From CNN-IBN Legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar dead :
Police had to resort to lathicharge and open fired to control fans who started visiting his house following the news of his death.Emotional fans have hit the roads with processions bringing the traffic to a complete standstill. Sporadic cases of stone pelting have also been reported from different parts of the city.
All shops in Bangalore have closed as a mark of respect. The Karnataka government has declared state mourning and the Cabinet will hold a meeting shortly to discuss the funeral arrangements.
Did I miss the memo? I do get that Dr. Rajkumar was a highly respected figure and loved by Kannadigas. I’m sure that if I were a fan, I’d probably feel sad. But, how do you reconcile feeling sad with pelting stones, stopping traffic, etc?
I saw a news item on TV that said that most IT companies and BPOs would be closed tomorrow. I’m thinking this is more about companies not wanting their employees to face problems than anything else.
According to this Deccan Herald report there was an “undeclared bandh” in Bangalore. DH also reports that the government has declared a holiday tomorrow and a State funeral.
Tomorrow’s the funeral and I’m scheduled to travel. I don’t know if I will be able to reach the train station. Ah, the uncertainity of a reserved train ticket. I don’t know how many people are affected in other ways, but it’s probably a significant chunk of Bangalore’s population.
Something’s not quite right about that.
Posted by DesiPundit » Rajkumar Remembered on April 12, 2006 at 10:38 pm
[...] Normal life in Bangalore seems to be have been affected because of the general unrest prevailing in the city. After regretting the loss, Jagadish wonders why corporates need to shut down because of this development. P A Monteiro also echoes Jagadish’s thoughts Freeze is relieved as she managed to reach home safely. Expats René Seifert, Marion Arnold and Stacey explain how normal life has been thrown out of gear. [...]
Posted by Venkataprasad on April 12, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Hery..exactly what I feel.. I am scheduled to fly into Bangalore tomo and meet my friends after a long time and I m not sure whether to travel or not after seeing the lathi charge on TV.
ANyway, why the heck is individual liberties taken for granted in India. I AM NOT A FAN OF RAJKUMAR. I dont want my personal life affected because he decides to die on some particular day. sorry for being so mean.
Posted by P. A. Monteiro on April 13, 2006 at 7:15 am
I know exactly what you mean, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to travel either. I’ve been scanning the news channels this morning trying to pick up information, nothing useful so far. It seems Salman Khan’s arrest is more important news than the people of India’s IT city.