Changing Lives: Bengaluru Man Gives Coconut Gatherer Second Chance

The author writes about an encounter with his coconut plucker and why he is going out of his way to help him.

This is a story of two persons who met by chance and changed each other’s lives.

Sadashiva was a farm hand in a small town called Gowribidanur in Karnataka’s Kolar district, situated 75 kms from the city of Bengaluru. He earns his living by climbing coconut palms and picking ripe coconuts and dried up branches. These climbers are professionals: they do this work almost their entire life time.

In May, he was hired by our building secretary to pluck fruit from the only tree we have in our premises. After gathering the fruit, he was supposed to distribute it to all residents equally. Our share was three coconuts and he came to our door to deliver it to us.

When I observed him from close quarters for the first time, I was shocked to see that he was blind in one eye. lt looked as if he had a cataract. I was concerned and a little guilty that he was doing a job as hazardous as this and that he was doing it without a safety belt and with a defective eye. I asked him whether he had consulted an eye specialist. He quickly dismissed my suggestion, saying that it was a birth defect and no treatment was possible. He said that he would rather spend money on his children than waste it on an impossible task.

When he said that his immediate problem was buying books for his son, Gopala, who is studying in a school for the deaf and dumb near Tumkur–which is about 30-40 km away from his home town, I was concerned. I offered him Rs 1000 on the condition that he would show me the books as soon as he bought them.

He thanked me and left.

He returned with two bags full of textbooks and note books for class eight. He brought them to show me and said that the books cost him around Rs 800 and he had the balance amount. I asked him to keep the remaining amount for his bus or train fare.

My wife and I were keen to help him. He his son’s hearing aid needed repairs. The repairs would cost Rs 4000.

I asked him about his other children. He said he had a younger daughter. I told him that he must educate his daughter and that we would find the funds to help him. I told him that under no circumstances should he take her out of school and enrol her as a domestic help in someone’s home.

Apart from his wife and daughter, Sadashiva has old parents who live with them. Gopala lives in a free hostel at the school and he visits his family on long weekends or festivals.

I have plans to seek assistance from like minded people through social media and operate a joint account in Bengaluru, in which the amount collected will be disbursed to him on a need basis for the education and new clothes for Gopala and his sister.

(Prakash Aroor can be reached at [e-mail])