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there was hue and cry and people ran here and there and the
crowd which was busy a little earlier in pulling the chariot
began to disperse except for a handful. To my enquiry I got the
reply that a child of some three years which was observing the
festival somehow or other got caught under the wheel of the
chariot and could not be revived. This tragedy haunted me for
very long time after I left the place .
I later planned a camp at Harihar for a month .Harihar used to
be called twin city as Devangere , the other town was hardly 10
miles from Harihar,I used to visit Devangere every Sunday for
two things to entrust for dry wash my shirt and pant and enjoy
tiffin in a decent hotel in Devangere.I offered every evening
worship at Hari hareshwar temple in Harihar.
The camp I stayed in Male bannur was easily the worst
hyegiene wise and handicapped by water shortage. But this
place offered refuge for a Veterinary department stockman
who became my friend owing to the fact that the two of us
were probably the only graduates. He was preparing for some
competitive examination conducted by the State Government
of Karnataka for Group B officers. When we renewed
acquaintance 30 years later in Bangalore it was entirely in a
different situation when I was Chief Postmaster General and
he was English Lecturer in Government College of Arts. The
latter on perusing some news paper coverage of postal
function wherein I participated raked his memory and found
the young geologist in Male bannur was the Head of the
Postal Service in Karnataka and came to my office and
renewed our contact.
At this point of time my father decided it was time to have our
own house instead of paying rent on tenancy basis. A
considerable amount of money from my salary and
allowances besides his own receipts from AG’s office on
account of retirement benefits were sufficient to buy a
readymade house in North Madras in Perambur. The family
moved into the new house bought by my father.
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