When Barkur.com was opened in December 2001, we introduced this site using one of this following line: " This is just a beginning towards a larger objective, to include Barkurians in all walks of life, culture, and faith in this mainstream…."  We did a fairly good job in presenting a few living ones in our 'Personality of the Month', POM column.  While continuing this POM column, now, we want to depict the Barkurians who are no more with us physically, but mere memories to some or unwritten history to many others.

"Famous ones need not be Great and Great ones may not be Famous. Scores of such 'great ones' lived in our Barkur - few left relics and legacies behind, like the Educational Institutions, Hospitals, Roads, Bridges, Dams, and Houses of God, etc.  These people lived a saintly life in the service of society, not craving for fame, name, or fortune for themselves," observes Archibald Furtado of Nagarmut.

"We, the beneficiaries, have an obligation to express gratitude and show respect to all those personalities, posthumously of course, for their sacrifices in helping to shape the present Barkur, and for improving the lifestyles of Barkurians," says James Fernandes, of Moodahadu Kudru.

With these views in mind, and in response to many of our readers' desire to know and learn from such personalities, for the benefit and knowledge of the present and future generations, Barkuronline is delighted to open a new column named, "Hall of Famers of Yester Barkur," to present and honor a few personalities and their praiseworthy contribution to Barkur.

Folks, please share your candid memories, comments, or kudos.  These will be presented in our widely read popular Sandesh column.  Feel free to recommend your worthy choices, along with some bio-data including the legacy they left behind, and we will accommodate them in this new column to the our best of ability.  Who knows, these might wind up in a book form, Gods-willing! Thank you for your continued support.

-Barkuronline.com team, January, 2004.

Archives

J. P Sequeira

 P N Bhoja Rao  (PNBR)

P. N. Bhoja Rao and Bharathi

"Life is meaningless except for its impact on others."  Yes, PNBR impacted our lives,  whether we know it or not.  Folks, as a high school student then, I wonder, whether I really understood or knew how to appreciate his influence on me, but now that I  am enjoying the fruits of the educational seeds he planted in me, I can admire him  now more and more!

"I will let you go free this time because of your 'ingenuity', but if I catch you eating mangoes from the school yard next time, I can expel you from the school!  Can you  understand that? Can you remember not to forget that?  Now, go to your class rooms, run, get moving!"  These words were actually expressed by the renowned headmaster of National High School, Barkur, P.N. Bhoja Rao, in the year 1957 or so!

There were a few of us, always hungry, who used to eat mangoes or vegetables, (cucumbers) from the craft garden, which were abundant indeed.  In order to supplement the school expenses, these mangoes used to get auctioned/sold every year.  There were clear signs saying, "No mangoes will be plucked."  The school helping hands, titled school clerks, Mr. Koraga and Mr. Sheena, who were more feared than any teacher, took upon themselves as the self-proclaimed custodians of these mango trees.  Honestly, no one ever plucked a single mango!  All we did was that we held the hanging mango snugly and took a few bites from the other end of the mango stem! Legally we never plucked a single mango! Mr. Koraga, who used to hide and keep a watch, caught a few students one day. (Believe me, I was not one of those who had this audience, luckily that day, even though I was a frequent partaker of these delicious mangoes.  Stolen mangoes, like the forbidden fruit, tasted extra special!)  The students argued with Mr. Koraga, saying, "We did not break any rule. You can't touch us! We are innocent."  Some rich kids even tried to bribe this man with two or three Anas, a princely sum of money then! (Naya Paisa was introduced much later! (Ruvi, Pawane, Anna,.. remember folks?  I don't remember the names of the higher denomination coins, since I had no access!!  Why bother!) Another one even threatened, saying, "I can get you fired! My uncle is on the school board!"  "Oh yea, come and tell the same to your headmaster!"  These students did, and P.N. Bhoja Rao, broke into such a non-stop boisterous laughter, so much so, the teachers from teacher's reading/waiting lounge had to come and investigate!  And thus the famous quote.  This is an example, that even though, he was known for his grim faced strict discipline, he too could smile and laugh and he had the compassion to forgive and appreciate creativity. 

With this attention getter, let me introduce the man who was instrumental in imparting high school education to Barkur and its vicinity.  Late J. P. Sequeira helped to found, bring and build the school and the school buildings.  Late P. N. Bhoja Rao brought education, knowledge, and discipline.  He interviewed, or selected and hired the best of teachers.  In the mid or late fifties, there were Christian teachers, (Picardo, Roche, Monteiro,) there were Bunts/Shetties/Hegdes, there were Konkans, (Pai or Nayak) and there were Brahmins (like Adiga, Rao, Aitala, Kannada or Hindi Pandiths.) Muslims or Poojaries could have been hired, if they were available then. There were a few lady teachers too, based on their availability. Most of these teachers were local ones, or from the walking vicinity of 10-15 miles or so.  Some of them walked this distance daily.  These teachers, were role models to many a students, for, they had taken the trouble to go out of their homes, by crossing seven rivers, and thousands of miles to get educated, and return back to help the folks they left behind.  They were not just salaried/hourly paid 9-5 workers, but they put their heart and soul to teach the children so that they too could have a better life like them or better than theirs. [There could have been exceptions, but let us bear in mind, "We need two hands to clap or there are two sides to a coin."] The beauty was such that the staff was cosmopolitan.  It does not mean that there were no misunderstandings in choosing which subjects to teach, or which convenient period to select from, or when to go on vacation, etc., but PNBR was there to settle disputes amicably.  The students too were of different religions, different castes, light or dark colors, good or less good looking, thin or skinny (no one was fat those days), tall or short, poor or very poor, boys or girls. An amalgamation or potpourri of diverse students!  Now, we can understand why the school had to be named 'National!'  It's because of this cosmopolitan exposure, the students studied in Barkur, are not involved in racial or religious mischief, not only not in Barkur, but wherever they are settled today.  Tolerance is built-in.  They have learnt tolerance to accept and to get along with other races, cultures, religions, customs, however, demeaning at times may be! Don't we owe this to P.N. Bhoja Rao and his staff?

There were hardly any library or library books.  There were no ballpoint pens.  Plenty of inkpots!  Even fountain pens were rare indeed. There were no calculators or slide rules. There were no computers to draw your class schedule or do literature search! There were no copy/duplicating machines or color printers, or fax machines. No tape recorders, or overheads or projectors to aid in teaching. Telephone and electricity visited us much later. No refrigerators, or microwave ovens to store or warm lunch food. Mud pots in front of each classroom refrigerated the drinking water, drawn from the well using pulley and coir rope mostly by the students.  No radios, televisions, video or cellular phones.  Yet, from where did the knowledge disseminate?  The textbooks, with hundreds of dog-ears, which were handed down for years and years (getting costlier than the original price!), were rare to find.  Torn papers were glued using rice paste. The typewriter seemed came from the 12th century!  There were no delete/erase/duplicate buttons. There were no computer or video games. There were no vending machines to provide snacks or cool drinks. There were hardly any educational journals. The classrooms were not heated in the rainy seasons, nor cooled/air conditioned in the hot summers!  Just one or two newspapers, practically crumpled or pulverized at the end of the day being read by all the teachers or curious students, whose only window to the rest of the world was these news papers.  But yet, information was passed down. From teacher's mouth to students' ears and then to the brains, then to the answer papers, and all of the students could retain what was taught, at least mostly till the examination! They taught, not just math, but commonsense as well. They taught that if each telephone post is 1000 feet apart in a straight line, the distance from the first and the 10th telephone post is not 10,000 feet! It's not a trick question but needs commonsense!  They taught us why we cannot land on the sun even at night!   They taught, if a gun-man shoots two birds out of five sitting on a tree, it does not mean three birds were left on a tree, except if all three of them were deaf, blind and dumb! Math was more than multiplication, division, subtraction, or addition!   They taught us that a glass of water containing ice cubes does not leak or gets cracked, even though the glass is wet or drains from outside! The reader may think my examples are down right silly however this is how they made the children to think, to observe, or to pay attention.  Everybody knows if a dog is male or female only upon seeing the external reproductive organs, not otherwise!

As we have said/read before in the article on J.P. Sequeira, it was not easy to induce P.N. Bhoja Rao to come and settle in Barkur.  Barkur, then had one grocery store, one Aurvedic pandith, a 10'X10' post office, a bank functioning from a rented house, one or two copper smiths, a mosque, a church, and hundreds of temples, and a Friday market, the only business/stock market center, and one or two coffee houses.  How his arms were twisted, I do not know, or we will never know, but I am sure his 'love to teach' was the best motivator for him to come to Barkur.  Having obtained his College Degree from Mangalore and M.T. degree from Madras (1940), he had the upper hand to go and teach in any large university or city in India. But he chose Barkur, to start a school, right from the scratch. He took the risk, for which he deserves kudos.  Today, any one can run an established school, (not without challenges though), but to build it from nothing, therein lies the greatness of this man. He had the opportunity to choose his teachers, as the head master.  I believe it's the responsibility and the opportunity he was looking for rather than any authority. Or was it the luck of Barkurians, that he was relocated to Barkur, convincing his orthodox, extremely God-loving/fearing and religious, ever shy wife Mrs. Bharathi?  It must have been a tremendous strain to move to a new place, without knowing any lady friends, or any relatives in the area.  Was she drawn by the temples or the Gods? I mean by her faith in Gods?  Barkur acknowledges her sacrifices as well.  Oh, yes, we thank our Gods, don't we?  Otherwise why do we go to churches, temples, or mosques?  Not just to ask, ask, and ask!

Then I tossed a question at one of his daughters, 'I wonder his income as a teacher was enough to raise and educate 8 kids', this is what she said to me, "It was not that easy for him to make both ends meet, but he took pride in admitting that he was the only one who paid income tax in the whole town!"   Which only shows, the miserable economic conditions of the rest of the local people then, with whom he had to interact in educating their children.  Today, I presume, at least 50% of the population pays income tax, thus this tax money returns to build roads, public works, public schools, postal services, etc. He was a great father. Though he was strict with the students, he was a very loving and affectionate father, and never used to scold his children."  May be the children never  gave any reason to get scolded!  I don't think any of his daughters dared to pluck a mango, or climb a tree!  If they didn't then they missed the simple joys of childhood!  I still enjoy such memories!  PNBR taught discipline starting right from his own home!  Charity begins from home. Isn't it?

I remember them walking home, looking down at each step as though to avoid an ant being stepped upon, using always the right side of the road, never speeding, nor running, nor splashing puddles!  Even the convent nuns were not so very petite or modest!

“We were very fond of our father. I appreciated his patience & interest in everything we did.  He encouraged us to take part in many extracurricular activities. He himself used to get involved in teaching us dance for the school day. He also had great interest in music," recalls one of his daughters.  Normally, some folks complain their parents could have done that or this. But to appreciate how much our parents sacrificed for us within the then available means needs some divine grace with pounds of gratitude and charity."

'We admire him for so many reasons: He did not make his children feel the pinch of money or lack thereof. He used to give importance to neatness, and clothes.  He used to select our dresses/clothes, and our relatives/nieces used to take him to Udupi to select their wedding sarees!  He had a taste!  He was the most beloved uncle to his nieces." "In spite of the difficulties in crossing the Barkur and Kallianpur twin rivers, (in the 1950s, for want of bridges,) and in catching the 'never on time' rusty and dusty busses, with long sweaty walks, on dusty, bumpy, and pebbled toe nail plucking roads,

he used to drag us to go to Udupi so as to meet his sisters, practically every other weekend, and definitely for any religious function.  His views and thinking were modern, and never entertained or believed in superstitions.  He celebrated festivals, mostly because, of the variety of eatables, rather than for its spiritual significance! 

He performed 'Shraddha' the death anniversary of his parents every year solely for the purpose of family get togetherness!!  He was a voracious reader, mostly Penguin books, sitting on his favorite armchair/easy chair.  He would even chuckle or laugh aloud when he came across something amusing/humorous. That's how we knew he was not sleeping!  Although he taught English, and read English novels, and newspapers, he insisted that Kannada should stay as the medium of instruction in primary and at high school levels."

"Why are we proud of him?  He was a happy and contended man. His needs were few, and wants were none.  As his daughter, I always feel that I had the most beautiful childhood one can ever wish for.  If I were to repeat my childhood, I would not change an iota!  As children, we knew that he was respected by one and all. Some teachers who left our school for higher positions, used to visit us often.  Mr. Ramakrishna Hande always consulted and took guidance while running his high school.  Many an old students visited him on their brief summer holidays in hometown.  I remember, how proud and elated he felt, when Mr. Narayana Shetty, an IAS officer visited him, occasionally.   Such joys are the fruits of teaching, cannot be measured in dollars or cents!  He felt, 'imparting knowledge is the highest form of charity',and he practiced very well indeed."

Without further ado, let me present what his children have to say collectively about PNBR:

[The following paragraphs are presented as contributed collectively by his children and their spouses, in response to Barkuronline.com's persistent requests for data.   I think I was too persistent, thus I got overwhelming response!  (Unless the baby cries, it won't get its milk!) Neither PNBR nor his children kept much of any written records of his achievements (though they were plenty,) because they never looked for name, fame, or fortune.  We had to nudge them to open up! The children, called each other, (phone bills must have gone high!), called their relatives, and/or by going through the property records, etc, opening their memory banks, and/or by responding to our probing questions, they could come up with the following condensed information, which is presented without much editorial alteration.  Folks, we did not venture to condense any further, because, every sentence bears testimony to PNBR's contribution, and we owe this respect to PNBR and his family, for their input they have provided, and their contribution to Barkur in particular.  Barkuronline.com is the first one to present the sentiments of his children towards Barkur and its people.  Thus, I request your reading pleasure:

A brief biographical sketch of the late Shri P. N. Bhoja Rao, retired head master, National High School, Barkur, India.

PNBR-Part I

In a sense, the brief account of Shri P. N. Bhoja Rao [PNBR] narrated below is intertwined with the history of development of Barkur over the 30 year period from 1946 when he first came to the town. Barkur was a smallish town then in the district of South Canara which was recently bifurcated, and Barkur now is a part of Udupi district. Barkur is a historical place, with some ancient monuments bequeathed by the rulers, which attract tourists periodically. It's surrounded by a number of villages located miles apart in thick woods, plains, undulating land, hillocks, marshy grasslands, abundant coconut and rice fields, etc. There existed but a few kuttcha roads for bullock carts to traverse on, and for cyclists to take bumpy rides. Most people traveled to places by foot to attend the weekly bazaar, social occasions like marriages, religious functions, festivities at places of worship like hundreds of temples, one church and a tiny mosque. Contacts with the rest of the district was strictly limited as Barkur was surrounded on three sides by a river which remained in spate during monsoon months, and was not exactly easy to cross in other months on foot. The boats could not float during low tides, and the ferry service at high tide was not very reliable! Boats were the only means of travel to the then taluk headquarters in Udupi, [which is now the district headquarters].

The fourth side was not an easy path, besides being circuitous to traverse to any destination, surrounded by forestry, supporting a few skinny tigers.  Fortunately, it was mainly the land owning and traders' class, which had to travel outside Barkur for selling their produce, or for buying groceries etc., and an occasional entertainment of seeing a movie in a nearby town, called Brahmavar, which too had to be reached by boat. The boatman was pleased with such engagement as he had to wait at the other end for the hirer to return from whom he could charge a little extra tip. The rest of the population, one could say, lived cozily, lazily, and happily in the 'splendid' isolation of Barkur, at a little faster rate than of a snail, completely oblivion to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world. 

There were two schools in Barkur and a couple others in some distant or still remote villages, all providing education up to primary class, the V Grade. Most of these schools were setup by the Government, and one other by the Christian Catholic Church. Not that these were sufficient nor was it that the local people had no interest in education but they had no alternative but to depend on the largesse of the Govt. It was not uncommon for some of the children finishing their primary school and ending up in some Udupi hotels or as factory workers in far off places like Madras, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore; the jobs which helped them to remit some money back home by money orders - the only means of transmission of money then.

Like with the schools, there was a Govt. hospital, one private medical practitioner who helped people living in a radius of perhaps 25 miles. He, along with a couple of land owners, the local administrator of the Church, Mr. John P. Sequeira, who had made a name for himself by his selfless services, were about the only souls who could provide leadership, if the destiny of Barkur was to change for better.  In short, Barkur was no different from many towns all over India in the post war period, or pre -independence years.

PNBR-Part II.

The leaders in Barkur, particularly, John P. Sequeira who had served in Metropolitan cities, were keen to bring higher education of high school to their native Barkur, as they knew acutely that the children passing out of the primary schools had nowhere to go and they could end up at best in some low paid menial jobs in far off places. Mr. Sequeira was keen that children from his place should have a better destiny. He, along with some prominent persons formed a society for education, and got the requisite permissions from the State Govt. [South Canara was then under Madras State.] Apparently, the search for a headmaster led to Shri P. N. Bhoja Rao, our father-we called him Pappa. PNBR had worked as a teacher in Udupi Christian High School for some years, during which he had made a name, as a renowned teacher - as published in Kannada newspaper, "Navabharatha" about his send off party at Udupi.  and then moved over to Govt. run Board high school in Karkala. Mr. John Sequeira and two others approached PNBR in Karkala to become the headmaster of the National High School [NHS], Barkur, being found. PNBR, 34 years of age then, had recently moved into a Govt. job for perhaps greater security after giving up his job in the Christian high School in Udupi, decided to accept the offer of Barkur Education Society. We might add that PNBR was then a father of three daughters, the last one barely 6 months. What made him accept the new job in a High School yet to take shape, located in a remote small 'island' of Barkur is somewhat enigmatic even at this distance in time for those who did not know him. For that we need to explore some of his early years but before we get to that, we need to stress that in all his decisions, he consulted his wife [our mother, Mrs. Bharathi,] who through thick and thin stood by him.

PNBR was the 5th of the nine children of his parents father P. N. Venkat Rao and mother Kamalamma. Not much is known to us about them except that they were well known in their native village PERAMPALLI, two miles off Manipal as also from Udupi. They owned considerable tracts of land and mango & cashew gardens. Much of these have been lost to the family over the last half a century thanks to land reforms, divisions in the family, and other causes. A nearby temple built and looked after by the family for generations is a mute witness to the history of Perampalli family, as it were. One thing could be stated with certainty about the parents of PNBR is that they believed in educating all their sons- all were graduates, and made a career. One became a lawyer, another, a professor of economics, third [our father] a head master and the fourth, director of agriculture of the State. In retrospect,it might be stated that the parents foresaw that the land ownership would be lost someday but education given to children would stand them in good stead. In parenthesis, one might add that quite a few land owning and rich families of those times all over the district provided college level education for their sons perhaps because they could see that English knowing persons ended up in Govt. jobs and were commanding respect in the society, besides a little prosperity.

PNBR was born on the 14th June, 1912 in Perampalli. The initials P.N. refer to Perampalli village and Nekkar is the family name. He studied apparently in an elementary school in Udupi. He completed his high school education in Udupi Board high school. The next station for graduation was the famous St. Aloysius College in Mangalore. [Till early 1950s, this was the only college in the district, which was why the 'Pai's set up their first college in Manipal which catered to the needs of the local pupils as well as those from other high schools in the neighboring towns, including National High School, Barkur. Manipal now is an internationally known academic center and should be a matter of pride, catering even the students from Africa, South America, and even from USA, and every nook and corner of India.]

After his graduation, PNBR moved to Madras for his teachers' training degree L.T., (1940). Although there is no explicit record of why he went for teacher's training and whether he had other openings, it could be surely said he made a deliberate choice to become a teacher for he liked the job immensely. Never once in his long career did he say that he was bored or that he was looking forward to retirement from teaching; on the contrary, he did not seem to relish the unavoidable administrative content of his headmastership.

With his B.A.L.T, he got his first appointment in Udupi Christian high school probably in 1930s. He became a popular teacher in the school and at the end of a few years; he decided to quit to join the Board high school in Karkala. The school gave him a warm and memorable send off. One instance of his popularity I would like to mention. After I got married and moved to Bombay in 1969-70, I was introduced to one Dr. Ganesh Bhat, who was a professor of Chemistry in IIT, Bombay and who was PNBR's student. In the course of conversation, when he learnt that I was the daughter of PNBR, he became reverential towards me!  (Such was the respect he commanded, but believe me he did not demand respect!  Respect followed him!)

PNBR married Bharathi in November, 1936, daughter of Idya Vasudeva Rao, a famous advocate in Karkala. Our mother Bharathi was one of the twelve children of Vasudeva Rao. She was just 15 year old when our father married her. Our parents had set up a house in Karkala after father got the Board High school job and they were happy and contented, besides in-laws being close by! Their life seemed quiet and comfortable till Mr. John Sequeira and Dr. Bairy came to see him with the offer of the headmastership of National high school, Barkur. One might surmise that it was not an easy decision to make of a career change, and that too at an unknown place. On the other hand, the offer of headmastership was attractive or lucrative enough for his age and with his relatively short career in teaching. One Mr. Kini who was a colleague in the Board high school and who knew Dr. Bairy seemed to have suggested PNBR's name as the right candidate. The Barkur team was quite persuasive which led to our father making a preliminary visit to Barkur to assess the prospects first hand. He liked the place and the people connected with the Barkur Education society,and the challenges of the job. In this visit itself he looked around a few houses. He liked one near Moodukere temple which was however not available for another nine months or so. He selected a house in front of the Ganapathi temple pond as an interim abode for him, his wife and three daughters aged 5, 3 years, and 6 months. Soon thereafter, he joined the National High School, Barkur. That was the historic year 1946.

Frankly, we had no occasion to specifically enquire of our father what made him decide to take up the job in Barkur which was in a sense cut off from the larger towns and which was not comparable in terms of facilities to Udupi or Karkala where he could have stayed. But as we grew up -five of his children, including me were born there, in Barkur, - we realized that he liked his job primarily as teacher, and as the headmaster. More than these, he had in him the idealism of sharing his knowledge and his ability to deal with others placed in less advantageous stations in life. Barkur provided him the opportunity to experiment his ideals of good education and through it to bring about a transformation of the society. To him, education, including of the girl child, and even Koraga children, was the most effective antidote for poverty. More than any other reason, it was this idealism which seemed to have tilted his decision in favor of settling down in Barkur which turned out for all of us, a memorable period of our life.

PNBR- Part III

The National High School, Barkur started in 1946 in the temple court yard in Manigara Keri, near Kallu Chappra, which by itself was a landmark of the town. In many ways that was an epoch making event, for there was no high school, either of the Govt. or of any private educational society, between Udupi and Kundapur, a distance of 23 miles, {except that there was Milagres High School started in 1936 or so, if I am not mistaken.  However, Kallianpur was about 7 miles away, besides two broad rivers to cross, a time distance of 4-5 hours one way.   In the monsoon seasons crossing these rivers was no different than Vasco-Da-Gama's or Columbus's expeditions.  One Fr. Sequiera from Sastan Parish was drowned while crossing this Kallianpur river, whose body showed up on Arabian Sea shore, after 5 days in Manoor, covering a distance of 15 miles from the drowning site.  James Fernandes remembers attending this funeral in Sastan for which PNBR allowed (permission slips) to several students to miss several afternoon class periods. Such permission slips were very rare to come by from PNBR, reserved for emergency type of situations only.  PNBR  had humanitarian compassion.The bus service from Kallianpur river to Brahmavar pente/(down town) was limited to three or 4 trips per day! Prior to 1946, very few people from Barkur, less than 5 or 10 did afford to attend this high school, sharing accommodation with relatives in Kallianpur.}  Barkur was not even on the mainline of these two (Kundapur and Udupi) places and not easily accessible. Barkur High School, [as it was often called], spearheaded the movement of establishment of a large number of high schools by private initiative in the following years. At Kota, the Viveka High School was the next one to start in 1949 on the initiative of the famous Karanth family, and Barkur high school was a model for that school as also several others, in quite a few respects. Incidentally, South Canara has the largest number of private high schools -far larger than the number of Govt. high schools in the Karnataka State.

Such was the zeal created by the Barkur high school that almost all neighboring communities established high schools in a few years. Barkur education society proved that geographical disadvantages were not insurmountable, if the spirit of service is the driving force. Not many seem to realize or fully appreciate the larger sociological significance of this Barkur high school.Children from scores of villages in and around Barkur came to Barkur high school. Many of them came from far away places on foot, drenching themselves in hot sun or lashing rains, carrying with them a "butti", [small tiffin carrier], the mid-day cold meal.   My husband tells me that some of the first batch students came from his village, Parampalli-Saligrama, a distance of 6 miles (one way) with a river in between which they crossed by boat. Children came from Matpadi, Baikadi, Manoor, Mabhukal, Airodi, Mandarthi, Chempi, Hanehally, etc. It must be noted that the parents, the students and indeed the whole of the communities living around had such a dire need for a high school that it was the good fortune of Barkur high school to fulfill it. The parents' passion for education of their wards, which they themselves were deprived of, could only be admired even/only after the lapse of 50 years! Obviously temple courtyard for the school was only an interim arrangement.

The Barkur Education Society lost no time in raising money from the nearby communities as also from the well wishers hailing from Barkur but working in far off places like Bombay. Our father accompanied the fund collectors to many places, including Bombay and the response was warm and generous. The school building began to come up. In all of these activities, PNBR played an important role and the Society in turn respected him. The administrative job of supervising the construction of the building, ordering of furniture, development of laboratory, library, liaison with the department of Education, accounting etc., was substantially handled by PNBR. The school moved into the new premises a year or

two later and for the next few years, it kept expanding with new class rooms as the student population increased. A few years later, as the students reached class 11, the school became the center for S.S.L.C public examination; later even the Viveka high school S.S.L.C students of the first few batches took their examination from Barkur center.

Almost after 25 years, as the school decided to celebrate its silver jubilee which coincided with our father's service in the school, a silver jubilee hall was thought of. PNBR along with a few others came down to Bombay to collect funds; by then, I had settled down in Bombay and it was a great occasion for us when Pappa stayed with us. I would like to narrate one experience of his during this trip. He went to see an old student in Larsen & Taubro? [L&T] if my memory serves correct, when the old student, a senior ranking officer in the company, came to the reception and prostrated before PNBR, much to the surprise of his subordinates. Such was the respect in which PNBR was held by his students. 

PNBR had full freedom in academic matters like setting the syllabus, allocation of teachers' duties, teacher supervision, maintaining discipline, cleanliness, working out in association with teachers' lesson plans, deciding on class examination system, planning sport & extra curricular activities to which PNBR attached equal importance etc. PNBR had almost a veto power in the recruitment of teachers. It must be said to the credit of Mr. John Sequeira and others in the Barkur Education Society that they never interfered with PNBR's work for they too knew that, to PNBR, caste, community/religion mattered little in the conduct of school affairs; what mattered most was the quality of education, standards of behavior, discipline etc. While he himself set standards, he was helpful to his teachers giving them tips in planning their lessons, handling slow learners, naughty children, interacting with parents etc. The school soon acquired a reputation for discipline and came to be respected even by the Department of Education whose periodical inspection rated the school high.

PNBR was keen on gardening, and ensured that a small patch of land in front of each classroom had a garden/flowerbed developed and nurtured by the students. (James Fernandes recalls here:  One student from Mabhukal (name withheld due to my inability to obtain permission) was bitten by a tiny cobra, on his foot, while weeding this flowerbed, who went into coma instantly. Someone put a tourniquet using his handkerchief above the bite region. The Senior Hindi Pandith, tore the cobra bitten flesh area with his teeth, causing to bleed profusely, and sucked up the poisoned blood over and over again, and spitting it out repeatedly, until he was exhausted, thus reduced the poison flow further. (Some of us students were shocked to accept the fact that a Brahmin and a vegetarian performing such a merciful act on a non-Brahmin was inconceivable or culture shock.  (Even Christ was ridiculed for performing a miracle on Sabbath!) Saving ones life was the best religion means are immaterial.) PNBR swung into action, managed to find and arrange for a car/jeep somehow, (I wonder if there were any cars in Barkur, then) and went along with the unconscious patient to the nearest Kundapur Hospital, just 15-18 miles away.  Yes, folks, they saved his life.  PNBR, a fair complexioned man, looked like a Caucasian (Gora) that day!] The inter class competition for the best garden was a keenly contested competition.  In the school compound there were many mango trees planted even as the building was coming up. In due course, they yielded fruits, which were the envy of the students, who were not allowed to pluck. The mango crop used to be sold or auctioned and the proceeds went to the much needed school accounts.

Any narration of the school would not be complete without the mention of three characters: Nagesh who was the administrative and accounting assistant, Koraga and Seena, the two peons. Their commitment to the job and devotion to the cause of the school was exemplary. No wonder their reverential respect for PNBR and in turn his implicit admiration for them was the talk of the town, as it were.

PNBR was a strict disciplinarian in all school matters, whether it was attendance of the children or teachers, or classroom noise, or teaching methods, or financial dealings etc.  For him discipline was and should be an integral part of the institution, if the institution were to be enduring. Such a disciplined way of working admitted of no waywardly operation by individuals, and it helped build character in the organization. This is the reasoning of PNBR in making sure, that what he preached, he practiced first.

Barkur high school was not built just on brick and mortar alone but also on discipline equally applied to all. People of Barkur even now remember him for his contribution not just to the School, but to the society in general.

PNBR: Part IV

Although PNBR had an awesome reputation of being a disciplinarian in the School, at home he was relaxed and easy going. This contrast could be puzzling for some but in both the roles, he was sincere to the core. In one, he shouldered the responsibility of building an educational institution of enduring value and of managing expectations of the community from the school.  The means to achieve harmony of interests of students, [for whom he always had enormous love,] parents, teachers, and the community at large, was by being fair in all the interactions of the school within and without.

This called for discipline, applied uniformly. PNBR, in our retrospective view, being acutely conscious of this responsibility, endeavored to ensure that the school, as an institution, stood out and above, any narrow interest.

Pappa's patience with us was monumental; he could listen to our chatter for hours without ever showing any sense of boredom. For him each child was a thing of pure joy. He encouraged us in whatever we did without being pushy. He was ever willing to sing with us, show us the dance steps, share jokes of which he had a fund, and tell us the stories. Night mealtime at home was long with all of us participating and sharing our day's experience, with Amma occasionally reminding us that our hands were getting dry. He believed in all round development of children, not just becoming bookish or bookworms.

Pappa was a voracious reader. Apart from classical authors' books, he used to read National Geography, Readers' Digest, The Illustrated Weekly and, of course, The Hindu, the daily newspaper which came from Madras. He shared with us and in the school the information he gathered from these readings. Pappa used to enjoy the music of M.S. Subbalaksmi and Bhimsen Joshi. He used to sing some of the songs of the latter. He taught us some songs for our music competition. He enjoyed watching sports events in the school. After the school hours, he played ball badminton along with some teachers. Pappa loved to dress well. He always was in spotless white dhoti and a shirt over which a waist coat which he later changed to a crisp "jubba". During the rainy season, it used to be said, that the school would declare a holiday if only the headmaster's coat got wet; it rarely did.It is hard for us to talk about his finances; frankly we the children did not know enough. The only person who knew the state of finance was our mother. 

Obviously, it was difficult to take care of the needs of a growing family. Never once he would say that he could not afford to get us something, which we intensely desired. Surely, as we were growing up, we vaguely realized that money does not grow with us. His first daughter could not pursue her studies beyond P.U.C. probably because he could not afford to spend for the hostel elsewhere; she occasionally feels that she would not have missed college education if Pappa were serving in Udupi.

Karkala college was set up later. Whatever be the reason then, he made sure all his other children were not deprived of college education. Ahalya, the second daughter, studied in Karkala Bhuvanendra College for her P.U.C and went on to Mysore medical college to get her M.B.B.S. Later, she got her M.D. in pharmacology. Uma, the third and I, Girija, the fourth daughter, went to Karkala to get our B.Sc degree. Rammohan, the first son, Sabitha, the fifth daughter had also the benefit of Karkala college education though Sabitha completed her graduation from MGM college .Rajaram, the second son studied in MGM, Udupi as Pappa had retired (PNBR Retired on 13-6-1972) and settled down in Udupi. The last son, Shashidhar was in the 7th standard when Pappa retired and his education responsibility was borne/shouldered by the two elder brothers as well.  He spent his time mostly in reading, visiting relatives, and gardening.  His interest in gardening was well known in NHS.  Besides the local flowering plants, he took pride in growing dahlias, daisies, hawli-halks, variety of roses, besides, dasawala or marigolds.  As there were no botanical gardens, local people used visit these school gardens, and pinch an occasional flower, or mostly seeds!   Every school inspector, every year, gave the 'certificate of appreciation.'  (The inspectors used to spend more time in the garden, rather than in the classrooms!)  I (Ahalya) remember counting the varieties of 'flocks', which were 35-40 of them, of different color combinations. 

Upon his death, his garden at Udupi home, the flower pots, rose plants, variety of grafted hibiscus, hawlihawks, Ashoka trees with pinkish red flowers, two cement ponds with pink and blue lotuses, were looking orphaned.  Not that we ignored these plants, but these plants missed their Master's voice, touch, and the tender loving care.  (Have you hugged your plants lately!)

We all lived with our mother's sister in Karkala on a frugal budget; our aunt was enormously supportive of us throughout despite her own difficulties. The two sons and sister Sabitha got into bank jobs soon after their graduation. What supported the expenses of our college education was a perennial loan on Amma's gold, which Pappa took from the local Syndicate bank in Barkur. If on some social occasions, my mother wanted some jewelry back home, Pappa arranged for a hand loan for a day to pay up the bank only to go back to the bank next day. For many years, Amma's gold remained in the bank's vault, but financed all our education. Teaching is, it is said to be a noble profession but a bad trade!

Pappa was recognized by the State and the Central Govt. The finest moment was when he got in 1964 a national award for his essay on "Teaching of English", in the "All India Competition of Seminar reading for the year 1962-63. (Folks, All India, not just a district or a state!)  The award was presented by the Minister for Education M. C. Chagla, in a special ceremony held in New Delhi. What he stated in his essay was essentially on the development of communication skills of students in English as different from literary appreciation. How perspicacious were his observations can now be seen in the emphasis accorded to communication skills in the world of commerce and business education. Another came from the State Govt. in 1971 as one of the sixteen best teachers in Karnataka.  Did he foresee that English is the bread winning language of about 50% of the world's population today?  He emphasized the quality and better grasp of the English language from the teachers too, because, one cannot teach what they don't know.  A tree is known by its fruit! This was an audacious statement which carried the weight to get recognized.

Receiving the National Award

He also received "State award for Teachers for the year 1970-71.   An article about him was published in 'LOKABHIRAMA' column of Udayavani Newspaper, written by professor, Ku Shi Haridas Bhat.

Pappa died suddenly in Manipal Hospital after a brief illness of just two days and that too as he was being discharged, on the 21st April 1978. He was only 66 years young.  The news spread far and wide and messages of condolences poured in. Barkur paid its tribute in its own style: the entire town was closed down for a day. He was so much a part of Barkur society. "It may be mentioned that Barkur Education Society offered him a house in Barkur for his living at the time of retirement. Pappa was overwhelmed by the sentiments but he decided to decline the offer, one for personal reason but more importantly for another: he was fond of Seetharam Shetty, in whose appointment as his successor he had a dominant say. Pappa was keen that Seetharam Shetty should have full freedom in running the school unconstrained by his physical presence in the town. He was after all going to be always available in Udupi for any consultation. Recently, my husband had an occasion to talk to Seetharam Shetty in some context and his first remarks were about Pappa and how he personally and the whole of Barkur remain grateful to Pappa."

Finally, it is for others to judge and acknowledge his contribution to the society; what mattered to him most was not success or failure but that he endeavored his best to make a difference to the community in which he spent most of his life. What he bequeathed to us, the children, was a small house in Udupi and a miniscule bank balance neither of which mattered, but what is inalienable is an enormous fund of good will of his students, and the people of Barkur. We cherish that in our memory of our Pappa.

We are grateful to you James, Gabriel, Kishoo, Archie, Harry, and other people associated with barkuronline.com and all others connected with the project in bringing Barkur alive and closer.  Pappa being a part of the project is a matter of pride and satisfaction to all of us.   We are thankful to Barkuronine for this unique opportunity.  Keep up the good work.

Bangalore, (Bombay, Manipal, Parkala, Pune, Udupi, Barkur) India; 05-02-2004.

If ever there will be a "Hall of Fame' monument built in Barkur, to honor the post independence heroes, who helped shape Barkur to uplift the lifestyles and the living standards, let P.N. Bhoja Rao be on the top of the list, in letters of gold, for bringing in EDUCATION and DISCIPLINE to Barkur high school students.  May his soul rest in peace.

Dear readers, please send in your brief candid comments, sentiments, kudos, or memories of PNBR, and also about his children.   These will be published in Sandesh.  I remember, Miss AhalyaDevi bagging most of the First Prizes on annual 'School Day' programs.  (I wanted to suggest, she could stay on the stage permanently, instead of running up and down so many times to receive each prize!) No doubt, she turned out to be an MBBS, MD and now a Professor in Manipal!  (Hope we or our youngsters can learn from this!) Congratulations, and also to her siblings for their successes in life, not without hardships though!

With daughter Sunanda and Son-in-law in front of Taj Mahal

P.N Bhoja Rao And Bharathi, Immediate Family Tree

A rare family photograph from the collection of  Sabitha Bhat. Seated from left to right are:Ahalya[2^nd  daughter],P.N.Bhoja Rao, Bharati , Rao with the first grand child Udaya, last son Shashidhar standing in front, first daughter Sunanda. Standing[l-R] Uma[3^rd  daughter], Sabitha[5^th daughter,,,Rammohan[1^st  son], Rajaram[2^nd  son], and Girija[ 4^th daughter]

P.S:  In retrospect, folks, I felt that it was NOT easy for his family to recollect and collect data about their beloved father.  Emotions are involved, which are private and personal in nature.  Even though, he had retired from teaching, he did not enjoy a long retired life with his children and grand or great grand children.  I must respectfully thank all of them, and in particular I have to acknowledge Mr. P.V.Maiya, husband of Girija the fourth daughter of PNBR, in organizing and writing this superb, historic article, as viewed by the family, and as told to him by Girija, which she collected from her brothers and sisters, and her own input as well.

A few excerpts were provided by Mrs. Ahalya Rao, and some of her contributions are embedded by me in Mr. Maiya's contribution.  During the process of putting this article together, the children's love for their father PNBR, seemed re-kindled, besides the sorrows of the great loss, which brought the brothers and sisters all the more a close knit family closer.  Barkuronline is grateful to them for sharing their sentiments, and information, family tree, and pictures hitherto unknown to our readers.  May they be blessed with health, wealth, and, happiness.

Thank you readers, and if you skipped some paragraphs, please come back!  There might be a quiz!

-James Fernandes and barkuronline.com team,  15/02/2004