Padma Bhushan Dr. B. M. Hegde Felicitated At Kattingeri

Report by Eugene Moodubelle
Pictures by Anil Alva
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 11 May 2010: The son of the soil, Padma Bhushan Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde was felicitated jointly by the villagers of Kattigeri  and his maternal home ‘Kattingeri Mane’ under the auspices of the Managing Trust of Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple, Kattingeri in the temple premises on Tuesday, 11the May 2010 at 11 am.

Mr. Devdas Hebbar, the Managing Trustee of Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple presided over the felicitation programme and welcomed Dr. B.M. Hegde, Mrs. Hegde, the Chief Guest Mr. Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, advocate, Udupi and other guests and villagers. The distinguished gathering comprised of Commodore Jerome Castelino, Mr. Gerald Fernandes, Mr. Henry Fernandes, Mr. Peter Raphael Aranha, Mr. Dayananda Kamath, Manager of the Karnataka Bank, Moodubelle, Mr. Benedict Martis and others.

In his introductory address, Mr. Devdas Hebbar recalled the achievements of Dr. B.M. Hegde as the Vice Chancellor of MAHE and his contribution to the medical education in Manipal and abroad as visiting professor to various foreign universities. Advocate, Mattar Ratnakar Hegde on behalf of the villagers of Kattingeri honoured Dr. And Mrs. Hegde by placing the shawl on shoulders of both of them and offering fruits and the statue of Lord Buddha as memento. Other dignitaries in the gathering also felicitated Dr. Hedge by offering him flowers and garlands. Mr. Raviraj Shetty from the ‘Kattingeri Mane’ also offered flowers and a memento to Dr. Hedge.

In his message to the small but distinguished gathering, Dr. B. M. Hegde said that it is not the felicitation, shawls, garlands and fruits and even the Padma Bhushan that are important but  the love and affection of the people that matters. Dr. Hedge said that he was glad to come back to the village of his mother. Though he was grown in the house of his father at Orwadi, he did visit Kattingeri few times and has a special affection for the village and its people.

Lauding the harmony and brotherhood of the people of the villages of Belle and Kattingeri, Dr. B.M. Hedge said that the basic foundation of all religions is spirituality. He made references to the Moodubelle Church and the educational institutions run by the parish and appreciated their contribution. Speaking about the mind and health of an individual, Dr. Hedge pointed out that if the mind of a person is clean, that is without negative feelings such as ego, jealousy and hatred, that person would be healthy. By giving various examples, Dr. Hedge emphasised on the need to have positive outlook in life and do away with negative feelings in order to achieve good health and happiness.

Narrating his experience with the Padma Bhushan award, Dr. B.M. hedge pointed out that the announcement came to him as a surprise as he had neither sought it nor lobbied for it.  After he received the award, he wanted to know as to how he got the award and used the RTI Act to find out whether anybody had recommended his name. The reply that he got for the RTI application was that among those who were selected for the award his name was suggested by a committee rather than being recommended by any influential person or political party, though some of the political parties tried to get credit for him getting the coveted Padma Bhushan Award.

In his address, Advocate Ratnakar Hegde praised Dr. B.M. Hegde for his great achievement and said that by his award, the Kattingeri Village was honoured and the village is proud of their own person getting such a prestigious award.  Mr. Mahesh Hegde proposed the vote of thanks at the end of the programme.