On 30th December 2009, the great Kannada actor, Vishnuvardhan, passed away in the early morning. Since he breathed his last at 2:30 am, the morning papers did not run this news.
I heard about it when I dropped my car at the service center. The service engineer apologized for he will not be able to return the car on the same day. He cited Vishnuvardhan’s death as the reason! Then, he explained the road blocks in several major areas of Bengaluru because of the funeral arrangement. As a result, some of the engineers have not shown up for work!
There were more surprises in front of the office when I reached there. A mob had gathered in front of all the shops near my office. They were shouting and threatening the shopkeepers to close. The cart vendors hurriedly closed their establishments with fear. They did not want the mob to turn violence and cause destruction.
Later in the day, vehicles were burnt in protest. The reason for the protest is clear. Vishnuvardhan is no more. But whom were these protests directed at? Is it against the government for failing to give adequate medical treatment to Vishnuvardhan? Since Vishnuvardhan was being taken care by a private institution, the government should not be responsible.
So, the question still remains. If not government, then there is one person who is responsible. The god! Were these people protesting against him?
Picture Courtesy: http://www.deccanherald.com
Tags: Musings,Vishnuvardhan,Protests
This is what we say a harsh reality!! welcome 2010
ReplyDeleteI thought tamilians are worst sentimental people..But after living here for almost 6 years i understood that i'm wrong and they are very sensible people.
ReplyDeleteWhat to say , pray for these crazy idiots(last month it was YSR issue in AP now Vishnuvardhan)...I don't think they are gonna change in near future
When will people stop equating actors to gods and understand that they are mortals like all of us?
ReplyDeleteSuch protests are not directed at anyone.....they are generally there to remind common man how common and at the mercy of these goons he is.
You see, this is called ignorance and there is no solution to it. If the Govt machinery is strong enough these kind of barbarian behaviour won't happen.
ReplyDeleteWe Indians have a great sense of hero worship.
ReplyDeleteThis is the result of that.
No one has to be blamed.
These protests couldnt have been carried out by the 'real'fans of Vishnuvardhan. I am one big fan of him & can say that no right thinking fan could create such a sacrilege at his funeral. In the past Police had confirmed that anti social elements were behing similar voilence during the funeral of thespian Dr.Rajkumar (& were engineered by some politicians). I will not be surpised if this event too had provided one such outlet for lumpen elements out to score political scores with the police or sombody else.
ReplyDelete@Niraj - This happened before 2010 at the dawn of 2009. So, let's know equate this to 2010. :)
ReplyDelete@Anish - I would like to believe what Vaz had mentioned. It is vested interests.
@Arvind - When will people stop equating actors to gods? Never! As this phenomenon is seen all around India!
@ScorpioGenius - How will government break down on these people? Aren't they last to arrive at the scene?
@BKC - :(
@Vaz - Thanks for your view on this! This makes a lot of sense!