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CAUVERY
LIFE ALONG THE
MOVIES Oscar entry Barfi! is dishonest and manipulative 20
READING How used book shops are outsmarting the big chain stores 16
HERITAGE Minister Suresh Kumar writes on the R K Narayan house row 6
As it courses 758 km, the river nourishes an ancient civilisation and sustains cultural ties between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A special package on what we forget when our tempers rise Pages 10-17
the intelligent bangalorean’s must-read weekly
Volume 1 | Issue 9 | October 11, 2012 | Rs 10
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
team talk
A poem for Talk! Talk magazine doesn't just write about things that are meant to be talked about but also about things to do. The varied coverage would prompt even people who are otherwise uninterested to pick it up. I would say even a school kid would be curious to know what the magazine contains. Thanks to the writing, the name Talk truly resonates, because you get the feeling that you are part of a conversation. Here's a short poem dedicated to the entire team:
Love Ayyotoons I came across Talk and found it interesting and also not very expensive given the content. Your magazine is fresh in terms of the topics it covers, and the language too is nice. Ayyotoons are just out of this world, I must say! Keep doing such wonderful stuff. I have taken a two-year subscription, but only because my contract with my landlord will get over after two years!
Get a copy of Talk and take a walk Or just sit in your room and shut the lock I’ll bet you would forget the ticking clock As your eye is glued to the magazine Talk
Adventurous coverage Talk is a refereshing entry into a magazine world that was cluttered with magazines that had hardly anything different in them. Talk is adventurous in going into areas hitherto overlooked by the others. The dynamic and one-ofits-kind layout adds to Talk’s uniqueness. The articles display the thorough background research
Good luck. Keep it going. Nikhil G K, Hyderabad
Maria Christine, by email
involved and are crisp and written, with a flair for detail. May Talk grow from strength to strength. Fr Melwyn Pinto SJ, Mangalore FDI will force traders into suicide Read the article by Capt Gopinath on FDI (Issue 7) with interest. The earth provides enough to satisfy each citizen’s need but not at all for our government’s greed. We have faced a massive hike in diesel rates, which has already added to the existing inflation and hike in prices of all commodities. And now, expectedly the union govt has given a green signal to the much debated and controversial FDI in retail, which will force traders to follow the farmer’s path of suicide. The government needs to act sensibly. Sajjan Raj Mehta, Ex-president, Karnataka Hosiery and Garment Association What do you think of this edition? Write to letters@talkmag.in
EDITORIAL
EXECUTIVE TEAM
S R Ramakrishna Editor Sridhar Chari Consulting Editor Prashanth G N Senior Editor Sajai Jose Chief Copy Editor Savie Karnel Principal Correspondent Basu Megalkeri Principal Correspondent Bhanu Prakash E S Senior Reporter Prachi Sibal Senior Features Writer Sandra Fernandes and Maria Laveena Reporters and Copy Editors Anand Kumar K Chief of Design Shridhar G Kulkarni Graphic Designer Ramesh Hunsur Senior Photographer Vivek Arun Graphics Artist
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museum melee
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editor talk
The Malgudi heritage People who say R K Narayan wasn’t rooted in Karnataka ought to realise that his imaginary town is a portmanteau of two of Bangalore’s oldest neighbourhoods, ‘Mal’leswaram and Basavan’gudi’, writes S Suresh Kumar
year ago, I was in Mysore vant is Narayan to us when he was on an official visit. I had never a Kannadiga?” K V Puttappa, known as learnt from the media that the house of the Kuvempu to all of us, spread the famous novelist R K essence of our culture with a great Narayan was being demolished. I vis- poem that we have adopted as our ited the spot. I went around the state anthem. He calls upon us to be house, partly demolished by then. I vishwamanavas, citizens of the spoke to some distinguished world. But today, in Mysore, the city Mysoreans. The sentiment, both among them and in the media, was where he lived, a contrary slogan is in favour of protecting the house of emerging, and that too from wellknown writers. I a writer who had don’t know how to made Mysore react to this. famous all over the Narayan’s Basavanna, the world. tales are a profound thinkerInvoking the warm, fictional philosopher whose relevant provisions vachanas touched of the Karnataka tourist guide common people, Town and Country to southern says: Planning Act, we Karnataka Ivanaarava, issued orders to ivanaarava, ivanaarstop the demolition, and declared his house a her- ava endenisadirayya Iva nammava, iva nammava, iva itage building. We have done something similar in Belgaum, to protect nammava ennirayya. (Don’t ask, ‘Who is this, who is a place where Swami Vivekananda stayed for four days in 1893. That this, who is this?’ Proclaim ‘He is ours, he is ours, building was being demolished to make way for a commercial complex. he is ours’.) Narayan did not write anything Our government took up the duty of protecting Narayan’s bunga- in Kannada, I know. But everyone low with good intentions, knowing agrees he was a legend when it came fully well the value of his contribu- to writing in English. How many of tion to Indian literature. Our plans us have not been mesmerised by his have suddenly run into opposition, characters, such as Swami? His with some Kannada writers oppos- books Swami and Friends and ing it. They ask, “Why should the Bachelor of Arts reflect our nativity. His splendid fictional town of government spend tax payers’ money on the bungalow? How rele- Malgudi is a conjunction of two of
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S Suresh Kumar Karnataka’s urban development minister and literature buff
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the oldest localities of Bangalore: Mal(leswaram) and Basavana(gudi). In fact, many have also pointed out that Malgudi resembles the Karnataka town of Nanjanagud, on the banks of the river Kapila. His characters—hotel owners, printers, shopkeepers, students—look like people around us even today. Shankar Nag, the most creative personality of our times, made the telefilm Malgudi Days, and it is even to this day regarded as a major success. Whenever I meet Manjunath, then called Master Manjunath, I recognise him only as Swami. It is nearly three decades since the film was made. But the story and its spirit live on. Mysore got international acclaim through Narayan’s works. His Malgudi comprehensively portrays South Karnataka’s towns and pilgrim centres, and can be considered a warm, fictional tourist guide to this part of Karnataka. Graham Greene, the great novelist who helped Narayan publish his first book, once famously said, “Whom next shall I meet in Malgudi? That is the thought that comes to me when I close a novel of Mr Narayan’s. I do not wait for another novel. I wait to go out of my door into those loved and shabby streets and see with excitement and a certainty of pleasure a stranger approaching, past the bank, the cinema, the hair-cutting saloon, Continued on page 4
After some years of amicable sharing of Cauvery waters, it is again a time for anxiety and acrimony. When the monsoons arrive in abundance, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu live in harmony and without a worry. It is when the rains fail that distress builds up, and farmers and people on the two sides turn into adversaries. The river was once described as inexhaustible, but today, we know every drop is precious. We decided this week to look at what the river meant to people in Bangalore and Karnataka, and in non-political terms. M Visvesvaraya, in his Memoirs of My Working Life, explains why he was keen, at the turn of the 20th century, to build the Krishna Raja Sagar dam near Mysore. The total area irrigated by the Cauvery in the Mysore province (now Karnataka) was 1.15 lakh acres, while in the Madras presidency it was 1.22 crore acres. That meant 92 per cent of the irrigated land was in Tamil Nadu. “Three fourths of the water supply of the river passes through the Mysore territory, but… the benefits received by the State is wholly incommensurate with the high proportion of the total flow contributed by Mysore,” the engineering colossus wrote. Tamil Nadu built a bigger dam in Mettur just a few years after the KRS dam was competed in 1924. The dispute dates back 120 years, and has seen byzantine twists and turns. We bring you the details in a capsule, and also highlight some less known aspects of the river and life around it. Prachi Sibal’s piece on Bangalore’s second-hand book stores is an eye-opener. It traces how big chain shops selling new books are downsizing in the city’s M G Road area, while the less showy, personalised ones are thriving. Money, it seems, can take you so far, and no further. Let us know what you think of this week’s fare. Happy reading! S R Ramakrishna ram@talkmag.in
museum melee continued from page 3 a stranger who will greet me I know with some unexpected and revealing phrase that will open a door on to yet another human existence.” That has been Narayan’s real impact. Narayan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1980. He focused on one issue: the plight of children, especially the load of books they had to carry to school, and the negative effect of our education system on children’s creativity. His maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha resulted in the formation of a committee chaired by Prof Yashpal to recommend changes to the school education system. Narayan was not a Kannadiga by birth. But he belonged to Karnataka. Recently, I visited Pune and Patna. In both cities, I was pleasantly surprised to see statues of Sir M Visvesvaraya. If Narayan had got the Nobel Prize, for which he was nominated a couple of times, I suspect we would have been proud to own him as one of our own. Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and Narayan are considered pioneering Indian writers in English. Narayan’s
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MADHUSUDHAN SR
RKN detractors not so sure now Some prominent Kannada writers who had signed a petition opposing R K Narayan’s house in Mysore into a heritage structure now have second thoughts. Poet-laureate (Rashtra Kavi) G S Shivarudrappa told Talk he no longer sees Narayan as an outsider and a Tamil, and only as a writer who deserved acclaim. “I thought a lot about his, and I now do feel differently,” he said.
HOUSE DIVIDED A section of the Kannada literary figures are opposing the move to convert R K Narayan’s bungalow in Mysore (above) into a heritage building
Guide got him the Sahitya Akademi award. He was also conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award, for his contribution to literature. He was undoubtedly our greatest writer in English during his times. That is the reason our government has decided to restore his
house. This is where he contemplated his characters, locations, and themes, and wrote his books. It is my desire that his house becomes an inspiration for young writers. May many more writers like him emerge. And may his house help us keep his works fresh in our minds.
Literary historian and retired English professor L S Seshagiri Rao, who had also signed the petition, would neither confirm nor withdraw his position. “I am busy now, please excuse me,” he told Talk. Prof G Venkatsubbaiah, the centenarian lexicographer, was indisposed. Prof Chidananda Murthy, linguist and Kannada activist, could
not be contacted. Has there been discomfort among these writers after Jnanapith awardees U R Ananthamurthy and Girish Karnad, besides Urban Development Minister Suresh Kumar, slammed their stand? Ananthamurthy and Karnad had argued that Narayan was a Kannadiga as he had lived in Mysore for long, and that he should be hailed for his contribution to Indian and world literature. Suresh Kumar had said he was surprised that writers were creating barriers, and not politicians. Dr Chandrashekhar Kambar, folklorist and former vicechancellor of Kannada University at Hampi, stuck to his earlier stand. He said, brusquely, “Narayan is not a part of our emotional world.”
fun lines
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politics watch
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BSR’s Rakshita problem G MOHAN
Is the retired movie star’s song and dance proving too much for B Sriramulu’ fledgling party?
BASU MEGALKERI basavaraju@talkmag.in
ovie star Rakshita has upset BSR Congress founder B Sriramulu and risks being sacked from the
M
HEAD ACHE BSR Congress chief B Sriramulu with Rakshita, who leads the party’s women’s wing
party. Sriramulu, jailed mining lord Janardhana Reddy’s right hand man, is reportedly scandalised by her unruly behaviour, besides the expenses piling up on her account. Rakshita recently embarrassed the party with a raucous party at the Taj West End, during which the hotel reportedly threatened to call the police. When Talk spoke to Rakshita, she denied the allegations (see box). Party members at various levels complain she talks to them arrogantly, and overrides everything they say. They have approached Sriramulu with complaints about her highhandedness. As president of the women’s wing, and party in-charge for seven districts (Mandya, Mysore, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Udupi and Mangalore), she wields considerable clout in a party that is young, but flush with mining cash. Sriramulu went on a padayatra from Basavakalyana in Bidar district to Bangalore, a distance of 912 km. The 54-day yatra concluded at Freedom Park on June 17. Rakshita booked a cottage at the West End to throw a party to mark the end of the successful rally. Sriramulu couldn’t participate as he was tired after the long walk. The party became so loud after 11.30 pm that the hotel authorities had to intervene, sources said. Senior party leaders persuaded Rakshita’s gang to leave, and told Sriramulu the party’s image would be tarnished if she was allowed a free rein. Sriramulu reportedly defended her, expressing the hope that she would mend her ways. Insiders say Rakshita influences the induction of leaders into the party
and directs its publicity. Real estate financiers and goons running shady businesses are approaching Rakshita to reach Sriramulu, insiders complain. Rakshita has started appearing in posters next to Sriramulu. In Malavalli, near Mandya, she hogged all the limelight, leaving Sriramulu livid. The posters featured more of her and her husband Prem than Sriramulu. Party insiders say that is the reason Sriramulu has kept her out of his tour of northern Karnataka (which he concluded in Gadag on Wednesday). In fact, Rakshita has been a prominent presence at public events, like the recent one to induct former legislator Siraj Sheikh in Chitradurga. But soon, she replaced him and others in Chitradurga district with her own men. Kumaraswamy of Kanakapura was once the president for Jai Karnataka, an organisation started by reformed don Muthappa Rai. Kumaraswamy and his associates joined the BSR Congress, and was welcomed profusely by Sriramulu. He was put in charge of Ramanagara. Soon, Rakshita threw a tantrum. “Ramanagara comes under my jurisdiction. Who gave them power?” she screamed, and prompted Kumaraswamy to resign from the party. She behaved in the same manner with Somanna, a JD(S) leader
from Mysore who had migrated to the new party, and reportedly ousted him. Rakshita is the daughter of wellknown cameraman Gowrishankar and actress Mamatha Rao. She first got a break in the movie Appu opposite Puneet Rajkumar. The movie was a blockbuster hit and she has since appeared in 13 Kannada films and 10 Telugu and Tamil films. At the peak of her popularity, in 2005, she quit the movies. Two years later, she married the popular Kannada film director Prem.
Prem hails from Mandya district and used to be an associate of senior actor-turned politician, Ambarish. He now goes around claiming he was the sole reason for Ambarish winning two elections. On March 9 this year, the couple sat next to Sriramulu at a public function in northern Karnataka. Sriramulu, who had broken away from the BJP, had announced a twoday fast to get the government to clean the Tungabhadra river. Soon came the official confirmation that Rakshita had joined his new party.
Rakshita’s defence: What to do? People love film stars! When Talk met Rakshita, she responded to all tough questions calmly, and without flinching. Though she has been in politics less than six months, she showed confidence in the way she dealt with the media glare. She admitted she was new to politics, and had lots to learn, but denied she had insulted anyone or forced anyone out of the party.
the BSR Congress. I have enough money to lead a decent life. I am there to serve the public. It is true my pictures were displayed prominently during the Malavalli leg of Sriramulu's tour. I am married to Prem, who hails from that region. People like film stars a lot. That doesn’t mean Sriramulu was ignored.
I haven’t done any damage to I am not blocking other women Siraj Sheikh or any other leader. from entering the party. Siraj is like my elder brother. I'm not aware that Venkatesh I am not aware of the Gowda, our party’s Yuva boisterous Taj West End Morcha president, has incident you are referring to. complained against me to Sriramulu. I don't believe it. No, I haven’t been paid to join
copycash
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Beware the fake note The next morning he visited his bank to deposit Rs 2,000. He was asked to meet the bank manager and told to wait in a cabin. After about 20 minutes, two policemen walked in and told him one of the Rs 500 notes he had come to deposit was a counterfeit. He was marched off to Ulsoor Gate police station, a stone’s throw from Town Hall. He was released after a couple of hours, but is yet to BHANU PRAKASH ES get over the horror of the experience. bhanu.prakash@talkmag.in “The lesson I learnt is to take RBI advertisements about identifying fake opala Swamy, a retired notes seriously. You just can’t trust government employee, anyone these days. The police took would take regular walks me in their jeep to the station and to Town Hall from interrogated me as though I was runChamarajpet, sometimes ning a fake note racket. They were breaking off to catch an event at convinced of my innocence only after I made phone calls Ravindra Kalakshetra, to some police offior a plate of his cers I knew. I don’t favourite uppittu at The police have know whether the the adjacent canteen. recovered fake police took any One day, two currency notes action against the months ago, he electronics shop realised he didn’t have worth Rs 2.75 that handed me the change for a Rs 1,000 crore since 2011 fake note,” says note. He walked up to Swamy. S P Road nearby and Fake currency notes have floodobtained two Rs 500 notes at an eleced Bangalore over the last six months, tronics shop.
With increasing amounts of counterfeit currency in circulation, police want citizens to educate themselves on how to sort the good from the bad
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and police suspect the involvement of an international ring. On September 11, the Central Division busted an international gang and arrested nine men on charges of circulating fake notes worth Rs 40 lakh. Apart from a haul of 7,600 notes of Rs 500 value, and 200 notes of Rs 1,000 value, three sten guns were also seized from them. Six of the arrested were from Malda district of West Bengal on the India-Bangladesh border, one was from Bangalore, and two from Tamil
Nadu. The Ulsoor Gate Police station receives the highest number of fake note complaints, since major commercial establishments come under its jurisdiction. This station alone has received 131 complaints since 2010. This year, 42 complaints have been registered personally by smalltime hawkers, finance agents, banks, transport operators, LIC agents, pygmy savings collectors, vegetable vendors, and auto drivers. Police have recovered fake cur-
copycash rency notes worth Rs 2.75 crore since 2011. In 2011, 51 cases were registered and Rs 1.95 crore in fake currency seized. This year, 42 cases have been registered, and fake notes worth Rs 80 lakh confiscated. Talk spoke to police officers as well as RBI officials, and they estimate that fake notes worth a staggering Rs 4 crore could be in circulation in Bangalore alone. BG Jyothi Prakash Mirji, City Police Commissioner, says printing of fake notes does not take place in Bangalore, and the notes come from outside the state. “We have a good network to catch counterfeit offenders,” he said. Whenever the police seize fake notes, they hand the haul over to the Reserve Bank on Nrupathunga Road, and they in turn forward it to Delhi. The notes are then burnt. In some cases, with permission from the RBI, the local police burn the notes themselves. Detecting fake notes is an on-going challenge, as counterfeiters use advanced printing machines. The business thrives in Pakistan, Bangladesh and
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FAKE FORTUNE City Police Commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji and DCP Sonia Narang inspect seized fake notes (file picture)
Afghanistan, police say. “The September haul is major, and our interrogation has revealed some startling facts,” Mirji told Talk. Most fake notes are of Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 denominations. “The logic is that not many people regularly handle these notes. Smaller amounts are in frequent circulation, and the public can easily tell
the difference. But when it comes to a fake Rs 1,000 note, even an educated person may not identify it. Citizens should be cautious when it comes to higher denominations,” he advises. Fake notes are also being circulated from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. B N Nyamagouda, assistant commis-
sioner of police, who led the team that made the September arrests, says, “People have to learn how to identify fake notes. They are simply not aware.” He believes anyone can produce a fake note today, with easy availability of computers and all kinds of paper. Why not make the currency
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notes itself more difficult to counterfeit? The Reserve Bank is in fact planning to introduce notes made of a special polymer, as part of a pilot project in Jaipur, Shimla, Bhubaneshwar, Mysore and Cochin. Polymer notes have a relatively longer life compared to paper banknotes and are also considered more effective in checking counterfeiting. They were first introduced in Australia, and has since been adopted by many countries including Vietnam and Romania. Ashok Narayan, General Manager of RBI in Bangalore, explains: “Bangalore is not a primary target of fake currency notes, unlike Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. The head office of RBI has identified 4.62 lakh counterfeit notes in 2011-12 as against 3.76 lakh in 2010-11, which indicates a steep increase of 23 per cent.” Narayan says the loss to the exchequer is huge, and citizens are harassed and cheated, too. If the pilot project of the polymer notes is successful, it could come to the metros, too.
Karnataka
cauvery special
The princely state of Mysore and the Madras Presidency sign the first agreement on sharing Cauvery waters.
In 1910, Mysore Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and engineer M Visvesvaraya plan a dam at Kannambadi village to hold 41.5 TMC. Madras refuses to give consent , required under the 1892 agreement. The Government of India gives permission for reduced storage of 11 TMC. Convinced about the rightness of Mysore’s position, Visveswaraya famously digs for the entire capacity. Irrigated area in Mysore is capped at 1.10 lakh acres and 3.01 lakh acres in Madras. Another pact is arrived at in 1924, set to lapse after 50 years, in 1974. In 1934, Madras completes its Mettur dam, with a capacity of 80 TMC, with the Cauvery as primary source.
1892-1924
1892
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After reorganisation of states, Kerala and Pondicherry also stake their claim to the waters. In 1972, a
Cauvery Fact Finding Committee (CFFC) is constituted. The CFFC gives a final report in 1973. Tamil Nadu’s irrigated lands grow from a pre-Mettur command area of 14.4 lakh acres to 25.8 lakh acres, while Karnataka’s irrigated area stands at 6.8 lakh acres. Karnataka says these figures demonstrate the lopsided nature of the agreement.
1947-1974
120 years of festering In 1976, under Jagjeevan Ram, the then central irrigation minister, a final draft agreement is prepared on the basis of the CFFC findings. Tamil Nadu says it wants to go back to the agreements of 1892 and 1924, and demands the setting up of a tribunal.
The river dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu goes back to 1892, when the British government first inked an agreement. A quick overview by Prashanth G N
Tamil Nadu
1976 2012
2007
On September 19, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is also the CRA chairman, directs Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water from September 21 till October 15. Both states say the ruling is “unacceptable.” Karnataka does not comply. On Sep 21, Karnataka files a petition before the CRA, seeking a review of its September 19 ruling.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal announces its final award in February, 2007. Tamil Nadu gets 419 billion ft³, Karnataka 270 billion ft³, Kerala 30 billion ft³ and Pondicherry 7 billion ft³. The actual release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to be 192 billion ft³ (5.4 km³) annually.
On Sep 24, Tamil Nadu files a petition in the Supreme Court.
In case of a distress year, the award says that the release would be proportionately reduced.
Tamil Nadu withdraws its demand for a tribunal and the two states start talking. In 1986, a farmers’ association from Tanjavur (TN) moves the Supreme Court, demanding a tribunal.
1980s 2003-2006 A period of calm as the monsoons are good.
Kerala
Tamil Nadu wants to stick to the 1892/1924 agreements at 566 billion ft³ for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry; 177 billion ft³ for Karnataka and 5 billion ft³ for Kerala. Tamil Nadu petitions for regular release of water.
The Tribunal gives an interim award on 25 June 1991, saying 205 billion ft³ should reach Tamil Nadu in a water year. It offers no distress-sharing formula. Karnataka passes an ordinance, under Chief Minister S Bangarappa, seeking to annul the award, but that is struck down by the Supreme Court. Demonstrations break out in parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Mobs target poor Tamil families in Bangalore.
1991
2002
Karnataka refuses, citing large-scale protests. Tamil Nadu goes to the Supreme Court. Karnataka resumes release but stops on September 18 after a protesting farmer commits suicide by jumping into the reservoir. The SC orders Karnataka on October 3 to comply with the CRA and resume the release of water. Karnataka once again refuses. Again there are protests on the streets, with even film stars getting into the act.
Karnataka declares a statewide ‘bandh’ on Saturday, October 6.
The Supreme Court directs the setting up of a tribunal. A threemember tribunal is established in June 1990. Karnataka claims 465 billion ft³, Kerala 99.8 billion ft³, and Pondicherry 9.3 billion ft³.
1990 Monsoons fail again. TN CM Jayalalitha walks out of a Cauvery River Authority meeting. The Supreme Court orders Karnataka to release 1.25 billion ft³ of water every day until further notice from the CRA. The CRA revises the quantity to 0.8 billion ft³ per day.
On Sep 28, the Supreme Court slams Karnataka and asks it to release water.
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Tamil TV channels and screening of Tamil films are blocked in Karnataka. Movement of private and public vehicles is affected between the two states. Tamil activists call for stoppage of power from the Neyveli Power station to Karnataka as a tit-for-tat measure (but power goes as usual to the grid). Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna embarks on a padayatra from Bangalore to Mandya.
1997
1995
Cauvery River Authority (CRA) and Cauvery Monitoring Committee are set up.
Monsoons fail. Tribunal recommends that Karnataka release 11 billion ft³. Karnataka demurs. The prime minister convenes a meeting and recommends that Karnataka release 6 billion ft³. Karnataka complies.
cauvery special
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A rock, a maiden and a river COORG GOPALA
Brahma gives Lopamudra as a daughter to sage Kavera, and she gets the name of Kaveri. She turns into a river so that the arid expanses are filled with happy people, and her father is relieved of his loneliness SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in he legend goes thus: Ages ago, all this land was dry and rocky. Not a blade of grass grew on it. On top of one of the hills sat a rock looking over this barren stretch, and whose own heart was as parched as the land. The rock desperately wanted to turn into a river and bring the landscape to life. After several years of intense tapas, the rock transformed itself, not into a river, but a beautiful maiden. Before she knew it, she was married off, but that didn’t break her resolve. She continued practising her austerities, until one day she broke free. Finally, her wish had come true; she had turned into a river that scampered over rocks, gushed through crevices, collpased into valleys, and meandered through the plains before finally merging with the sea. All along the course of the river-maiden Cauvery, the land turned green, thick forests rose, and the crops swayed in glee. Cauvery is among the seven important rivers worshipped in Hinduism. Also called the Ganga of the South, there are several myths around her, of which the one above is one of the most picturesque. However, the most popular story of her origin—interestingly, also involving a rock that transformed into a woman and later into a river—is found in the Skanda Purana, also known as Kaveri Purana. The story goes back
T
LIFE SOURCE A statue depicting Cauvery on Bangalore’s KG Road. (Right) A temple at Talacauvery in Kodagu district of Karnataka
to the beginning of creation, when the gods and demons churned the ocean to find amrita or the elixir of life. Lord Vishnu didn’t want the demons to get amrita. So, he takes the form of the beautiful enchantress Mohini, who deceives the demons and gives the elixir only to the gods. To assist Mohini, Vishnu’s consort Goddess Lakshmi sends another lady, Lopamudra. When her task is completed, Lopamudra retires to the top of the Brahmagiri hills, where she turns into a rock. After many years, the sage Kavera comes to the hills and begins living there. Without a soul around for miles, he feels lonely. He yearns for a child and prays to Lord Brahma. Pleased with his prayers, Brahma gives him Lopamudra as a daughter. She abandons her rock form and becomes a girl. From then on, she is called Kaveri, after her father. As she grows, she is pained to see her father living a secluded life in a dry region. She wishes him to be in a place where nature is abundant in the midst of happy people. She figures out that the terrain would change if a river flowed there. She decides to turn into a river and bring her father happiness. The young maiden begins an intense tapas, praying to be transformed into a river. As she nears the end of her prayers, the sage Agastya happens to pass by. He sees her dedication and instantly falls in love with her. He asks the sage Kavera for her
hand in marriage. Agastya being one developed on its banks,” says of the Sapta Rishis, or the seven Nachappa Codava, president of the important sages revered by men and Codava National Council (they prefer Gods, Kavera agrees. Unable to dis- the Anglicised spelling of Codava to obey her father, Kaveri submits, but Kodava). “We owe our traditions to she lays down one condition: Agastya her. Our gratitude is such that we should never leave name our children her alone. If he goes after her: girls are anywhere without called Kaveramma Ganga flows her, she would leave boys underground—so and him and turn into a Kaverappa,” he says. goes a legend—to river. He recalls that Agastya remains meet Cauvery and until a few decades true to his promise ago, there was no cleanse herself for many years. One image or form given day, engrossed in to Cauvery. “There thought, he goes out, leaving Cauvery used to be a picture of a cow and a all by herself. Finding the promise is temple, which depicted Cauvery. But broken, she turns into a river and about 30 years ago, someone made a flows down the hill from Talacauvery. sculpture of Cauvery. These were Agastya’s disciples try to stop her. She installed in many places. People have goes underground and escapes them, begun worshipping a picture of only to emerge again at Kaveri these days,” he says. Bhagamandala. From then on, she Nachappa disapproves of the gushes down, transforming the land- worship of Cauvery as a goddess. “We scape along her course. are ancestor worshippers and do not There is also a related legend worship any gods and goddesses. that the Ganga flows underground There is some Hindu influence comand comes to Cauvery every year to ing in,” he says. cleanse herself. Thousands dip into Nachappa also laments that the the Ganga to cleanse their sins. Ganga Kodavas have no access to the waters is believed to come to Cauvery to be of Cauvery. “Though the river takes free of those sins. birth in Kodagu, we don’t have permission to use its water for irrigation or even drinking. Tamil Nadu takes Kaveri and the Kodavas The Kodavas, the ethnic tribe of the maximum advantage of Cauvery. Kodagu or Coorg, attribute their very The Karnataka government is supculture to the river Cauvery. “We do posed to distribute the waters to nine not worship her as a goddess. But we districts, but it focuses only on revere the river since our civilisation Bangalore and Kolar,” he says.
cauvery special
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Ambrose is called Amrita by farmers who can’t get his name right
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The silent fighter Distressed by the commercialisation of water, Ambrose alias Amrita hasn’t spoken a word in seven years. The PhD aspirant who gave it all up to be with the poor tells Basu Megalkeri the remarkable story of his life
he man you see in this picture hasn’t spoken for seven years because he doesn’t like the idea of water being sold as a commodity. Amrita is 45, and 4 feet 6 inches. He wears a red shirt like the Dravida ideologue Periyar, and drapes a shawl over his shoulder. He walks barefoot, and eats just one meal a day. When I ask him if I could interview him, he says ‘no’ with his eyes. How do I tell our readers about you? ‘No need to tell them’, he says, again with his eyes. I then spot a computer in the room he is using, and wonder aloud if I could use it to interview him. That’s how I get this story from him. I type on a Word document in Kannada, and he types back in the same language.
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Where were you born? Don’t know. Your father, mother, relatives? Don’t know. Your name? Ambrose, or Amrita. Choose one. Studies? MA from Bangalore University. I’ve completed a UGC exam, too. I had plans for research under the guidance of Dr D R Nagaraj. I had registered for a PhD. But I couldn’t take those plans forward.
Mahasabha (Federation of Nomadic Tribals). Cardboard boxes are my bed. I used to beg for food but now I sell books on nonviolence, secularism and unity. The publishers pay me 40 to 50 per cent as commission. Even that I give away to people in need. I also give away books to those who can’t afford to buy them. I use what is left for my daily expenses. How did you get involved in social movements? It’s a big story… Once there was a huge farmers’ rally in Bangalore. I took part in it, expecting free food. Once the protest was over, I sat in a line. We were given food packets. A farmer leader came up to me and asked: “Do you have a rupee?” When I said I didn’t, he took me directly to Prof M D Nanjundaswamy, president of the Karnataka Raitha Sangha. He said: “In this farmers’ organisation, we fight for our rights and resolve our problems. We pay for our own food. If you want to be one of us, you must fight with us.” Since I had no option, I said yes. I became active in the organisation. On MDN’s instructions, I participated in farmers’ rallies. I began helping farmers till their lands. Farmers couldn’t pronounce my name, Ambrose, properly. Farmers’ leader Sesha Reddy told me, “From now on, your name is Amrita,” and so I became Amrita. I became close to people, and I chose this path.
Home? No such place. I now stay in the office of the Alemaari Budakattu You don’t even have a shelter for
yourself. How can you help people in need? Do you think people with money are kind-hearted? When I worked with farmers, they would share their food with me. They were poor, but they didn’t mind sharing what little they had. That moved me. My heart told me to be ready to help the helpless. I would do what I could, for example, admitting poor people to hospital when they fell ill. I then organised beggars and took them to Delhi. Even there we begged for food. One day, we had gathered in Delhi and gave a speech, “We are begging in the middle of the streets because of the failure of democracy in our nation.” The onlookers’ view on beggars completely changed. When did you stop speaking? Seven or eight years ago, Bangalore had become terribly hot. Construction workers would get thirsty. They were afraid to ask for drinking water. I noticed their desperation and helplessness. I went to some houses nearby and asked for water. They would say, “Go and buy water bottles from a shop.” We had no money for that. I walked some distance, and people there gave me water, which I handed to the labourers. Water is essential, and it’s a gift of nature. I decided I wouldn’t speak until the day it became free. I have been silent for seven years, and will continue this way for three more years. My silent protest is against capitalists making profits from water. Foreign companies are coming here and selling water. This is injustice. Why did you walk 320 km barefoot , from Bangalore to Bellary, with Congress leader Siddaramaiah? You don’t belong to any party, in any case. That was to protest against illegal
cauvery special mining. As for walking barefoot, I don’t wear What exactly did you do at the All India chappals because five Dalits were killed in Kannada Conference two years ago? 2002 in Haryana over the skinning of a dead I made a speech on the importance of the calf. Vishwa Hindu Parishat members spread language. I spread out a rug on the floor and rumours that the boys were killing a live calf. placed some everyday objects on it. I asked A mob hacked the Dalits to death. The Indian passersby to pick anything they could name Express wrote about it briefly. The dead calf in Kannada. Some intellectuals and writers is meat as well as material to make leather laughed at me. But no one took home a thing chappals. Those boys had committed no because they didn’t know the Kannada word for any object! With globalcrime, and were given no isation, regional languages chance to defend themin danger. Kannadigas selves. That’s why I stopped I think one meal are need to be made aware that wearing chappals. a day is enough. they should fight for their land and language. Not a Why do you eat just one Millions survive single Kannadiga cared for meal a day? in this country it. I carried the same exhibiBack in 2007, I used to stay on just a single tion to Tamil Nadu. There, at the Legislators Home. I people fell at my feet and participated in protests. I meal. garlanded me. Kannada would listen to speeches by writers like ChandraHindutva activists. I ended up reading their books, too. I began taking shekhar Patil did recognise me, though. He poor patients to hospital so that I could dis- made me participate in some literary confertract myself from that ideology. In a majori- ences. And I was once a chief guest, too. ty of instances, the patients were Muslims. I don’t know my religion. I used to fast along How much do you earn after an evening of with the Muslims during Ramzan. A little selling books? after that, I was forced to live on a hill with About Rs 300. no food or company, and I started this habit of keeping silent. Fasting became a habit. I Looks like we ruined your business this thought one meal a day was enough. evening. Millions survive in India with just a single (Laughter) meal.
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Comrades in arms: Medha and Sharmila In Delhi, where Amrita organised a protest by beggars, he got a chance to meet Sharmila Irom, who has been fighting for over 10 years for the revocation of special powers for the army in Manipur. He wrote to her expressing his support for the cause.
visiting cards of leaders and office-bearers of various organisations. He considers them his kith and kin. He preserves the cards like jewellery.
Amrita once won a farmers’ union election. He questioned everything, in his enthusiasm to Medha Patkar likes his usher in changes. “My questions selflessness. “Madam takes me embarrassed even people who wherever she goes, and has had backed me. They told me to introduced me to a new world. She shut up. When I refused, they tied supports my causes, too,” says my hands to a tree as punishment. Amrita. They even burned my shawl. Some kind man helped me escape from In his pockets are two faded the village,” he recalls. plastic covers. They contain
cauvery special
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GIVER OF GOLD Physician and fishing enthusiast Carl von Essen brings fascinating vignettes from his travels along the Kaveri—he prefers that spelling to Cauvery—a river that has sustained agriculture, fishing, and cities that throb with adventure and romance
game-fish, the ‘Indian Salmon,’ of British sportsmen in the prime of Empire. The word ‘mahseer’ probably comes from the Sanskrit ‘Maha Shira’ (big head). These often gigantic fish indeed have big heads. On that first outing with my new gillie, Ganesh and I departed at dawn, the river mist muffling all sound. He paddled the tiny coracle through a cottony universe, carrying me and my fishing gear. The current increased as we were swept into A true fisherman The first time that I saw Ganesh, rapids, the craft, home-made of an three years before, he was handcuffed interlacing bamboo frame on which and being marched off the river by an was stretched buffalo hide, spun in a dizzy whirl while armed patrol of forest menacing rocks and guards. He had been There’s a touch white water flew caught, again, poaching on the protected of the Wild West past. We finally reached our goal, stretch of the Kaveri to the hills the Leopard Pool, reserved for catchflanking the vast brooding quiet and-release angling. water into which But after a few years Kaveri the river cascaded. of this, the Karnataka State Department of Forestry finally We clambered out on a tiny rocky gave up repeatedly arresting and jail- island. Ganesh pointed, I cast, and the ing him and in despair turned him over to the management of the camp heavy bait bounced along the bottom that I often came to. They promptly until it came to rest. Then the long, hired him to be a guide for sports tense wait for the connection from fishermen, and I was privileged to the unknown. Soon there were a few become Ganesh’s first client. I was tugs on the line, then—wham!—the finally with a pro, a real fisherman, 25-pound test monofilament, upon and he had a steady income. It was a which my forefinger was lightly resting, tore out of the reel like a bolt of mutually satisfactory arrangement. Ganesh was young, dark and lightning, scorching my finger. I solemn, and knew three words in reacted instinctively, set the bail, English; “fish,” “strike,” and “lost.” raised the rod tip and struck once! Which is the usual sequence of events Twice! Thrice! And knew that a monin the pursuit of the legendary giant ster was on. It was as if I had connected with a giant boulder on the river of the river, the mighty Mahseer. The mahseer belongs to the fam- bottom. But this boulder shot downily Cyprinidae, which includes minnows, tenches, carps and goldfish. It stream. I exerted maximum lateral once populated all the fast-flowing pull on the heavy rod. My shoulders rivers of India and was the favourite and arms began to ache with fatigue
have traversed the entire course of the Kaveri at one time or the other. Its history, geography, and ecology have fascinated me. One of my favorite places in the world is located near Bheemeshwari, 50 miles south-east of the princely city of Mysore. I’ve found this a place for communion between myself and nature. No need for a guru here.
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Carl von Essen Retired physician with many years of practice in India, and author of The Revenge of the Fishgod: Angling Adventures around the World.
from the long battle. Then there came a new sensation: it was as if a giant violin bow was stroking the taut line. What could it be? I found out very soon, for the line suddenly went slack. Lost! The final word in Ganesh’s vocabulary. I sadly reeled in and found the answer at the end of the broken line. It showed marks of fraying and abrasion over a length of several feet. The giant mahseer, possibly over one hundred pounds, had evidently swum calmly over to an underwater ridge of rock which served to saw off the line. I have been told they are intelligent fish; this one must have been a genius. I woke just before dawn the next morning when Ganesh whispered through the closed flaps of my tent, “Chai, sahib.” I assembled my gear and joined Ganesh at the shore. I took my seat in the tiny coracle as the grey
dawn quickly blushed, casting a rosy hue over the scene. Feeling lazy, I nodded to Ganesh to make the first cast. I was still sleepy and yet entranced, as always, with the magic of the morning. Then, “Sahib, big bite!” Ganesh said, urgently, handing me the rod. I took it and immediately felt a force that nearly pulled it out of my grasp. I awakened with a shock. I struggled with the rod as the mahseer decided to run down the rapids at the tail of the pool. The two forces of current and the fish’s plans to go in the wrong direction set the finely wrought Swedish Ambassador reel to scream in protest. Ganesh decided the strategy and guided me with the wildly arcing rod into the coracle. We set off downstream in pursuit of the headstrong creature. The ride down the rapids COURTESY: ARZOO.COM
FISHHHHH! Anglers from across the world are drawn to the Bheemeshwari stretch of the Cauvery for its mahseer fish, which grows up to 50 kg
cauvery special was like on a whirling dervish of a roller coaster. A spinning panorama of the wooded landscape flashed before my eyes as I tried to maintain contact with the quarry. I reeled in as we found ourselves finally below the fish. I was able to guide the fish into the shallows. He weighed about 35 pounds, and I gave him a kiss on the head before gently releasing him back to his home in the majestic Kaveri. I thought about that culminating moment. Had I become a real fisherman? It was Kipling who wrote, “There he met the mahseer of the Poonch beside whom the tarpon is as a herring and he who lands him can say he is a fisherman.” Perhaps I landed him, but it was Ganesh who hooked him and guided me in the final struggle. I handed over my expensive rod and reel to Ganesh when I left the camp a few days later, making sure the camp manager translated my grateful words, “These are for a real fisherman.” It may be hard for many to imagine that here in the middle of densely populated southern India, there is a large area of nearly uninhabited wilderness, of forest and jungle that is still home to much wildlife, of a few tribal people but also of renegades. There is a touch of the Wild West to these forests and hills flanking the Kaveri. Imagining what this countryside was like a hundred years ago gave me a frisson of nostalgia for something that I had never experienced, the magic feeling of being in a land abundant with fish and game,
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Chidambaram many years ago and felt the throb of the ancient culture as the temple drums beat and the chimes rang to announce a puja in the inner sanctum of this stupendous building. The times appeared to have stood still for hundreds of years and given this place an aspect as eternal as the nearby Kaveri spreading into the limitless sea.
Future of the Kaveri
SACRED WATERS Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, located on a river island, is one of many ancient temple towns to have sprung up on the Cauvery’s fertile delta. Others include Chidamabaram and Tanjavur
unspoiled by roads and railways, of dams and hydroelectric plants. One day I walked along the river bank and was shocked to see plastic debris entangled in tree roots and caught in rocky crevices. Further on I saw discarded plastic bottles and plates, remnants of picnickers, something I had never seen before. I left the camp a few days later, saddened by the reality that a new era was upon us, changing the face of our mother earth.
Course through the Delta The final part of the 758 km course of the Kaveri to the Bay of Bengal is through the lush delta, the cradle of South India, its Hindu religion and culture. Within this wide expanse are the great temples at Tiruchirappalli, Tanjavuru, Srirangam and
Chidambaram. The island of Srirangam is a sacred site. Water from the Kaveri pervades this widely scattered area and supplies temple ponds (tanks) as well as the tens of thousands of acres devoted mainly to the cultivation of rice. The Kaveri loses its identity as a river and becomes a sort of earth mother, spreading out and nurturing the human population of life’s essence. The earliest settlements of the Cholas survives in the Shaivite temples, particularly the Nageshwara temple from the ninth century when the Kaveri delta consolidated to become the cultural and economic centre of south India, followed by the Vijayanagar era with further construction. I visited the sacred temple at
Even if the sky fails to give rain The unfailing Kaveri Born of the mount, gives gold With its vast ocean of water - Pattinapappalai, a Tamil work Over the two millennia since these lines were written, the increase of human population has changed the vision of the Kaveri as an inexhaustible resource. The world-wide crisis of fresh water available to the burgeoning human populations has no end in sight. South India and the Kaveri are no exceptions. Rivers bring water, the essence of life, to parts of our earth that may be otherwise barren. Whole civilisations have thus arisen along these waterways. The Kaveri, one of the greatest of India’s rivers, is part of the fabric of its history. It continues to evoke feelings of the closeness of nature to our species. Talk thanks South Asia Journal for permission to excerpt this post.
From Amsterdam to Krishnaraja Sagara
Dam SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in It’s worth reminding ourselves: there was a time when the rivers flowed freely. They meandered with grace, and at places, gushed forth with all their might. Many civilisations grew on their banks, for the rivers not only met people’s water needs, but also made the soil fertile. Their benevolence would sometimes give way to a destructive streak as W they flooded land expanses and razed towns, and destroyed the very things they had helped build. It was as if the rivers have a will of their own. In the wake of a destructive onslaught, humans must have thought of controlling the waters. They built barriers across rivers, stopped the flow, stored the waters, and diverted them. These barriers were built in different parts of the world, in different ages, and called varying The Talk names. The one name column on that became popular in
all languages was the Dutch dam. The word was first used for ‘a body of water that was confined by a barrier.’ For instance, it would be the Krishnaraja Sagara reservoir that would be called a dam, and not the structure itself. Later on, the word came to denote the barrier that helped store the water, and this meaning is currently in use. Coming back to the Dutch, the dams were vital for their survival, since the Netherlands is a low lying country. Dams were built to regulate the water level and prevent the sea from entering marsh lands. These dams often marked the periphery of cities, and sometimes lent their names to them. The Dutch capital Amsterdam gets its name from the 12th century dam built on the Amstel River. As the dam continued to be built and strengthened over the centuries, it grew wide enough to become the town square, and was called the Dam Square. It turned into a hub of commercial and government activity. Though the mouth of the Amstel River is filled, and no one thinks of the city as located on a dam, the name itself has stuck. Rotterdam, another major Dutch city, also got its name from the dam on the river Rotte.
K E Y
O R D S
word origins
Built in 2nd century AD, the Kallanai in Trichy is the world’s oldest dam still in use
The word entered the English language in the 14th century. The earliest known dam in the world is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, built around 3000 BC. It held back waters of a stream and diverted it for irrigation. Evidence also exists of an earlier dam, Sadd-el-Kafara, built by the ancient Egyptians in 2650 BC, for flood control. They took 10-12 years to build it, but it was destroyed by a flood. The world’s oldest dam still in use is across the Cauvery, in Tiruchirappalli, in
Tamil Nadu. The Kallanai dam or the Grand Anicut was built around the 2nd century AD by the Chola king Karikalan. It was meant to store water for irrigation through canals in the delta region. The dam splits the Cauvery into four streams: Kollidam Aru, Kaviri, Vennaru and Puthu Aru. Built with unhewn stone, the dam runs a length of 1,080 ft and is 60 ft wide. The British made later additions and improvements to it, which has helped to keep it functioning to this day.
cauvery special Iyengars
VIKRAM CHADAGA
They speak Tamil, and worship Vishnu. Iyengars from Srirangam (Tamil Nadu) find the Kannada-influenced Tamil of their Karnataka cousins amusing. But ‘Kannada Iyengars’ excel at literature, and run successful bakeries. Most bakery owners hail from the Hassan region. Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar and Capt Gopinath are among the more illustrious ‘Kannada Iyengars’ from the Cauvery belt.
Ramanujacharya, the 12th century saint who founded the Iyengar faith, was persecuted by the Shaivaite Cholas in Tamil Nadu. He came away to Melkote, where Hoysala king Bittideva gave him refuge and respect. Bittideva converted from Jainism to Ramanuja’s Vishishtadvaita, and took on the name of Vishnuvardhana. More recently, a Kannada film star called Sampath Kumar adopted the screen name of Vishnuvardhan. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was born in Melkote, and her grandfather was a surgeon attached to the Mysore palace.
As a singer, she was known f rather than elaboration, insp compare her to an expert pe a highly accomplished Bhara Bangalore Nagarathnamma, gave discourses on art in Ka tongue, and also in Telugu, T One day, she had a vision ab whose compositions she use In 1920 she gave up a life of and bought land adjacent to samadhi. This is where, to th of south Indian musicians pa Tyagaraja every year. It took t generosity of a Kannada wom shrine for a Telugu composer Ours is a shared classicism, remember Tyagaraja also rem Nagarathnamma with gratitu
Water for our city
Charmer from the mountains
This little square in Talacauvery, Karnataka, is where the Cauvery takes birth. The river runs a course of 758 km, and is the cradle of a vibrant southern, Dravidian civilisation that differs in many ways from its northern, Aryan counterpart. The 9th century Kannada text on poetics, Kavirajamarga, describes the Kannada land as the expanse between the Cauvery and the Godavari. Many hard-working communities, such as the Vokkaligas in Mandya and Mysore, depend on the Cauvery for their livelihood. Kodavas commonly name their girls Kaveri, and even some nonKodavas favour the name of Kaverappa for boys. Kannada films glorify the river in their own way. Puttanna Kanagal’s Sharapanjara features a song about the river (Kodagina Kaveri). More recently, an Upendra film portrayed Kaveri as a girl coveted by a Kannadiga (himself) and a Tamil (Prabhu Deva). Today, Kodagu district is popular with Bangaloreans as a weekend destination. Coffee plantations have turned into home-stays, and business is flourishing.
Nagarathnamma
What use your eyes...
...if they can’t see the beauteous Kaveri Ranga, sang Purandara Dasa (16th century). On the banks of the Cauvery are two Ranganatha temples, one in Srirangapatna, and another in Srirangam. Purandara Dasa, who created music lessons and poetry in simple, elegant Kannada, is considered the first great pedagogue of Carnatic music. Saint Tyagaraja, who composed in Telugu in the 18th century, acknowledged the inspiration of Purandara Dasa, mentioning him with reverence in one of his hymns. Tyagaraja lived several hundred miles down the river, near Tanjavur.
Tataguni is on Kanakapura Road, 12 km from Banashankari. This pumping station is the last in a line of pump stations that brings Bangalore its drinking water. Growing insanely, Bangalore is supplied by two water sources: the Cauvery and the Tippagondanahalli Tank. But that’s just not enough. Many people dig borewells, and buy packaged drinking water. Citizens clamour for Cauvery water because its taste is sweet. How does the Cauvery actually come to Bangalore? It is first filtered at Torekadanahalli and pumped up to Harohalli. It is filtered a second time, and streamed up to Tataguni, a village made famous by the Russian painter Roerich, who lived on a huge estate here. Here, the water is chlorinated and finally supplied to tanks in Bangalore.
M Visvesvaraya and Mulakanadu Brahmins An engineering genius, Visvesvaraya wore the Mysore turban, and lived a life of great discipline. His services were sought all over India. In the 1920s, the Mysore Maharaja approved his plans to build a dam across the Cauvery. The cost? Rs 2.52 crore, or what you’d pay for a 40X60 ft site in a middling Bangalore neighbourhood today! Visvesvaraya was a Mulukanadu Brahmin, who spoke Telugu at home.
Saint Tyagaraja was also one. Many Kannada activists, such as Ma Ramamurthy (after whom a locality near K R Puram is named), are from this community of about 1.5 lakh in Karnataka (and 2.5 lakh in Tamil Nadu). Not everyone who fights for the Karnataka cause is a ‘Kannadiga’ in the narrow sense. Visvesvaraya is worshipped alongside the gods in many houses in the Mandya region of Karnataka.
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for concentration, piring connoisseurs to rfumer. She was also atanatyam dancer. as she was known, nnada, her mother Tamil and Sanskrit. bout Tyagaraja, ed to sing exquisitely. f comfort, saved up, the composer’s his day, the greatest ay tribute to the faith and man artiste to build a r in Tamil country. and musicians who member Bangalore ude.
Cauvery
For Bangaloreans, Cauvery is many things: a source of drinking water, a state-run crafts emporium on M G Road, and a cinema hall that shows movies in many languages. All along the Cauvery, women prefer the fragrant jasmine as their hair adornment.
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FLOW OF CULTURE The political and film connections between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are widely known. S R Ramakrishna traces some emotional links between the two states, obscured in all the heat and dust
Poompuhar
Poompuhar was a thriving port city called Kaveri Puham Pattinam. A tsunami, it is suspected, destroyed the city. Today, Poompuhar is the name of the Tamil Nadu government’s crafts emporium, with branches across India, including at Brigade Road in Bangalore. Great Tamil works of literature emerged from this spectacularly beautiful region. A scholar from Mysore, A K Ramanujan, translated classical Tamil poetry from this region into English. He also translated the 12th century Kannada vachanas. He lived in Chicago, and both books were published abroad and in India to much critical acclaim.
This is where the Cauvery crosses over into Tamil Nadu territory.
Carnatic music and Tyagaraja’s lost idols
Tyagaraja (1767-1847) is one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, considered the world’s most precisely calibrated, tonally advanced system of sonic expression. Tyagaraja composed Samajavaragamana, Nagumomu, Endaro mahanubhavulu, and hundreds of other compositions that serve as concert standards for classical musicians to this day. Bangalore’s musicians perform him with worshipful affection, and hold festivals to honour his memory every year. The city has also named a middle-class neighbourhood after him (Tyagarajanagar). Tyagaraja lived an austere, God-seeking life, and when the king of Tanjavur invited him over to sing at his court, he refused. Tyagaraja’s brother was furious that he had spurned riches and fame, and flung the idols he worshipped into the Cauvery. A dejected Tyagaraja went on a pilgrimage all over India, composing songs of piety and poignant beauty.
Deshastha Brahmins, who hail from Tanjavur, speak Marathi and Tamil, and a good number are proficient in Kannada. Karnataka cricketer Rahul Dravid and Infosys Foundation head Sudha Murthy hail from this community. Bangaloreans love driving to Pondicherry and Auroville for their road trips: the highway is a breeze.
book talk
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Old beats new, and how RAMESH HUNSUR
Shops selling second-hand books in Bangalore’s expensive central business district are thriving, even as their moneyed rivals selling new books find the going hard
PRACHI SIBAL prachi.sibal@talkmag.in
t’s a phenomenon that defies conventional wisdom. Secondhand or used book stores, which in most big cities are tucked away in obscure bylanes or are restricted to pavement stalls, are doing roaring business in Bangalore’s expensive central business district. This when the competitors—well-established independent bookshops, and corporate-owned chain stores—are struggling to stay afloat. Ask any Bangalorean walking down M G Road, the city’s prime shopping district, where to head for a copy of that book you have been looking for. Chances are that you will not be directed to the customary Strand or Higginbothams, or even a big chain like Crossword, but to those homegrown, and by now legendary used booksellers like Blossoms or Select. First-time visitors to Bangalore are often stunned to find wellstocked used book stores like Blossoms that offer almost every title under the sun, on every possible sub-
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READER FIRST Used booksellers like Goobe’s (above) on Church Street have found a comfortable niche and a regular clientele
ject. Readers know these books as a while the Crossword store on pavement affair in most metros, or Residency Road was replaced by the modest businesses kept alive by sheer local chain store Sapna Book House. The management of Crossword, force of will by tenacious owners. Book buying in Bangalore, India’s original chain bookstore, simunlike in any other city, is different, ply refused to comment when we and perhaps more pleasurable than asked why they had to close shop. you’d expect. Rightly so, Bangalore They still have a store in Garuda Mall, likes to buy its books from a place which doesn’t seem to doing too well where time is spent and treasures dis- either. That’s why it’s all the more covered, and not so much in a posh store with clinical barcoding and the surprising to see used bookstores blast of an air conditioner. Also, per- thrive in the M G Road area, and that too without stepping haps, book lovers on one another’s here like to be surfeet. prised, something Used book shops that’s unlikely to happen in a regular don’t chase Survival tricks bookstore, which Select Book Shop’s ‘footfalls’. They welcome you with location may be a bit thrive on loud promos for the obscure, but it has an regulars instead predictable ‘bestoutsize presence on sellers.’ What else the informed book explains the thriving lover’s map. An instistand-alone second hand bookshops tution unto itself, it is oblivious to any in the heart of the city, where they competition coming its way, says occupy prime real estate? owner KKS Murthy. “Regulars keep Chain stores like Crossword, coming back to me. There may have Landmark and Oxford all seem to be been a lull in the market, but my revopting for malls, a strategy that has enue was never affected,” he says. led to mixed results so far. Landmark Ravi Menezes of Goobe’s Book recently had to shut its outlet in Republic (the relatively small baseSwagath Garuda Mall in Jayanagar, ment bookstore on Church Street)
too swears by his regulars. He says a hundred of them help his store survive. He understands the kind of customer he gets, and lets her soak up the atmosphere without speaking, unless asked for help. “Bookshops like ours work because you have serendipity. Books jump out at you. Besides, we have some knowledge of books and can often help you pick something of your choice,” he adds. Such customer loyalty goes against the grain of contemporary retail wisdom, which favours chasing ‘footfalls’ above all else. Talking about footfalls, easily the one with the maximum walk-ins is Blossoms, which to most book lovers is a world in itself. Owner Mayi Gowda seems to have got his recipe right. “We stock about three to four lakh books, including second-hand ones, and cover a wide range of price points”, he says. He also says with pride that regulars make for almost all his revenue, which has hardly ever dwindled. His USP is the variety and the price and the buyback he offers once you are done reading the book. Not too far behind in its loyal base of customers is Bookworm, located again on prime M G Road. Krishna, its owner, is a simple man
book talk who loves to be open with his dealings. “Reasonable prices are what make customers keep coming back to the store. We also have a store credit policy where we buy old books back for 50 per cent of the price”, he says. He is the proud owner of a large collection of out-of-print books but refrains from being cynical about any kind of reader. “I am glad about many young customers coming into my store. The Twilights and Chetan Bhagats have created a new breed of readers,” he says. Both Bookworm and Blossoms sell a large number of new titles at discounted prices, which can go up to 20 per cent. One of their smart moves is to have an increasingly large selection of new books, placed strategically near the counter where they can be quickly picked up by customers who don’t want to stay and browse. The bulk of the business at most new bookshops comes from a few bestsellers. If these can be got at your favourite used bookshop, that too at a discount, then it’s no wonder book lovers prefers to avoid new bookstores altogether.
Braving the online threat Interestingly, the growing popularity of online booksellers like Flipkart and Infibeam seems to have hit the chain stores the hardest, and spared the used booksellers, who cater to a wholly different segment. Offering heavy discounts and cash-
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WHAT COMPETITION? Shops like Bookworm on MG Road have seen retail sales drop because of new libraries such as Just Books, but more than make up for it by supplying to libraries themselves
on-delivery, they made book buying so convenient and attractive that many readers confess to visiting bookstores only to check out new titles, which they go home and order online. However, all four used bookstores we talked to reported no more than a 5-10 percent drop in sales because of the online competition, and complete retention of their second-hand clientele. “The only decline in customers I saw was last year for
about two months, after which the walkins and the buying resumed,” says Blossoms’ Gowda. Goobe’s, on the other hand, does complain of online booksellers taking away a small chunk of business for three years. “Nothing stopped the regulars though. They come here for different reasons. When people walk in and say they get the same book cheaper at Flipkart, I politely request them not to disturb the beauty of the place,” says Menezes.
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They also face competition from private library chains like Just Books spreading to every corner of town. But Bookworm’s Krishna sees it more as an opportunity rather than a threat. “In the last year and a half, a few of my customers have stopped buying because their neighbourhood library caters to their needs. That doesn’t stop me from supplying to 25 libraries though,” he says. Reading and buying for the average Bangalorean is clearly a passion, something that revolves around a sense of community rather than a mere commercial transaction, and these used book stores easily take a lion’s share of the credit for it. Store owners are far from gloomy about the future of their business, and have so far managed to keep pace with the changing requirements of their customers. Gowda of Blossoms believes it will take at least 10-15 years for the online market to take over book selling completely. Bookworm’s Krishna can’t imagine a future in which brick-and-mortar book shops are extinct. Select’s Murthy is similarly upbeat, and more occupied with parking problems his customers face when they come to his shop. “Parking is perhaps the only thing that will take my customers away,” he says, something of an impish smile on his face.
fantasy films
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Evil resides in a swanky office Going by recent sci-fi and fantasy films, the world is more terrified of cash-rich business corporations than maniacs and spirits
SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in
rom the time I heard about the fifth part of the Resident Evil series, I had been waiting eagerly for it. The moment it was released, I went and watched it. I admit I am a huge fan, but the reason is not Milla Jovovich or the excellent technical work that characterises the series. What I like is the thought that forms the basis of the stories. The story is about the Umbrella Corporation that creates a virus that infects people and turns them into zombies. As the infection spreads,
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FUTURE PRESENT Resident Evil and The Hunger Games (below) depict a future where powerful corporations control the world
cities are razed, and the corporation takes over one country after another as their defence fails. What’s so great about this story? Isn’t this what happens in most fantasy films? Well, what makes a film like Resident Evil: Retribution different is that its chief villain is a corporation, and not some maniac. Many films like Resident Evil now reflect the new fear that rich corporations, not governments, will soon run the world. Will this happen in the distant future, or is it already happening? The latest version of Resident Evil gives us some clues. In reality, there may be no Tvirus infecting the populace and spreading from the bites of those infected. But in its place, we have propaganda created by private companies that spreads through word of mouth, the media and the internet. The ideas created by these corporations shape our thoughts, choices, behaviour, and eventually, our societies themselves. Let us take something as simple as clothing. It’s the brands that dictate what is in fashion, and what is not. Irrespective of our comfort, we follow their veiled diktat, and ridicule those who don’t. Throughout the movie, the corporation addresses Mila’s character Alice as ‘Project Alice’. This is exactly how most corporations think of us consumers. They regard us not as individuals, but as objects to be snared for sales, consumption and brand loyalty. We are mirror images
of each other. We not only dress the often dismissed as silly works of way the majority does, but prefer sim- imagination. That is simply because ilar careers, hobbies, gadgets. We eat we fail to see the message behind the the same food, read the same books, flying saucers and broomstick riding. For instance, C S Lewis’ collection and have the same opinions. The 2010 Oscar-winning film The Chronicles of Narnia speaks of Inception plays with the idea of corpo- Christianity, where the lion Aslan rate espionage, where agents spy on represents Christ. Philip Pullman’s people’s dreams. Its characters enter Northern Lights (The Golden Compass the sub-conscious mind and steal is the name of its film version), speaks ideas. They also implant ideas and of the repression of the child’s inner thoughts in dreams. We do not need voice by the church and the education any burglar to enter our dreams, for system. The most recent Suzanne we lay our minds bare on social net- Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, made into a blockworking sites, survey buster movie of the forms and marketing same name, predicts research questionFantasy stories a future where peonaires. are dismissed ple will be conSome creative trolled through realefforts keep the symas silly when ity TV shows. bolism minimal, like people fail to I would comthe TV series see beyond the pare the intent of Supernatural. In one these stories to that of its episodes, the special effects of our myths, legdevil runs a major fast ends and Biblical food chain. He subjugates people through addiction to the stories, which feature magical eleunhealthy food his company pro- ments, and at the same time show the social, economic and political condimotes. The attack on corporates tions of their times. Buddha’s teachthrough sci-fi and fantasy is not new, ings gained popularity because of the though. JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Jataka tales, simple stories where aniRings, written in the 1950s, speaks of mals speak and ghosts weep. If we dissociate religion from the growing industrialisation and destruction of the environment by big Ramayana and look at it objectively, industries. In the book, later made we find that it is also a fantasy tale. It into a movie, the corrupt wizard has a prince, a kidnapped princess, Saruman destroys a forest to build his demons, birds that talk, and an army evil army. This army is shown busy at of monkeys and bears. Yet, the story work with machinery and inventions. teaches us a way of life and is the basis Sci-fi and fantasy stories are of our culture.
now showing
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‘Humanism‘ of the corrupt Barfi! is a dishonest film, and says alarming things about the educated class raving about it, writes M K Raghavendra
nurag Basu’s Barfi! and its lead actor Ranbir Kapoor have received near unanimous praise from newspapers and the media. Apart from notices which are ecstatic about the extraordinariness of Ranbir’s performance, some reviews have us believe that the film is positioned on the edge of greatness. The syrupy music by Pritam has also received acclaim but the crowning recognition is perhaps the news that the film is India’s official entry for the Oscars. Amidst so much acclaim from India’s film journalists, one is intimidated and even hesitates to register one’s disagreement, although this needs to be done. Perhaps the best way of doing so unequivocally would be to provide a clear argument for why the film is dishonest, indicate why it falls abysmally short of being the first place, he develops ties with the humanist statement it pretends to an autistic girl from a wealthy familybe, and the alarming things its recep- Jhilmil Chatterjee (Priyanka Chopra). tion says about the educated class lap- Jhilmil’s father (Ashish Vidyarthi) is a scalawag who has been living off his ping it up. Barfi! as most readers will be alcoholic wife. The family money is aware, belongs to the kind of cinema the grandfather’s who, before he dies, that pleads for the inclusion of the wills it to a trust to look after Jhilmil. disadvantaged within mainstream Barfi is the son of their family chaufsociety. It does this by dealing with feur and, when his father is sacked the unfulfilled mutual love of a deaf- and also falls ill, devises a couple of mute boy and a normal girl and the harebrained schemes to raise money boy’s dealings with an autistic girl, for his treatment. When robbing a whom he eventually marries. The title local bank with a toy pistol fails, he of the film derives from the protago- tries to kidnap Jhilmil. She, however, nist’s name: he was christened is being kidnapped by her own father Murphy but being unable to hear it who is trying to extract money from her trust through pronounced, hit upon this ruse. Purely by the approximation Barfi ‘Barfi’. Supposedly poor, accident, snatches Jhilmil and The film begins Barfi is still begins to take care of in the present with found always her. In any case, the male protagoBarfi’s labours are of nist’s collapse in a attired in little avail because hospital and travels designer wear his father dies withback and forth in out getting the time—the present where the film begins, 1972 when required treatment, and Barfi is in Shruti Ghosh (Ileana D’Cruz) meets trouble with the law. The law, in him in Darjeeling and is immediately Darjeeling, is represented by a corpudrawn to his charm, 1978 when she is lent and incompetent sub-inspector, in Calcutta and married—and not too who later attributes his failed career happily at that. Between 1972 and to the attention wasted on keeping 1978 Barfi has several escapades. In the boy in check.
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SICKLY SWEET Ranbir Kapoor and Ileana D’Cruz in Barfi! (Facing page) The film borrows liberally from Chaplin and Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean)
The film, it should be evident, is about an exuberant young man, disadvantaged physically but with irresistible charm. In order to portray him, the film plagiarises brazenly from silent cinema, Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean. It is not necessary to go into the details but the most obvious bit is from Chaplin’s City Lights (1931). In this sequence, Barfi is sleeping at the foot of a statue being unveiled and he is discovered just as the fabric covering the statue is peeled off. While plagiarising so extensively from well-known films is not acceptable practice, it is not this aspect as much another one which can and should leave people hostile and this has to do with the way Barfi is portrayed. In the first place, while Barfi is supposed to be a disadvantaged boy from the poorer classes, he is impeccably attired in designer clothes. He is always fresh, neatly shaved or with a fashionable amount of stubble. In contrast to Chaplin’s the Tramp in City Lights, there is not even a hair out of place when Barfi is found under the statue. In other words, we are never made to forget that this is Ranbir, scion of the Kapoor khandaan, who cannot be dishevelled. The film also takes pains to associate minimally with his work-
ing class father- perhaps because a celebrity must be careful about the company he keeps. My indication here is that when a big actor plays a role of this sort, he should at least submit to it out of humility towards those he is representing. This ‘elitism’ is however not entirely the actor’s fault but part of the director’s vision and this is made evident in another sequence not involving Barfi. In this sequence Shruti’s mother (Roopa Ganguly) tries to dissuade her from marrying Barfi by relating her own experience as a girl. She reveals that when she was Shruti’s age she wanted to elope with a working class man. She now takes Shruti to a wooded spot to show her the man, her former sweetheart, sawing away at some logs with some fellow workers. This, the reader will agree, is a good touchbut only if done properly. To convey the intended sense—i.e. that even when different classes are brought together in their youth, they drift apart as they pick up social baggage— it would have been necessary to humanise the man. We would need to understand this worn-out man’s former attraction for Shruti’s mother. What the director does, instead, is to show a nondescript working person fleetingly in long shot as mother and
now showing daughter drive away. The sequence justifies the mother’s presently privileged viewpoint and becomes a demonstration of the thoughtlessness of youth rather than emphasize the essential humanity of all people. Barfi! belongs to a category once called ‘middle cinema’, which flourished in the 1970s. This was entertainment for the educated class which had begun to be enervated by commercial cinema. Instead of stars, audiences wished to see ‘real people’ and this resulted in the rise of actors like Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palekar, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi. If one wishes to understand how ‘real’ a portrayal of a poor deaf mute in middle cinema could be, one would perhaps do well to see Sadhu Meher in Shyam Benegal’s Ankur (1974). The kind of humanism that flourished at the time - protest cinema from Ankur to Govind Nihalani’s Aakrosh (1980), family dramas from Basu Chatterjee’s Sara Akash (1969) to Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi (1971)—are evidence that educated audiences were then engaging deeply with the milieu. There was a sense among the educated public that they were ‘trustees’ who owed it to the other social segments. Acknowledging the humanity of the great takes little effort and the films were preoccupied with the humanity of the weak and the genuinely marginalised. It is pertinent here that the big stars in who acted in ‘middle films’—e.g. Amitabh Bachchan and
Rajesh Khanna—had the moral sense not to appear as the underprivileged and demand our sympathy. When Ranbir Kapoor impersonates the poor deaf-mute Barfi, the emotion he arouses in us is the one awakened when we learn that the kin of a powerful person has usurped a resource meant for the genuinely disadvantaged. ‘Sympathy’ is perhaps a similarly precious resource and should be extended only to those who deserve it and
Love it, hate it, frame it Photographer Vivek Muthuramalingam uses Facebook to explore his "love-hate relationship with the city and its perpetual metamorphosis." The result is the ongoing Bangalore: A Visual Anthology, an interesting documentation of cityscapes, street life and people, some of it drawn
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
from his professional photographic assignments. This picture of the muchphotographed Lalbagh rock is enlivened by the presence of the two friends, as Vivek explains in his caption below. More at: facebook.com/ bangalore.anthology
Lalbagh rock with the Kempegowda tower. Two friends who live close-by find it an ideal spot to while away time. It is another great place to 'watch' people… from the tired joggers in the morning to the Gujarati tourists in shimmering sarees..
not to impersonators. A Bollywood celebrity unwilling to shed the appearance he has put on while endorsing an up-market product should not get our sympathy when he appears-in identical shape-as a ‘disadvantaged person’. Giving our sympathy to Ranbir Kapoor as Barfi is like endorsing the apportionment of a precious resource to a politician or bureaucrat’s kin. This being the case, what does the rapturous responses of the educated to
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Barfi! tell us? It tells us, I propose, of the monumental failure of liberal education in India today. The educated are so preoccupied with themselves that they have no way of knowing social segments outside their own and recognising the marginalised. To them a disadvantaged person is no different from a celebrity impersonating him or her; tears will be freely shed. A corrupt system, it is evident, also corrupts sympathy, compassion and humanism.
Organic farm wants interns Navzer and Shahnaz, who run an alternative living, eco-restoration initiative at their organic farm 50 km from Bangalore, are on the lookout for volunteers or interns (for short and long terms). Aiming at sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency, the farm runs on solar power, bio-gas, and harvested rainwater. It employs natural and organic methods of cultivation to regenerate the soil and reforest barren land. The fruit and vegetable grown here is not sold for commercial gain. The farm has some native cows, country chicken, ducks, and pigeons, and also encourages bee-keeping. The initiative would like to experiment with traditional planting and growing techniques, and create a miniature biodiversity environment, for which they need assistance. If you are contemplating a break
from the rat race to practise alternative living but are unsure, this internship offers an opportunity to find out more for yourself. Interns pay Rs 150 a day to cover accommodation and food.
They will be housed in a wellappointed independent cottage on the farm. Visit the farm for a first hand overview, or call 92436 04508/ 8675788769.
L I S T I NGS
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Some of the events listed here may be cancelled due to the Karnataka Bandh on October 6, Saturday. Please make confirmation calls before you make plans.
performance
theatre Mari Shu Bhool: Directed by Vipul Shah, this play in Gujarati is about a royal family, where the family patriarch wants a grandson to take over the dynasty and be the heir to the throne. Things take a drastic turn when his son decides to marry a girl of his choice and she gives birth to a baby girl against the grandfather’s desire for a grandson. The cast includes Sanat Vyas, Saunil Daru, Dhruma Mehta, Youhana Vacchani and Paresh Bhatt. Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, 16th Cross, Malleshwaram, October 7, 2.45 pm and 6.30 pm 23445810
Sarod recital by the Ustad: Lend your ears this weekend for a Sarod recital by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan along with Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan. The highlights will include recitals from the Edinburgh International Festival, the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. Following their father’s suit, Amaan and Ayaan have performed across the country and around the globe. They have been
described as Coming Masters by The New York Times. The Ustad has collaborated with artists like Charley Byrd, Cellist Matthew Barley, Guitarist Barry Mason and more. Khan is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan and was nominated for the Grammy in the Best Traditional World Music category for his CD Ancient Sounds. Jayamahal Palace, Jayamahal Road, October 6, 6.30 pm 23331321
as a medical discussion on the subject, soon assumes social and political angles. Directed by Vivek Madan, the story delves into religion, science, myth and more. Jagriti, Varthur Road, Ramagondana Halli, Whitefield, October 5 to 14, Tuesday to Saturday, 8 pm, Sunday, 3 pm and 6.30 pm 41248298 Kraff: An intelligent and artistic mix of puppet theatre and dance, Kraff is an amalgamation of
The Invisible River
The Invisible River: Written by playwright Gautam Raja, this play revolves around the river Ganges and the story of its sacredness. What starts
music Twenty 21, Ground Floor, G25/26, Whitefield, October 7 28026660 South Asian Cuisine treat: Choose from a variety of cuisines of countries like Malayasia, Vietnam and Thailand as you take a bite from dishes like laksa, tom yum, satays and stir fries this weekend. Prices start at Rs 425 plus tax. 24@43 café, Electronic city, October 8 to 12 30030303
Make your own sushi: This four-week workshop will teach you to make sushi, dim sums and curries like a pro. Register early and get hands-on experience from the chef himself. You can opt for a crash course in sushi
Mysooru Mallige: Based on the works of Kannada
poet K S Narasimhaswamy’s most popular collection, this musical is directed by B V Rajaram. Rajaram uses poetry as a means of entry in the poet's life and explores his development against the backdrop of pre-independence rural India. This musical is being performed by the Kalagangotri troupe. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8th Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, October 9, 7.30 9448069667
Sex, Likes and Pokes: As the name suggest, the play is a satire on Facebook and the online dating scenario. The story is about three friends, who are looking for sex. Two of the friends make a bet on which is the ideal way to find a mate, Facebook or the natural one. The play is directed by Chaitanya. Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanthnagar, October 7, 5.30 and 7.30 pm 41231340
food
Eat and win: Dig into non-vegetarian and vegetarian burgers as the Burger Eating competition kicks off this weekend. Participate in the contest every evening and win prizes. The finals of the contest will be held on October 13. Cilantro, No.9, Halcyon Condominiums, 4th Block, 1st Cross, Koramangala October 5 to 13 9686862500
forms. Directed by Johanny Bert, this mix of puppet theatre and dance will raise questions like ‘which of the two is more gracious, the puppet or the living human body?’ famously asked by writer Heinrich von Kleist in his short essay, On the Marionette Theatre. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8th Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, October 6, 7.30 pm 26592777
making and dim sums and momos. Experiment with some Thai Curries, Chinese sauces and soups too. Hotel Royal Orchid, 1, Golf Avenue, Old Airpot Road, October 6, 11 am 9379513151 T20 Mania: This cricket season head out to The Lemon Tree Hotel and avail discounts of 20 percent on food and sip drinks at Rs 100 each. Choose from dishes like chicken tikka, tempura, paneer tikka, mushroom chilly and more. Lemon Tree Hotel, #2/1 , City Centre, St John's Road, till October 7 44232323 Lavish buffet:
Enjoy a spread of live grills, barbeque and pasta this weekend. You can begin with starters and then dig into soups, main course and desserts. For the health conscious, a wide range on salads will be up for grabs. Prices start Rs 599 plus tax.
Combos for the health conscious: Savour a whole wheat roll that offers both vegetarian and non-vegetarian filling along with tangy corn and orange juice. Combos start at Rs 125 onwards. Avaiable at all Kaati Zone outlets http://kaatizone.com/ Taste of bliss in deserts: Treat your taste buds to a three-course dessert menu comprising of strawberry consommé, orange meringue, pineapple upsidedown cake with roasted pineapple sorbet, mascarpone cream, chocolate tart with oatmeal anglaise and more. Prices start at Rs 550 plus tax. Olive Beach, #16 , Wood Street, Ashok Nagar, October 5 to 15 9945565483
Classical evening: Music Discourse: An Evening of Khayal and Thumri by well-known classical singer Sumathi Murthy, accompanied by Pandit Guru Murthy Vaidya on tabla and S R Ramakrishna on harmonium. Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanthnagar, October 5, 7 pm 41231340 Mystic vibes live: Catch the Mystik Vibes perform this weekend. Artistes Aman on the keyboard, Muthu on Tabla, Amith on flute and Mishko on bass perform music that is inspired from around the world. bFlat, 100 Feet Road, Above ING Bank, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, October 5, 8.30 pm 41739250 Santana bonanza: Watch artistes Naveen Thomas,
Allwyn Fernandes, Sanjay Chandrakanth, Suresh Peters, Leslie Charles, Bharath Kumar, Imraan Jamal, Venkat Subramaniyam, Saahas Patil, Nathan Harris and Arati Rao perform this week as they pay a tribute to Carlos Santana. bFlat, 100 Feet Road, Above ING Bank, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, October 7, 8.30 pm 41739250 Go Yo Yo this weekend: Punjabi Rapper Honey Singh also known as Yo Yo Honey Singh is all set to perform this weekend in the city. He became popular after his debut featuring Gagan Sidhu for the title track of the movie called Shakal Pe Mat Ja. EZone, #23/24, K R Puram Ring Road, Marathahalli, October 6, 6pm
Carlos Santana
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retail therapy Autumn collection up for grabs: Designer creations of JJ Valaya, Anshu Modi, Rocky S, Vikram Phadnis, Manish Arora, Mandira Wirk, Masaba and many more will be on display this weekend. Choose from a collection of prêt wear and bridal collection. Available at Hue, 12th main, 4th cross, Indiranagar www.huefashions.com Online shopping just got better: Myntra.com introduces their new Autumn- Winter collection. Choose from various brands like Arrow, UCB, French Connection, Tonga and more. These dresses can be worn for a casual brunch or a night out with friends. Available at www.myntra.com Happy Feet for men: Men have reason to smile now as Crocs has shoes for
nightlife
joy of giving Bringing smiles: Feel like giving your stuff like stationery, toys, clothes, eatables and more during the Joy of Giving Week? Organised across various centers in the city at these events you can make donations, volunteer; participate at the fund raising events. Some of the highlights include initiatives like Play for a cause, where volunteers need to play to raise money to set up a library, Gift A Book - Gift A Smile and more. Join in the week’s spirit and get a taste of the joy. log onto www.thejoyofgivingweek.ning.com
every occasion. Choose from the casual wear or formal / weekday wear. These are available in different colors. Prices start at Rs 1,595. Available at Crocs, Mantri Mall and Phoenix Market City Add a dash of colours: This season go colour your wardrobe as Fusion Beats from 1090F introduces a new range of clothing ‘Rang De Techno’. The collection has embroidery in sharp geometric shapes and is coupled with intricate designs. Prices start at Rs 2,299. Available at all 109F outlets Woven with care Sharmila Nagraj, former professor at NIFT, Hyderabad launches her collection of weaves called Kaumudi. Look out for some interesting textile design pieces in collaboration with Bonnie Tarses. Under the Tree, Nandidurga Road, till October 10 9902624452
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Let your hair down: This week put on your dancing shoes as DJ Jasmeet plays some Bollywood, commercial and House music. Catch DJ Karthik, DJ Jakeeh and DJ VJ Iyer as they join in the fun on the console. No Limits, #8, 2nd floor, Magrath Road, October 7, 12 pm 9742493494 Go trance: Watch Astral Projection perform this week. Astral Projection is a electronic music group producing psychedelic trance and Goa based trance music in Israel. The group consists of Vi Nissim and Lior
Perlmutter. Entry starts at Rs 600. Pebble, Near Palace Grounds, Sadashivnagar, October 6, 6 pm 23614109 Go retro this weekend: Head out to Sky Lounge this weekend and listen to some retro and soft lounge tunes played by DJ Lloyd. You may even get to groove a little while you are at it. DJ Lloyd who specialises in retro music has played in the country and abroad for several corporate and public shows. Vaayu Sky Lounge, Eva Mall, Brigade Road, October 6, 8 pm 9886091692
Give away: Be part of the drive and experience the Joy of Giving. Bangalore Cares invites donors for the week and is also organising an event that culminates in some renowned chefs cooking up a meal for the donors. Now, what can be better than some fun and good food after a good deed. Log onto www.bangalorecares.in
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film
talk picks 2.35, 3.55, 5.20, 6.40, 8.05, 9.25 PVR Cinemas, Koramangala- 10.15 am, 1 pm, 3.45, 6.30, 9.15 Fame, Lido, M G Road- 10.25 am, 1.05pm, 2.35, 3.45, 6.25, 7.20, 9.25
English Vinglish Hindi: Directed by Gauri Shinde, the film is about Shashi (played by Sridevi), an Indian living in New York, who struggles with English. Though the movie is light hearted, it showcases the struggles that Shashi undergoes while learning the language. She is determined to learn the language and becomes independent and confident. The movie marks the comeback of Sridevi. It also stars Amitabh
Bachchan and Priya Anand in the lead. Urvashi Digital Cinemas- 6 pm, 9.30 Rex Theatre9.55 pm INOX, J P Nagar10 am, 12.55 pm, 1.50, 3.40, 6.30, 7.20, 9.25 pm INOX Magrath Road10am, 12.45pm, 1.50, 3.30, 4.30,6.15, 7.15,9 INOX , Malleshwaram- 10.10 am,1 pm, 3.50, 6.35, 8.50, 9.30 Fame, Shankarnag, M G Road- 10.25 am, 1.05pm, 2.35,3.45, 6.25, 7.20, 9.25 Fame, Forum Value Mall- 10 am, 11.50, 1.05 pm,
Kismat Love Paisa Dilli Hindi: Set in the backdrop of Delhi, the movie is about Lucky (Vivek Oberoi) and Lovina (Mallika Sherawat), who miss their last Metro back home. What follows is a series of incidents that transform the entire night into a roller coaster ride for them. They experience the cold night, the parties, the cops and the hooligans of Delhi, all this also leads to love. INOX, J P Nagar- 11 am, 4.30 pm INOX, Magrath Road- 11 am, 7.10pm INOX, Jayanagar- 6.50pm INOX, Malleshwaram- 10 am, Fame, Lido- 1.20 pm, Faame, Forum Value Mall10.45 am, 7.10 pm PVR Koramangala- 10.20 am, 4 pm, 9.30 Snehitharu Kannada: Directed by Ram Narayan the movie is based on an incident in the
Mahabharata. This comic story revolves around a girl, four guys and an orphan boy. The movie stars Pranitha, Shrujan Lokesh, Vijay Raghavendra, Tharun Chandra and Ravishankar Gowda in the lead. Anupama- 10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 Prasanna10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 Siddeswara- 10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 Mohan- 10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 INOX, Malleshwaram3,20 pm, 9.15 PVR, Koramangala2.20 pm, 6.45 Ondhu Kshanadalli Kannada: Directed by Dinesh Babu, this romantic drama stars Tarun Chandra, Sanjjana and Bhama in the lead roles. Kapali- 10.30 am, 1.30 pm , 4.30, 7.30 Veeresh10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30
Siddalingeswara- 10.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 Adarsha- 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30 INOX, Malleshwaram- 10am PVR Koramangala- 12pm, 7.30 Killing Them Softly English: Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film is an adaption of George V Higgins’ novel. The movie is about a professional enforcer Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), who investigates a heist that takes place during a poker game. The film stars Brad Pitt, Ben Mendelsohn and James Gandolfini in the lead. INOX, Magrath Road- 10 am, 3 pm, 5.05, 10 INOX, Malleshwaram12.45 pm, 5.20, 10 Fame, Lido, M G Road- 10.30 am, 5.15pm, 10 PVR Koramangala- 10.10 am, 2.05 pm, 4.05, 7, 8, 10
1 2 3 4 5
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English top-sellers at Sapna Books
Beyond The Lines Author: Kuldip Nayar Publisher: Roli Books Price: Rs 595
No Easy Day Author: Mark Owen Publisher: Penguin Books Price: Rs 499
Joseph Anton A Memoir Author: Salman Rushdie Publisher: Random House Price: Rs 799
The Casual Vacancy Author: JK Rowling Publisher: Hachette India Price: Rs 850
India Grows at Night Author: Gurcharan Das Publisher: Penguin Books India Price: Rs 599
food talk
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
RAMESH HUNSUR
When hunger strikes at midnight While many people whine about Bangalore’s night deadline for eateries, here’s a bunch that saw an opportunity in it—and launched all-night catering services
SANDRA FERNANDES sandramarina.fernandes@talkmag.in
o more gulping down a cup of instant noodles or slices of left over bread to satisfy those midnight pangs. Two catering services who deliver full meals at your doorstep through the night, are finding more and more takers in the city. Midnight Hunger Solution (MHS) was started in February this year by Vaibhav Ali, who says that it was an outcome of his experience of going hungry many nights simply because the restaurants were shut. He claims that once he had decided to go ahead with the idea, it took only 24 hours to set it up. MHS offers Mughlai cuisine and Chinese and delivers 24 hours a day, all through the year. Ali says the bulk
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FOODVENTURERS (Top) Karan and Sheetal of Midnight Masala and Vaibhav Ali (Below) of Midnight Hunger Solutions started their businesses after failing to find food past midnight
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of their orders come between 10 pm and 5 am, and weekends are an especially busy time. The vegetarian dishes are priced at Rs 75 onwards while the non vegetarian ones range from Rs 150 to 400. MHS, which is located in Austin Town, deliver just about anywhere in Bangalore as long as it’s a bulk order, and will charge you a little extra over their standard delivery fee. In contrast, Sheetal Mote and Karan Karthik of Midnight Masala don their chef’s hats only on weekends. Now a month old, they Midnight Masala was a result of their dream to have a ‘food community.’ Not surprisingly, they too hit upon the idea after similar experiences as MHS’ Vaibhav. Since food is their passion, they don’t seem too worried about its success. “Even if it didn’t work out, we would at least have fun while it lasts,” says Karan. Midnight Masala usually has something new to offer every weekend. “We do not add or remove dishes; instead we just change the style of food. For example the biryani is constant, but the style varies - if one weekend we have Kolahpuri biryani the next time we’ll serve Malabar style,” says Sheetal. Though the response to their venture has been good so far, they also get complaints, “mostly saying that our food is extremely spicy,” says Sheetal. Vegetarian dishes at Midnight Masala are priced at Rs 50 to 80, whereas non veg dishes come at Rs 120 onwards. They say that the orders start pouring in by 9 pm, while delivery is from 10 pm to 2 am. As they do not have any delivery boys, Karan does most of the delivering himself. Located in Koramangala, they deliver in and around the area, although they do make exceptions for big orders, at an extra charge of Rs 100.
Talk verdict Midnight Hunger Solution
Midnight Masala
Food: Rs 465 Delivery: Rs 100
Food: Rs 390 Delivery: Rs 100
We ordered tandoori chicken, kadai paneer, along with butter nans and plain nans from MHS at 10.45 from Kalyan Nagar. Since we had heard otherwise, we were surprised to see them deliver an hour later as promised, and the food still hot. There was mix-up though: instead of tandoori chicken, they delivered butter chicken. And if that wasn’t greasy enough, both the chicken and paneer dishes were found floating in oil. But when we decided to put up a brave front (all for the sake of this article, loyal reader) and bit right into it, we were delighted to find it tasty. We must point out that the chicken gravy was a bit too sweet (though it went down quickly with the butter nan). The paneer was soft and well-cooked; no complaints there.
We ordered chicken biryani, chilly chicken dry, dal and ghee rice at 11 pm from Kalyan Nagar. Expectations were high and patience low (given the late hour)—so it made us really sore that we had to wait for two hours for the delivery. And then we were told that the food will have to be warmed up since the journey (from Koramangala) was quite long. To add to it, on opening the package we realised that the dal never left their kitchen. But the food itself was worth the wait the Malabar style biryani with its light flavours made for a great combination with a spice bomb of a chilly chicken which was nevertheless delicious. They more than made up for the ghee rice, which tasted a little bland without the dal.
Sum total
In terms of price, Midnight Masala goes a little easy on your pocket, where as MHS is a tad expensive. Both are worth trying: they did not disappoint on taste and quantity. MHS provides you with plastic containers, while Midnight Masala offers a choce of plastic containers and disposable aluminium foil boxes. It’s always better to make them repeat your order to make sure they get it right. The menus at both MHS and Midnight Masala offer much more variety in non vegetarian food, and report that that there are fewer takers for vegetarian food among their customers. Most of their customers are young professionals who work late like BPO employees, or have a late night parties, apart from students.
Right now, both food services have much room for improvement (see Talk Verdict), which might be just teething problems. But if they overcome that, and Bangalore continues to be strict in enforcing its 11.30 pm deadline for eateries, there’s a big payoff ahead for these ‘midnight saviours.’
martial arts
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
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MODELS: PRIYA CRASTA, VINAY KUMAR. PHOTOGRAPHY: RAMESH HUNSUR
Fitness isn’t just about workouts Way of Budo Sensei Avinash Subramanyam on how you must bring together body, mind, spirit and soul
irst thing to remember: fitness is not just a breathless daily session but an attitude to life. It is important to feel, think and live fitness than rely just on a killing workout in the morning. Make no mistake: workouts are good. It’s just that body fitness, unaccompanied by fitness of the mind, spirit and soul, is incomplete. Holistic fitness is the synergy generated by body, mind, spirit and soul, something that can be achieved through kaizen, or ‘continuous improvement’, of all four. Now for a practical guide.
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Physical fitness involves finding a form of exercise that does not cause anxiety, stress, burn-out and lethargy. Exercise should not lead to a depletion of the joy of living. Choose something comfortable that can be practised in 10-minute spans over the day, at home, your workplace, at the airport, or even while driving. If you do not practice any form of exercise, no matter. Live fit. Incorporate fitness into your way of living: Be active, keep lethargy away. Watch TV standing. Walk when on the mobile. Walk that mile when you return
from work, dinner or a drink. Sit and stand straight: it also improves posture and body language. Be cool about food. Don't obsess over carbs and calories. Eat moderately; eat small portions. Don’t deny yourself that burger but share it with two others: it also spreads love. Be willing to lend a helping hand: it also makes those around you happy. How truly fit is one who is physically strong but harbours insecurity, jealousy, anger and aggression? We know negative feelings cause damage to the body, resulting in various illness-
es: hypertension, diabetes and depression. It is important to react minimally, to ‘let go’. Understand and accept that your manager’s temper, spouse’s anger, and colleague’s jealousy are not in your control. Don't let them perturb you. When you speak loudly about Bangalore's traffic problem, pause and think: “Don’t we contribute to it? Don't we jump signals? Don’t our companies hire cabs that go berserk on the roads?” Next week: A fit person doesn't crib. Transcribed by Radhika P
SELF-DEFENCE FOR WOMEN What to do when you are harassed on the street
Rowdy stands waiting as you go about your work.
Assuming you have no help, he places his left hand on your shoulder.
Use your wrist to push his hand away.
As he reels under the impact, pull your left hand back to generate power in your wrist.
Elbow him with all your strength. Even your left hand can deliver pain.
Strike him hard in the rib cage.
Walk away as he collapses. Game over!
memoirs
A tyrant humbled Entanglement in a murder case reduced arrogant DCP Somashekar to a tearful supplicant
Last week:
VIVEK ARUN
Once a non-entity, DCP Somashekar became the terror of Mysore and antagonised even his superiors, all thanks to his friendship with Chief Minister S Bangarappa. But after he was accused of murdering a young man in the swimming pool of a posh palace hotel, his fortunes—and his character—began to change drastically. omashekhar’s name began to appear in connection with the death. He was already a villain in the eyes of many in the department and the people of Mysore. But his name was not mentioned in any official document. On April 25, Sathyadev’s death was declared a ‘murder’ and not an ‘unnatural death’, on the basis of a complaint lodged by his mother Lalitha. Iftikaar Ahmed took over the case that day. Public interest in the case increased. Reporters began to contact the police commissioner to ask about the investigation. Meanwhile, Iftikaar Ahmed provided a lot
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He began sweating. He glared of fresh information to his higherups. Somashekhar told the chief at Surat Prasad as though he would minister jealous people were eat him alive. He also tried for permission to reply, but in vain. The maligning him. Police commissioner Surat next day, newspapers carried exploPrasad secretly sought information sive headlines: ‘Somashekhar is the Commissioner’, from the investigating officers and murderer: sent a report to the Director- ‘Somashekhar silent, doesn’t deny charge’, and so on. General of Police. A furious Somashekhar sat in Somashekhar got hold of a copy of the report within a day. As his chamber, newspapers spread demanded by citizens and the across his table. He blew smoke on media, the police commissioner to the papers, as if to burn them. called a press conference. Iftikaar Ahmed, Ganesh and ACP Somashekhar was present. Surat Dastikoppa entered his chambers. Prasad said, “The investigation is in Somashekhar thought they had progress. It’s not true that we are come to make fun of him. He threw protecting one of our senior offi- the commissioner’s photo, printed in the papers, on the cers.” ground, and A reporter stamped on it. Not immediately asked, “Just wait, this satisfied, he picked “Who is this senior commissioner up the photo again, officer?” will die on the shredded it into “The one sitparade ground pieces and flung it ting before you. down the toilet. DCP Somashekhar. from my own “Just wait, this comWe have gathered bullets,” said a missioner will die from the investigafurious Somaon the parade tion so far that he shekar to his ground from my has murdered bullets. Nobody can Sathyadev. We are colleagues do a thing to me,” continuing the he screamed. investigation Terrified, his colleagues ran impartially,” he said. Somashekhar went red in the out. They went straight to the comface, trying to control his rage. He missioner and repeated what he had could not speak before the press said. “If we had stood around any without permission from his superi- longer, he would have shot one of us,” they said. ors. The commissioner, a mild “What do you say to that, Mr Somashekhar?” reporters taunted man, was petrified. He lodged a complaint saying Somashekhar had him. threatened to murder him. He also wrote to the DGP requesting him to hand over the investigation to the Corps of Detectives as Somashekhar had terrorised
crime folio
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
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Fabled ranconteur and Bangalore’s top-notch criminal lawyer brings you moving, sensational and bizarre stories from 40 years of his practice
C H HANUMANTHARAYA
those carrying out the present investigation. Somashekhar’s friends advised him to go underground to escape arrest. Somashekhar guffawed. “I have already spoken to the chief minister. Who has the guts to arrest me when he is my friend?” He did not apply for anticipatory bail either. The case was handed over to CoD on May 10. A team, under the leadership of Superintendent of Police Halageri S S, was formed. K Srikanta and S B Naidu were the two officers in the team. Somashekhar wasn’t perturbed. The team camped in Mysore for 20 days and got statements from Sathyadev’s family, the hotel staff, Uthappa, the three friends of Somashekhar’s children, and other witnesses. Somashekhar, in constant touch with the chief minister’s office, believed the proceedings were an eyewash to please the public. He teasingly asked Revanasiddaiah, chief of the CoD, “What is the latest in your investigation?” On June 5, the CoD arrested Somashekhar. “This is unfair. You have stabbed me in the back. I will talk to the chief minister immediately. I am sure he is not aware of this development,” Somashekhar protested. The team told him coolly, “You can talk to everyone from the lock-up. Now come along!”
memoirs His wife Shamantakamani soon got information about his arrest. The same day, the CoD searched his house in Bangalore. They got hold of an imported rifle and 50 cartridges. Somashekhar claimed the rifle was a gift from an acquaintance. That led to two cases: one under the Indian Arms Act for possessing a rifle without licence, and another under the Prevention of Corruption Act for receiving a rifle as bribe. The next morning, two visitors arrived at my door. One of them was Krishnaswamy. I had seen him frequently in court. He was a commercial tax officer and had appeared in 1972 as the accused in his wife’s murder case. Called the Mahalaxmi Layout murder case both in court and in the newspapers, it was sensational, and I had followed it closely. After he was acquitted, he had started practising law. As I was recalling all this, Krishnaswamy introduced the woman with him as his niece Shamantakamani. I reassured her, “Don’t worry. I will take up the case”. She revealed everything she knew about the case. “If you had come earlier, you could have got anticipatory bail. Why were you so negligent?” I asked. “He won’t listen to anyone. He shut me up saying it was an official matter. He
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
kept saying he had spoken to the CM and cases. I got him bail in both. Many VIPs Revanasiddaiah,” Shamantakamani said, from the Kuruba (shepherd) community welcomed Somashekhar back. Some and broke down. The same day, we went to Mysore. offered him money to fight the case. They The papers were full of the news. were grateful I had got him out. When I went to have him released, Somashekhar did not have even an iota of public sympathy. As soon as I entered the the jail superintendent spoke highly of his court, reporters recognised me, and asked behaviour. Sessions judges sometimes make surprise visits to me with long faces, “Are prisons. Narayan, who you going to take up this had dismissed An emotional case?” I said yes. Somashekhar’s bail plea, His local lawyer, Somashekhar told had been there out of Shivanna Gowda, applied me, ‘Sir, you are curiosity. He saw a calm for joint advocacy. I went my God. It isn’t Somashekhar studying to jail with him and spoke law books. He was astonenough even if I to Somashekhar, who ished because he had looked very subdued and give you all my read the policeman saint-like. I applied for wealth’ would be indulging in bail. Just retired from the luxuries even in jail. The High Court, H N jail superintendent told Narayan was the sessions judge then. He refused bail, and I applied me proudly Somashekhar had spoken to 20 LTTE terrorists in the jail about patrioto the High Court. L Srinivasa Reddy, retired High tism, peace, non-violence, and tolerance. I stayed at the Airlines Hotel whenCourt judge, was the state prosecutor then. He strongly argued against grant of ever I went to Mysore. It was near the bail. The proceedings went on for two court. I liked the way Somashekhar months, and we finally got bail. The behaved with me. I felt people spoke nonnewspapers forced the government to sense about him, and that the media appeal to the Supreme Court for cancella- reflected such uninformed views. Somashekhar had learnt about special tion of bail. He had been booked under two dishes cooked around Mysore, and made
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arrangements for me to enjoy them. A bus conductor belonging to the Kuruba community, Shivanna, was in charge of the cooking. He stayed at Ramaswamy Circle near Airlines Hotel in an area dominated by his caste. Shivanna was pious. He used to bring my plate, and allow me to eat only after he had lit an incence stick to a God picture. Once, when Shivanna was immersed in this ritual, Somashekhar said, “What is this rubbish, Shivanna? You are lighting an incense stick before a paper God? Here is a breathing God right in front of me. Offer him worship!” I was embarrassed. “Everyone has a right to follow tradition. We are just humans. Don’t call me God,” I said. Somashekhar became emotional. “Sir, whatever people say, you are my God. It isn’t enough even if I give you all my wealth. Without talking about your fees, you are fighting for my release. My colleagues have brought me to this plight. Even if I am suspended, I am entitled to my salary. But I want to prove a point. Till I am acquitted and reinstated, I will not beg for my salary. Let it accumulate in lakhs. I will place it all at your feet,” he said, with tears in his eyes. Continued next week (Translated by Indira Udupa)
T I M E P A SS 1st Cross
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Talk’s weekly crossword for Bangaloreans who know their way about town was demolished (6) 17 Hospitals in the city recently celebrated World ___ Day (5) 18 Violin maestro who hails from Karnataka (8)
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3
4 5
DOWN India's largest amusement park, situated on the Bangalore - Mysore highway (8) The Government’s ___ segregation plan was only 20% successful on the first day (5) Our ruling party (3) Pub with a Goan touch in Chakravarthy
Last week’s solution Across: 3 Bal bhavan, 6 Visvesvaraya, 8 Amritsar, 9 Suvarna, 10 BMTC, 12 Appam, 16 Drought, 17 Kemphole, 18 Koli.
1
4
8
Across Former Karnataka Chief Minister who went on to become Prime Minister of India (4,5) Arvind Limbavali does not want hospitals to turn this into a business (5,11) ___ Garden: Boating Park on Nagwara lake (7)
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10 _ ___ Kumar: Producer who was recently elected as president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (1,6) 12 This lake was in the news recently when 3 children drowned in it (8) 13 ___ City: Bangalore of course (6) 14 Tipu Sultan’s father (5,3) 15 Cinema on Residency road that
Down: 1 Chowdiah, 2 Guzzlers, 3 Bhumika, 4 J Shantha, 5 BDA, 7 Rajneesh Goel, 11 C M Udasi, 13 Pottery, 14 Malpe, 15 Coffee, 16 Dengue.
Layout (4) 6 Sri Sri ____ : Art of living founder who has offered to help solve the Cauvery water dispute (11) 7 Mohammad ___ : Very good fielder on our IPL side (4) 9 Cuisine which is a fusion of Kodava and Mangalorean (6) 11 Restaurant famous for it’s kababs and kulchas on Lavelle Road (8) 16 Kannada actor who took part in the Cauvery water protests (4)
Prof Good Sense My girlfriend thought I had cheated on her (though I hadn’t) and we broke up. The problem is just that she is suspicious. Why is love like walking on thin ice? One doubt, and the ice cracks. And even before you know it, you find yourself under the ice, trying to swim in the freezing cold waters. And then the surface has closed, forgetting you are still underneath! Rohan, Wilson Garden
Your question seems very philosophical. If you have to explain your actions, then it means there is no love in the relationship. In other words, your love stood on flimsy ground. It is not enough to be crazy about someone. A relationship means trust and unconditional support. A true relationship is devoid of suspicion, and won’t crack so easily under social and personal pressure. Prof M Sreedhara Murthy teaches psychology at NMKRV First Grade College. He is also a well-known photographer. Mail queries to prof@talkmag.in
T I M E P A SS
Overboard
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
By Chip Dunham
Agnes
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By Tony Cochran
talk|11 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Kya Kuch Hota Hai
Inactivity is injurious to health
If you hated Anjali, the brat who talked too much in Karan Johar’s mush fest Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, here’s some bad news. Sana Saeed, who played Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee’s daughter in the movie, is now all grown up and ready to try her hand at heroine (no, she didn’t become a VJ). Sana, in her own rather modest words, plays a “high school hottie” in Johar’s Student of The Year, which is a vehicle for three other debutants—Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter Alia Bhatt, David Dhawan’s son Varun Dhawan and Sidhharth Malhotra. So who’s going to be the Student of the Year, you ask? We would recommend KJo himself, a director yet to make a halfway decent film but who just won’t give up.
For the first time in history, this generation of children in the developed world is expected to die five years earlier than its parents. The reason? Inactivity. This startling sicovery is made in a research study by—you guessed it—Nike. Not only does it say that inactive kids will live five fewer years than their parents, the report also puts a total 5.3 million deaths worldwide this
year because of physical inactivity, which it says is a bigger killer than smoking, responsible for 5 million deaths a year. The solution, of course,
Bring back the Fifties! Or maybe they never went away. Thanks to the likes of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and The Twilight Saga, Americans are feeling all nostalgic for the 1950s. Yes, we’re talking about those days of Archie and Action Comics, LP records, jukeboxes, Ed Sullivan Show, tacky 3D movies like Bwana Devil, cult hits like Rebel Without a Cause, the Hula Hoop, tinker toys, ponytails, drive-in movies and of course, Elvis Presley. It was truly America’s golden age—
the country had just won a world war, and the world was awash with American exports (they were the China of the times, after all). Many of the above-mentioned were minor sensations on these shores as well, old-timers would remember. Now that the world’s only superpower has lost much of its swagger, is it any wonder that recession-hit Americans find themselves longing for the glory days?
is to stop reading this and get moving (exactly where the report doesn’t say, but we presume it’s the Nike store).
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