Mysuru: Feasting on bondas and relishing memories spread over half a century or even more, is not a luxury a top notch politician can afford but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did exactly that, after arriving at the residence of his classmate and friend, 70-year-Rajalakshmi, on Sunday.
Rajalakshmi, now a resident of Sidharthanagar in Mysuru, is the only daughter of then Shanbogh (village head) of Siddaramanahundi (the native place of Siddaramaiah), late Channappaiah and Nagarathnamma. While they resided in Devegowdanahundi, she travelled to study in Siddaramanahundi. She was Siddaramaiah’s classmate from class 5 to class 7 at Siddaramanahundi. There were just seven members in the class, Rajalakshmi was one among the three girls. She later became the wife of retired aeromodeling instructor in the Air Force, Mr Nagaraj and is the mother of four children.
Rajalakshmi had wanted to invite Siddaramaiah to her house for a long time and spotted the opportunity on Sunday. “My son-in-law Nanjundswamy who works for Akashvani, told me about his visit to Mysuru; Siddaramaiah who was comparatively free, readily agreed to my invite,” she said. The duo spent one and a half hours going down memory lane and recalling memories of their classmates, the time they spent together and the lighter moments of course. “He has given me the numbers of his PAs in Mysuru and Bengaluru. He speaks to me whenever I call him. He doesn’t behave like the CM when he speaks to me. He remembers the names of all our classmates. I remember consoling him over phone when Rakesh (Siddaramaiah’s son) passed away last year. I am delighted that he found time to come home today,” Ms Rajalakshmi told Deccan Chronicle.
