Ee Prapancha

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani : Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:06:00 +0000

A comedy movie, as projected by the posters of the movie, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani lives upto the expectations. Movie is fast paced and never seems boring. Rajkumar Santoshi is aware that primarily it is a comedy movie and he puts limited emotional scenes and it gels well. Few scenes here, may remind you of the great comedy movie of the 90s - Andaz Apna Apna.

Plot : Prem(Ranbir Kapoor) is the president of Happy Club of the town, which he runs along with his jobless friends. The motto of the Happy Club is to keep the people of the town happy. His gang of men also help in uniting the lovers, when faced opposition from their parents. Jennifer(Katrina Kaif), who initially mistakes Prem for a kidnapper, later becomes his good friend. He does everything to win over her - turns into a non-vegetarian from being a pure-vegetarian, finds himself a job, does his work sincerely, keeps aside time for his family to get himself the tag of achcha ladka from Jennifer! But all this goes in vein as Jennifer is in love with Rahul(Upen Patel).

Picture Courtesy : BollywoodHungama.com

In the meantime, Jennifer's parents are adamant on marrying her to someone else. But Prem comes to Jenni's rescue as the befitting president of Happy Club! But there are complications as Rahul's parents are also against him marrying Jenni. Will Jenni marry Rahul? What will be Prem's fate? To know answers to these questions watch the movie.

Kahani is not so ajab as you might have seen this type of triangular love stories before but definitely the comedy element is ghazab and that proves poora paisa vasool! Funny dialogues for most part of the film keeps audience in good homour. Few comedy sequences are - Stammering by Ranbir and Katrina, when they get emotional. But this creates funny misunderstandings! Salman Khan does a cameo and the best part here is when Ranbir hesitatingly introduces Katrina as his girl friend, Salman says why are you acting as if you are introducing my girl friend as yours! Prem turns into a non-vegetarian without knowing Jenni is a pure vegetarian! Prem's confession to Lord Jesus in broken English also tickles your funny bone. Comedy of errors in the party, when Prem is eager to dance with Jenni sets a laugh riot. Beautiful landscapes of Ooty, where the major portion of the film was shot, are a treat to watch. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif make up a good onscreen pair. Fight sequence which is at the final part of the movie seems dragged. Climax of the movie well dealt, though in an unusual way. On the whole, this film is a complete entertainer. So, surely make up your time to watch it.

A Temple Without Walls

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Sowthadka Mahaganapathi Temple, 20km from popular pilgrimage center, Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, is unique in the sense that it has no temple structure. I am not aware of any other temple for which there is no temple structure.This temple nestled in tranquil natural surroundings is open round the clock for offering prayers, with simple worshipping opportunity to the public. Devotees themselves have the opportunity to perform pooja to Lord Ganapathi. It is not crowded as most of the popular temples are. With lush greenery around and Lord Ganapathi in middle of it, this place is ideal for meditation. If you are looking for calm, serene surroundings, this is the place for you. Well, I see these settings continuing the ancient Indian tradition of worshipping the nature. One can also see a lot of cows freely wandering around the place of worship. Monkeys can also be seen jumping from tree to tree. Prasada of the pooja is also offered to these animals. Thus, love towards animals is nurtured. Simplicity of this place is sure to delight you.There is also a park near the temple, where there is a statue of Lord Shiva.Bit of History : Long ago, a temple was in control of a Royal family. During one of the battles, the temple was destroyed. At that time, cowherds in and around this area took away the Mahaganapathi idol and started worshipping wherever they went and finally installing the idol here at Sowthadka. They were growing cucumber and during their worship started offering same to Lord Mahaganapathi of this temple. In Kannada, "sowthe" means cucumber and "adka" means meadow hence the name "Sowthadka". No temple structure has been allowed as per the traditional norms.
For more info on the temple, you can visit the temple website
Sowthadka Temple

Temple Address:
Southadka Sri Maha Ganapathi Kshetra,
Kokkada Post,
Belthangadi Taluk,
Dakshina Kannada district
Pin code: 574 198
Ph: 08251 - 254 351, 254 161

Pooja Timings : 7:15 am, 12:15 pm, 7:15 pm

Distances to Sowthadka from major places:
Dharmasthala: 20 km
Kukke Subrahmanya: 45 km
Mangalore: 82 km

How to reach Sowthadka by Road: One can reach Southadka, on the National Highway 48(Mangalore-Bangalore) from Uppinangady towards Bangalore, first left turn after Nellyadi, on Dharmasthala Road.

Route Map:(Click on the picture to view it in larger size)

Picture Courtesy: SowthadkaTemple.com

Vishwa Tulu Sammelano(World Tulu Convention) at Ujire in Dec 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Vishwa Tulu Sammelano or World Tulu Convention in association with Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala and Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy will be held in Ujire near Dharmasthala from 10th to 13th December 2009.

World Tulu Convention logo

Before the Convention in December, talks/competitions/demos/exhibitions relating to Tulu language and Tulu Nadu will be held in several venues on the following dates.

Karkala -- Sept 19,20 - National workshop on Tulu
Bantwal -- October 10 - Riddles, Idioms and Customs in Tulu
Mangalore - October 31 - Debate on Commercial Aspects and Netravati River Diversion
Moodabidre - November 07 - Religious and Cultural Programmes
Udupi - November 21 - Jewels, Costumes, Indigenous Medicines
Puttur - November 28 - Folk games of Tulu Nadu
Kasaragod - November 29 - Dance forms of Southern Tulu Nadu

For more details, contact:
Secretary
Head Office, Vishwa Tulu Sammelano, Ujire
Phone : 08256 - 237801
Mobile : 94485 58583, 90083 61611

Also, you can visit the following links
Vishwa Tulu Sammelano - official website
First Vishwa Tulu Sammelan at Ujire - TOI Report
World Tulu Convention at Ujire in December - Deccan Herald Report

Manasaare Film Review

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:34:00 +0000

FYI : This is 200th post in Ee Prapancha.

Much awaited Kannada film Manasaare got released today. Film begins with song Ondu kanasu just like in Gaalipata. Neethu who was paired up with Diganth in Gaalipata, has acted in a guest role here. Whether it was to bring back the Gaalipata chemistry(which was by the way well received by the Kannada audience) here too? That is the question, director of the movie has to answer.

15-20 minutes from the beginning of the film is a good watch with comedy sequences featuring Diganth. But, soon the jovial mood in the film turns into a serious one. This continues for rest of the film canvas with tinges of comedy here and there.

Manohar(Diganth) is a jobless bachelor. He is in love with Bhamini(Neethu) but she deserts him for a well earning groom. Manohar being happy go lucky guy, never minds it. One night in Bangalore, Manohar is mistaken for a mental patient and taken away to a mental hospital in Malligepura in Kodagu. His efforts to prove himself sane prove futile. Even though he manages to escape from there, he comes back because of his love at first sight in the hospital on the day of escape! And now, he plans to elope with his lady love in the hospital van and of course, he succeeds too.

Photo Courtesy : Oneindia.in

Devika(Aindrita) who is also a mental patient, hates all men and her reaction towards them is to stab them. She, unaware of Manohar's motives tries to stab him, once she thinks that she has been kidnapped. She insists on returning to hospital and on her way back to hospital, spends 2 days with him and needless to say, love blooms. Also, Devika recovers to normal mental health. And now, when everything is going smooth in Manohar's life, hospital authorities come to know that Manohar is mistaken for Mahendra, another mental patient. This infuriates Devika, who thinks that Manohar is cheating her. Manohar is evicted out of the hospital and his future seems gloomy. Well, then Devika comes to know that Manohar is a good guy and they live happily ever after.

Script as you might have realized by now is weak. Predictable sequences mar the interest of the audience. Also, songs seems to have been stuffed. In a 2 hour movie, you can imagine how difficult it is to put 7 songs. In a way songs tries to lower the pace of the movie, which is otherwise fast paced. Also, several sequences appear unnatural - like, it is quite easy to escape out of the mental hospital and come back again! Bride(Bhamini) confessing her love to other guy(Diganth), taking some time off from the wedding reception! Manohar's uncle wearing patient's dress and climbing hospital wall, to see his future daughter-in-law!

Songs have been well shot but that solely, seems to be the success mantra of Gandhinagar nowadays. Diganth walks away with good performance. Dialogues in north Karnataka lingo are homorous and makes you laugh. Kudos to Raju Thalikote. At the end of the movie, I thought keeping only 3-4 songs with little more on-screen chemistry between Diganth and Aindritha would have made the film much better. What say, folks?

Manasaare Audio Review

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:59:00 +0000

To read the Kannada version click here.

After Gaalipata, director Yogaraj Bhat is gearing up for the release of his latest venture Manasaare. Manasaare literally means straight from heart in Kannada. Here is a first look on the audio of the film released recently.

Trinity of Mungaaru Male - Jayanth Kaykini, Mano Murthy and Yogaraj Bhat is back in Manasaare. Manasaare audio contains 7 songs. Except for one shloka in Sanskrit, lyrics for the remaining 6 songs is written by Kaykini and Bhat. 4 of them are slow tracks continuing the tradition of Mungaaru Male and Gaalipata - where majority of songs were so. ello maLeyaagideyendu tangaaLiyu hELutide(cool breeze is saying it has rained somewhere) is a solo sung by Sonu Nigam. Jayanth Kaykini seems to have hangover of Mungaaru Male. But well, that does seem only in the first line. Beautiful lyrics combined with Sonu's voice is a treat to listen. Glad to see Sonu pronouncing his Kannada correctly here. Music in the beginning of the song is amazing. Yogaraj Bhat has penned kaNNa haniyondige kenne maataaDide(cheek has a talk with tears) which has some new lines in lyrics and it is well sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Kay Kay. naa naguva modalEne(before I laugh), again by Bhat is also sung by Shreya Ghoshal. This song is yet another instance of Shreya's sweet voice.

Picture Courtesy : Kannadaaudio.com

Manasaare's title track naanu manasaare maruLanaagE iruvenu innu munde(I will be crazy to my heart's liking from now on) is less of music and more of singing abilities of Vikas Vashistha and Lakshmi Nagaraj. This song with small duration of about 2 minutes and 40 seconds has the potential of becoming a hit just like Kavithe song of Gaalipata did. After the melodious tunes of the above mentioned tracks, onde ondu nOTa saaku(one look is enough), a fast track does not impress. ondu kanasu khaalee peelee kaNNa munde heege oDutirabEku(one dream however crazy must be running in front of the eyes like this) written Jayanth Kaykini was the first song I liked in Manasaare. Reason for the liking may be since it was the first song I heard from Manasaare. Kunal Ganjawala who has proved his mettle singing fast tracks in Kannada has lended the voice along with Ananya Bhagat and Earl Edgar. Finally, Vijaya Prakash of Jai Ho fame has recited the shloka - sahanavavatu sahanav bhunattu. I am curious to know in which part of the film, Yogaraj has used this song. Newspapers have announced the release of Manasaare in next few weeks. Lets wait for that. All in all, Manasaare is sure to steal the hearts of Kannada music lovers. To listen to Manasaare songs visit Kannadaaudio.com.

Manasaare film info : -
Star Cast : Diganth, Aindritha
Music : Mano Murthy
Lyrics : Jayanth Kaykini, Yogaraj Bhat
Play Back Singers : Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Kay Kay, Kunal Ganjawala, Ananya Bhagat, Vikas Vashistha, Lakshmi Nagaraj, Earl Edgar
Director : Yogaraj Bhat
Producer : Rockline Venkatesh
Audio : Aditya Music

Financial Expert by R K Narayan

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:32:00 +0000

Financial Expert, a novel by well known writer R K Narayan is a good read. Like most of his novels, R K Narayan tells the story with homorous touch.

Plot: Story revolves around Margayya, who helps and advises poor villagers in getting loans from a Cooperative society. Before people getting loans allocated from the Cooperative society, he gives an advance amount for which he charges interest. These financial deeds are maintained in an accounts book by Margayya. Balu, Margayya's son is always upto some mischief. One fine day, in one of his playful acts, he dumps Margayya's accounts book into the gutter. Margayya is now unable to recover money from his clients as they insist on records in the accounts book. But Margayya earns wealth after various incidents like meeting up with Temple priest and Dr.Pal, a Socialogist. The events leading upto this is sure to tickle your funny bone. Dr.Pal is chiefly responsible for Margayya's success. Ironically, he along with Balu become responsible for Margayya's fall in the end.

Film Adaptation : There are few films which do justice to a popular book. This book's film adaptation in Kannada - Banker Margayya is one of those few. Though one cannot fully depict what the character is thinking in a film as in a book, I am sure even if you had read the book, you will equally enjoy the movie. Director T S Nagabharana has given attention to the details provided in the book, which makes you like the movie. With Lokesh, one of the finest actors in Kannada cinema, as Margayya you are in for a visual treat.

Yegdagella Aithe - A Spiritual Book by Belagere Krishna Shastri

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Read this article in Kannada here.

'Yegdagella Aithe' in Kannada means 'Everything is there in Yoga'. Kannada book 'Yegdagella Aithe' by Belagere Krishna Shastri is a memoir of Shree Mukundooru Swamiji. As the author says Swamiji used to use this phrase, 'Yegdagella Aithe' more often in his talks, hence the name of the book.Belagere Krishna Shastri is witness to several miracles performed by Shree Mukundooru Swamiji. While reading the book you may face questions like 'What?', 'Whether it is real/possible?' Your logical mind, which is used to scientific explainations may refuse to accept the events described here. But, we having not seen such supernatural events does not mean that they are fake. Also, those phenomena for which we cannot give any scientific explaination just means those are the areas, which need to be explored. Even the author himself did not believe initially what people were saying about the miracles Swamiji performed. But if you keep your logical thinking aside and read Krishna Shastri's experiences as your own you will be amazed. In addition, there are instances in the book about how Swamiji used to explain ordinary people about spirituality using the language they understand better.

In 1949, Krishna Shastri came to Devanooru village in Kadur taluk of Chikmagalur district to work as a teacher. There he met Swamiji and his interactions with Swamiji is the content of the book. Mukundooru Swamiji, who never wanted publicity, also remained modest of his miracles. He acted as if he had not performed those at all. In the book, there are sayings, idioms in particular dialect of Kannada which is common to malnad and surrounding regions of Karnataka. So, if you are not from these places, you may find it new/difficult. But even then, this book is a good read for an amazing spiritual experience.

[Belagere Krishna Shastri now runs Shree Sharada Mandira Educational Institution in Belagere, Challakere taluk, Chitradurga District and is involved in social work. In 2004, Karnataka Government honoured him with Rajyotsava Award in recognition of his work.]

How to change DNS Server Configuration in BSNL Broadband?

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:17:00 +0000

If you are using a BSNL broadband connection, you may have experienced problems in hostnames not resolving into IP Addresses. You thus, end up seeing page requested is not being loaded. Problem is with the default BSNL DNS servers, which are often unresponsive.

To resolve these DNS related issues, just change the DNS configuration in your BSNL modem/DSL router.

Login to your BSNL modem/DSL router typing 192.168.1.1, which is BSNL DSL router IP, on your browser and username : admin.
DSL router configuration window opens. Click on DNS in Advanced Setup menu on left hand side.You get DNS Server Configuration window. There are Primary and Secondary DNS Servers configured. Change these to Open DNS servers : Primary - 208.67.222.222 and Secondary - 208.67.220.220. To know more about open DNS visit - opendns.com 3.Click on save and Reboot the modem/DSL router for the changes to take effect.

P.S: The procedure explained above for resolving DNS server related issue, is the one I followed to resolve it in UTStarcom ADSL 2+ Modem/Router, Model No : WA3002G4 got from BSNL.

Lakes of Mysore - Kukkarahalli and Kaaranji

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:06:00 +0000

Two famous lakes of Mysore are Kukkarahalli Lake and Karanji lake. Kukkarahalli lake located near Mysore University is spread across 62 hectares. Lake has a surrounding walkway which has stone benches for visitors. This is used by Mysoreans for morning walk, jogging. Here are some of the snaps of the lake.
Kaaranji or Karanji lake spread across 55 hectares has a giant fountain(Kaaranji in Kannada) at the center. Boating facility is also available here. But the biggest tourist attraction is the aviary located within the foreshore area of the lake. It is the biggest walk through aviary in India. Hornbills, peacocks, white-peacocks, turkeys and black swans are some of the birds found in this aviary. A walk through this aviary is a wonderful experience. Peocock spreading its tail feathers to reveal the 'eyes' is a treat to watch. You can also watch White peacocks climbing the trees around. Kaaranji lake surroundings buzzling with life is worth watch. Surely visit this lake, when you come to Mysore.

Tulu Drama - Eer Undara on July 5, 2009 in Bangalore Townhall

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Its drama time again! On Sunday, July 5, 2009, Bangalore audience can witness Tulu drama, Eer Undara? (means to ask - Had your meals? in Tulu). Directed by 'Telikeda Bolli' Devadas Kapikad, popular name in Tulu theater, this drama promises to be a laugh riot like his previous plays.Here, are the other details of the play.

Drama Name : Eer Undara
Date and Time : Sunday, 5th July 2009, 11 30 AM

Playwright and Director : Devadas Kapikad
Music : Guruprasad Bayar, Verma Vitla
Troupe Name : Chaa Parka

Venue : Town Hall, 109, JC Road, Bangalore

Tickets are priced at Rs.75, Rs.100, Rs.250, Rs.500(for 2)

For the tickets of the play, you can contact the following numbers :
98455 43317, 96326 95498

Regards
Raveesh

Blogging for 3 years now!

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Yesterday, on June 22nd, 2009, I completed 3 years of blogging!

Posts, down the memory lane!

On first day of blogging

On completing one year of blogging

Being a blogger for 2 years

Freedom Park near Sheshadri Road, Bangalore

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Freedom park near Sheshadri Road is one more addition to the list of parks in garden city of Bangalore. Here are some of the snaps I took when I visited the place.

Freedom Park Entrance, Sheshadri Road, Bangalore

Bangalore Central Jail which is now converted into Freedom park was built in 1866 by the British. It occupied a site of approximately 21 acres. The jail has housed many illustrious leaders who fought for the freedom of our nation and for restoration of democracy during the emergency regime post independence. The jail compound included a watch tower in the center, barracks and other buildings like the hospitals, workshops etc.

Timings : 5 AM - 8 AM and 5 PM - 8 PM
Entry Free.

Bird's view of Freedom Park

Watch tower at Freedom Park, Bangalore

Open Air Theatre at Freedom Park

Sculpture Court, Freedom Park

Cells at Freedom Park

Learn Tulu Online : Part 3 - Talking to your Tulu Speaking friend

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:20:00 +0000

This may be the most common situation you encounter - talking to your Tulu speaking friend. Well now, you can talk to him in his native tongue. Here is a list of sentences you may want to use in such a case. For more sentences/phrases, you can always leave a comment asking for the same.

English : Hello, how are you?
Kannada : namaskaara, hegideeya?
Tulu : namaskaara, enchulla?

English : I am fine.
Kannada : naanu chennagideeni.
Tulu : yaan usaarulle.

English : Are all well at home?
Kannada : manEli ella chennagidaara?
Tulu : illad maatha usaarullera?

English : Everyone is fine.
Kannada : ellru chennagidaare.
Tulu : maaterla usaaruller.

English : How is your work going on?
Kannada : ninna kelsa hege nadeetha ide?
Tulu : ninna bele encha nadattondunDu?

English : What did you have for tiffin today?
Kannada : ivattu tiffin ge enittu?
Tulu : ini tiffin g dada ittnD?

English : Anything else?
Kannada : mattenu vishya?
Tulu : buka daada vishaya?

English : How was the coffee?
Kannada : coffee hegittu?
Tulu : coffee encha ittnD?

English : Coffee was good.
Kannada : coffee chenngittu.
Tulu : coffee eDDe ittnd.

English : Where did you go on weekend?
Kannada : weekend ell hogidde?
Tulu : weekend oDe poditta?

English : This time I had gone to Bangalore.
Kannada : ee sali bengaloorige hogidde.
Tulu : ee sarti bangalore poditte.

English : How was your weekend?
Kannada : Weekend hegittu?
Tulu : weekend encha ittnD?

English : It was superb.
Kannada : tumba chennagittu.
Tulu : mast eDDe ittnD.

English : When did you come?
Kannada : yavaag bande?
Tulu : yepa battini?

English : I came yesterday.
Kannada : naanu ninne bande.
Tulu : yaan kODe battini.

English : Can you wait for me?
Kannada : nange kaayteeya?
Tulu : yenk kaapuvana?

English : Ok, I will wait.
Kannada : Ok, naanu kaayteeni.
Tulu : Ok, yaan kaapuve.

English : Can we meet today?
Kannada : ivattu naavu sigoNava?
Tulu : ini nama tikgana?

English : We will meet today at 4'o clock.
Kannada : naavu ivattu 4 gantege meet aagoNa.
Tulu : nama ini 4 ganteg meet aaka.

English : Can you come there?
Kannada : ninage alli barlikkagatta?
Tulu : nikk aDe barre aapunDa?

English : Yes, I can come there.
Kannada : sari, nange allige barakkagutte.
Tulu : sari, enk aDe baroli.

English : Is it so?
Kannada : idu heego?
Tulu : undu inchana?

English : Yes, man.
Kannada : howdu maaraya.
Tulu : and marre.

English : Did't you know?
Kannada : ninge gottirlillva?
Tulu : nikk gottijjaanDa?

English : Glad to meet you.
Kannada : ninnannu noDi tumba khushiyaaytu.
Tulu : ninan tood mast kusiyaanD.

English : This watch is beautiful.
Kannada : ee watchu tumba chennagide.
Tulu : ee watch bhaari sookunDu.

English : What to do now?
Kannada : eega yenu maaDodu?
Tulu : itte daada malpuni?

English : Can we talk now?
Kannada : naaveega maataaDoNava?
Tulu : nama itte paatergana?

English : Ok, see you next time.
Kannada : Ok, matte sigONa.
Tulu : Ok, bukka tikga.

Learn Tulu Online : Part 2 - Talking In a Restaurant, Conversing with a vendor

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Continuing the Learn Tulu series of posts, here are some Tulu phrases you might want to use in a restaurant and while talking to a vendor.

Numbers :
English : One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten
Kannada : ondu, eraDu, mooru, naalku, aidu, aaru, ELu, enTu, ombattu, hattu
Tulu : onji, raDD, mooji, naal, ain, aaji, EL, enma, ormba, patt

In a restaurant :
English : What and all are there?
Kannada : enella ide?
Tulu : daada maatha undu?

English : Will that take some time?
Kannada : adakke tumbaa hottu aagutta?
Tulu : avek jinja portu aapunDaa?

English : Give me one masala dosa.
Kannada : nanage ondu masale dose koDi.
Tulu : enk onji masale dose korle.

English : Bring it fast.
Kannada : idannu bega tanni.
Tulu : nEn bEka kanale.

English : I dont want that.
Kannada : nanage adu bEDa.
Tulu : enk avu boDchi.

English : I dont want that much.
Kannada : nanage asTondu bEDa.
Tulu : enka aat boDchi.

English : Give that one.
Kannada : adannu koDi.
Tulu : aven korle.

English : Give some water.
Kannada : neeru koDi.
Tulu : neer korle.

English : You have given a good service!
Kannada : oLLe service koTTri!
Tulu : eDDe service koriyar!

Conversing with a Vendor :
English : How much does this cost?
Kannada : Idakkestu?
Tulu : nEk Et?

English : The price is too high.
Kannada : rate tumbaa jaasti aaytu.
Tulu : rate mast jaasti aand.

English : Please lower the cost.
Kannada : rate swalpa kammi maadi.
Tulu : rate onchooru kammi malpule.

English : Show me the new designs.
Kannada : nanage hosa designs tOrisi.
Tulu : enk posa designs tOjaale.

English : I will pay by cash.
Kannada : naanu cash pay maadteeni.
Tulu : yaan cash pay malpuve.

English : Please pack all the goods, I will come soon.
Kannada : ella saamaanu pack maaDidi, naaneega bartEne.
Tulu : maata saamaan pack malt deele, yaan itte barpe.

English : When will the ordered goods arrive?
Kannada : order maaDida goods yaavaga barutte?
Tulu : order maltina goods Epa barpundu?

English : Yes, its been sometime now, since I had come here.
Kannada : howdu, naanillige bandu swalpa hottaytu.
Tulu : and, yaan iDe battd chooru portaanD.

English : Whats the time now?
Kannada : eega estu hottaayitu?
Tulu : itte Et portaand?

English : We will come again at 1 'o clock.
Kannada : naavu 1 gantege matte bartEve.
Tulu : enkla 1 ganteg pira barpa.

English : Good work!
Kannada : oLLe kelasa!
Tulu : eDDe bEle!

English : Thanks.
Kannada : dhanyavaada.
Tulu : solmelu.

Learn Tulu Online : Part 1 - Commonly Used Phrases

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:42:00 +0000

Tulu is a Dravidian language, predominently spoken in Dakshina Kannada(Mangalore), Udupi districts in coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. One can also notice sizeable population of Tulu people in Mumbai and Bangalore, who migrated from Coastal Karnataka in search of jobs. Here, I am starting a new series of posts on Tulu. It will be for those who want to learn Tulu. Given below are the commonly used phrases in English and its equivalent in Tulu.

English : Hello, How are you?
Kannada : namaskaara, hEgideera?
Tulu : namaskaara, encha ullar?

English : Had your lunch?
Kannada : oota aayta?
Tulu : vaNas aanDa?

English : Where are you working?
Kannada : neevelli kelasa maadtideera?
Tulu : eer olu bEle maltondullar?

English : All are welcome.
Kannada : nimagellarigu swaagata.
Tulu : maatergla swaagata.

English : Come
Kannada : banni
Tulu : bale

English : We will go to Mangalore.
Kannada : naavu mangaloorige hogoNa.
Tulu : nama Kudlag poyi. [Mangalore is called Kudla in Tulu]

English : How were the rains this year?
Kannada : ee sala male hegittu?
Tulu : ee sarthi barsa encha ittnd?

English : When did you come?
Kannada : neevu yaavaga bandri?
Tulu : eer Epa battini?

English : I am fine.
Kannada : naanu chennagideeni.
Tulu : yaan usaar ulle.

English : Will this bus go to Udupi?
Kannada : ee bussu Udupi ge hogottadeye?
Tulu : ee bus Udupi g popunda?

English : Where is this address located?
Kannada : ee address elli barutte?
Tulu : ee address olu barpundu?

English : Ok, see you next time.
Kannada : sari, matte sigona.
Tulu : aavu, buka tikga.

English : I will come.
Kannada : naanu barteeni.
Tulu : yaan barpe.

More Tulu phrases next time.

Update : As per suggestion from Sandeep, I have now included equivalent Kannada phrases too. Well, it will also serve the purpose of teaching Kannada. So, it will be appropriate now, to call this series of posts, English Kannada Tulu speaking guide!

Thanks
Raveesh

Ooty Trip - Part 3 : Botanical Gardens, Dodda Betta, Shooting Medu

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:53:00 +0000

We had stayed in Coonoor the night before. So, on May 3 morning, plan was; two of us will go and park the car in Ooty. Then, those two will come back to Coonoor by bus. In case, you are wondering what is it all about, this was our arrangement to make sure that everyone in our group gets to enjoy the travel in Nilgiris Heritage train from Coonoor to Ooty. Shrinidhi and Deviprasad went to Ooty to park the car. Me, Suhas and Atheeth stayed back in Coonoor.

Nilgiri Heritage Train, Ooty

Nilgiri Heritage train(also called Nilgiri Toy train) from Mettupalyam arrives at Coonoor at 10 30 am and departs from there at 10 40 am. Tickets for the train are issued only half an hour before the departure. Anticipating the rush for tickets, two of us stood in the queue as there was a restriction that only 4 tickets will be issued per person. There were 2 types of seats - I class and II class, priced at Rs.76 and Rs.3 per person. We had bought tickets for I class, but did not find any drastic differences between the classes - each row of I class seats had 4 seats and II class row had 5 seats. Apart from that, I class seats were little more cushioned than the other.

Train Entering a tunnel

As the train from Mettupalyam did not arrive on time, Coonoor railway station officials arranged for another small train starting from Coonoor which left at 10 45 am. Journey in the train which passes through tunnels, travels in middle of hills, was a nice experience though I would not term it as great. May be the hype around it created lot of expectations in me. In this journey, we took snaps of the landscapes of Ooty and of course, of the heritage train. I also shot several videos of the train travel, which eventually made me run out of camera batteries. Train travel was just over an hour, thus reaching the Ooty railway station at 11 50 am.

Train on bridge[Photo courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Ooty Lake :We had visited the Ooty lake on Day 1 of the trip in the evening. After hearing from boating co-ordinators that we need to wait for an hour for our turn, we dropped the idea of boating there. When Heritage train was reaching Ooty, we could spot the famous lake. After purchasing some books at Higgin Bothams at Ooty Railway station, we headed towards Ooty Botanical Gardens after picking the four wheeler, we had parked in Ooty.

Ooty Lake

Ooty Botanical Gardens : As it was a Sunday, entrance of famous Ooty Botanical Gardens was crowded. Ooty botanical gardens was full of trees of various heights, flowers of various colors and people from various backgrounds! Well, this makes an ideal picnic spot for family crowd. My camera batteries dried up after taking few snaps of the place. Now, only Nidhi's camera was operational.

Ooty Botanical Gardens

Dodda Betta : Dodda Betta is 8km from Ooty Botanical gardens. Though the vehicles reach till the peak of the hill, people also prefer to walk to reach Dodda Betta peak. When we went there, we were welcomed by the traffic jam. So, after parking the vehicle some way behind, we climbed the hill. Dodda betta peak also has asphalted roads.

View from Dodda Betta

This was a surpise for me as I had always imagined ground at peaks of hills to remain natural. A telescope installed here, enables you to view the distant Coonoor town from here. After Dodda Betta, we are returning back to Bangalore, thinking thats the end of trip and no more places to be visited. But soon after leaving Ooty, we got down at Kamaraj Sagar dam and Shooting Medu. Realizing the difficulties in Kalhatti Ghat road, we had now chosen the Gudalur route to reach Mysore.

Another view from Dodda betta

Kamaraj Sagar Dam : Also known as Sandynallah Reservoir, this apart from being a picnic spot, is also a good place of study for enviromentalists.

Kamaraja Sagar [Photo Courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Shooting Medu : As suggested by its name, numerous Indian films have been shot here. Particularly, this place is ideal for song sequences. Surrounded by forests and mountains, this is a wonderful place. After that, Ford Fiesta was zooming towards Mysore. We realized after few minutes of drive that we had missed Pyakara lake, another shooting spot, seeing its board on our way.

Trip gang at Shooting Medu[Photo by Shrinidhi]

Ooty Specialities :

Masala Tea : When in Ooty, you would notice tea shops almost everywhere. Why not, since it is home to numerous tea factories. Also, one wonders at the variety of tea flavours provided - Masala, Chocolate, Cardamon, Lemon and the list goes on. Well, we prefered Masala tea everywhere we went and the price is also uniform - Rs.5 per cup. So, surely wet your taste buds with variety of tea flavours when you visit Ooty.

Shooting Medu [Photo by Shrinidhi]

Ooty Chocolates : We had received numerous requests from friends and relatives to bring Ooty home-made chocolates while leaving Bangalore. In Ooty, we had a difficult time in choosing the flavours! - Milk chocolates, Pista, Fruit and Nut - like tea flavours list goes on, here too. Once somebody in my office had brought Ooty chocolates which did not have any particular shape. But when we looked for them, they were are all in regular shape though not neatly cut - times are fast changing!

Vegetation at Shooting Medu [Photo by Shrinidhi]

Language : Conversing with the locals is never a problem in Ooty. You can talk to them in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi or English. People are very hospitable, indicating that they are good hosts.

Eucalyptus Oil : Nilgiris are also known for production of Eucalyptus oil. You can find it being sold virtually in every shop in Ooty.

Beautiful images from Ooty had filled our memory, when we were returning to Bangalore. It was around 12 15 am that night, when we reached home.

Thanks nidhi for some of the photos featured here.

Raveesh

Also read,
Ooty Trip Part 1 - Road to Ooty
Ooty Trip Part 2 - Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad Viewpoint

Ooty Trip - Part 2 : Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad View point

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:33:00 +0000

We first wanted to cover tourist places near Coonoor and Kotagiri (they are the other 2 popular hill stations after Ooty) before exploring Ooty, as it was crowded. Coonoor is 17 km away from Ooty and the first major attraction we covered here was Dolphin's nose.

View from Dolphin's Nose

Dolphin's nose : It is a view point 10km from Coonoor, which we covered on May 2nd in the morning. Though we did not find anything resembling its name, it is a great place with one half of the place offering a panoramic view of the surrounding hills and the other half filled with greenary of tea estates. Also, we could spot Catherine falls among the hills, which we were about to visit in later part of the day(though human accessible portion of the falls is different from what you see here).

Tea Estates, Dolphin's Nose

Lamb's Rock : On our way back to Coonoor from Dolphin's nose, we visited Lamb's rock, which is yet another view point. It is just 2 km from Dolphin's nose. It provides view of the Coimbatore plains. We could spot a river from the telescope kept there. Now, don't ask me which river it is! After a brief interval there we were heading back to Coonoor.

View from Lamb's rock

Sim's Park : At the heart of the Coonoor town is the Sim's park, which is believed to be home to many flowering plants, pines, ferns and shrubs. Gigantic trees here, will catch your attention. Boating in the lake inside the park is a hit with the tourists. Otherwise, it is a place to just lay down in the grass and relax. After spending some time here and finishing our lunch in Coonoor, our next destination was Kotagiri.

Sim's Park in Coonoor [Photo courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Catherine Falls : Kotagiri which is 23 km from Coonoor is a small town. We needed to go past it to reach Catherine falls. After parking your vehicle in one of the tea estates, you need walk about 1-2 kms to reach the falls. This walk is one of the best as you will be walking along the area covered with greenary, hills and trees on one side and tea estates on the other. We travelled further to reach Kodanad viewpoint in the evening.

Catherine Falls, Kotagiri

Kodanad Viewpoint : This place is a must visit for tourists. You can almost see the details of the geographical map of the region come to life. You can see the huge valley which dips down below and rises again. Also, one can see the Moyar river flowing, Karnataka Tamil Nadu state border and they say, you can also witness the point where Western and Eastern ghats meet.

Kodanad View Point, Can you spot Moyar river?

One can also enjoy the view of Rangaswamy peak which is conical shaped peak and is also considered sacred according Hindu legends. As we had gone in the evening, plateaus below looked misty in sight. So, to get the clear picture I would recommend to go when there is bright sun. That was end of day 2 on our Ooty trip.

Part 1 of Ooty trip is here.
Part 3 of Ooty trip is here.

Raveesh

Rangaswamy Peak

Another view from Dolphin's nose

Beautiful landscapes, on way to Kotagiri

Amidst greenery, on way to Catherine falls

Ooty Trip - Part 1 : Road to Ooty

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:30:00 +0000

3 day long weekend on May 1, provided us with a perfect opportunity to explore the Nilgiris. On Friday morning, we were on our way to India's popular hill station, Ooty. As we did not wish to reach our destination in a hurry, we stopped, exclaimed at various places we found interesting, allowing the Ford fiesta to breathe easy.

First among these places was Nanjanagudu. After getting past royal city of Mysore, on way to Gundlupete you will find Nanjanagudu famous for its majestic Nanjundeshwara Temple. Bridge across river Kabini is what caught our attention. Well, there is not one but 3 bridges across river Kabini - two railway bridges one of which is not functional and one for motor vehicles to pass through. Railway bridge which is not used now, looks like a series archs.

Nanjanagudu Railway Bridge

Information board by South Western Railway near the bridge says - "It was built by Dalvoy Devraj in 1735 with brick, sand and stone adopting ancient Gothic style. It was strong and wide enough to carry road traffic as well as metre guage trains, which started running in 1889. This ancient bridge today stands as an engineering marvel, which bears testimony to the skills of those who built it. This bridge now over 270 years old and could very well be the oldest railway bridge in the world because the first railways was built only after 1825 and there were no other known cases of ancient road bridges having been used to carry railway traffic".

Roads inside Bandipur forest

After Gundlupete, one enters the Bandipur forest. Nice roads in middle of the forest - it was place to take those photographs for Desktop backgrounds! Soon after crossing the Tamil Nadu border at Kakkanalla, travelling via Mudumalai forest area, we witnessed an area covered with gulmohar trees. Ground covered with Gulmohar flowers, giant trees and a stream nearby was a treat to our eyes.

Gulmohar Trees near Tamil Nadu border area

Not only green pastures, a barren land on backdrop of hills was also on our visited list. We happened to see the Cactus flower there! On way to Ooty at Theppakadu junction, we had the option of choosing two roads to go to Ooty - shorter one via Kalhatti Ghat road or longer one passing via Gudalur. We chose the former without knowing the obstacles ahead. Kalhatti ghat road is the one where you have to negotiate 36 hair pin turns and the drive was daunting to say the least. With it started raining, it was more difficult. After crossing ghat road, we were cruising to Udhagamandalam going past road between tall, lanky trees - scenes most shot by Indian film fraternity.

Kalhatti Ghat Road

First thing I could notice in Ooty was that it was very crowded place. But well, Udhagamandalam, Ootacamund, Whadacamund, Wotkymund or simply Ooty, is an exquisite place for tourists. Metaphors too fail to capture its vastness in words - Scotland of the East, Big Queen of the Nilgiris hardly suffice. More on Ooty and surrounding places in upcoming posts.

Here is the route we followed from Bangalore to reach Ooty : Bangalore - Mysore - Nanjanagudu - Gundlupete - Bandipur Forest - Mudumalai Forest - Theppakadu - Kalhatti Ghat - Ooty (for a easy drive you can avoid Kalhatti and go via Gudalur route)

Click here to read the Kannada version of this article.

Also read,
Ooty Trip : Part 2 - Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad Viewpoint
Ooty Trip : Part 3 - Ooty Botanical Gardens, Dodda betta, Shooting Medu

Raveesh

Kalhatti Ghat Road [Thanks nidhi for this picture]

Cactus flower

Trip gang with Ford fiesta

Ooty is nearing

BSNL DSL Router Username Reset Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:47:00 +0000

If you are using BSNL broadband connection then you may have experienced a peculiar problem of username in the modem settings getting reset to 'multiplay' for unknown reasons. Due to this, Internet LED in the BSNL modem keeps blinking and you are unable to access the net. This shows up as Authentication Failure in PPPoE protocol status. To see the status of PPPoE protocol status and resolve this issue,

Login to your BSNL modem/DSL router typing 192.168.1.1, which is BSNL DSL router IP, on your browser and username : admin.
DSL router configuration window opens. On the left hand side of the window, click on WAN in Device Info menu. Check the first row(VPI/VCI - 0/35, Protocol - PPPoE) of the WAN info table displayed. Below image shows the status in normal working scenario. If the username is reset, Status column in this row displays Authentication Failure.
To resolve this error, click WAN in Advanced Setup menu. WAN Setup table appears. First row in this table displays settings for PPPoE(VPI/VCI - 0/35), click Edit at the end of this row.Clicking edit takes you to ATM PVC Configuration window, where you need to make sure that the value of VPI is 0 and of VCI is 35 and UBR Without PCR is selected as Service Category. Click Next button after the changes(if any).
After clicking next, Connection Type window appears. Make sure that PPP over Ethernet radio button is selected and LLC/SNAP-BRIDGING is selected as Encapsulation Mode. Click next.
After clicking next, PPP Username and Password window is displayed. Enter your Username provided during installation of the BSNL broadband connection by BSNL guys and password. Enter PPPoE Service Name as dataone and select AUTO as Authentication Method. Check Bridge PPPoE Frames Between WAN and Local Ports(Default Method). Click next after that.
Network and Adress Translation Settings window appears. Make sure Enable NAT and Enable Firewall check boxes are ticked. In Enable IGMP Multicast and WAN Service, see that Enable WAN Service check box is ticked. Enter Service Name as pppoe_0_35_1. Click next.
WAN Setup - Summary window appears which gives the summary of settings you just made. Click on save which opens a WAN Setup window(2nd image from top in this post), where in you need to click the Save/Reboot button for your changes to be reflected. Once the modem/DSL router comes up, you should be able to see Internet LED on that is stable and is not blinking. Now, you should be able to access the net.

Note: This problem was showing as Authentication Failure in WAN status previously. Recently, I observed even though WAN status showed PPPoE protocol status as Up, I was not able to access the internet. I found that username had been reset to multiplay and after changing the username, I was able to surf.

P.S: The procedure explained above to resolve BSNL DSL Router Username Reset problem, is the one I follow to resolve it in UTStarcom ADSL 2+ Modem/Router, Model No : WA3002G4 got from BSNL. I am not sure whether the same things apply to other DSL Router models provided by BSNL. Also, note that after change the username from 'Multiplay' to yours and reboot the modem, Wireless settings would have been reset, which need to be setup again.

Update 10/05/2009 : Fellow blogger Manoj has informed that the same problem occurs in UTSTARCOM UT300R2U modem(Type I), provided by BSNL.

Thanks
Raveesh

Dr.Rajkumar - An Analysis of the phenomenon

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Mayachandra, a corporate film maker based in Bangalore, has done a documentary about Kannada matinee idol Dr.Rajkumar named Dr.Rajkumar - An Analysis of The Phenomenon. Mayachandra, a Masters degree holder in Communication from Emerson College, Boston, and her team took over 2 years to make the film with extensive research and collation of exclusive footage and memorabilia about Rajkumar. This film has been screened in Chicago, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram film festivals. DVD release function of the short film was jointly organized by May Flower media house and Information Department, Government of Karnataka at Badami house, Bangalore, last Sunday. Documentary was also screened after the DVD release.

Here are some highlights on the film on one of the biggest stars in Indian Cinema.

Kannada actor, Ramesh Aravind has lended his voice to the documentary in English.

Views on Dr.Raj from Amitabh Bachchan, Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan, playback singer P B Sreenivos, director Bhagavan, writers U R Ananthamurthy, K S Nisar Ahmed, Jayanth Kaikini, members of Dr.Rajkumar's family, doctors who treated Dr.Raj in his last days, Vivek Javali and Bhujanga Shetty and few ardent fans.

As Prof Nisar Ahmed says Rajkumar won the hearts of millions of Kannadigas with songs like Naaniruvude Nimagaagi and Huttidare Kannada Naadalli Huttabeku.

Dr.Bhujanga Shetty points out that after Rajkumar donating his eyes, there was steep raise in eye donations in Karnataka.

Tiptur Ramaswamy explains how dedicatedly Rajkumar used to rehearse for his roles in theatre dramas early in his career.

When he went to watch his first film 'Bedara Kannappa' in a movie hall in Mysore, Rajkumar wore a turban so that nobody could identify him.

U R Ananthamurthy tells how humble Raj was even though he had attained superstar status - When Karnataka Government wanted to fecilitate him with the first Karnataka Ratna award, he obliged only after his wish of Government first conferring the award on Kuvempu, first Jnaanapeetha awardee in Kannada was fulfilled. He says Rajkumar was clearly aware of the existence of literary world in Karnataka and was very humble about his achievements.

Above all, Dr.Rajkumar was a great human being, who ruled over the hearts of people of Karnataka for over 50 years and continue to inspire generations.

You can visit the website of this film here, where you will find making of the documentary, reviews and promos.

Here are some video clippings from the documentary.

Savari Film Review

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:47:00 +0000

When does a man understands meaning of life? When does he realize his goal for life? Well, Savari, a Kannada film released last week tries to find answers for these eternal questions haunting mankind. Janaki(Kamalini Mukherjee) is a doctor who finds meaning for her life in serving the needy whereas Abhiram(Raghu Mukherjee) lives in his own world seeking comfort for himself only. Wait, does it sound similar like numerous love stories you had watched before. Well, its not the same story here; it touches the viewers by telling the message of universal love in a very simple way.

Picture Source: nowrunning.com

Though Abhi is aware of Janaki's service for the soceity, he does not appreciate it and does not understand why one has to do so. Whenever he does help someone, it would be only to impress her. Our hero proposes Janaki many a times without any success. When Janaki does intend to share her feelings for him, they break off and Janaki deserts him. Abhi goes in search of her accompanied by Seenu(Srinagar Kitti). His journey for getting back his love is rest of Savari. In his journey to find her, he finds his purpose for life. When he sees both life and death closely, he is moved. His thoughts about the world and people evolve. He comes to know exactly why Janaki left him. Srinagar Kitti who plays comical counterpart to Raghu is quite a revelation in this film. Sadhu Kokila, Mainavathi too add the comical element. Mukherjee couple make a nice onscreen pair. C R Simha, Karibasavayya, Loknath have done their bit. Its no surprise, if the film stimulates a thought process once you have left the movie hall.

Music composition for the movie is good too. I particularly liked 2 numbers - Ale Ale Ale Aleyo and Marali Mareyaagi. Scenes shot in picturesque Malnad in Karnataka have come out well. A definite watch for all Kannada movie goers.

Raveesh

Souramaana Yugaadi, Bisu Parba, Vishu and Tamil New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:10:00 +0000

It is Souramaana Yugaadi tomorrow. This day is being celebrated as the beginning of new year in parts of Tulu Nadu (Dakshina Kannada/Mangalore, Udupi and Kasaragod) and also in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Tulu Nadu, it is called Bisu Parba and in Kerala, Vishu. Since Souramana Yugaadi, as the name suggests is observed according to Solar calender, this festival is being celebrated on April 14 every year.

In Tulu Nadu, this festival is an occasion for the farmers to show their gratitude towards Mother Nature. Harvest from their fields is kept in a room and worshipped. Gathering of harvest thus worshipped is called 'Bisu Kani'. This way of worshipping the nature is also observed in temples of Tulu Nadu. This day also marks the beginning of the next season for crops in this region. 'Moode' is the delicacy of Tuluvas for this occasion. Charitable deeds too are part of the tradition.

For a more detailed information, you may also read my earlier articles on Souramaana Yugaadi in Kannada and Tulu below.

Kannada Article - ತುಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ೦ದು 'ಬಿಸು' ಹಬ್ಬ(ಸೌರಮಾನ ಯುಗಾದಿ)
Tulu Article - ತುಳುವೆರೆ ಬಿಸು ಪರ್ಬ

Yugaadi Wishes to all.

Thanks
Raveesh

Hamsageethe - Tale of an Indian Classical Singer

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:35:00 +0000

TaRaSu or T R Subbarao is a big name in Kannada literature. His novels have been a big hit among Kannada readers and some of them have been made into films like - Aakasmika, Chandavalliya Thota, Gaali Maathu, Naagara Haavu, Benkiya Bale, Masanada Hoovu and Hamsa Geethe in Kannada. I recently read his novel Hamsa Geethe and was moved. Hamsa Geethe was made into Hindi Film, Basant Bahar as early as in 1956. It was made into a Kannada movie, Hamsa Geethe in 1975, by well known director G V Iyer with Anant Nag playing the lead role. Hamsa Geethe is the story of fictional character, Venkata Subbayya, depicted as a singer in the court of rulers of Chitradurga, the Nayakas.

Novel is in first person narration of the author himself, going in search of information pertaining to Bhairavi Venkata Subbayya. Initially, you will feel what was the need to bring present day scenarios into this historical fictional story. But then once you finish off reading the book, you will realize why it was done so. The novel is primarily about the life of Venkata Subbayya and there are references about the concepts of Classical music. But, even if you are not a fan of Carnatic/Hindusthani music, once you complete reading the work, you may want to listen to the Bhairavi Raaga.Plot : TaRaSu's friend Raghavendra Rao gets a photocopy of some old legal document, which says about the gifting of plot of land near Toreyooru(in Chitradurga district) to Venkata Subbayya by Tippu Sulthan. When Venkata Subbayya refuses to sing before Tippu and instead cuts off his tongue, Tippu is moved. As a mark of his respect towards the great singer, Tippu gifts the land to him. Curious to know more about the life of Venkata Subbayya, TaRasu starts off his journey to find details about the singer, contacting various people in and around Chitradurga like chief priest of Ekanaatheshwari Temple, drama artist Chinnappa etc.

Venkata Subbayya's childhood, his music competition with his own guru, Thirumalayya, his firm decision to not to sing in the court of Nayakas after a heart-rending incident, his search of guru once Thirumalayya departs, his hard work to become a great singer is well depicted and TaRaSu takes the readers to a different aesthetic level. In the end, episode of Tippu-Venkata Subbayya's face-off is touchy. Though the incidents in Venkata's life are not in chronological order in the novel, this does not alter the flow.

Advaitha philosophy(or non-duality) consolidated by Adi Shankaraachaarya is also briefly discussed in the novel. Paulo Coelho in his famous work, The Alchemist talks about similar school of thought. Also, there is a mention that before the times of Tyagaraja, Shyama Shastri and Muttu Swamy Dixit there was no differentiation of streams in Indian Classical music like Carnatic and Hindusthaani. Even now, TaRaSu asserts that though the names of the raagas are different in these streams, they are basically the same.

I had seen the Kannada movie Hamsa Geethe before reading the novel. Even then, I liked the novel more than the film. Also, having been to Chitradurga fort added a familiar feeling whenever the author described about the places in Chitradurga and I was thrilled.

If you get a chance to read this novel by TaRaSu, jump on it. I have no doubt in my mind to say that it is one of the best novels to have been written in Kannada.

You can now read the Kananda novel, Hamsageethe online here.

For Kannada version of this article, click here.

Thanks
Raveesh

Launch of My Blog in Kannada

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Till now, I have been blogging here at www.raveeshkumar.com both in English and Kannada. Today, I am happy to share with you that I am starting a dedicated blog in Kannada with the same name 'Ee Prapancha'. From now on, you can read my Kannada articles here at http://eeprapancha.blogspot.com/. Today, I have posted a report about the program conducted by Mayflower Media house on Poornachandra Tejaswi, an eminent Kannada writer.

Thanks
Raveesh

Gmail now in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam

noreply@blogger.com (Raveesh Kumar) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Gmail is the latest addition to the Google's services(Google Search, Orkut, Blogger), which provides transliteration option for Indian Languages. Now you can compose your mails in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam by clicking icon showing an Indian language character in formatting options bar.
To enable this feature,
1.Go to Settings, at the top of gmail window
2.Go to General tab
3.Check the Enable Transliteration checkbox
4.Select the default transliteration language
Problem with Google Transliteration: Google transliteration has some inherent flaws in its coversion of English letters to Indic. What I have observed when typing Kannada using Google transliteration is that, there is inconsistent transliteration of vowels and consonants of Indian languages written in English script. Following are the examples to illustrate the problem in Google transliteration. I have compared this with the transliteration provided by Baraha software.

1.Google - nenapidi - ನೆನಪಿಡಿ
Baraha - nenapidi - ನೆನಪಿಡಿ
Here 'i' is interpreted as 'ಇ' by Google transliteration

But in another case,
Google - ramaNiya - ರಮಣೀಯ
Baraha - ramaNiya - ರಮಣಿಯ
Here 'i' is interpreted as 'ಈ' by Google transliteration
But in both cases, Baraha interprets 'i' as 'ಇ'

2.Google - kaDDaaya - ಕಡ್ಡಾಯ
Baraha - kaDDaaya - ಕಡ್ಡಾಯ
Here 'D' is interpreted as 'ಡ' by Google transliteration

But in other situation,
Google - ODu - ಓದು
Baraha - ODu - ಓಡು
Here 'D' is interpreted as 'ದ' by Google transliteration
But in both cases, Baraha interprets 'D' as 'ಡ'

Note that in Google transliteration you can change to the required vowel/consonant when you do a backspace on the word just transliterated. This time google provides pop down list of optional transliterated words to choose from. But doing this most of the time can be a tedious task and sometimes, you dont get the word you are looking for in the pop down list. On the positive note, one can notice that google transliteration is trying to provide a transliterated word, which is most commonly used or which is in the dictionary of that language. This is similar to the technique which is commonly used in typing messages in mobile phones(known as the iTap or T9 word prediction technology). But unlike English, in case of Indian languages what you speak is what you write. There is no difference between the way you write and pronounce as in English. So, I still prefer baraha to type in Kannada and then paste the unicode text in the applications, I am using.

Google, are you listening?

Raveesh