A man for all seasons and cities

Premalata, who had just completed her LLB with a gold medal, was busy with her sister's wedding. She and her father, a leading lawyer in Hospet, Bellary district, went to invite the two prominent officers of the taluk, the assistant commissioner and deputy superintendent of police.
DySP Gopal Hosur agreed to attend the wedding, and he did so, along with his mother.Just a few days later, Premalata's family learnt that the young officer had fallen in love with their daughter.
The father was in a fix. He had just completed his elder daughter's wedding. But his colleagues in court, including senior lawyer Gurusiddaiah and the assistant commissioner, rallied behind young Hosur. They convinced Premalata's father that this was `the proposal' for his daughter.
"It was a love-cum-forced marriage,'' laughs Gopal Hosur, now additional commissioner of police (law and order), Bangalore city. But Premalata disagrees with him. "I was not forced, my father asked me to meet him once or twice before taking a decision. After meeting him, I agreed and there was no looking back,'' she said.
Premalata's mother gave her a piece of advice. "You are marrying a police officer and you should never complain that your husband comes late and doesn't take you out and so on.'' Hosur says that Premalata has followed her mother's advice throughout their marital life. "She never questions me if I come late and she has never been a demanding wife,'' he said.
During the past 25 years, the couple has come a long way. While elder son Shreyas completed his engineering and is preparing for civil service examinations in Delhi, younger son Samar has just joined engineering. Premalata, who had done her MCom and ACS, is a practising company secretary.
"We are a contrast. He is calm and composed, I panic easily, but he has always comforted me. He never raises his voice in the house or scold the children," Premalata says.
FIRST CHOICE WAS ARMY
Hailing from Gokak, Gopal Hosur's parents were teachers. After primary schooling in Gokak, he moved to Sainik School in Bijapur and intended to join the Army. He completed the exams, but failed in physical fitness, as he had an eyesight problem. He returned and joined the telephone department as a junior engineer. In 1980, he took the public service examination and was selected as DySP.
Hosur is popularly known as a `man for all seasons'-- he has worked with many commissioners and in many cities, has held the posts of ACP, DCP, joint commissioner and now, additional commissioner of police. Contrary to common belief about police personnel, Hosur is known to keep his cool. His subordinates say: "But if Hosur sir tells us to do something, we don't show our faces till we complete the job.''
TURBULENT TIMES
His career and marital life were running smoothly when he was posted as DCP in Hubli. When Harikrishna was SP, Hosur had served in MM Hills with the Special Task Force to nab Veerappan. In May 1993, Shreyas was five years old and Samar was just a five-month old baby when he got a second call to join the STF. Unlike earlier, where he had gone on OOD, this time it was a proper posting. Present city police commissioner Shankar Bidari, who had taken over as STF commander, even got the order issued.
Hosur was in a tight spot, as his sister's marriage was fixed. With Bidari's assurance that he could take leave, he reported for duty to take stock of the situation. He was returning to Mysore from MM Hills early one morning, when Veerappan ambushed Hosur's convoy.
Six police personnel were killed and Hosur was seriously injured in his neck. A single bullet damaged his vocal cord, windpipe and food pipe, before exiting. The STF acted swiftly and shifted him to Salem Hospital, where a bunch of experts were rushed.
Meanwhile, Premalata was unaware of the emergency as there were no 24X7 television news channels. The first call came from the Mysore police control room, asking for Gopal Hosur's blood group. Ten minutes later, she got another call from Bangalore, asking the same question. This time, she felt uneasy and asked why everyone was asking for his blood group.
The next call came from then Hubli-Dharwad commissioner Achyut Rao, who informed her about the encounter, but said he was not aware of Hosur's situation. With Samar and her mother-in-law, Premalata rushed to Bangalore. On the way, while listening to radio news, she realized that his condition was serious.
By the time they reached Salem, it was 5 am. Hosur recognized her and holding her hand, asked her what the time was.
The doctors were in no position to give any assurance on Hosur, as his windpipe was damaged. Besides, one vocal cord was destroyed and there was every chance that the other one could get damaged during the operation. But the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments had deputed the best doctors for Hosur.
For the next six months, he was in hospital, undergoing six surgeries. There are 60 inches of stitches on his body. One surgery started at 7 am and went on till 11 pm, and till the final stitch was in place, the doctors gave no hope.
"It was Dr Nithyananda Shetty from St John's Hospital who gave me a second lease of life. He is no more, but I remember him forever,'' Hosur said, displaying the doctor's photo in his drawing room.
OUTDOOR FAMILY
The entire family loves outdoor activities. Hosur is not much into music and hardly gets time for books.
Hosur doesn't miss his swimming or tennis, starting the day with the racket and going for an evening swim. He takes time out for golf and also horse riding.
His sons, too, are the outdoor types. Shreyas even attempted to swim across English canal, but had to give up halfway due to adverse weather. He also participates in marathons and goes skiing in the Himalayas. "Both are very good swimmers and horse riders. Compared to their extra curricular activities, they are average in academics,'' Hosur smiles.