A salute by rickshawallas

Kannada Rajyothsava is celebrated as a festival across the state which continues till the end of the month.

With various associations joining the festivity, Karnataka flags can be seen flying on most of the vehicles like buses, taxis and of course the autorickshaws.

On this day, each and every area auto- wallahs come together at their respective stand and celebrate in a very grand way by performing pooja and usher in the festive spirit by playing lot of Kannada songs throughout the day.

Rudra Murthy, Chief Operating person of the Autorickshaw association says, “It is like a gala event for every auto driver as we see our Kannada flag flying high. Most of the autos on road will wear a colourful look. The IT and other big organisations just paste Kannada flag posters  or hoist a small flag in front of their offices only to say that they support Kannada Rajyothsava.  It is basically coolie people, autorickshaw drivers and taxi drivers who really consider it an ocassion to celebrate,” he says.

Ratna from Muthayalanagar who rides an autorickshaw is all geared up to decorate her auto along with her son. “We have collected around `5000 and have bought flags and other decorative items for 60 autos which is accomodated in our stand. Usually the celebrations goes on till November 30 in our area,” says Ratna.

Jayanna and Kumar who own an auto in Jayanagar says, “We have so many festivals but Kannada Rajyothsava is special for us and we make sure that we celebrate it in a grand manner. We are proud to be Kannadigas and these celebrations is our gratitude to our State,” says Jayanna.

Being an ardent fan of cinema, Kumar says “I will play all the famous Kannada songs especially songs of Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambarish.”