BENGALURU: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said that his mother and wife were the driving force behind his success, without which his life would not have taken the direction it had. Going down his memory lane during the ‘Maneyangaladalli Maathukathe’ programme organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture, he said there was a long list of sacrifices made by his wife that played a major role in his success.
Recalling an incident in 1952, Gowda said that he was involved in an agitation as part of Congress party during ‘Mysore Chalo’ movement when he was slapped and detained by policemen. “When I was produced before the court, there was one judge Mallikarjunappa who asked me to stand in the corner of the court hall for a long time. When he summoned me in front of him, he asked me to put an end to such activities and asked me to continue my education,” he said.
Deve Gowda recalled that in the late 50’s, he had won a contract worth `22,000 but was unable to pay the deposit of `1,200. “So, I sent my assistant to my wife and asked her to give me her gold ornaments to arrange the money. She gave it to me without letting her parents know and told me that she wouldn’t wear the ornaments until the debt was cleared. She decided to wear only her bangles while attending marriages or other events for nine years before the ornaments were returned to her,” he recalled.
“If a person has grown to heights due to his wife’s support, (then) Deve Gowda is proof for that,” he said. She has the capability to face any problem and yet not hurt anybody, he said, adding that it would be difficult to describe the problems suffered by her. “If there are any individuals responsible for my growth, it is my wife and my mother,” he said.
During the course of the interaction, he also recalled his association with former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs and how he had tried to help him on several occasions, after developing a liking for him. “The only thing I need now is an effortless death,” he said.