Bangalore police have reportedly filed criminal cases against those lawyers who created massive traffic jam in the city on 18 January 2012, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Senior lawyers say that only a section of young advocates took to streets on that day as they were new to the profession and were misguided, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The say that the young men could not differentiate between practicing law and taking the law into their own hands, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

At Last a Case on Hand!

Son: The young lawyers are said to unperturbed by the criminal cases filed against them by the police, dad.

Father: How come? Go on, son.

Son: They say actually they had no cases on hand and it was one of the reasons for their participation in the massive demonstration, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They say they will argue their cases personally, dad! They wish to follow the example of Raja, the tainted ex-minister of communications, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: They are happy to have at least one case on their hand for practice, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Rahul Dravid now a different Wall!

Son: There was a time when the senior cricketer Rahul Dravid was referred to as Wall by the cricket lovers, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Rahul was adept in defending his wicket and was a virtual Wall as far as the opposing team was concerned, dad!

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Rahul’s wall of defense has totally collapsed now as has been proved in the recent test series in Australia, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Rahul has now turned out to be the Wall of a different kind because of his stubborn decision to not to retire from test cricket, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Rahul has become a Wall for the youngsters like Rohit Sharma, who turned out to be just a traveler during the test series, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

BCCI puts the Cart before the Horse!

Son: The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had terminated its broadcasting contract with Nimbus Communications Ltd on account of default in payment by the channel, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: BCCI had also invoked the bank guarantees for Rs 1,600 crore issued by three PSU banks on behalf of Nimbus, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But the three banks – Union Bank of India, Indian Bank and Punjab National Bank – have simply refused to make the payment, dad!

Father: How come? What then is the utility of such bank guarantees? Go on, son.

Son: The banks have found an excuse under a clause in the agreement entered into by the BCCI with Nimbus, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The clause states that the guarantee will be valid till the contract is terminated by BCCI, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The banks say that BCCI had already terminated the contract with Nimbus prior to invoking the guarantee, dad. They say that no claim is admissible under an (validity) expired guarantee, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: BCCI could have avoided this situation by invoking the guarantees first, dad. It could have terminated the contract after the receipt of payment from the banks, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

4^th February 2012