A Good Samaritan

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here are people who constantly grumble for not getting an opportunity to serve the society. They just keep waiting for an ever-elusive “right” opportunity. But here is an individual who enjoys serving people on all possible occasions. Is he a politician then? Nope. He is a humble man struggling to make ends meet. Still, he finds time to serve the people around him in full earnest.

     He is Ashok Charmady, Home Guards Platoon Sergeant and In-charge Officer of the Moodbidri unit of the Home Guards. His 22 years of association with this service organization, has, in fact, been mutually beneficial.  As part of his duties as Home Guards he has joined hands with police in maintaining law and order on many occasions. His service was utilized in various parts of the State during natural calamities and other disasters besides a posting at Lakshadweep during elections. The Home Guards trainings have well equipped him to face any challenge.

     That apart, Ashok catches snakes including the deadly king cobra. Whenever anybody sights a snake in their house or surounding, Ashok gets a call not to kill it, as is the usual practice, but to save both the reptile and human beings. Ashok catches them safely and frees them in the forest or hands them over to the authorities concerned.  Unfortunately Ashok was grievously bitten by a poisonous snake recently.  Anyway that has not wavered his zeal for the venomous creatures.  But after this unfortunate incident Ashok has developed his own method to capture the reptiles. Now he uses a metal pipe with lids at both the ends. And this paraphernalia is a permanent fixture in his two-wheeler. Sometimes Ashok catches snakes in different places in a single day.  He replays the feat in order to change the fearful attitude of people towards these otherwise harmless reptiles.  He has caught about 1,000 snakes so far. He jumps into action even in unearthly hours. What started as an act of daredevilry by the novice has made him an expert today.

     Ashok, an attendant at Dhavala College, Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district, is a man of all occasions and all seasons.  People in distress most of the time send an SOS to Ashok, than to the authorities. If any building is on fire, the first person they think of is Ashok more than firemen. If any body is drowned Ashok is there to fish out the body. His heart goes out to the hapless sufferers in the society. An old man who was literally leading a “dog’s life” in Moodbidri was cleansed and admitted to a rahabilitation home, thanks to Ashok and his like-minded friends. His O-negative blood has saved many a life. On many occasions he has also provided whatever financial help he could to those in distress.

     Apart from these passions he is a numismatist and philatelist. He also tries to record the wonders of nature by collecting unusual plants, fruits and roots. . Ashok’s is a happy family with wife Chandravati, daughter Ashwini and son Eeshanya. His 14-year-old- son Eeshanya too is interested in his father’s feats of daring.  

     His sympathy and empathy for the needy from childhood itself have made him what he is today. His selfless service to the society, however, has not gone unnoticed. Forty-year-old Ashok was honoured by many organizations including felicitations at the district and the State levels.  More than awards and rewards, the smile on the relieved faces keeps him going.  Ashok is literally living up to his name.

A unique experiment with art

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here there are walls, there are art pieces. That is Bahu Art Gallery at Karkala, a unique experiment at a restaurant.  Paintings adorn the walls right from the reception up to the air-conditioned hall of Hotel Prakash situated in the heart of the town.  Apart from adding to the aesthetics of the hotel, the proprietor Hari Prakash Shetty is providing a forum to the artists to display their creative works. However, the brain behind this novel concept is the renowned artist Gopala Adkar, popularly known as Gopadkar.

     Such an idea was lingering in the ever-inventive mind of Gopadkar for quite a sometime. When Gopadkar was asked to do the interior decoration of the hotel, he seized the opportunity.   Hari Prakash, also an advocate, though did not know much about art, was however fascinated by the new concept.

     At Bahu Art Gallery, the works of an artist are displayed for a month.  However, paintings are sold depending on demand, only after the exhibition.  Thus unlike other galleries, solo exhibitions are conducted for as long as a month during the business hours of the hotel. The gallery, which is named after the 42-foot monolith of Bahubali in Karkala, was started in March with its inauguration by the director of the Moodbidri-based Alva’s Education Foundation Dr Mohan Alva, who himself is a connoisseur of art and literature. Besides, there is a small inaugural function for each exhibition. So far works of K Pundalika Shenoy, Harini and Ganesha Somayaji have been displayed.  Apart from himself Gopadkar has a long list of artists like Sanjeeva Shetty, Mohan Permude, Sharath Holla, Purushottama Adve, Mohan Sona and P N Acharya.

     Hari Prakash is of the view that initially they have to focus on artists of repute in order to drive home this novel concept. He, however, is not shrugging off the idea of giving opportunity to upcoming artists in future.

     Hari Prakash, though anxious before, is now excited for adopting such an innovative practical idea. Decorating the interiors with new looks in such short intervals has not only become feasible but also affordable; while it is not possible to change so frequently the other usual interiors done spending a huge sum. Interestingly, at this hotel cum gallery a customer can be a buyer of an art piece and vice versa. The oft-changing interiors, perhaps, symbolise the fast changing “tastes” of the people in the fast paced age. Bahu, probably only one of its kinds, is slowly succeeding in catching the attention of the customers and the art lovers alike.