TALK SEPTEMBER 13,2012 by Suhas Shankarappa

talk Volume 1 | Issue 5 | September 13, 2012 | Rs 10

Prime Minister Manmohan in six fun frames 32

the intelligent bangalorean’s must-read weekly

POLLS 2013 Deve Gowda’s secret pact with Advani 4

INSPIRATION Kanaka Murthy, India’s only woman temple sculptor 7 MOVIES Southern masala spices up Mumbai, and everyone’s having fun 20 FICTION Sudha Murty’s new book unapologetically plugs everything Infosys 26

Rocked by the arrest of over a dozen men, Bangalore asks what made its journalists targets ON RECORD Interviews with ‘hit-listed’ Vishweshwar Bhat and Prathap Simha TONE AND TENOR How scribes can write on religion and strife Pages 12-17

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

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Love Hanumantharaya’s column Talk is a refreshing read, and the best part is that it has something for everybody. The look makes me feel like going through it. Last edition’s cover story on pulp fiction was interesting. However, it will be great if you could give us more political and health stories. My personal favourite is Crime Folio. Not reading C H Hanumantharaya’s stories is a bad miss, especially for people who cannot read him in the original Kannada. The translations are simple and make for an engaging read. Priya G by email

to support organic food. Personally, I would agree that they are not doing enough. Nina Osswald by email Best wishes Truly good-tosee, good-tohold and goodto-read magazine. In the past years, I have come across many mini magazines promising those 5-10 minutes of beneficial time pass, but Talk is the one that has really kept the promise. A really good magazine in all aspects. Vinod B R JP Nagar Contests welcome Congratulations on bringing out Talk. I’m a student of journalism and find Talk a really interesting paper. It’s interactive. The column by C H Hanumantharaya is something I wait to read every week. The paper also gives lots of opportunities for us readers to take part in contests. Thank you and wish your team all the very best. Musbiheen Mehraj by email

Comprehensive ‘organic’ story My congratulations. The article on ‘organic chic’ (Issue 3) was interesting and comprehensive in all aspects, and you seem to have spoken to all the principal people. I wonder whose opinion it was that the organic policy of Karnataka is considered a failure. I have heard mixed opinions about government policies; some also think that A weekly like no other Karnataka is doing quite a lot I happened to get a copy of

team talk EDITORIAL 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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the inaugural issue of Talk magazine, and this is the first time I have come across a weekly like it. I must say that the page layouts are good and you have done a good job overall. All the very best! Deepika Manoharan by email

It's almost like something that came out when two of my favourite publications, Time Out Bangalore and (the now defunct) Gentleman slept together! Also, impressed that you’re getting many ads early on. Swarup D by email

fiction issue, that a retired bus conductor had written 550 Kannada detective novels. Thanks for letting us know about Narasimahaiah’s fantastic achievement. Keep up the good work! R M Mishra by email

Breath of fresh air I read Talk. It’s a breath of fresh air.

What an achievement! I was stunned to know, in your pulp

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syncretic india

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

RAMESH HUNSUR

Why Mary wears a sari August 31, nine days before the actual feast. The evenings preceding September 8 were marked by prayers in the church. On the day of the feast, after decorating our plates with flowers collected in the fields, we left for school. In the evening, back at the church, it was more about competition—of peeping into others’ plates to see what flowers they had got. After SAVIE KARNEL the prayers, the kids flocked around savie.karnel@talkmag.in Mary’s statue to shower the flowers on her, while the elders sang a he most special thing Konkani song in the background. The about St Mary’s feast is hymn too had very native lyrics: that it has nothing to do “Tomorrow, where will we find these with cakes, pine trees or sevantige (chrysanthemum) and aboli creatures from a foreign (crossandra) flowers.” On the final day, dressed in our land. It is one Catholic festival that keeps Christians rooted to their non finest, we went for the special prayers in the morning. Mary’s statue was Christian-roots. Perhaps there’s something about taken out in a procession from the Mary that lets people change her and church to a paddy field, where the adapt her to suit local ways. While service was conducted. The largest she replaces Goddess Athena in field in my village belonged to a Europe, she wears a sari to substitute Hindu. He graciously allowed the congregation to Devi Amman for assemble there her Tamil devotees every year to celein Bangalore. I have Shivajinagar was brate the harvest lived in three differthen known as festival. ent parts of People of Karnataka, and ‘Bili Akki Halli,’ Karwar thanked noticed that each or ‘the village of Mary for the crop region adds its own white rice’ and prayed for a flavour to the feast better yield next of Nativity of Mary. year. The new corn I grew up in the coastal town of Karwar. When I was blessed and stalks distributed to was little, I waited for the feast, for it each member gathered there. The gave kids licence to run around in the grains were then put into the ‘payasa’ paddy fields and pluck flowers from prepared that day. The meal was nonwild plants. There, just like in vegetarian. Bereft of the knowledge that Bangalore, the festivities began from

St Mary’s Feast (September 8) in Bangalore retains many elements of a traditional harvest festival, and reminds us of the native links of Catholics in Karnataka

QUITE CONTRARY The St Mary’s Basilica, where Mary’s idol is draped in a sari, attracts thousands of devotees during the feast

someone in Rome had decided the day of September 8, we believed our grandmother’s tale that when Mary was born, the harvest was sumptuous and the land was filled with flowers, and that is why the day was chosen. The local Hindus too celebrated their harvest festival around the same time, some days after Krishna Janmashtami. I later learnt that in the 15th century, the Portuguese converted the Hindus in Goa to Christianity. When they continued to persecute the native converts, for even minor lapses, many of them then fled to neighbouring Karnataka, but retained their language, Konkani. These converted Christians missed the Hindu festivals and traditions. So, they clubbed the Hindu traditions with Christian festivals. When I moved to Mangalore for my studies, I noticed that the festival was much grander here. The children showered flowers here, too, and the new corn was blessed. There was just one difference. Here the feast cooked was strictly vegetarian, with an odd number of vegetables. That is, the number of vegetables cooked were three, seven or eleven. The Konkanispeaking Catholics carried on this tradition wherever they went. The harvest festival is celebrated in Bangalore too, wherever there is a population from Karnataka’s coastal region. When I moved here, I was surprised to see Mary in a silk sari and

not in the usual white and blue robe. These days she wears a fancy embroidered sari with sequins. People gift saris to the church and bookings for the day the sari is to be draped are done in advance. Sometimes the dates are booked for over a year. This practice is akin to gifting saris for Hindu goddesses in temples. The Dravidians have Devi Amman or other local deities. After their conversion to Christianity, Mary took the goddesses’ place. The history of St Mary’s Basilica goes back to the 17th century when people from Tamil Nadu came to Bangalore. They found the land fertile and began sowing paddy. The rice is was said to exceptionally white. The place (what we call Shivajinagar today) was known as ‘Bili Akki Halli,’ or ‘village of white rice’ in Kannada. The Tamil Christians built a thatched roof and called it the chapel of ‘Kannikai Matha.’ Later, in the 18th century, the construction of the church began, but the structure was pulled down during the communal riots of 1832. After some years, when a plague hit, people flocked to the church to pray. It is believed that the plague vanished from the vicinity of the church. People began to call Mary ‘Arokiamary,’ or Our Lady of Good Health. The church was rebuilt in 1882 and consecrated on September 8 that year. From then on the feast is a huge affair in Shivajinagar with a grand car procession in the evening.

politics watch

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Has Deve Gowda cut a secret deal with Advani? Janata Dal (S) leaders are upbeat that the two leaders will join hands to crush Yeddyurappa and the Congress

BASU MEGALKERI basavaraju@talkmag.in

anata Dal (S) leader H D Deve Gowda recently met BJP leader L K Advani and arrived at a secret electoral understanding, a top source revealed to Talk. In May next year, Deve Gowda is set to celebrate his 80th birthday. The former prime minister visited Delhi and met the BJP’s top leader, also in his 80s. The two seniors have drawn up a pact for the 2013 assembly elections in Karnataka. The main objective is to sideline Yeddyurappa, a younger BJP leader who is said to have a secret deal going with Sonia Gandhi. Yeddyurappa is now touring the state and talking to people in remote districts, often lashing out at his own party’s government for not doing enough for farmers dur-

DAL KHICHDI Deve Gowda reportedly met L K Advani (left) in Delhi last week

ing a drought year. gal mining scandal, and the Supreme After coming to power for the Court ordered a CBI inquiry, BJP first time in South India, the BJP soon leaders in Delhi got into the act of got mired in scandals, and the party’s easing Yeddyurappa out of chief minmost powerful leader in Karnataka, istership. When he was refused even Yeddyurappa, ended up in jail. The the party president’s post, he began party has deployed four chief minis- strategising for an independent ters in its first ever term as a ruling future. party in Karnataka. And it is getting Yeddyurappa needs a clean chit increasingly nervous as it goes to from investigative agencies such as elections in nine months. the CBI if he is to make any progress. Advani has been lambasting the He believes if he has the support of UPA government at the centre for the Congress, which is in power at the corruption, but centre, he will be Yeddyurappa’s style able to wriggle out of If things go its of functioning has some of the more remained an embarserious charges way, the JD(S) rassment, with the against him. could win 50 to Congress turning What does 60 of 224 seats back and accusing Sonia Gandhi want? him of remaining She wants to see her silent when his party party forming a govis looting Karnataka. During the peak ernment in Karnataka. Her calculaof the 2G and Commonwealth Games tion would be that Yeddyurappa can scandals, Advani was scathing about split the BJP, and bring crucial votes the UPA, but had to be on the defen- in. sive because Yeddyurappa and his “You come out of the BJP first, men were wreaking havoc in we’ll see,” is what she has reportedly Karnataka. told Yeddyurappa. The present chief Everyone in the BJP knows minister, Jagadish Shettar, is now Advani and Yeddyurappa don’t get seen as a Yeddyurappa camp follower. along. In fact, Yeddurappa ambushed Is he warming the seat for his seniors recently by declaring that Yeddyurappa? That’s what the camp Narendra Modi, and not Advani, believes, but if things don’t work out should be the BJP’s next prime minis- for Yeddyurappa, he will quit the BJP terial candidate. On his recent visits and form his own party. to Karnataka, Advani has ignored If JD (S) is able to do some hard Yeddyurappa, not even looking in his work in the upcoming elections, it direction. The sulking, in fact, is may win 50 to 60 seats. That’s not mutual. enough, in a 224-member assembly to Time and time again, form a government. If the party tries Yeddyurappa has defied his party to forge an alliance with the elders in Delhi. In fact, once he had to Congress, S M Krishna and step down, he Siddaramaiah will turn armtwisted them into out major hurdles. I don't know of installing Sadananda Again, Deve Gowda, and later Gowda doesn’t have any such Jagadish Shetty, as chief too many admirers in meeting, but I minister. Insiders say BJP either. can tell you we're the the party hasn’t been Yeddyurappa will be the not thinking able to jettison first to play spoilsport if Yeddyurappa easily he has a say. After shakof any because he has coning hands with Advani, arrangement stantly plied the top he reportedly explained with the BJP leadership with money. to him the significance YSV Datta, Once Yeddyurappa of Yeddyurappa’s meetJD(S) spokesperson was snagged in the illeing with Sonia Gandhi.

Deve Gowda has an old association with some stalwarts of the Janata Party of the 1980s. Reminding Advani of Karnataka leaders such as Ramakrishna Hegde and George Fernandes, he has pitched the idea of a pact. “We can share power and keep out common enemies such as Yeddyurappa and the Congress.” Meanwhile, in Karnataka, Deve Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy is working in tandem. His friend Balachandra Jharkiholi and 20 other MLAs in the BJP are loyal to him, and could rock the boat dangerously. Jarkiholi’s camp has been grumbling publicly that it isn’t adequately represented in the Shettar cabinet. This was discussed when Dharmendra Pradhan, central leader in charge of Karnataka, visited the state recently. There is a good chance Jarkiholi will pull the trigger once he gets a nod from Kumaraswamy. That could mean elections as early as December. That is when the JD(S) hopes to jump in and control the action.

sports icon

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Girisha unbound The differently abled boy, India’s first London Paralympics medal-winner, realised his sporting prowess when he jumped over a barbed wire fence to escape a stick-wielding father

SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in

t was a desperate bid to escape a thrashing by his father that helped Paralympics silver medallist H N Girisha discover that he could jump really high. Since he had a deformity in his leg, his parents were overprotective and wouldn’t let him play. But the naughty boy would defy them, spending most of his time playing in the fields with his friends. One day, when he was six, his father spotted him playing, and reached for a stick to spank him. Young Girisha started running, the father in hot pursuit. Before he knew it, the boy found himself facing the barbed wire at the edge of the field. To his father’s shock, instead of stopping, his son leapt right over the high wire to the other side. “Girisha tells us that the incident changed his life. After this one jump he realised his strength was high jump, and he has been practising since that day,” his mother Jayamma told Talk. Despite his disability, Girisha would easily jump over wires and ropes, to the amazement of his playmates, none of whom could match him. “He used to tie a rope in the courtyard and jump over it. He often dragged his younger brother Satish along and ask him to do similar jumps. Satish would fall, and then the two would end up fighting,” recalls Jayamma with amusement. Girisha’s mother recalls how her first son’s birth brought a mix of joy and sorrow. “His father’s brother has only daughters, our eldest too is a daughter. While we were happy to finally have a son, we were saddened to find he was deformed,” she says. The concerned family wouldn’t let him play or run around fearing he would hurt himself. But the boy was adamant, and went on to make his

HIGH FLIER Prior to his London win, H N Girisha had won two international golds last year, in Kuwait and Malaysia

family proud by bringing India its first medal at London Paralympics by winning the high jump silver in a career-best performance. Born into an impoverished farm labourer’s family, Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda studied at a school in his village Hosanagara in Hassan district. Jayamma says the credit for his success ought to go to his teachers, who encouraged him and took sent him to take part in sports meets, where he had to compete with able-bodied participants. “His teachers never discriminated against him. From the fourth standard onwards, they have been taking him for sports events, which he kept winning, at the district and state level. While we as parents were scared that he would get hurt, his teachers never held him back,” she says. When Girisha joined college, he represented Mysore University. His brother Satish recalls an occasion when Girisha faced opposition from his competitors who were no match for him. “At a university event, there some competitors said that he should compete only at meets held for the disabled. But the university backed Girisha and he continued to represent it

and win medals,” Satish says. According to Satish, it was his brother’s dream to compete in the Olympics, but its eligibility criteria did not allow him to do so. Girisha didn’t qualify for the Beijing Paralympics, and had since set his eyes on London, says Satish. His family’s money worries meant he couldn’t focus on sports full-time, and was forced to take up a job. Between 2008 and 2010, he underwent BPO and soft skills training at Samarthana, an NGO

high-jumper Sahana that works with the differently holding abled. He then took up a job with Kumari. Speaking to the media, Girisha’s ING Vysya Bank, which eventually gave him a sponsorship of Rs 80,000 father Nagarajegowda recalled how so he could make it to the when the doctor told him his son Paralympics qualifying round in needed surgery to correct his deformity, he had Kuwait. Not one to two emotions: fear disappoint, Girisha worry. He returned with a In school, Girisha and refused to get gold medal. competed with Girisha operated To train for upon because he able-bodied the Paralympics he couldn’t afford it, had to keep away competitors, and and also because from work, but still won he didn’t what couldn’t get more would happen to than two months’ him after the leave. So he had to give up his job to train full-time surgery. The emotional father had under Evgeny Nikitin, a Ukrainian said, “I never expected my son could trainer employed with Sports do this. Now I know I made a huge Authority of India’s South Centre in mistake. Look at him, he has made Bangalore, and national-record us proud.”

sculptor extraordinaire

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

RAMESH HUNSUR

The artist who sings in stone Kanaka Murthy, the only woman sculptor in India whose images are worshipped in temples, has won the highest award for sculpture in Karnataka. An intimate profile by her daughter, classical vocalist N Sumathi started calling my amma by her name, Kanaka, when I was very young. She never minded it—in fact, she liked it. It didn’t take me very long to realise how much she loved stone and the different textures of stone. She lived and dreamt stones then, as she does now. Once, she said, “When I lift the hammer, I wait like a woman pining for her beloved just to hear the sound of its striking.” Kanaka sees rhythm and music in sculpture. She got me to start learning classical music at a very young age, and was like a dictator, controlling everything at home. I hated it. She insisted I practise at least 10 hours a day. If I did not, she would not speak to me. At times, I felt she had got me into music only to get away from the responsibility of ‘being mother’. Later, when I asked her about it, she said: “I wanted you to have a lover for life, like I do. I have sculpture, you have music.” This sentiment was echoed by my guru, Pandit Ramarao Naik, whose greatness I was to realise only much later. At a very young age I observed my mother was not like the other mothers I saw around me. She was mad, passionate, hardworking. She believed in discipline, besides God. On my summer holidays, she would make me practise 10-12 hours while she chiselled away with Vadiraj Mama (sculpture guru D Vadiraj). Coffee breaks were brief, with Vividh Bharathi playing Kishore Kumar and providing respite from hard labour for something like five minutes. The division of labour was clear and strict at home. My father and I had to do housekeeping, besides our own work. Guests who stayed over had to share the chores. Kanaka had a love-hate relationship with her mother, an artist, theatre performer and singer. What Kanaka resented was being kept back

MAKER OF GODS Kanaka Murthy’s art is so demanding that she had to serve a 40-year apprenticeship before she was allowed to create her first sculpture. Top: Her Ganesha at the Kadu Malleshwara temple complex in Malleswaram

to do household work. I have heard that she was a stubborn child, always breaking rules she considered irrational. But then, elders couldn’t reprimand her because she was good at studies, always a ‘rank student.’ For some years, she dreamt of becoming a doctor. Her parents did not make that happen. She learnt music and painting but nothing fired up her passion as much as stones and sculptures did. Her love for three dimensions is something that intrigues me to this day. In music, it is always abstract images that can come across in two, three, five, and ten dimensions (if you take a beat, or a tala, as representing a dimension). Vadiraj probably was one of the most intel-

lectual of artists who could capture three dimensions in a line drawing, which conventionally has just two (length and breadth, but no depth). Kanaka loves line drawings. She would imagine three dimensions in more abstract forms like classical music. I could understand this passion for three dimensions even as a child because of my guru Ramarao Naik, who insisted on associating an image with a raga. Only with such a picture in the head should one practise, he told us. I have many times seen Kanaka touching and feeling sculptures. Once, when we went to the Badami cave temple, there was a dancing sculpture and she caressed the legs of the sculpture, enjoying the three

dimensions. Our house was like the city railway station. Relatives frequently came and stayed over for days. Kanaka would end up being in the kitchen for long hours. Though our relatives were sensitive to her passion for work, they never realised that for her, each passing minute, hour, day and week meant that much of her life lost on trivial things and not on sculpture. Kanaka just cannot be in the kitchen for more than an hour in an entire day. For many years, I saw Kanaka crying for not getting time to work. She would always say, “If I’d been a man, I wouldn’t have to do all this.” Continued on page 8 Î

sculptor extraordinaire

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

RAMESH HUNSUR

PUBLIC ART: Kanaka’s Kuvempu statue greets visitors at Lalbagh West Gate. Right: A park sculpture in Hebbal. Below: Sumathi with her little cousin Srividya. Anchor pic: Kanaka’s array of yakshas and artistes.

Continued from page 7 At 13, I asked her, “Then why did you get married and start a family if you loved your work above all else?” She told me the answer. One: For a middle class Brahmin woman during the 1960s, marriage wasn’t easy to escape. Two: And why should being married and having a family ruin one’s work? But to my father’s credit, he was a pillar of support, and that helped her tide over those despairing moments. Kanaka believes in God. She sculpts many deities and treats them as her friends. Once, she was sculpting a nine-foot-high stone Ganesha. Sitting on the stone and gently hammering away, she was saying, “Gannu, so you are playing around and not coming out properly?” Kanaka is the only woman sculptor in India working on big stone sculptures. She is also the only woman whose sculptures are installed and worshipped in temples. That should have made her more famous than she is, but this is a world of so many contradictions. My mother comes from a conservative, land-holding Brahmin family that would never encourage its women to take up labour-oriented arts. But she fought patiently at every step. Kanaka’s approach is traditional. Most striking in her work is the authentic reproduction of Chola, Hoysala, and Chalukya styles -- yet each idol has its own unique composition and expression. Her female sculptures are never very

feminine: they are more often robust, even when they conform to traditional form and stylisation. All her Ganeshas are childlike. She often faces opposition from the traditional community of sculptors because she does not care too much about theory. Contemporary artists claim sculptors who work on traditional temple sculptures are artisans and not artists, but she doesn’t care. She argues that Indian temple sculpture is like Indian music. Its styles are like the musical banis and gharanas. Ragas are like sculptures, which each person sings differently and works out differently. Each time she delivers a sculpture, she feels relieved. “Finally, another person has become free.” But that doesn’t mean she is not attached to her sculptures. They often get a send-off ceremony at home. Moving from a rented house in Basavangudi into her own house at Ramaswamy Palya (near Lingarajapuram), she changed her entire house into a studio. The house looks like a workshop and museum today. Her sculptures are installed at many prestigious places, such as the Satya Sai Baba Hospitals in Bangalore and Puttaparthi. Her Kuvempu bust greets visitors at Lalbagh West Gate, as does her Wright brothers feature at the Visvesvaraya Industrial museum. Her stone sculptures stand at Tapovana, Chikka Gubbi, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and other places I haven’t even visited. She

was invited to work and exhibit in London four times. Kanaka has directed sculpture workshops all over India. Her busts of musicians Dr Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi have won acclaim. She has also done busts of Mahatma Gandhi, Visvesvaraya, Vadiraj, and other people who inspired her. I remember her saying when she was working on the Mallikarjun Mansoor image, “Every swara reflects in his face and that is what I want to capture.” She has won the State Shilpakala Academy award, the Rajyotsava award, the Suvarna Karnataka Award and many others from private organisations. She has published two books in Kannada—one on guru Vadiraj, and the other on sculptures. She is working on her autobiography. She learnt from Vadiraj in the gurukula system, assisting him with his work. So for the first 40 years of her learning, she could

not make any sculpture which she could call hers. Once she started working independently, she has taken no break. At 70, she is working on musical pillars, a project inspired by the sculptural artistry of Hampi. Vadiraj Mama was unwell when he was invited to direct a sculpture workshop in Ellora by South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Government of India’s Nagpurbased organisation that promotes art and craft. He was in love with that style but he wasn’t in a position to walk and see the cave temples. He told Kanaka, “I will visualise these sculptures through your eyes and in my next life see those temples in detail.” Kanaka visualises him while working even today. She says: “I feel he stands behind me and guides me like he would when he was alive.” I congratulate her on winning the Jakanachari Award and wish her a long life full of love, passion and beauty.

motorcycle diary

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

A wet, wet ride to

SAKLESHPUR Forty deafening Bullets, and a terrain that’s mossy, curvy and dangerous... Amulya Nagaraj just can’t get enough of her two-wheeler expedition

t is barely light yet when we begin to assemble. The weather forecast predicts slightly cloudy skies, but I’m wearing three layers of clothes plus a rain jacket in an attempt to stay warm on my first Bulleteers ride. Bulleteers, a group of Bangalore riders who love Bullet motorcycles, organise riding trips through the year. But this one is special, one of the two big ones they do annually, with anywhere between 50 and 100 members taking part. The destination is a resort in Sakleshpur, 250 km from Bangalore. This trip, I’m told, has more newbies than the earlier ones. Some have come down from the districts. Each bike is a prize, and is eagerly checked out by the veterans. Finally, with a blast of horns, the 40odd bikes take off on the highway. We all know what a Bullet, otherwise known as the Royal Enfield, sounds like. Now, imagine it multiplied by 40, and yourself smack in the middle of it. There are no words to describe the excitement. I catch glimpses of people looking at us with awe as we speed past them.

Amulya Nagaraj Traveller and photojournalist

It is not every day that you see an army of Bullets zooming past you with a purpose. School children wave to us. People stop their cars to ask what we are up to when we stop for a break. The highway is smooth and uneventful. The road is mostly straight, boring some of the riders. A straight road is fun for a drive. For a ride, you want the curves. Soon, we reach the foothills of the mountains and the road starts to get curvy, making for smooth turns. Just when my partner, who is riding, wonders aloud, “Where are the bad roads the others were talking about?” the road takes a sharp curve to the left. I can barely see the road up ahead but I realise this is where the ride really begins. My partner, sits up a little straight, and is silent. Earlier, the others had sped past us when our group of five bikes decided to take a break, drinking tea, playing cards and chilling out. The road abruptly changed from tarred to plain mud, which is nicely packed and smooth. A little too smooth, in fact. It’s drizzling and the mud turns slippery. The green patches turn out to be moss and not grass, so we try to stick to the little streaks of gravel so that the tires get a grip. The resort, when we get there, makes up for any slips and falls on the way. Located at the base of a hill, it sits quietly on the landscape without ruining the

green cover. There is a small pond at one edge, where you can play water sports. There are a few cottages and tents, and a particularly slushy volleyball court. A swing on a tree becomes an immediate hit. For the first time, I saw a leech up close and personal. Somehow, I had expected leeches to be a lot bigger and scarier. It would’ve been better though if I had to peel them off my legs instead of someone else’s! The next evening, it began raining. This was the real thing, not the soft drizzle that we’d had all along. To be in the room was like being inside a drum someone was beating, but I was grateful I was not among those stuck in their tents. The rain didn’t let up for hours. It was turning out to be the Monsoon Ride to beat all rides. I personally like riding in the rain, and would have preferred not to wear a helmet so that I could feel the cool rain on my face. But when faced with that prospect of doing it for 200 km, I decided otherwise. It perhaps stopped raining somewhere midway, but I didn’t particularly notice. I could not have got wetter and my feet could not have got number. But that lasted only a day after we got back to Bangalore. I couldn’t wait to be back on the bike, and back on the road, again.

MONSOON RIDE The Bulleteers, a group of Royal Enfield motorcycle enthusiasts, has just returned from a trip to the Western Ghats

media and terror

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

But why Kannada? Terror groups and mainstream media have historically shared a tricky relationship. When Samuel P. Huntington, an academic, expounded his controversial thesis of a ‘clash of civilizations’ between the West and the ‘Orient’, little did he know a man who called himself the arch-enemy of Western civilisation would lap it up and twist it to his own ends. That Huntington was popular in large areas of the West is understandable. That Osama bin Laden agreed with Huntington is a little staggering. Then again, may be not. Assymetric conflicts of another type, with aims more laudable, have often used the constructs of the stronger party to argue against them. Think about the nationalism that India’s olumnist Prathap Simha leaders espoused to take on the and his editor British Raj. If published accounts are Vishweshwar Bhat, said to be believed, Osama bin Laden to be terror targets, prob- knew of Huntington’s book and his ably feel like characters pronouncements in the media. The in a work of fiction. idea that there were irreconcilable In Tarun J Tejpal’s novel The differences between the culture and Story of My Assassins, published in religions of the West and the East was 2009, the protagonista founding philosophy for reporter has broken a Laden. By the time he was major political story. at the helm of the Al Instead of gaining tracQaeda, Osama’s wards tion, his publication had been brainwashed begins to go down: into believing the theory. Rocking the EstablishIn their eyes, Western ment has extracted a presence in the Middle price. Two months later, East and West Asia after the weekly’s advertising the Afghan War of the revenue dips, its investors 1980s was untenable. scurry away, and the fullFrom such a standpoint, scale magazine shrinks almost to the many aspects of Western culture size of a newsletter. became immediately bothersome. For the passionate journalist, a In the mid-1990s, the then Al great story has led to a career down- Qaeda number 2, Ayman Al-Zawahiri fall. On a burning summer morning, made many pronouncements against as he gazes plaintively at a tree out- American networks like CNN for side his empty office, he takes out his pushing through the “Western impercell-phone, on silent mode, to find 11 ial agenda”. He branded the Western missed calls from friends, and a dozen media as a work of the devil. SMSes from his famiMuzzling freely, asking him where dom and freedom’s What’s the point he is and telling him accouterments is a of reaching to turn on the TV. core function of the Why? The Delhi Paradise without radicalised. In 2008, police have rounded Dexter Filkins, a Arnab Goswami up five people—some correspondent for yelling? with links to extremLA Times and later ists across the border The New York Times, planning to assassinate him. Clearly, published his memoirs. He contrasts even in a work of political fiction, the life in Kabul during the 1990s with relationship between the media and that in the 1960s. In one chapter, he religious radicals is important. relates a meeting with an Afghani

Osama bin Laden used an American book, The Clash of Civilizations, to further his violent cause. More recently, Narendra Modi spoke extensively to an Urdu paper. The connection between right-wing propaganda and a particular language may fox learned observers, but it has its own logic

WORD WARRIORS Subramanian Swamy offered a drastic response to Islamic terror in India. Huntington (right) believes the West and the East can never reconcile their differences

Rahul Jayaram studied at Columbia University and is a freelance writer

hotel owner, who had lost his business. In the late ’60s, he says, Kabul used to have fashion shows. There wasn’t an alcoholic drink being consumed in the West his hotel didn’t stock. Kabul then was more like the Istanbul of today. With the growth of the hard-line right came the clampdown on Western music, dress and even the media. In a later episode, Filkins recalls a press conference the Taliban hold for the Western media. One of the correspondents turns out to be a white woman. Her attendance causes such annoyance that they nearly call off the meet. She is convinced by other (male) reporters to wait outside, and the meet then proceeds. In many cases, the hypocrisy of the radicalised is evident. Laden may have bashed up the Western media, but that didn’t stop him, published accounts tell us, from possessing some racy CDs in his hideout in Abbottabad. The West-hating Laden has children who have lived or studied in the United Kingdom or United States. The night before September 11, 2001, the attackers of the World Trade Center allegedly watched porn and tried bringing call-girls to their room. Strange that for ideologically driven radicals, a onenight stand is the appropriate send-off before bombarding their way to Heaven. Today, the fact that the radicalised are often educated youngsters bothers learned commentators. How can the educated be so, they ask. Fact is, you needn’t be illiterate to be attracted to extremism. You just have to overlook the contradictions of your extremist peers and heroes. For a person to picture Laden as his hero, he must forget Laden’s privileged familial lineage. For one to see Narendra Modi as his idol, he must forget the post-Godhra riots. Suspension of the rational faculty in favour of the emotive is a central requirement. It goes without saying that what has been stated about

Islamic extremism could be copypasted for the Hindu hard-line as well. A question lingers. Why did the alleged conspirators pick on two Kannada journalists over their (more influential?) counterparts in the English media? What about a national political figure like, say, Subramanium Swamy, who had troublesome words for India's largest minority community in an article in DNA last year? Swamy enumerated an agenda to wipe out Islamic terror in India, and he went to extreme lengths. What got Simha and Bhat on the terror radar and Swamy out of it? The answer perhaps lies in the actions of another purported radical. Some years ago, Narendra Modi walked out of an interview with Karan Thapar minutes after it began. Of late, he has given half-hearted interviews to Time, and less than halfhearted quotes to the Wall Street Journal. But when it came to delivering his side of the story on the riots, he chose a one-time politician and journalist in the regional press: Shahid Siddiqui in the Urdu publication Nai Duniya. And that created a furore. In such matters, does the local trump the national? Is the fact that Indian language media was a target and not English a backhanded compliment to the reach and power of the former? Britain’s Channel 4 TV station ran a documentary last year called Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields. It depicted the last gory days of the LTTE in 2009 and the horrendous treatment meted out to the country's Tamil population by Sri Lankan forces. It also gave an unflattering picture of the LTTE when it came to their treatment of Sri Lanka’s Tamils. In the east and north of that country, the LTTE not only ran a bank but also had a media network that included a television station. Clearly, numbers matter for the radicalised. What’s the point of reaching Paradise without the maximum number of cameras rolling, and Arnab Goswami yelling?

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Scandals from Washington to Delhi

-gate SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in hose who have been following the news closely know by now that ‘Coalgate’ has nothing to do with the toothpaste. In the same way, Porngate does not refer to a gate which opens into a place where porn is legally available. Then what is it with the suffix ‘gate’? The usage of gate implies that it is synonymous with a scam. These days it could mean any scam, irrespective of the magnitude. But when it was first used, it was meant to indicate an episode in American politics that had grave repercussions. The suffix owes its origin to the Watergate scandal in 1972 in the United States, which led to the ouster of that nation’s president. Watergate was the name of an office complex in Washington DC. It headquartered the Democratic

paign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, break-ins, improper tax audits and unauthorised wiretapping. The Washington Post carried a spate of articles on the investigations and attributed them to an anonymous source they called Deep Throat. After two years of investigation, Nixon and his aides were implicated. Nixon resigned in August 1974, the only US president to resign from office. From then on the suffix gate has been appended to National Committee. The then president Richard Nixon scams and scandals. It was was running for re-election. The used by the National Republican Party’s committee to re-elect Lampoon magazine in 1973 W the president had hired five men to break for a satirical story about an into the Democratic Party office in the imagined Russian scandal, Watergate complex. These men were which the writer called Volgagate. Nixon’s former speech writer William arrested and indicted for conspiracy, burglary and violation of federal wiretapping Safire is said to have popularised the use of laws. This proved to be just the beginning -gate. Safire was also a New York Times of the exposure of Nixon’s illegal acts, columnist, grammarian and lexicographer, which eventually cost him his presidency. and used the suffix indiscriminately in his In the elections, Nixon defeated his columns for all scandals large and frivoDemocratic opponent George McGovern lous. Some suspect that in doing so, Safire to return to power, but the investigations wanted to make all scandals sound as big as Watergate. In the process, he aimed at that followed the Watergate break-in restoring Nixon’s image. His earlipulled him down. It was revealed est use of -gate was in 1974 that Nixon’s staff had commisThe Talk when he wrote of Vietgate, a sioned and executed illegal column on proposed pardon of the acts, and were guilty of camword origins

Watergate criminals and Vietnam War draft dodgers. In a 1996 magazine piece, Noam Cohen assembled 20 -gates coined by Safire. Cohen wrote that Safire might have been “rehabilitating Nixon by relentlessly tarring his successors with the same rhetorical brush—diminished guilt by association.” Writer and journalist Eric Alterman in his book Sound and Fury: The Making of Punditocracy, claims that Safire admitted to him to the intention of popularising gate. As Alterman puts it, “Psychologically, he may have been seeking to minimise the relative importance of the crimes committed by his former boss with this silliness.” Without doubt, Safire has succeeded. Nearly 40 years later, in India we continue to use -gate as shorthand for political scandals: Porngate for the incident where Karnataka MLAs were caught on camera watching sex videos while the assembly was in session. We also use it for scandals of bigger magnitude like with Coalgate, where a Comptroller and Auditor-General report has blamed the UPA government for not auctioning coal and causing losses of up to Rs 10.7 lakh crore to the exchequer.

K E Y

O R D S

media and terror

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

‘Don’t know why we’re targets’ Vishweshwar Bhat and Pratap Simha on their journalism, and how it feels to find themselves in the terror crosshairs. Interviews by Prashanth G N

Why do you think you have been targeted? Vishweshwar Bhat: I am surprised. I have not written articles that would create communal disturbance. I have been in journalism for 20 years and I believe only in objectivity, secularism, and social unity. I don’t know why I am a target of terror. Pratap Simha: There may be people within certain other religions who don’t believe in tolerance, a multi-cultural society or democracy. For them the community comes first and then the nation. I am an admirer of Modi, which may be another reason. All people who like Modi are hated. Why? There is lot of hate mail against Amitabh Bachchan for being brand ambassador of Gujarat and against Ajay Devgn for interviewing Modi. Why? I have very good Muslim friends. But what do we do with fundamentalist elements? Such elements exist in all communities.

ADMIRERS Kannada Prabha editor-in-chief Vishweshwar Bhat (left) and columnist Pratap Simha (far right) say they are ‘inspired’ by Gujarat CM Narendra Modi

prove it in any article, I will accept it. I have never written against any religion. Whatever I have written is the truth. I criticise all communities. Three or four months ago, I made a scathing attack on the head of the Pejawar mutt (in Udupi). Some Brahmins came out against me; they even burnt my effigy. I have criticised the Sri Rama Sene, too. I am not a member of the BJP. I have attacked Vajpayee, though I like many of his policies, and Yeddyurappa and even Sadananda Gowda.

a couple of times. Outlook and The Week have also written about Modi. Journalists like Chandan Mitra, Kanchan Gupta, Sudhindra Kulkarni and Swapan Das Gupta have all interacted with Modi. Ratan Tata and Lakshmi Mittal have praised Modi, and Amitabh Bachchan is even the brand ambassador for Gujarat. I am not the first and last person to have met him. So why only target me? Modi is a nationalist and favours development. His work over the last nine years speaks for him. His ideology is very clear, and he has spelt it out—he wants to treat all communities and people equally. PS: I admire him for his honesty, integrity, and concern for the common man, and for standing up to this convictions. He is not anti-minority or anti-Muslim. He has done a wonderful job in Gujarat. Modi derives inspiration from Vivekananda and Vivekananda is my role model. You could say that I am the first biographer of Modi. The book, Narendra Modi: The Untrodden Path (translated title from Kannada) was released by Arun Jaitley the same year. I met Modi in Bangalore at the Leela Palace when he had come for the BJP national executive in 2008. That was the first and last time I met him. I am not in touch with him anymore, though he knows me very well.

They say you published inflam matory articles. VB: No. Accusations have been made against columnist Prathap Simha,, Some people allege that Vijaya too. But tell me, isn’t it fair that a pen Karnataka turned into a communal gets its answer from a pen and not paper when you were its editor. from a gun? Prathap’s writing is sub- VB: When I was there, it became ject to scrutiny. Everybody can ques- number 1. If it had been a communal tion it. If what he paper, would it has written is have become so wrong, people can popular? Even now ‘Isn’t it fair that a it is number 1. I say that. Write to pen should get an have not written a the paper and we will publish that. He single inflammatoanswer from a is not right-wing, pen, and not from ry article in my life but right. He is a nor have I pubthe gun?’ ‘rightist’ because he lished any. I am an writes what is right. author of 48 books. Is being patriotic a All of them are communal act? Prathap has also writ- available in the open. There isn’t one ten a book on Mohammed Ali Jinnah. that deals with ideology. He has appreciated Jinnah. PS: Look at all the articles I have writ- What do you think of Gujarat chief ten since 2007 and I dare you to show minister Narendra Modi? me even one against Muslims, VB: I am a professional journalist and Christians and Hindus. If you can I meet many people. I have met Modi What do you have to say about the

2002 Gujarat riots? VB: I don’t support communal conflicts. The riots were wrong. It should not have happened. PS: The riots should not have happened. But why were the kar sevaks burnt? Hindus never act, they only react. If you are a chief minister with no experience of being a ruler, how can you control the riots? Kumaraswamy had experience as chief minister and his father’s prime ministerial experience, but why couldn’t he control the violence during Rajkumar’s last journey? There were deaths then. Yes, Modi may have made a mistake, but it is a mistake that came out of inexperience. Over 200 Hindus died in the riots in police firing. Why is no one talking about that? Why is the focus only on Muslim deaths? If BJP is anti-minority and anti-Muslim, the Congress is anti-Hindu. If you blame the BJP, please blame the Congress also. Do you believe in Hindutva? VB: Never has it been said anywhere that Hindutva is anti-Muslim. Being pro-Hindutva doesn’t automatically mean being anti-Muslim or antiIslam. Hindutva preaches love of the nation, not just love of Hindus. Is loving the nation, is being patriotic, an anti-national act? (This is a combined transcript of two separate interviews)

media and terror

THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE GROUP have written about how, fundamentally, “membership (in a group) is important, and the prosperity of the group’s culture is important.” Why is the group so important to our identity? “Our identity depends on criteria of belonging rather than criteria of accomplishment,” note Margalit and Raz, emphaSRIDHAR CHARI sising the ‘effortless belonging’ that comes sridhar.chari@talkmag.in with identification with your ethnic or religious group. After all, that is yours by right. Sure, belonging to a ‘club’ of elite surith the uncovering of a possible terror plot to kill geons, say, is a powerful and important two Kannada journalists source of identity and belonging. But it is and a newspaper propri- based on accomplishment and achieveetor, Bangalore finds itself ment, and does not give you, perhaps, the ready comfort of belonging to an ethnic asking several questions. One is about the details of the story, group. And when those options of ‘secular’ particularly as central and city police have achievement are constrained, we presumbeen speaking in different voices. Another ably rely even more on ‘by-right’ memberis about the nature of democratic discourse, ship of religion and ethnicity. Others have thought differently. James particularly in the media. Coming so soon after the panic exodus of North-Easterners, Waldron, another contributor to the rich who feared attacks from Muslims, the sen- literature on this subject, prefers the “sheer sational developments of this week again existence and vitality of the cosmopolitan bring the focus on the relationship between alternative.” Even as he acknowledges that communities in a multi-religious, multi- people are not the “self-made atoms of liberal fantasy,” he emphasisethnic society. es that neither are we One of the things “exclusively products or Talk wondered was, have Discourse that artefacts of national or the voices of both the discounts the ethnic communities.” For Left and Right squeezed religious has him, we need ‘cultural out the liberal-humanismeanings, but not homogtic voice, by seeing it as a created a space enous frameworks… culcompromised, fence-sitfor the radical ture but not cultural ting position that fails to integrity.” address the seriousness In any case, we are all and complexities of an wary, and with good reason, of ethnic idenasymmetric, multi-cultural existence? Then there is the role of the written or tification, as it seems to slip so easily into spoken word, the emotional rhetoric, the extremism. It unfortunately seems only a theoretical construct, that can so easily be short step away from ‘these are the virtues channelled to rouse extreme passions. How of my group,’ to ‘these should be your is the role and reach of the ‘regional’ media virtues too, as my group is the best.’ We fordifferent from that of the ‘national’ or get that groups matter because individuals matter, and the only value of the group is ‘international’ media? Ideas, ideologies, communities and what it can give the individual. But perhaps, having delegitimised the identities clearly matter to us. And they are more powerful than we think, and cannot currency of linguistic, religious and ethnic be wished away. Clearly, individual free- identity in progressive discourse, we have dom—to be, to do, and to achieve, matters. also unfortunately created a space for radiModern society and progress is predi- cal ideology of all hues, both reactive and cated on such individual freedom, but the proactive, which draws its power from funcollective is never far away. So, scholars damental currencies but preys instead on have wondered, what is the role and attrac- our deepest insecurities. When the right to tion of the ‘group,’ and how does it exercise belong is challenged at a fundamental level, such a powerful hold on our imagination? the emotions of even the most educated, Avishai Margalit and Joseph Raz, two the most rational can be triggered—and social science researchers, for example, this applies to all segments of society today.

Cosmopolitan Bangalore is confronting questions about identity, belonging, and fundamentalism

FRIDAY UPDATE Police have arrested 14 suspects so far, and are interrogating them at undisclosed locations in Bangalore. Those arrested include a journalist and a doctor. Central Crime Branch DIG B Dayanand and DCP Krishnamraju are questioning the terror suspects from 11 am to 5 pm every day. Talk spoke to Union Home Secretary R K Singh, who again said some of those arrested had links with international terror networks LeT and HUJI. -Bhanu Prakash E S

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

RAMESH HUNSUR

Beware the right-wingers’ false anxiety

Nataraj Huliyar Well-known Kannada writer

G Ramakrishna, writer and editor of the leftleaning Kannada magazine Hosatu, on how to respond to inflammatory writing

Journalists need to speak in a voice that is not partisan, but that doesn’t mean they should avoid discussing religious issues

hile I strongly condemn the terrorist plot against journalists in Karnataka, this is also a time to look at partisan representation in the media. It is apparent that national, regional and local print dailies from small towns lack self-restraint when it comes to sensitive issues. Some television channels are worse. A decade ago, readers would snigger at sanitised reports that said, ‘People of a community attacked a place of worship belonging to another community’. As I read more graphic reports today, I feel such bland reporting had some value. Till the ugly rise of communalism in the 1990s, journalists used to be more or less moderate. But with the infiltration of rightist ideologues in the media, the language of reporting has changed. We often see reports that try to incite moderate read- place before today’s journalist a model of writing P Lankesh developed and practised. ers and viewers. Lankesh, one of the greatest modern Some on the news desk seem to derive pleasure from giving mischievous headlines. Kannada writers and editor of Lankesh Writing about Pakistan or even reporting a Patrike, ran his weekly tabloid successfully cricket match between India and Pakistan is for two decades, from 1980 to 2000, without construed as war. Some papers equate advertisements. While he could be critical Pakistan with Muslims in India. Terms like of almost all sections of society, sensible ‘anti-national’ and ‘traitor’ are used at will. people would understand his intentions, Reporters and analysts often lack and accept his criticism. Lankesh would objectivity: all said and done, their job is to scream, tease, and cajole like a mother, having picked up the last of state facts and exercise those techniques from restraint in their use of Gandhiji’s journalism. language. Journalists P Lankesh (pic on Even when he sharply sometimes go to the right) evolved a criticised swamis and extent of insulting vicmullahs, their followers tims. When political parmodel of secular accepted the spirit in ties play ugly games for journalistic which he spoke. electoral benefits, they writing For Lankesh, secularrope journalists in. ism also meant being Invoking prejudice is easy, slightly partial to the dalbut helping people transcend it is the only true way in journalism. It its, minorities and women, because they is also a journalist’s duty to bridge the gap were oppressed. But he would be unsparing between communities suspicious of one when individuals or groups from among them turned anti-social. When he criticised another. While an excellent tradition of secular dalit leaders and dalit intellectuals, they representation exists in both Kannada and would treat it as well-meaning advice. He English journalism in Karnataka, I would would hit out at the corrupt, but when he

A question of tone found that his comabative tone was being seen as merely rhetorical, he changed it. His prose turned introspective and had a soothing effect on readers who would be inspired to think of the larger interests of society. How did Lankesh achieve this? Having followed his writing closely for decades, I believe he was secular by nature and had no axe to grind when he addressed sensitive issues. He refrained from taking populist positions to please the masses, especially when it came to communal and caste issues. He was able to speak bitter truths like a true philosopher. Not that his criticism was always taken sportingly. When he wrote an article exposing Vatal Nagaraj, the Kannada activist, some goons pounced on him and assaulted him at a public event. The incident sparked protests against Vatal throughout Karnataka. But Vatal realised later that a society needs someone who could be objective and critical like Lankesh. Vatal was the lone voice that defended Lankesh in the Karnataka legislative assembly when corrupt ministers and legislators

argued for his impeachment and punishment. The context: Lankesh had been in the dock for publishing an article on women legislators by one of his correspondents. The incident shows the power of healthy criticism that transforms even those criticised. Today’s journalists should take a leaf from Lankesh’s journalism while addressing social issues, especially those relating to the nervous minority communities who face prejudice every day. Any constructive criticism should aim at changing the criticised. In some newspapers, it is a practice to attack the minorities while discussing ‘terrorists’. Fortunately, sane voices remain in the media. May their tribe increase. At the same time, it is the duty of secular intellectuals to correct the attitude of the minorities who are often upset even by the slightest constructive criticism. Writers and intellectuals who use the written and spoken word every day shouldn’t abuse it. They should correct popular taste, not corrupt it.

Writings that propagate ultra-conservative viewpoints have emerged in Kannada media in the last five years. It is a recent phenomenon. While writers may not directly say that minorities should be hurt, killed or ill-treated, they take a slant. Such articles are not readable and I don’t propose to read them as I am aware of their drift. After reading a few of Prathap Simha’s articles, I gave up. Recently, I came across an article in a Kannada newspaper that said India was not progressing because its currency had Mahatma Gandhi’s photo on it, and that it would progress if Goddess Mahalakshmi’s representation replaced his. Is this serious writing and thinking? The sense of persecution in a majority culture is misplaced. It prompts people to write things that project a false anxiety, and that a minority community or culture is at the root of it. Why? To get power, and gain political mileage. No culture is so fragile as to collapse. But some writers project this outlook, dividing society. And having said that, just because you don’t agree with some writings, it’s not correct to say you will kill the writer. How do you address this? First, talk—understand the difference between milk and poison, good feeling and ill feeling. Even If I don’t like what Prathap Simha writes, I will offer him a cup of coffee if he comes home. I believe media houses have never pulled up such writers for espousing disturbing views. They have to watch out. Media should also evolve a self-regulatory system. When an article is written against an individual, recourse to a defamation suit is possible, but when an article goes against an entire community, how do you fight it? Majority fundamentalism can create the atmosphere for minority fundamentalism to flourish. The state often gives awards and legitimises right-wing writers. What trust do you foster in minorities then? Again, all this doesn’t mean I kill someone who writes things I don’t like. Adopt liberal, democratic, constitutional methods to express disagreement with rightwingers. Looking at history to understand how culture has changed is the antidote to fundamentalism. Science, reason and history have to overwhelm the inflammatory approach to culture. (As told to Prashanth G N)

media and terror

Cosmopolitan Bangalore is confronting questions about identity, belonging, and fundamentalism

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

RAMESH HUNSUR

Beware the right-wingers’ false anxiety

Nataraj Huliyar Well-known Kannada writer

G Ramakrishna, writer and editor of the leftleaning Kannada magazine Hosatu, on how to respond to inflammatory writing

Journalists need to speak in a voice that is not partisan, but that doesn’t mean they should avoid discussing religious issues

help on air

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Hello, RJ?

I’m so depressed... Late night radio shows dispensing love and life advice are attracting listeners in huge numbers, report Sandra Fernandes and Maria Lavina ove advice on radio is now a rage in Bangalore. FM channels invite listeners to pour their hearts out to radio jockeys who dispense relationship advice. Heartline on Radio Indigo 91.9, a daily show in English, helps listeners with advice from a professional psychiatrist and relationship expert. Listeners can opt to use their names, but what makes such shows popular is the anonymity it offers. Callers don’t mind opening up to the RJ, and sometimes develop friendships that go beyond phone calls. “It is surprising, but people talk about intimate and private issues on air. That could be because young people don’t have too many places where they can confide and get trustworthy advice,” says Sophia Purushothaman, producer, Heartline. Call-in radio shows have proved successful around the world, as they not only help listeners understand relationship patterns but also provide broad pointers to what they could do if they find themselves in knotty relationships. ‘Big Coffee’ on Big FM 92.7 has Kannada actor and director Ramesh Arvind sitting with RJ Shruthi and talking to listeners in distress. A caller once told Shruthi she was unemployed though she was well educated, and wanted to take her life. “I took her out for coffee. After she told me all her woes, I consoled her and advised her not to take such a drastic step. Now she

FM LIFELINE (Right) RJs Shruthi and Anjaan have run agony-aunt radio shows. Dr Shyam Bhat, one of the few professional counsellors on radio

FICTION CONTEST

The Talk Short Fiction Contest, which we announced two months ago, has received nearly a hundred entries, from all over India and even abroad. As you may be aware, we had to extend the deadline by 10 days (to August 31) on popular demand. Thank you for your stories. The contest is now closed. We are delighted and overwhelmed by the response, and are forwarding your stories for judging. Watch out for updates. You can expect to read some compelling fiction on these pages soon.

holds a good position, takes care of her family. She continues to be in touch with me,” recalls Shruthi. Although there are no statistics to show how many people really benefit from such counselling, the popularity of such shows is on the rise. But is it legally all right for RJs to fill in the shoes of counsellors? Byatha N Jagadeesh, advocate, believes it is. “RJs advising their listeners does not ality and mood analysis of the person amount to any breach of law. They take who is asking the question - the same a role similar to friends and relatives,” question will have different answers, he told Talk. RJ’s talking on air does not depending on the caller’s question and unique personality. Answers will also legally constitute counselling either. Suicidal listeners often call RJs. RJ have to help the caller by using voice Pradeep of ‘Savi Savi Nenapu’ (Sweet tonality, and pacing.” The RJs cannot forget cases with memories) on Red FM says he has saved happy endings. RJ the lives of some lisPradeep played a teners. “A man called mediator and me on air after conMost RJs talk to brought together a suming poison, callers and ‘prep’ mother and four sons saying I was the last them before after 25 long years. person he wanted to Some callers tell talk to. I immediately taking them live Sophia things are rushed to his house on air better thanks to and got him admitadvice from the psyted in a hospital,” he recalls. After the story went on air, chologist on her channel. It is generally assumed night many listeners paid the suicidal listener shows are low on listenership. But the a hospital visit, he says. RJ Anjaan, who used run a show as numbers claimed by the stations are Doctor Anjaan on Radio One, is more huge. Pradeep says his channel gets a cautious. “Being a certified youth coun- few hundred calls for its three-hour sellor, I help listeners with minor relationship advice show in Kannada. problems, but in extreme cases, I make Only a few of them get to be on air; the sure they get professional help,” he says. rest are advised off air. Heartline gives Anjaan reveals that most RJs who run out more modest average of 27 calls counselling shows choose callers whose per hour-long show, of which seven problems can be solved. They talk to are aired. Not everyone is convinced the callers and ‘prep’ them before they are taken on air. More often than not, RJs shows are genuine. “I feel we cannot will (or rather, should) refer the more share our feelings with a complete serious problems to professionals and stranger, when there are thousands listening to us out there,” says Renjith P not aim to solve them, he insists. Sophia agrees it is very important George, a student. But Leandra Lobo, a to have a qualified person giving advice student and an avid listener of on this type of show. “We get calls from Heartline, connects with the show. “I people who have very serious issues, for understand what the callers are going example, people who have turned suici- through and try to use some of the dal because of a break-up or family advice in my life,” she says. Radio counselling provides interissues. Hence we have a psychiatrist, Dr Shyam Bhat, who counsels our callers. esting stories for filmmakers. Musange His co-host, TJ, does not give her own Maatu (Twilight talk), a Kannada film advice, unless it is based on her person- starring Sudeep, was inspired by Pradeep’s show Savi Savi Nenapu. It al experience,” she explains. When Talk spoke to Dr Bhat, this told the story of how an RJ helps listenis how he described his method: “When ers in distress. The incidents in the I answer questions, I first do a person- movie are taken from Pradeep’s show.

movie talk

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

From Chennai, with lavvu Those arguing for finer, more realistic films just don’t get what the Indian Movie Experience is all about, or why Mumbai is now producing so many southern remakes wise man once said, “Tamil film makers don’t do different things, they do things differently”. Okay, so I may have taken a little columnist’s license with that particular proverb there, but that’s what it is. The difference isn’t much, really, but the notion that Hindi and Tamil movies are as different as chalk and Chihuahuas has been on the rise this past decade and led to the rise of quite a few stereotypes. The most popular stereotype that people have been tricked into is that all Tamil films are essentially Rajnikanth saving humanity from all kinds of evil while defying every law that Newton took the trouble of coming up with. This is total and complete nonsense. For starters, Rajnikanth films take at least three years per release. Anyway, it’s simple enough, all super hit Indian movies up to the early 1990s had pretty much the same formula. Then, Bollywood changed course while South Indian Cinema didn’t. So today, the ‘formula’ part of the Bollywood ‘formula’ movie involves a story (or something like it), which is embellished with an impossibly good-looking star cast, lots of Manish Malhotra and a dance number with a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan. Add an ‘item number’ which features the latest ‘it girl’ and air it as a ‘promo’ a couple of months before the actual movie

LIKE THIS ONLY 1 & 2: Superhit Singam’s Hindi and Tamil posters. 2 & 4: Rajnikanth in Baasha and Yendiran

Lavanya Mohan Chartered accountant, blogger and movie buff

releases and voila, empty hype! I mean, formula complete. Now, the Bollywood story almost always involves a value, such as family, friendship, love and the like. Tamil formula movies, on the other hand, thrive on old-school. The hero is the story, the Manish Malhotra, the dance number with the special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan, hell, he’s even the Amitabh Bachchan of that number. Tamil cinema takes the term ‘hero’ very seriously. The story is never about friendship or family per se, but his family, his friendship, his love, and his occasional association with the local goons. The truth is, it doesn’t take much for a formula movie to do well in the south. Take the super-hitbeyond-human-comprehension, Baasha. This was not just the movie that elevated Rajnikanth’s status from superstar to demi god, but also the only Tamil film (that I know of) which had a flashback within a flashback. (I wouldn’t be surprised if it ever comes out that it was Baasha that inspired Nolan to make Inception). I have watched this movie about 25 times and enjoyed myself thoroughly about twenty-four times. The exception was the time I tried to apply logic to the story, and my brain fried itself in the process, because there is none whatsoever. None. Nil. In fact, it defies anything and everything that logic stands for. However, nobody really cared, and truth be told, no one cares even today, even with our newfound penchant for ‘better’ films and such, because it’s so entertaining. The Tamil cinema audience is really easy to please. All that we really care for is a tight storyline, fast screenplay and a convincing star cast,

and we’ll lap it up, logic be damned. A lot of filmmakers forget that the primary purpose most people even watch movies in the first place, is to be entertained—we want to be thrilled, we want to pick sides, we want to cheer for the leads and then come out of the theatre feeling good. That Bollywood is now remaking Tamil movies, or making Tamil-style masala movies (like Dabangg) is just proof that there is no school like the old school. However, it is important that Bollywood film makers pick the right movies and stick to the original screenplay. Singam was a wildly successful movie in the south because of its racy, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it screenplay and incredibly simple story line, but the remake was a total disappointment because of a couple of unnecessary twists that the remake team introduced.

I don’t think it matters whether people make or remake masala movies, just as long as they are done right, because when they are, they are so much fun. Masala movies are the epitome of the Indian Movie Experience. I know quite a few people who argue the cause of finer film making in India, with more realistic subjects, honest emotions and matter-of-fact endings. Personally, I am against that cause. When I watch a movie, I want to be told that the impossible is possible and that there is no such thing as too much ambition. I want to be told that there are police officers who stop at nothing to uphold the law. I want to see bad guys go down for whatever they did and I want to see everyone getting their happily-ever-after. Cinema, to me, is escape. Besides, if I wanted to watch something ‘real’, I wouldn’t watch a movie. I’d watch the news.

L I S T I NGS nightlife

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

art Â Mould your own Ganesha: For all those whose want their Ganesh Chaturthi to be eco-friendly and don't mind getting your hands dirty, here is the opportunity to mould your own idol. Head out to this workshop and celebrate Ganesh Chaturti the ecofriendly way. Culture Trails, #71 Sona Towers, Millers Road, September 9 9611118939

Â Friday night live: Groove to DJ Sameer Zaine’s tunes at Lush, as he churns out a mix of R&B, hip hop, electro house and more. Put on your dancing shoes and groove to some mixed music. Eclipse, Level 2, 23, Kodihalli, Airport Road, September 7, 8.30 pm onwards 9986762602 Â Goan beats in city: Let your hair loose as you dance to the tunes of DJ Benson and DJ Starling this weekend. Watch them play their brand of electronic dance music and bring their Goan vibe to the city’s party

goers. Pebble, Ramanamaharishi Road, Sadashivnagar, September 8, 7 pm onwards 9986458021 Â Style is here: Head this weekend to watch Swedish DJ/ producer Style of Eye aka Linus live. His style is a mix of Chicago house and modern European electronic sounds. He has performed at Amnesia, Peace and Love festival, Creamfields and more.

Â Photography put to use: Artist Vijith Pillai’s works will be on display this weekend in the exhibition By Lombok Moonlight. His paintings are drawn from his own photography. Vijith Pillai has taken inspiration from jewellery designer Pallavi Foley’s works. Sublime Galleria, UB City, Vittal Mallaya Raod, till September 10 9900948122

Â Paintings in the city: Babu Eshwar Prasad, Murali Cheeroth and Ravi Kumar Kashi’s recent works will be on display this weekend. So head out to witness their work in oil paintings, mixed media works, water colours and more. Gallery Five Forty Five, 6th main, 4th cross, HAL 2nd stage, till September 14 9886117375 Â Indian lives in pictures: Head to the photography exhibition 37 Indian still lives by Tasveer which will display the works of artists such as Adil Hasan, Amit Mehra, Amit Pasricha, Anna Fox, Annu Matthew, Anuj Ambalal, Arun Nangla and more. Their works represent their interpretations of still life. Cinnamon, #11 Walton Road, off Lavelle Road, till September 14 40535212

Eclipse, Level 2, 23, Kodihalli, Airport Road, September 8, 8 pm onwards 9986762602

Â Rocking Fridays: Catch Girish Pradhan, lead vocalist of Girish and the Chronicles, live this weekend. He will be performing a mix of classic rock hits, a few original tunes and some cover tunes of Guns n Roses, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd to name a few. Accompanying him will be Bangalore’s popular group Retronome. bFlat, 100ft road, Indiranagar, September 7, 8.30 pm 25278361

43001000

Â Saxophone magic: Fusion Dreams, an IndoJazz contemporary fusion concert will be part of the Bangalore International Arts Festival. Jyotsna Srikanth on Violin & Marten Wisser on saxophone will perform. UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, September 8, 7 pm 22711488 Â Boogie to boogie men: Watch Tommy Smith along with Babu Joseph, Paul Santiago and friends perform live this weekend. Enjoy a mix of old blues, country and jazz sounds from the two varied bands. bFlat, 100ft road, Indiranagar, September 8, 8 pm 25278361

retail therapy Â Binging from the backwaters: Enjoy a spread of dishes at the Kerala food festival where you can taste more than 20 different curries. The theme of the food festival is authentic Kerala style. Enjoy this buffet with drinks. Aromas of South, 37th Crescent hotel, till September 9 40373737

Â Bring out the chef in you: Get a chance to customize your platter as Kaati Zone lets you put together a combo. The combos on offer are mixed veg combo, chilly paneer combo, chicken tikka combo and Szechuan chicken combo. Prices start at Rs 115. Available at all Kaati Zone outlets, www.kaatizone.com

music

Â Music from Switzerland: Watch Rahel Senn, Switzerland’s young music composer perform live in the city and treat music lovers with his sound. Movenpick Hotel & Spa, 115, Mathikere, Gokula Extension, September 8, 7.30 pm

food

Â Eat like the Punjabis do: Savour traditional Punjabi dishes such as tandoori kukkar, raara ghosht, pindi chole and more. Enjoy this lunch buffet on all days. Prices start at Rs 350 plus taxes on weekdays and Rs 399 plus taxes on weekends per head. Tattv, 1st floor, 25/4, Lavelle Road, till September 9 41552225

Â Tea time treat: Want to learn those perfect scones or cookies turn out? Head to this Cooking demo this weekend and learn to prepare tea time snacks such as sandwiches, scones, cookies and more. At Rs 700 plus taxes snacks will be served during the class. Toscano, 2nd floor, Whitefield, September 11, 10.30 am 259339224 Â Something fishy in town: Enjoy a delicious spread of sea food such as pomfret mooch bhajaa, bangda fry, barbequed skewered fish, sarsoon bata mach and more at the Only Fish festival.

Take your pick from rice, sanna, rice, appam or parathas as accompaniment. The Lalit Ashok, Kumara Krupa Road, High Grounds, till September 10 30527777 Â Chettinad flavours for your tastebuds: This weekend indulge in authentic Chettinad dishes such as mutton vellai korma, kozhi melagu curry, chicken kozhi kara kolumbu, pepper chicken fry, Chettinad meen curry, meen pal curry and more. Prices start at Rs 375 plus taxes on weekdays and Rs 425 on weekends. Isys, The President Hotel, Jayanagar, till September 9 41808777

Â Craftsmen’s paradise: Dastkar is back with the 9th Bangalore Nature Bazaar. This weekend enjoy the varieties of handloom, craft, jewellry and household items on display. Choose from footwear, apparel, wood carving products and more. E-Zone Club, 23/24 Outer Ring Road, Chinnapanahalli, near Marathahalli bridge, till September 9 Â Stylise your wardrobe: The colours white and black just got more stylish with Ashish Soni's collection ‘Retrospective’. Check out his creations and add a hint of glamour to your wardrobe. Evoluzione, # 14 Vittal Mallaya Road, Embassy Classics 41121088

Â Open the box of secrets: This weekend browse through products by Pandora’s box from South East Asia. Decorate and style your house with products from Bali, Hanoi and Thailand. These products are created by local craftsmen of the region. Lakeview, Varthur/ Whitefield Road, Ramagondanahalli, Whitefield, September 7 to 9 9845087716

Â Your feet will be happy: Vans introduces its new footwear ‘Vans LXVI’ for comfortable daily wear and sporting activities. Available in grey, black and light blue, the prices start at Rs 6,299. Available in Phoenix Market City and Forum Mall Â Denims with a difference: Check out a whole new range of denims with embellishments and embroidery and other add ons. Choose from the rugged jeans or washed pair and brands such as True Religion, Armani, Robin's jeans and more. The Collective, 40, Vittal Mallaya Road, till September 15 67678888 Â Dress your kids: Get up to 50 per cent discount on kids’ apparel. Let your kids reflect the festive hues as well. Safina Plaza, 84/85, Infantry Road, till September 9 25598882

L I S T I NGS

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

film

concert 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, Govardhan- 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30

Â Raaz 3 Hindi Third in line in the Raaz franchise, this horror movie is about the rise and fall of a movie star (Bipasha Basu) and how she turns to black magic to sabotage a new actor's (Esha Gupta) career. Esha Gupta uses Emraan Hashmi to turn against Bipasha Basu. Things go wrong as Emraan falls in love with Esha and they fight the evil forces around them. The movie is directed by Vikram Bhatt. (3D)- Innovative Multiplex, Marathalli- 10.45 am, 1.30 pm, 4.15, 7, 9.45, Rex Theatre11.15 am , 1.50 pm, 4.30, 7.10, 9.50, Lakshmi Theatre, Tavarkere- 10 am, 1.15 pm, 5, 7.45, Urvashi Digitak 4K- 11 am, 2.30pm, 6, 9.30, Mukunda theatre- 4.30 pm, 7, 9.30

(2D)- Eshwari Cinema, Banashankri- 11.15 am, 2.30 pm, 6.15, 9.15 Â Rambo Kannada Rambo is the story of a car salesman who forces owners to sell their cars. He lands himself in trouble for his car deals. Directed by M S Sreenath, the movie stars Sharan and Madhuri in the lead. INOX, Malleswaram- 10 am, 3.45 pm, 6.35, Triveni10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, PVR Cinemas, Koramangala10.15 am, 1 pm, 6.35 pm, Veeresh- 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, Nandini- 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, Nalanda10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, Siddeshwara- 10.30am, 1.30 pm, 4.30, 7.30, Maruthi-

comic con Â Comic lovers rejoice In a first of a kind get-together of comic lovers in the city and outside, The Indian Comics Convention or Comic Con Express as its travelling version is commonly referred to, is here. Talk gives you a selection of events as part of this two-day festival that you just can’t miss. Soak up some pop culture and return enlightened. Koramangala Stadium, www.comiconindia.com Day 1 September 8, 11.45 am Catch the launch of the Indian Comic Journal with fellow comic folk. Contributors include the likes of Wendell Rodericks and Farzana Contractor. September 8, 6.30 pm Chennai-based rock act Duality performs a themebased show for you. Day 2 September 9, 12.30 pm City-based Campfire Graphic novels will launch a biography Steve Jobs: Genius By Design during this session. September 9, 2 pm Bangalore-based writer

Â To Rome with Love English Set against a backdrop of Rome, the movie is about an architect (Alec Baldwin) who is reliving his youth, and a middle class man (Roberto Benigni), who finds himself in this beautiful city as a celebrity, a couple who have separate romantic encounters and an opera director (Woody Allen). Directed by Woody Allen, this romantic comedy stars Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, and Jesse Eisenberg in the lead. INOX, Malleswaram12 pm, 10, PVR Cinemas, Koramangala- 12.35 pm, 4.50, 9.50

SÉBASTIEN PAQUET

the industry. The movie is directed by Pritish Chakraboty and stars Rahil Tandon, Bhavna Ruparel. PVR Cinemas, Koramangala3.30 pm, Innovative Multiplex, Marathahalli- 11 am

Â Chal Pichchur Banate Hain Hindi The movie is the journey of Suraj (Rahil Tandon) who quits his job to become a filmmaker. He has a wellpaid job and an offer in the UK, but he follows his heart and tries his hand at film-making. His family is shocked at his decision and quickly disowns him. Life for him is not easy as he struggles a lot in

Â Make way for the Twisted Transistor: Winner of two Grammys and leaders of nu-metal, Korn is all set to enthrall the crowd in city. Performing for the first time in India, they are here to promote their latest album The Path of Totality. Having sold over 35 million records, they as a part of ‘The Path of Totality’ have collaborated with Skrillex, Noisia, Excision and 12th planet. Some of their most popular numbers are Freak on a leash, Here to stay and Twisted transistor. The debuted as a band in the year 1994 with a selftitled and have come a long way since. Clark’s Exotica, Swiss Town, Hollywood junction, Devanahalli road, Sadahalli, September 9, 4 pm 9611191151

theatre Samhita Arni talks about the making of her acclaimed graphic novel Sita’s Ramayana. Day 2 September 9, 5.30 pm Head to this panel discussion titled From Comics to Cartoons. An exclusive at the festival, the dicussion will feature Kushal Ruia (Head, ACK Animation), Biren Ghose (Country Head, Technicolor India), Rudra Matsa (Creator, P5: Pandavas On Disney XD), Nishith Takia (Executive Produce, Delhi Safari) who will talk about the comic industry in the country.

Written and directed by Chaitanya and starring Abhishek Varma, Aaron Punnen, Julius & Shruthi Raju, the play is all set to tickle your funny bone. Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, 16 G M T Road, Vasanthnagar, September 9 41231340

Â Vanity through theatre: The story of a Kannada poet, Vanity Bag is a production of Sanchari Theatre. Her poetry brings out the aspects of womanhood and the life of a woman. The play unravels numerous episodes from her poetry and searches the insights of the inner self of women through the metaphor of the vanity bag. Directed by Mangala N, this Kannada play gives a glimpse of a creative woman’s world. Tickets are Rs 100. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8TH Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, September 8, 7.30 pm 26592777 Â Love, Sex and Mocha: Love, Sex and Mocha is a romantic comedy that is a mix of poetry and theatre. It is a take on modern-day chick flicks. This play takes a look at problems that every man in the audience can relate to.

Â Aadab Manto Saheb: Watch a collection of short stories written by Saadat Hasan Manto in museum theatre form at Aadab Manto Saheb this weekend. Directed by Kamal Pruthi, the play will be in Hindi and Urdu. Stories such as Toba Tek Singh, Khabardar (Beware), Karamat (The wonder), Ghate ke Sauda (A bad deal) and more will be performed. Atta Galatta, 75, 2nd main, 1st Block, Koramangala, September 8, 6 pm 30181626 Â Hayavadana: Directed by B V Karanth, written by Girish Karnad and inspired by Thomas Mann's The Transposed Heads, the Kannada play explores an individual’s search for completeness. The play revolves around the complicated relationships of Padmini, Devdatta and Kapila and brings out different facets such as memory, death and

love. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8TH Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, September 9, 7.30 pm 26592777 Â Chitrapata: Staged by the well-known troupe Spandana, Kannada play Chitrapata is directed by B Jayashree and features the likes of poets Helevanakatte Giriamma and H S Venkateshmurthy in different roles. The play is inspired by the original folk story Chitrapata Ramayana. The scenes from Ramayana are reconstructed to create an original piece on stage. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8TH Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, Septemper 10, 11 and 12, 7.30 pm 26592777 Lakshapati Rajana Kathe: Spandana Natakotsava will

also stage another Kannada classic Lakshapati Rajana Kathe. The play will be presented in the folk form of Kinnari Jogeraata. It tells the story of Kulavati who claims to be the mother of King Dharmashekhara’s child and is sent away from the Kingdom. His queen bears evil children and the land is cursed with drought. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8TH Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, Septemper 13, 7.30 pm 26592777 Â Laugh riot: Chennai-based theatre group Evam has made a foray into standup comedy and is here to tickle Bangalore’s funny bone. Catch them live taking a dig at almost everything around you. Jagriti Theatre , Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Road, Whitefield, September 7, 8 pm 41242879

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Bangalore: A Calling shutterbugs user’s manual Bangaloreans interested in nature and photography are in luck. Two contests are open, and looking for entries.

Living in Bengaluru is a step-by-step guide for various city tasks and essential procedures. From buying property to paying taxes, getting khatas, ID cards, driving licences and birth certificates to renewing passports, every procedure is listed here for your reference. The book also has tips on a variety of topics, from saving water to saving fuel, all of it meant to simplify the often complex task of city living. Published by Citizen Matters, it is a compilation of FAQs and how-to articles written by professional journalists and experts who have appeared in this fortnighly. The book was released by R K Misra, member of ABIDe Task Force, at Reliance TimeOut book store in Mantri Mall, Malleswaram.

Urban nature The first contest, organised by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Bangalore, invites entries on the twin themes of ‘Urban nature’ and ‘People-nature interactions in Bangalore’. Photographs have to be submitted in one of five categories - Urban Wetlands, Heritage Trees, Nature in my Backyard, People and Nature, and Accommodating Nature within Cities. Four photographs from each category will be exhibited in Bangalore, during the first week of October, alongside a series of events on urban biodiversity and nature.

Toto Funds the Arts was founded in 2004, in memory of Angirus 'Toto' Vellani who was intensely passionate about music, literature, films and the arts. Toto's untimely demise spurred his family and friends to create a non-profit foundation that would encourage the young to give expression to their artistic ideas.

Photographs can be either in black and white or colour. Image files not exceeding 1 MB should be 1400 px on the longest side and uploaded as jpeg files. Last date for submission: September 15. E-mail the photos with your name, phone number, email id to kaikondarahalli@gmail.com In October, chosen photographs from the two contests will be exhibited at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held in Hyderabad.

The last date is September 25. More details at www.atree.org

Lake vignettes

Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapur road. Organised by MAPSAS (Mahadevpura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti), a non-profit organisation working for the rejuvenation of the Kaikondrahalli lake off Sarjapur Road, this contest is exclusively for photographs of that lake, under the categories of ‘Human-lake

Toto Funds The Arts looking for writers, musicians, film-makers Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) invites submissions for its 2013 annual arts awards for young musicians/bands, writers, photographers, and for the first time, short-film makers. The film awards have been instituted in memory of Dr Sanat Kumar Ghosh, a medical doctor whose varied interests included a deep passion for films.

interaction’, ‘Landscape’ and ‘Nature and wildlife’.

This year eight awards are to be won —one for music (Rs 50,000), two for photography (Rs 25,000 each), two for creative writing in English (Rs 25,000 each), one for creative writing in Kannada (Rs 25,000), and two for short films (Rs 25,000 each). The photography awards are being offered in partnership with gallery Tasveer. All submissions must be original, and must be sent to reach Toto Funds the Arts by September 30, 2012. Young persons from all over India between the ages of 18 and 29 are eligible to apply. More details at: totofundsthearts.blogspot.com

Kaikondrahalli lake

Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize shortlist The Shakti Bhatt Foundation has announced its shortlist for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2012. Longlist judges, poet/author Jeet Thayil and writer/arts consultant Sanjay Iyer, sifted through a record 96 books to come up with the final six. The shortlisted books will be sent to the 2012 panel of judges: literary agent David Godwin, poet and novelist Tishani Doshi, and author Basharat Peer. The winner will be announced in the second half of November and the prize will be presented in December. Last year's winner was Jamil Jamil Ahmed, 78Ahmad's The Wandering Falcon. year-old debutant Pakistani author, The shortlist: won the prize last Tamasha in Bandargaon by year Navneet Jagannathan. The Purple Line by Priyamvada Purushottam. The King in Exile by Sudha Shah. The Inexplicable Unhappiness of Ramu Hajjam by Taj Hassan. Taj Mahal Foxtrot by Naresh Fernandes. Calcutta Exile by Bunny Suraiya.

Bore masters at Rajni’s school little government primary school in Gavipuram Guttahalli, near Basavangudi, has become famous. Rajnikanth, superstar to some and Shah of Blah to others, studied there. About 20 children from poor families benefit from it, getting free education, food and clothes. The soon to be renovated (budget: Rs 1.53 crore) school had invited many VIPs to attend a puja before work commenced. MP Ananth Kumar, home minister R Ashoka, mayor Venkatesha Murthy, theatre Master Hirannaiah et al came all prepared to share their wisdom with the citizens of tomorrow. There were more VIPs around than children. “Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab should be hanged. Such an action will improve the morale of our police. But the central government is delaying the hanging without any reason,” declaimed Ananth Kumar. The dozen or so children present just stared at him. When some grown-up clapped, they took the cue and started clapping. R Ashoka then stood up and said: “The terrorists we’ve arrested have links with the ISI. Their controllers are in Saudi Arabia. We’re getting Interpol help crack the case.” The children gave him another blank look. When the elders clapped, they clapped, too. Talking absurd is what our politicians are best at, but shouldn’t they at least know where to just shut up?

BASU MEGALKERI

Ananth Kumar

book talk

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

Advertisements for herself RAMESH HUNSUR

The stories in Sudha Murty’s latest book sound too much like sermons, and plug all things Murty

PRACHI SIBAL prachi.sibal@talkmag.in

n stores now, Sudha Murty’s latest book, The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk, is packaged as a collection of short stories inspired by real life incidents in her life. Murty, a recipient of the RK Narayan Award for Literature, is the author of more than a dozen fiction and non-fiction titles such as The Old Man and His God and Wise and Otherwise. Subtitled ‘Life stories from here and there’, the book has 23 short stories spanning 200-odd pages, set in various locations and featuring many people and settings. The only thing in common is Sudha Murty herself. The language is simple, but the stories which could have been endearing with a storyteller’s touch appear flat. They are told with little attention to detail and you get no real introduction to its protagonists either. The cover, with three glasses of milk with kitchen tiles for a backdrop, offers no clue to what is inside. The title is intriguing though, and makes you want to flip through the pages to the story from which the book got it. That experience can be less than pleasant. For one, the words the characters

The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk Rs 199, Penguin

speak sound too rehearsed. Any mention of the author’s experience in social work is always preceded by the adjective ‘vast’, while her travels to a particular country always come with a reminder of how “widely” travelled she is. Plugs for Infosys, the company founded by her husband N R Narayana Murty, and Infosys Foundation, which she herself heads, abound. Some of the stories come quite close to being warm but are ruthlessly stuffed in to clichéd slots of right and wrong. Each story comes with a moral and more often than not, it is a lesson learnt from Sudha Murty. Sample this: “I realised ... that only diseases and not honesty and integrity are passed down to the next generation through genes.” This is how the story titled Genes ends and one can’t help but find the sentence offensive in the context of the story or otherwise. Other important lessons include those you were subjected to in school—‘Don’t let pride take over you’ and ‘Be honest at all times.’ The first story, Bombay to Bangalore, is heart-warming at its core and tells the story of a girl, Chitra rescued by Murty during a train journey. The girl grows up to build her life, not forgetting Murty’s gesture till the end. This is one more reason why the stories fail to engage or have real impact. They follow the same thread,

that of describing the lives of those who were given a scholarship by the Infosys Foundation. Some grow up to be complacent and forgetful of the favour done to them, only to learn a lesson from the consequences to their actions, or thanks to prodding by Sudha Murty. The others—the grateful ones—have taught her a lesson or two, she admits, through their positive actions. The only story that strikes a chord is Helping the Dead, which talks about volunteers called Mukti Sena (Maharashtra) who help conduct free funerals for families who can’t afford them. Murty’s moralistic stories veer close to being sermons, while her selfdescription borders on narcissism. There is so much redundancy, and so many loosely thrown in adjectives in the text that one wonders what the editors were up to. But the text is only part of the problem. Finally, the writing itself must take the blame for the tepid effect of this book. Just in: It seems Wipro is giving stiff competition to Infosys even in the literary department. What else is one to make of Yasmeen Premji, wife of Wipro chief Azim Premji, just coming out with her debut novel, Days of Gold and Sepia, with a rave on the jacket from Girish Karnad?

SUDHASPEAK From Life’s Secret Lessons

‘I want to give you some unsolicited advice, because I really feel that you need it. When a doctor makes a mistake, a person goes six feet below ground. When a judge makes a mistake, a person is hung six feet above ground. But when a teacher makes a mistake, the entire batch of students is destroyed. Don’t ever look down on teachers. If you had good teachers, you wouldn’t be sitting here talking like this today. Don’t look down on social work either. Only a person with a compassionate heart and sound judgment can be a philanthropist. When a person in front of you is in need of help, you must decide in a short duration whether you should give money to that person or not, how much you should give and for how long. Understanding human beings is more difficult than understanding computers. I will accept that I may not be intelligent but, more than that, you should know that you are stupid.’

Page 208

From Changing India

‘As a woman, I talk a lot. As a teacher, I talk a lot. As a trustee, I talk a lot. As an analyst, I talk a lot. I usually talk four times more than the average person. But sometimes, I talk less and listen more. ‘Yes, I am from India,’ was all I said. ‘I know your national dress, the sari. It is really pretty. I like the way you wear it.’ I smiled and said, ‘Thank you.’ I did not have any other reply.’

Page 46

memoirs

A paradise of speaking trees With a father always busy planting and nurturing saplings, learning about nature was easy

here was a time when I used to feel that keeping a watch over growing trees was a chore. As time passed, my attitude changed. I would keep myself busy nurturing plants. The main reason was that the mango seeds sprouted in the rainy season. Two leaves on a sprout, looking almost like justborn piglets, held a peculiar attraction for me. Caressing the tender mango leaves gave me much pleasure. I enjoyed eating the ripe mangoes that were sweet, delicious, and aromatic, but I would never discard

VIVEK ARUN

the seeds. Instead, I would shove them into the soggy earth next to our house’s drain. Once, my father, watching me do that, said, “Son, you seem to think a tree that grows from the seed of a delicious mango will yield the same kind of fruit. The seed doesn’t guarantee the qualities of the fruit. A tree that grew from a sour mango’s seed may give you sweet mangoes. Likewise, you can have sour mangoes from a sweet mango seed.” My father’s words seemed to contradict the adage that the seed is to the tree what the son is to the father. I would plant the mango seedlings on the fringes of our orchard. They never survived for long. Some couldn’t send their roots deep and would dry up, while others would simply become feed for the cattle. But this fiasco only made me even more determined; I wanted to be as adept as my father was in horticulture. My father wouldn’t throw out

broken earthen pots or tins with holes in them. He would instead stuff them with a mixture of mud, sand, and manure and sow all kinds of seeds, or plant in them a variety of seedlings. He mainly planted seeds of bilva, fig, banyan and peepal trees. There would only be a few mango and jackfruit seeds among them. Nurturing seedlings was an obsession for my father. The backyard of our house, one of our arecanut farms, the attic, and all the open spaces in and around our house were full of seedlings. My family understood his passion and supported him by watering these plants. He would then fill all the vacant lots adjacent to our farms and orchards with these young plants. I learnt from my father that the seedlings had to reach a certain level of growth before they could be transplanted into the soil. All along the fringes of our farm, my father

crime folio

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

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

had put up a thorny fence so that the cattle wouldn’t get at the young plants. Once, my father took me near some of these plants and said, “What do you think of these saplings? Though they seem to be mute, they do speak to us. When we water them they put forth tiny leaves and smile. The only thing is that we should know the art of communicating with them…” Astonished, I looked at my father’s face, wondering how plants could ever speak. My father had a special affection for the fig tree. “If you eat figs, you will become as strong as an ox,” he would often say. “Look at those fools. They go on growing mango trees just because the fruit is delicious. But if you eat a bilva leaf every day, your face will become radiant. And if you use its twig for cleaning your teeth, Goddess Saraswathi will dance on your

memoirs tongue. But no one wants these things these days”, my father would gripe. During one monsoon, my father got some labourers to dig up a few pits near the pond close to our farm. He planted more than 50 fig tree seedlings in a grazing meadow that was common land. With the rains, a lot of water flowed into the pond used to irrigate these plants. The villagers would remark that my father was wasting his time and money by employing his farmhands for growing trees on government land. For some reason, they would not say it to his face that such a thing should not be done. But they would all still visit this meadow to look at the trees my father was growing. On their way back, if they meandered into other villages, they would exclaim, “We went to see Kenchappa’s trees in the meadow. Some people have the good fortune to do such things, if others tried, it wouldn’t be possible.” Fair-complexioned people are rare in villages, and since my father was fair, they would use Kenchappa (one who has a fair complexion) as an alias. Some young men volunteered to help my father water the trees he planted on government land. During festivals, they were invited to share sweets with us. Even on these festive occasions, my father

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

wouldn’t waste time like others. He would People in my village wanted to make be busy tending those plants, digging pits their own contribution to this philanand enclosing them with thorny fences. I thropy and would give to the swami quanwas fascinated by this business of growing tities of rice and ragi. Gunny sacks filled plants. I would accompany my father on with rice and ragi would be piled up in these trips of my own accord. With his front of the Shiva temple. People from four unswerving dedication, my father was able or five villages nearby too would bring to grow and nurse some cartloads of cereals to our 400 trees on government village and hand them land. The branches of over to the swami. The The swami said some of those trees were contributions would add of my father, used to grow new trees, up to a few truck loads. but since my father Our house alone would ‘His work of believed that trees which contribute six to seven growing trees germinate from seeds had quintals of grain. is greater than longer life spans, he plantAs long as the swami merely offering ed more of them. stayed in our village, he At harvest time, would always ask for the prayers’. My Shivakumaraswami of the thick, dark-green leaves of heart swelled Siddaganga Mutt in bilva trees to use while with pride. Tumkur would visit our offering puja to Shiva. village. He would sit near Because my father had the Shiva temple and give grown many bilva trees, discourses in the evenings. People of all the swami treated him with special affeccastes would assemble near the temple. tion. In one of his discourses, the swami They demonstrated their reverence and made a reference to my father. devotion to the swami. The mutt served “Hanumanthaiah’s work of growing trees is free food to poor people every day. Besides, greater than the offering of prayers. When it also provided free board, lodging and Basavanna said work is salvation, this was education for many students and every one what he meant.” When I heard this, respect would talk about its generosity. and affection for my father gushed forth in

my heart. When I went to the Shiva temple to listen to the swami’s discourses in the evening, I would smear my three fingers with ashes and imprint them on my forehead. Before the swami ended his discourses I would prostrate before him three or four times. Once, when I got there, the swami was waxing eloquent on the merits of a vegetarian diet. “Basavanna says one who kills is an untouchable and one who eats what he kills is also an untouchable”. When I heard this, I got confused. This swami looks like a good man but talks crudely about non-vegetarian food, I said to myself. I remembered how when I was busy with my studies at home, my nostrils would flare up whenever non-vegetarian food was cooked. The image of me enjoying the bones I got by pestering my mother when she was cooking the curry appeared before my eyes. I felt it was impossible for me to stay away from meat, and speaking against it deserved punishment. After all, what this swami said was not part of our dharma. Eating it is no sin. My mind spoke these in whispers. Translated by Basavaraj Urs

T I M E P A SS

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

30 Prof Good Sense I am a second preuniversity student. I work part-time in a private firm. Of late, my boss has been shouting at me even if I make small mistakes. It makes me sad and I want to quit. My mother is a divorcee and has struggled hard to build a life for me. She will be unhappy if I quit and think that I’ m taking it easy in life. She is very snappy with me these days. I’m not sure what to do and I'm confused. Prasad, G Palya

Off The Mark

By Mark Parisi

1st Cross

Talk’s weekly crossword for Bangaloreans who know their way about town Library (9) 16 Karnataka district known for it's trekking trails (7) 19 State law minister Suresh Kumar feels Bangalore University could have been the ____ of India (6) 20 Our PHL team (2-6) 21 Governor Bhardwaj recently returned an amendment for this bill (4)

3 5 7 11 13 15 17

1 2

DOWN State on our north-west border (3) New year day for the people of the

Last week’s solution Across: 3 Suresh Kumar, 4 Korn, 7 Belgaum, 9 Kolar, 12 BMRCL, 15 V Somanna, 17 Clarks Exotica, 18 Tipu Sultan, 19 Jagriti, 20 Aryuveda, 21 Ramnagar, 22 B R Hills.

4 6 7 8

Across Lake home to a bird sanctuary (6) Jayachamaraja Wodeyar ____ : Last king of Mysore and first Governor of Karnataka (7) Karnataka based former India paceman (7) Multiplex on Banerghatta road

I can understand how you feel. It is also heartening to note that you are supporting your mom. Your mom has done a lot to secure a future for you. What she needs from you right now is patience and commitment. You must be practical. If your work is unbearable, talk to your mom and tell her why you want to quit. If she understands, good. If she doesn’t, you might still want to quit. Your peace of mind is more important than anything else. If you are diligent, you will soon find a better job and a good boss.

(9) 9 Theatre on Brigade Road (3) 10 You will find the Bangalore Golf Club on this road (6) 12 This village was in the news recently when two sisters were found dead in a well (9) 14 Area home to the City Central

Down: 1 Bandipur, 2 Eshwari, 5 Nicollet, 6 Dalits, 8 Garbage, 10 A B de Villiers, 11 Jindal, 13 Jacket, 14 Ragoos, 16 Jamavar, 17 Cohiba.

Deccan Region (5) Major river of Karnataka (7) Skipper of our IPL team (7) If all goes well Karnataka will house India's first ___ __ by 2016 (5,4) Restaurant at the Taj Gateway hotel known for it's sea-food (9) The politicians want permission for ___ to graze in National Parks (6) Hospital on Bannerghatta Road (6) City in the news recently for terror related arrests (5) Organisation in charge of our city's water supply (5)

I've been married for three years. My husband is nice. But my mother-in-law is not. She cannot even tolerate me and my husband going out in the evenings. She cries loudly and grumbles to my husband, “Your father never took me out”. She is sullen and silent for a few days every time we go out. Please help. Gomati, K R Puram

Some mothers-in-law display extreme possessiveness and insecurity. Your husband should speak up now. His goodness is ineffectual. You really have a lesson for yourself here. Possessiveness is all about controlling another person, which often means a power struggle, dominance and inflicting your lifestyle on the less aggressive person. Good relationships are about nurturing, caring and loving each other. Make her feel important. Once in a while, take her out to movies, concerts and social events. Pettiness cannot be confronted with pettiness. Be genuinely understanding of her.

Prof M Sreedhara Murthy teaches psychology at NMKRV First Grade College. He is also a well-known photographer. Mail queries to prof@talkmag.in

talk|13 sep 2012|talkmag.in

It's Minissha's turn

Steamy wedding albums

The dare bare game has returned, and this time it is a second lead trying to show it all. The recent cover of Maxim features Minissha Lamba partly clad in a black sheet, though a tad too covered up for a nude shot we thought. Perfectly timed to coincide with the release of Joker, where she plays second lead, Lamba seems to be making her last desperate try at turning those eye balls her way. She may have managed the stir of the order of a storm in a teacup with this one, but we doubt this is taking many to the theatres. Not by a lamba shot.

Wedding photography has been getting more and more candid and intimate, but this one's definitely a first. Newly married couples in the US are now opting for 'morningafter photoshoots', getting photographed in their bedrooms or hotel rooms after they've spent their first night. New Jersey-based photographer Michelle Jonne, one of the few to offer this service,

charges about 650 US dollars for it, and says she is inspired by Emporio Armani ads featuring a shirtless David Beckham and wife Victoria. The trend hasn't hit our shores yet, but since we are duty-bound to pick up the latest American fad, it's only a matter of time. What’s troubling us though, is this: are we to send even wedding albums to the censor board from now on?

Electronic smoke's bad for you! Sympathetic as we are to that much-harassed and vanishing tribe of smokers, we can barely suppress our glee at this latest instance of a ‘scientific’ cure for smoking turning out to be worse than the disease. Electronic cigarettes, touted as a ‘safe’ substitute for real ones, could actually end up damaging your lungs, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Athens, Greece.

Electronic or e-cigarettes are devices that deliver nicotine through a vapour, rather than smoke. No combustion is involved but the nicotine is still derived from tobacco. However, there has been little scientific evidence so far to support claims either on its safety or efficiency. We may be allowed a cheer or two as, another lame marketing-driven idea goes up in smoke!

Family value Show biz has always been family biz, and we have several well-entrenched dynasties to show for it. The latest clan to make its presence felt is none other than that of A R Rahman’s. His sister A R Reihana is all set to make her debut as music composer, and that too in a Kannada flick called Mamarada Mane (The Mango Tree House). Newbie she might be, but she’s clearly done her homework on how to handle the media. Sample this: “People ask me why I am doing it, instead I ask them why shouldn’t I. I love the industry and I like the language as well,” was what

she recently told a newspaper, before adding the requisite “We believe music has no language.” Right. When asked what her brother thought of the move, she said the question should be directed to him. What we’re wondering is why this sort of thing is called ‘nepotism’ only when the politicians do it.