Back in those days when I was still a pucca child,in other words,a primary-schooler, there roamed in the bylanes encircling our school, a madman we all called Gottu.

“Gottu” in Kannada means “I know”.A peculiar name to give,I agree,but certainly in keeping with the time-honoured tradition of rechristening the mentally ill in view of their personal fetishes.Our neighbourhood’s resident madman’s sole aim in life is to learn the time,and then abuse the person he asks,irrespective of whether they tell him the time or not.So, he is the “Time Kelo Huccha”, the madman who asks the time.My mother speaks of a “Sooji-Dharada Hucchi”, the needle-thread madwoman,so called because she was always seen fiddling with threads.

But coming back to Gottu-he was always impeccably attired.Though his clothes were the same day in and day out,you could try all day,and still not spot a crease or stain on them.He roamed the streets, muttering to himself, “It seems they’ll give a car, they’ll give a house, they’ll give a girlfriend(!)”.Left to himself,he was harmless.But us schoolkids knew his red flag, and routinely waved it, too.You only had to shout at him “Gottu, nange gottu!” (I know, I know!), and rage would break like a thunderbolt upon him.He would then begin his litany of curses and abuses-“Onion!Brinjal!(Yes,that’s what he called offenders.)I’ll burn your house down!I’ll sacrifice your mother at an altar!Potato!” Only half-understanding his curses and not being old enough to realize the cruelty of repeatedly provoking him, setting off his gunpowder-like temper and enjoying the explosion was as much a part of our lives back then,as were uniforms, four-lined notebooks and mass P.T.

Various theories abounded as to why the word “Gottu” provoked him so much, but no one ever got to the truth.But “Gottu” became in all of our minds a real-life tragic hero.His mythical image stays with me till today…