Kumta Town in the 1930s

"Those were the days when peace and contentment prevailed form the rich to the half starved poverty stricken Society because ignorance is bliss. Struggle for one's livelihood was their only problem. There were other reasons also for that sort of mental attitude of the people then. It was the time when Britishers had joined together the multi-fragmented or fractured pieces of India ruled by whimsical or occasionally benevolent princes who often waged wars amongst themselves for their personal ambitions like the heroes in stunt pictures keeping the innocent and the peace loving-subjects in a state of perpetual panic and a sense of insecurity. It must be some time, in 1922 or 23 when I was a child of 3 or 4 years that the freedom movement had started gaining ground in out small town of Kumta with processions, shouting slogans like 'Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai' and 'down with the British Raj'. My eldest brother Sadashivarao was an active congressman and my second eldest brother Dr. G.M. Masurkar was also a congress volunteer. Dr. G.M. Muasurkar was asked to leave the Gibb High School along with other participants by the Principal as per the orders of the Government, that those students who took part in the civil disobedience movement should be debarred from attending the School, lest the School, should loose the yearly Government grant.

The Shanteri Kamakshi temple situated in the heart of the town functioned, as a centre of freedom movement's circulatory system. Volunteers, propagandists and leaders were housed here. The deity seemed to infuse her spirit and inspiration in the congress workers. As a child, I remember having listened to some spirited talks of leaders in rap attention. I remember a big pyramid heaped of foreign clothes fashioned in western style like coats, pants, hats etc, turned into a bonfire surrounded by gaity of nationalist minded on-lookers. Our house was one of the guest houses for the itenarant workers who came ate and went away on their mission. My uncle Rao Sahib Ganaptrao Masurkar who had fought, earlier in this Gandhian movement against the Government, for redress of forest grievances also joined the movement spurning the title awarded to him. The kirtankar Shri Ram Pai had left a deep impression in me and I sang his two songs making jestures in accordance with the meaning of the words and stanzas. There was a packed audience and the faint memory appears to me like a dream as I recall the event. Ram Pai's kirtan was never dull or drab. It used to be full of funny anecdotes and sarcasm on the ordinances proclaimed by the Government one after another in succession to curb the National activities.

One thing I may say here that every individual had one aim in mind and that was to achieve freedom. People belonging to different strata in the society and people belonging to different vocations in life served the cause of freedom movement in their own way and capacity. If a buswala would see a congress worker, walking on the road to reach his destination some miles ahead, the driver would stop and pick him up and leave him where he wanted to alight. Likewise house-holders would feed the itinerant volunteers. Doctors would not only treat the sick volunteers free of charge but even keep them in their house and nurse them as they would do to their kith or kin." (Edited from Dr. Masurkar's article 'My Random Reminiscences,' published in Kanada Vritta- Diamond Jubilee issue 1982. 'Kanada Vritta' A weekly started in 1916 was the only newspaper, for several decades, published in the district from Kumta. It is still going strong at 91).