MANGALURU/KARWAR: Among all achievers who received Padma awards on Monday, two Kannadigas – Harekala Hajabba and Tulasi Gowda — stood out from a galaxy of people for their simplicity. Draped in traditional and rustic attire, the duo receiving the award barefoot was an instant hit on social media and became talk of the town, at least back home in the state.
Both had not thought of any special attire for the big event. Hajabba’s attire attracted a lot of strange looks at the lobby when he stepped into the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi, where he was put up, and his attendant had to clarify who he was. The 69-year-old had in fact bought a new pair of sandals for the award ceremony, but when his name was called to receive the award, he instinctively left his footwear as he walked towards the President with folded hands.
Tulasi Gowda had stopped wearing footwear long ago as she does not feel comfortable wearing them while moving in the forests. The Delhi visit has left both in a state of awe as they got an opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others personally, but they found it very difficult to adjust to the luxury and opulence of the five-star hotel or the Rashpathi Bhavan.
On an earlier occasion, Hajabba was in Dubai for a felicitation programme and, on his return to Mangaluru, he told his close associates that he did not bathe for two days as he did not want to dirty the posh bathroom of the hotel room.
Both have received many awards, but there has been no change in their quality of life and they seem not to care much about it either. When a travel agency came up with an offer to sponsor his Umrah trip, Hajabba refused it stating that he has a lot of domestic responsibilities to complete without which he cannot go on the pilgrimage.
The 69-year-old, who strived to build a school in his village by toiling under hot sun, is still to marry off his two daughters and a son. But he hides his personal problems and his aim now is to add a PU college to the school in Newpadpu. That was the only request he made to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when he met her in Delhi.
Tulasi, despite living in Honnali for decades, does not even have a house of her own. She stays on forest land and is now seeking regularisation of the property. She stays in this house with her son and four grandchildren and a great grandchild. The 77-year-old wants the government to offer some good jobs to her grandchildren. Having lost her father at the age of two and having begun to work as a labourer at a young age, she has come up the hard way in life even as she went about nurturing lakhs of trees.
According to Dr R Indira, a retired sociology professor of Mysore University, there are two takeaways from the conferring of the Padma awards to Hajabba and Tulasi and the public attention it has received. “Their work is recognised with awards now. But whether their traditional knowledge or work will be transferred to the next generation or not and what society’s role will be in ensuring it is important. We should also see whether the awards have brought any qualitative change in their life,” she pointed out.
She said the instead of just sharing their videos on social media, people should make honest attempts to inculcate their good deeds and simplicity.
Injured finger
Three days prior to his Delhi visit, Hajabba had a cut in his finger while slicing tender coconuts for the health staff who had visited his house to take samples for an RT-PCR test. They took him to a hospital nearby and administered first aid. “With the same bandage on my finger, I received the award,” he said, showing his finger to Dakshina Kannada DC K V Rajendra when the latter felicitated him on Tuesday.