MYSURU: You might have heard of parents being punished for their children’s mistakes. However, in Medar colony of Shankar nagar, families have boycotted four children after their mother eloped with a relative. With Shivamma eloping 30 years ago, her children had to suffer social exclusion as they had to run from pillar to post for justice. The local community heads decided that no one would speak to them, nor attend cremation. They were also not allowed to offer puja at a local temple.
It all started when Shivamma returned to take part in the cremation of her husband in Chamrajnagara town. This made her former husband, Venkataramanappa, and the children upset, as they were forced to keep away from social gatherings, weddings and festivals.
As the years rolled by, Nagendra, the second son of Venkataramanappa, paid a fine of `20,000 to the community heads with a plea to lift the social boycott of his family. However, Puttaswamy, the eldest son, a mason, continues to feel the heat of the social boycott, as he could not pay `40,000 demanded of him.
Geetha, Puttaswamy’s wife, said that they were not invited for weddings or even to offer puja at Siddappaji and Manteswamy temple. “How long should we suffer for my mother-in-law’s mistake,” she asked.