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Fast and furious: Nikhil loves living it up(The Times of India Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BANGALORE: What does humble farmer and former PM H D Deve Gowda, who prefers bullock-carts, have to say about the Swish Hummer his grandson Nikhil Gowda drives? Nothing at all, actually. Nikhil, who is in the news for allegedly getting into a fight with the staff of a Bangalore-based hotel because it denied him and his friends food, drives around in a Hummer. He made headlines in the state earlier this year when he was denied an entrance ticket for his second year pre-university exam. Incidentally, Nikhil is one of two scions of a politico family to drive around in a Hummer. The other one is Abhay Chautala, grandson of Devi Lal, another 'farmer' politician. In April this year, when his father H D Kumaraswamy had just completed about three months as chief minister, Nikhil was denied a hall ticket to appear for his exam at Mahaveer Jain College, where he was studying commerce. Chenraj Jain, chairman of Jain Group of Institutions, said: "Nikhil had 37% attendance in his second PUC and therefore, wasn't given a hall ticket. He just saw his name on the list and went away, neither he nor his parents came and pressurise us to give a hall ticket. As far as I remember, he was a well-mannered boy. I counselled him during his 1st PU year about academics. At that time he used to come to college in a bike." After passing out of Vijaya High School, records show Nikhil did not write the second PUC exam, has not appeared for the supplementary exam. The bike to college notwithstanding, Nikhil apparently swerves around in the choicest of cars - Lancer, Nissan Sports, Lexus and a BMW 7-series. The Hummer deal was inked when the family went to Dubai recently and the vehicle was shipped to India and was at the Chennai port for weeks. Sources say the lad goes shopping to Mumbai, Chennai and Dubai; loves hanging out at Forum Mall and smokes incessantly, but does not have a steady girlfriend. But this is now his first brush with the law. Police say months ago Nikhil beat up a constable at Tiffany's junction, but no complaint was registered. The one thing he has inherited from his father though, seems to be his love for films. When a new film is released, Nikhil books the entire gold class of PVR cinemas. But at 19, he has a formidable line-up of titles: director of Nikhil Enterprises, partner in Amogh Broadband. And the dark side? A reported love for over-imbibing alcohol, swerving around at midnight, assaulting anyone who comes in the way. Copyright 2006 The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd. Source : Financial Times Information Limited |