Hes been putting CMs in the corridor of power

BANGALORE: For seeing his name on the board at Vidhana Soudha, Sadananda Gowda has to thank not just the secret ballot. In fact, all the past CMs, ministers and governors in the last 50 years owe it to an 88-year-old man to see their names in the corridors of power.KS Thomas was happy when Gowda was elected as the new CM. Reason: his name has many alphabets and he is paid for every letter he paints on the board.More than 4,000 name boards in Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and M S Building for successive CMs, ministers, principal secretaries, under-secretaries and other senior officials were painted by Thomas.Thomas came from Chengannur in Kerala to Bangalore to work for the Indian Oil Corporation in the 1950s. He was then painting pipes.Explaining his association with name boards, Thomas says in 1956, before the inauguration of Vidhana Soudha, a senior official met him at his office in Ranasinghpet near K R Market.“He asked me to write name boards for the then CM B D Jatti and ministers. I agreed to write for six paise per alphabet,” he adds.Since then, there was no looking back. Thomas quit IOC and started working on contract, which is renewed every year.Today, he earns Rs 1.50 an alphabet. Naturally, a change in the government or IAS transfers brings a smile on his face.With just a table and a chair in a shed at Vidhana Soudha, he spends upto three hours to finish one board using just two colours — black and white.Interestingly, Thomas, could not read or write Kannada. “At first, I used to treat all alphabets as images. Gradually, I learnt the language and today, I can read and write the language,” he smiles.Asked why he hasn’t painted a board outside his house, he says he doesn’t own a house and lives in a rented house in Vijayanagar with his younger son.