Puttur: Desperate Couple Seek Help in Tracing Son
By Arun Uppinangady
Daijiworld Media Network—Puttur (RD/CN)
Puttur, Apr 12: "My son, who had gone to Bangalore four years ago in search of work has not returned home. I was hoping that my son will come some day. The hope is waning. He was our only son and support in old age," said Podiya Gowda and Ramakka, residents of Konalu village, near here, while expressing their misery over their missing son.
The couple have three children, two girls who are married and a lone son, Balasubramanya. They educated him up to Class X from their meagre income. A few years ago he had gone to Bangalore and began working for Kamat Hotel at Majestic. He returned to his hometown after working for one-and-a-half-years and managed to pay off the debts that were incurred to marry off his sister.
Balasubramanya also told his parents that although he was working in Kamat Hotel, he was fortunate to get roles in TV serials and Kannada movies. He had shown them his pictures with famous Sandalwood actresses to prove this claim. A memento that was given to him for his acting in a Kannada movie shot from June 19, 2005 to July 24, 2005 is displayed at his parents' home.
Balasubramanya’s parents blessed their son who returned to Bangalore to work at the hotel and try his luck in Sandalwood. All that Podiya and Ramakka wished was for their son to live a decent life.
The neighbours taunted the couple that they would be well-off as Balasubramanya will become a sensation in Kannada filmdom. However, the couple became worried as they received no communication from their son for over four years, but they were hopeful that he would return home some day.
Tragedy struck the couple when Podiya Gowda fell from a tree while working as a daily wage earner and broke his spinal cord. Even then, there was no news of Balasubramanya. Podiya and Ramakka became desperate when they could not afford the medical expenditure and arrived at Uppinangady police station to lodge a complaint about their missing son.
Speaking to this reporter, Podiya Gowda said, "We have a son who went to Bangalore and is missing now. I suffered a broken spinal cord while working. My wife Ramakka is not in a position to go to work due to my condition. Has my son Balasubramanya forgotten his parents? Or is he in difficulty? If he is, why does he not contact his parents? I have never been to Bangalore in my life and I have no money to trace him."
He appealed to the police and media persons to find his son.