The award blues

The eminent Yakshagana artiste’s name was in the newspapers as a Rajyotsava awardee. Till he read his name in the awards list in the newspaper, he had not even dreamt that he would receive the award.

Unlike many other awardees, the distinguished Yakshagana performer had not lobbied for the award.

After the initial euphoria, reality bit hard. The newspaper said the awards would be given away on Monday in Bangalore. He waited for someone from the government to contact him the whole day. None did.

By evening, he was tense about what to do next. Finally, on the advice of some friends, he decided to leave for Bangalore nevertheless.

He got into a bus in the night, unsure of where he would go to receive the award and who to contact.