I came to Bangalore in 1996 from my village Veerapura in Madhugiri Taluk. We are basically a family of agriculturists with a small piece of land. Life was very difficult; we hardly got anything from our land. We worked as farm labourers and managed to make a living. When I got married, and with one more mouth to feed, things seemed impossible.
That is when I decided to move to Bangalore in the hope of leading a better life. My parents continue to live there and things haven’t changed much for them.
My first job was in Lalbagh. I did civil work under an engineer for three months.
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I had studied only up to eighth standard and had never stepped out of my village. Everything in this city seemed scary. I was so ill equipped to handle Bangalore and life here. My uncle Rudraiah worked in National College as an attender. Taking pity on my plight, he tried hard through Mr. H.N. Narahari Rao, the former president of the Suchitra Film Society, and got me a job as caretaker here.
They gave me a small house on the premises which is where I continue to live even today. When I took up this job I thought I would do it for two years and go back to my village. I did not know the city, could not tell one road from the other, did not know what a post office was, what a bank was…I was at sea. Mr. Srinivasa Murthy who was the manager then was so kind to me that I can never forget him in this life. He taught me everything and gradually built my confidence.
His lessons were not merely about how to cope with the city, but how to lead my life, take care of my children, save for a rainy day etc. It is my good fortune that I met some of the most wonderful people here – Narahari Rao, M.A. Srinivas, V.N. Subbarao, Vijayamma…
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Not even one day did they address me in singular and treat me badly. If they had a problem with me, they told me on my face and helped me correct myself. It was this that changed my decision to go back to my village after two years, and stay on.
I wanted my children to grow up here, in a place that was so culturally vibrant.
I have done all kinds of work here. From taking care of the place, to managing sound, screening and lights, going to the bank and attending to several other administrative requirements.
The technical part of my job is something that I learnt by observing. Today I am quite confident about handling all of it independently. For a very long time, I have managed on a small pay packet, now of course, I do earn a little more. Many people have offered to help me in my children’s education. For instance, Bhaskar sir, Manu sir, they have always enquired about my children and their education with care and concern.
When I came to Bangalore it was possible to live on Rs. 200. Now even Rs. 15,000 is not enough. Even Suchitra and its surroundings have changed so much.
I am committed to this place which has given me so much. I want my children to do well for themselves. Had I come to Bangalore now, it would have been impossible to survive. Bangalore has no place for the poor and downtrodden anymore.