BENGALURU: A S Chandrashekara, more popularly known as GPO Chandru juggles between his post office job and theatre acting these days.
He came to Bengaluru in 1994 after completing SSLC to look for a job and support his family that lives in a village in Mandya district. “My parents are farmers. It is difficult to survive with their income in the village. So, they sent me here. I was only 18 then,” he says.
He started working at the Government Post Office (GPO) canteen and earned `450 a month. He also sold shoe laces on Brigade Road with his brother back then.
“I learned English talking to my foreign customers,” he says. The following year, he worked as a lift operator at the GPO.
One day, when his friend suggested him to accompany him to Ravindra Kalakshetra, he readily obliged. “We were thinking of looking for a job and were seeking a chance to act in plays. One of the organisers, Jayamma, recommended me to well-known playwright C G Krishnaswamy (CGK). I attended his workshop. He asked me if I was interested in acting and I said, yes. I played the role of a village boy in the play Danthe Nataka. It was a comedy. I danced and delivered a few lines too. He liked my performance,” says Chandrashekara.
He was a close associate of CGK. “CGK asked me what my full name is and where I work. I told him my name. He said it’s too long and gave me the nickname GPO Chandru,” says the 40-year-old.
He appeared for the examination to get a job as a postman and passed it in 2007. “I am now a central government employee,” he rejoices. “My parents are also happy. I send them `2,000 every month.”
He loves being a postman too. He says, “I have to work for at least eight hours delivering parcels and speed posts. I go to Ravindra Kalakshetra for meeting post that.”
He says in spite of the advent of emails, the post office still gets many parcels from countries like Japan, USA and Thailand.
“I enjoy my job at the post office. I get to meet many people. They ask me how am I doing. The Japanese in Richmond Town speak Kannada well,” he says.
His theatre has taken him to cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad and acted in 30 plays so far. “I do more of backstage work now. I organise shows in different theatres and places. I know about 150 theatre groups in the city and help them with coordinating or sending invitations out,” he says.
His wife and children attend every play he stages and also accompany him to watch other plays.