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Honnenahalli village in Kunigal taluk presents a stoic silence, as one of its proud sons has taken to “Sanyas” renouncing his official status and the trappings of officialdom.

This is the story of K. R. Pet Tahasildar Dr. H. L. Nagaraj who after renouncing his post, took up Sanyas at Adichunchanagiri Mutt on Guru Poornima day last Friday.

As we were more excited about the family's reaction and its condition after Dr. Nagaraj took this sudden decision, we paid visit to Honnenahalli, a small village along Tumkur - Kunigal road in Kunigal taluk.

The house appeared to be a very modest one with AC sheet roof, with paddy spread out in the front yard of the house. While Nagaraj's father H. S. Lingaiah roamed around in front of the house, his mother, clad in a patched up saree, had taken the cattle for grazing.

Upon coming to know of our Correspondent's visit, the couple rushed back to the house, only to say that their prayers be heard by the Almighty, wondering if the God does hear their plight.

Lingaiah is now 71 years old while Nagaraj's mother Gangamma is 60 years.

Nagaraj seems to be an exception where in a country; children take their aged parents on a pilgrimage as a mark of respect to their elders.

"Despite all odds, we funded our son's education, labouring hard for every rupee, in the fond hope that our son may one day take care of us. Our toil bore fruit, with Nagaraj becoming the Tahasildar. But the present situation is like a slip between the lip and a cup of tea," say the old couple, ruing over their son's decision.

While Gangamma is teary - eyed, his father Lingaiah presents a stoic silence, with no words to utter.

Nagaraj's mother Gangamma and father H. S. Lingaiah.

The aged parents who had earlier squarely blamed Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji for their plight, now seems to have calmed down with unexpressive pain replacing anger. They point out that no one is to be blamed for their plight as it is their fate. Everything is over now and there is very little hope of their son's return, say the aged parents, with tears rolling down their eyes wondering who “pressurized” or “lured” their son to take such a step.

Moving on, they say there is no point in blaming politicians or the Swamiji. They are going to take everything as it comes. Let God himself judge everything, they say. Despite their grief at having “lost” their son, Gangamma says that they came to know of their son taking to sainthood only through TV channels. "Those who motivated our son to take up sainthood, should have done so with our knowledge. Where was the need of keeping us in the dark?" Gangamma wonders, asking whether those responsible can understand their plight.

Is there anybody who can answer their woes?

Not Sudden:
The entire episode was not a sudden development, with Nagaraj requesting the Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer to give Sanyasa Deeksha last year itself. But then, his parents along with other relatives were successful in stalling the sainthood of Nagaraj. But this time they were not, as Nagaraj attained sainthood keeping his parents completely in the dark.

The aged Gangamma and Lingaiah couple have four children — two daughters and two sons. Their daughters Kamalamma and Sundaramma have been married, while their eldest son Srirangamurthy has settled down along with his family in Bangalore.

As such, the aged couple pinned their hopes on their youngest son Nagaraj to take care of them in the evening of their life. But now their last hope too has been dashed. The couple owns 2. 5 acres of land, with one acre acquired for canal widening. As such, they are left to fend for themselves with the quantity of paddy they grow. The couple have no answers for meeting their other expenditures.

Perhaps Nagaraj's only contribution to his family was that he converted their thatched hut into an AC - sheeted house. However, this house too leaks whenever it rains. "We have earned our livelihood working in fields over the years and we will continue to do so until we remain fit. We will not look at others for our livelihood," say the aged couple.

In defence of their son, the couple says that Nagaraj was a gem of a person who studied hard to earn laurels and medals, before becoming Tahasildar. "He would have become a strong backbone for us had he worked for 10 - 15 years more. We would not have worried much had he adopted sainthood later on," the couple says displaying all the medals and prizes that their son bagged during his illustrious career. Recalling that Nagaraj was attracted towards spiritualism since his younger days, they say he used to sit for meditation wearing Rudrakshi. "We used to scold him for this and all this has now culminated in Nagaraj adopting sainthood," they add. Although they do not expect anything from their son now, Nagaraj's parents' last wish is to see their son in person at the Mutt.

Meanwhile, our efforts to personally meet Nagaraj, who is now called Sri Nishchalanandaji after adopting sainthood, went in vain as he had gone to Chennai on a tour.

Will Nagaraj be the Mutt's successor?
Almost everyone in the Mutt are expressing their displeasure and anger, of course silently, about the move to grant sainthood to Nagaraj as they are apprehensive that Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji might be aiming to make Nagaraj his successor, with an eye on taking care of huge wealth that the Mutt has.

Nagaraj, as Tahasildar, used to keep only Rs. 2,000 out of his Rs. 42,000 salary towards his personal expenses, while donating the rest of the money for the welfare of poor children sheltered in the Mutt. While Nagaraj was so generous on one hand, he did not bother to take care of his aged parents, leaving them to fend for themselves, say the villages with anger against Nagaraj.

But the question that runs through the minds of all people concerned with the Mutt is that will Nagaraj succeed Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji?

Kiran Kumar
Courtesy: Star of Mysore

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