Ashok Pujar
HUBBALLI: More than SMS and a phone call, Bidnal village near Hubballi trusts one mode of communication: Ashok Bheemappa Pujar, who delivers the message and follows up with reminders if needed, replete with personal courtesies. Should he be inviting someone to a wedding, for instance, he will insist they stay for lunch after blessing the couple.
Ashok, who is 62, has been the village messenger since 1976. He took up the job as a teenager after his ageing father found it difficult to go around the village. “People contact me when they have a housewarming, wedding, reception, birthday function or even tithi (death anniversary) and ask me to invite their guests. I visit their homes along with one of the family members a day before the function and inform them about the place and time. The morning of the function, I visit them again to remind them they should go,” says Ashok.