BENGALURU : A sea of more than 45,000 fans thronged the Kanteerava Studios to offer their respects to thespian Dr Rajkumar on the occassion of his 94th birth anniversary. Among the fans were Mouryavardhan, eight months old, had come with his parents Santhosh and Kavya from Kudur of Chikkamagaluru district and 80-year-old Devamma Nagur from Taalikote of Vijayapur district, and even Appu from across the State started queuing up from 7 am on Sunday.
Family members of Rajkumar including Raghavendra Rajkumar, his wife Mangala, son Yuva Rajkumar, sister Lakshmi and her husband Govindaraju and others offered prayers at Dr Rajkumar’s memorial. Raghavendra Rajkumar said that his father’s birth anniversary is celebrated as people’s festival and he too was participating as a fan. “People should carry home the message of eye donation from his parents and brother from here,” he said.
Dr Rajkumar’s bust was carried in a chariot during the procession as the fans were bridled for three years from celebrating his birth anniversary in a grand fashion. In a festive mood, songs of ‘Annavru’ and Appu were played at the entrance to the studio as their mammoth cutouts greeted their followers. A lunch was also hosted for 10,000 people.
“Rajaratha yaathre” a tableau in which Dr Rajkumar’s bust was brought in from his birthplace, Gaajanooru in Chamarajnagar district to his memorial. On the occasion, Raghavendra Rajkumar released a book by a fan on Puneeth Rajkumar “Shakthi Nakshathra”. The rose buds, which on an ordinary day cost Rs 10, were sold at Rs 30, bought by the fans to offer it to the actors’ memorials.
Lalitha and Lakshmipathi who are taking care of memorial for 16 years said that during week days over 5,000 fans visit the memorial per day, and on weekends at least 15,000 come. Number of people visiting the memorial has doubled after Puneeth’s death, they said. Hennur Lakshminarayan, an ardent fan of Dr Rajkumar organized lunch for 35,000 people. Fans also spread the message of eye donation by distributing pamphlets. Sunderraj, a cloth merchant, wore a shirt printed with photos of Dr Rajkumar.
He said after Puneeth’s demise, shirts with photos of both Puneeth and his father were in high demand, and he has sold each shirt for Rs 700. Several noted personalities including BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel, Ministers Gopalaiah, Munirathna, litterateur Baraguru Ramachandrappa and others visited the memorial.
Kateel said, “Dr Rajkumar’s contributions to Kannada and culture are an inspiration for us to work more for the Kannada language and land”. Baraguru said that Kuvempu had told that Dr Rajkumar was the right person to spread the message of “Vishwamanava” and the best way to remember him is to follow his values.