Ancient Mangalore

Mangalore:The day exactly 25 years ago (February 6, 1986) was a very special for Mangaloreans, especially the Christians, with approximately five lakh people gathering at Bajpe to have a glimpse of Pope John Paul II, the first and only Pope to visit Karnataka. Divine presence Pope John Paul II addressing the gathering during his visit to Bajpe near Mangalore on Feburary 6, 1986. Though the Pope was scheduled to visit Bangalore that year, the venue was changed to Mangalore, also known as the “Rome of the East,” as the atmosphere in Bangalore was not conducive. People cutting across religious and caste lines thronged the venue, near the Bajpe airport, from every nook and corner of the State and outside the State, for the only engagement of the Pope in Karnataka. ‘People saw God’ Many people who had witnessed the historic event attended the special mass on Sunday. Alwyn Noronha, a teacher at St Joseph PU College in Bajpe, and a 10th Standard student then said he felt he was “seeing G...

First man who landed in Mangalore Airport. War hero Vonthibettu Prabhakar Hegde made the first-ever landing in Mangalore, 59 years ago. His passenger: India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru . He tells Rajul Hegde the airport is tricky but not unsafe. War hero and pioneering aviator Vonthibettu Prabhakar Hegde won’t forget December 25, 1951, for as long as he lives.On that day the retired wing commander, now a spry 84, then an air force flight lieutenant, flew India first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the first-ever flight to Mangalore airport (then called Bajpe Aerodrome) on a DC-3 (Dakota).Talking about the maiden flight from his home in Bangalore, Wing Commander Hegde told us, “When I landed for the first time at Bajpe, they were just digging and levelling the hill to build the runway. So it was just a non-tarmac, level ground, there was no airport as such. But the DC-3 is a small aircraft and it was easy for me to land it.”On being asked Nehru’s observation or if he c...