Fire walk: Minister adds touch of AXN

It might have been symbolic of the state Sports Minister S.S. Mallikarjun’s election woes as he walked barefoot on a bed of red-hot coals not once, but twice on Monday to fulfil a harake (offering) made for his son.

Mallikarjun walked the coals with son Samarth shoulders at the Veerabhadreshwara Swami temple here. Mallikarjun is a candidate for the Davanagere Lok Sabha seat while his father, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is contesting for the Davanagere Assembly constituency. The minister’s elder brother, S.S. Ganesh, also walked on the bed of coals, seeking victory for his father and brother in the polls.

The family of Shamanur Shivashankarappa offers the Kendade Nadige (coal bed) ritual at the temple every year but Mallikarjun made the offering twice this time around. First, he walked with an idol in his hand while the second time, he took his son on his shoulders.