MYSURU: It was not just Karnataka which went into mourning after the untimely death of Puneeth Rajkumar. People in border villages of Erode district in Tamil Nadu — like Gajanur, where the Rajkumar family has ancestral property, and Talawadi — who were expecting his arrival on Friday, were numbed by the shock.
Puneeth was scheduled to visit Gajanur on Friday to call on his aunt Nagamma (his father, the late Dr Rajkumar’s sister), who has been bedridden. He had also planned to relax for two days and head to Mysuru on Monday where he was to climb Chamundi Hills by steps for darshan of presiding deity Goddess Chamundeshwari. The family in Gajanur had also put up a gate at the entrance of the farm house to avoid crowding during his stay. As news trickled in, villagers of Gajanur and Puneeth’s fans in Talawadi and other places stayed glued to television sets for confirmation about his death. Many broke down on seeing the main gates of ‘Doddamane’, Rajkumar’s farmhouse, locked.
“Whenever he paid a visit, he always greeted people with a smile. It feels like we have lost a member of the family,” said Mahesh, a shop owner in Talawadi. “I avoided visiting Gajanur as everyone is in grief. Appu’s death is a great loss to Karnataka, the film industry and to humanity,” he added. Nagarajappa, a farmer, said the villagers saw in Puneeth most of the qualities they found in his father Dr Rajkumar. “During his visits, he would always inquire about our wellbeing,” he said. Locals also recalled that Puneeth had shown interest in farming.
Puneeth had last visited Gajanur along with his brothers Shivaraj Kumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and sisters for registration of the ancestral property. During the stay, Puneeth visited the ancestral house in Doddagajanur village, some local temples and even interacted with those who were associated with his father Rajkumar, who was popularly known as Muthanna locally. After the news of his death spread, shops and commercial establishments were closed in Kollegal and parts of Chamarajanagar as a mark of respect to the actor.
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