Manju !

Manjunath. Manju, aka Machan.

The man of spirit, who lived life without giving a damn. The one who kept us on our dancing feet with his hearty vocals, the man who kept egging us on the football field with his "Lets go, guys !". The one whom you had to just see to break into a smile.

That hearty laugh, alas, will be heard no more.

And all this because Machan dared to stand up to a simple principle by which he led his life: truth and honesty.

Brutally murdered by dishonest petrol pump owners, who take selling adulterated petrol as their birthright. People for whom the assurance of political patronage makes a murder or two an accepted way of going about their business. People who reasoned that an IOC official had no business trying to ensure that the masses got the fuel that they paid for.

Here's the story on Indian Express: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=158004

Anyone could have avoided these people by easily turning a blind eye to these activities; which is no doubt what most of the responsible authorities have been doing for years. Anyone, in fact could have amassed a lot of wealth with the bribes that these pump owners offer in the first place.

Alas, for Manju could not see things that way.

Alas, for the people for whom he stood up, would never come to know about it; becuase only one newspaper chose to carry his story till now, it wasn't news good enough for the TV channels.

Alas, because due to the high-level connections of the these people to whom pumps were "allocated", those who did this heinous act might be let off in a short time, due the lack of public outcry.

Should they be allowed to ?

Machan, miss u we will. Lots. For all the people I know who we cannot but respect and admire, u are right there on the top, way above. RIP.

Here's Gaurav's post on Manju : http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/11/bye-machan.html