July 18th happens to be the birthday of Jayachamarajendra Odeyar, the last ruler of Mysore. He was born on this day in 89 years ago (1919).

(Photo: From an article in Hindu written by Sriram Venkatakrishnan)

Jayachamarajendra Odeyar (JCW) is considered as one of the prominent composers of Karnataka Sangeetha in the 20th century. In addition, he was an accomplised exponent of Western classical music as well.

Here is a speech by well known musicologist (and Vainika) Prof R Satyanarayana. The original speech was in Kannada, and translated by yours truly. This is probably a speech from the late 1970s or 1980s. Even though it is not a word-to-word translation, I have tried to retain the original flavor of the speech.

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Prof R Satyanarayana’s speech on Jayachamarajendra Odeyar:

It was JCW who conceived the idea of starting a music college at the University of Mysore.  When efforts were put in that direction for the first time, it had to be shelved because of the mutual jealousy of some musicians. Later, with the foresight for starting college of lalita kalA institution, JCW left a large sum of money as a donation (datti) to the Mysore University. That was the seed money from with this great institution was started from. There is a special relation between Mysore University and the Maharaja. It was indeed here where His Highness attended the classes just like a commoner, and got his degree. Mysore University should be congratulated and thanked for teaching a member from the royal family along with common people and make a scholar out of him.

Before considering him as a composer, let me tell a few things about his expertise in music. Even when he was very young, he took on interest in western music with his father’s influence. Many people may not know that JCW stood first in the extremely difficult music examinations from Cambridge and Trinity colleges in London. He was an excellent piano player. His sisters were also experts on the piano. JCW was invited to Europe and America several times not because he was a King, but because of his expertise on the piano, and his insight into Indian ‘darshana’s. He has performed on the piano at a large number of prestigious halls, and spoken in front of elite audience in many of these countries.

Apart from this, JCW’s vision and understanding of Indian music had a great depth and width. Before he was crowned, he did ‘shishyavritti’ with Sri Vasudevachar (in vocal music), and also with Veena Giriyappa (for Veena) for a short term. The music he learnt from these teacher-duo (even though it was for a very short time) flowered and bore wonderful fruits. We can see an example of his critical abilities and knowledge of music in his address at the Music Academy’s annual conference.  This inaugural address at the Music Academy’s annual conference, which he delivered in the year when Mysooru Chowdayya was the President of the conference proceedings, was so sparkling that it made all the earlier conference addresses seem very dull.  This showcased Maharaja’s internal vision into the shAsrta aspects, darshana, Vedanta aspects, and the expertise he had in lakshya. The examples and suggestions he gave to fellow musicians to reach their goals, was so inspiring then, and is so even now.

I can talk a lot more about him, but it is not the right time. I would now like to concentrate on the specialty of his vaggeyakaratva. Vaggeyakara is a technical term used to indicate a person is one who provides the mAtu, and rAGa and tALa (svara laya bandha) for a composition; there were two reasons for him to become a vaggeyakara. The first one was the breadth and depth of musical the practical experience viz the music which he had imbibed from his gurus like Venkatagiriyappa and Vasudevachar; the influence and exposure to hindustani music which he got from his uncle that can be seen in his compositions in rAgas like mAnd, and his practical and theoritical expertise in Western music.

When he started composing there was one more major influence in his compositions. If you look at the invitation you have received, in the first page, you can see it starts as “jayaratna jayachamarajendra oDeyar”, where it compares the great qualities of 9 great kings with that of JCW.  Many of these kings were from Karnataka. That’s why he is called navaratna jayachamaraja oDeyar. When I was writing this, I felt it would be just to add one more quality that is missing in the list here. I wanted to make it a list of 10 qualities.  There is one extremely rare quality which JCW had, and that wasn’t there in any other king before –That is his accomplishment in srIvidye. In addition to the background and inspiration from the sangIta, srIvidya was also instrumental in bringing out these compositons. These compositions were a just vehicle to express his inner spirit’s longing for mOkSha and the enormous effort it was going through in aligning it in that direction through the mode of musical expressions. While composing he took some suggestions from Vasudevachara, and sometimes from Venkatagiriyappa for appropriate suggestions, and he would give a final form to the compositions considering their inputs. Often he played the kritis on Piano and gave a final shape to a composition.

Let me tell you how he became Srividya upAsaka. Sri Siddhalingaswamy, who was a very known sculptor from Mysore initiated JCW to Srividye. Odeyar indicates Siddalingesha as the svagurunAma (Siddhalinga Swami). His guru, (Guru of Siddhalinga Swamy) was Odeyar’s parama guru nanjunda yOgIndra. Odeyars parameshTha guru was nAgalinga yatIndra (Guru of Nanjunda Yogindra). We can see JCW remembering these gurus in many of his kritis. JCW also indicates the influence of his father’s music on him by the word narakanThIrava. kanThIrava means lion. narakanThIrava means narasimha. Chitprabhanandanatha was his deeksha name given to Odeyar by his guru Siddhalingaswamy.  Normally JCW includes the name chitprabhanandanAtha along with his ankita Srividya. Getting a dIksha nAMa is the first step to initiation into Srividye.  He has used this name ‘chitprabhAnandanAtha’ in many kritis. I hope singers note this point while singing his kritis.

JCW made chamundi as the aradhya dEvi for Srividya upAsane. Chamundi was the kuladiava of Odeyars. However, in yaduvamsha, Chamundi wasn’t the only royal diety. They worshipped Shiva as well. If there ever was a royal dynasty that could be termed secular, it was the oDeyars of Maisooru. They were staunch followers of Brahmatantra parakAlaswamy, the Shankaracharya of Sringeri, and also of Veerashaiva mathas.In short, Odeyars pracitioners of ‘Sarva dharma samanvaya’- equality of all religions- principle. Even though his ancestors were shiva worshippers, JCW became an upasaka in the shaktipradhANa kAdi mArga  dakshiNAmoorti tradition of SrividyA upAsane.

One interesting fact about his compositions is that they are all are in Samskrita. They all follow the pattern, and style of muttuswAmi dIkshIta’s compositions, who was also a Srividya upAsaka. They use similar technicality of muttuswAmi dIkshita’s compositions on Srividya. Another notable feature of his compositions is that he has used as many as ragas as are his compositions. This is a very rare thing, and no other vaggeyakara has done this feat in the entire world of Indian music. In doing this he has used ragas like kOkilapriya, supradIpa, gambhIranATa, vijayavasanta, nIlavENi, kOkilabhAShaNi, mALavi, vagadhIshwari, pratApavarALi, nAmanArAyaNi, shuddha tODi, amrtavAnini, hamsavinOdini, bhogavasanta, nadabrahma etc – rAgas that are new, or rAgas that had only one or two earlier lakshya examples.  He created laksyha for ragas like amRutavAhini and pratApavarALi, which had only example from Tyagaraja. This is something we have to be proud of.

All the 94 or 96 kritis are about SrIvidye.  You may ask how I’d explain to say his compositions on Shiva and Ganesha. Even Ganesha and Shiva are considered as the dieties that open the door of Srividya. He made chAmunDi as srRmAte. In Chamunda is the seventh mAtRuka in the second chakra called trailokyamOhana chakra, in the prathamAvaraNa of Srividya worship. JCW often uses the word mAtRuka again and again in his kritis. There is shlEsha in that, I will take an example in a kriti and explain later.

JCW not only reached the pinnacle in musical capabilities. If we include his contribution to music, we have to invent a new word- Ounnatya shaTka-  ‘six fold-pinnacles’ to describe him, because he was an extra-ordinary man who reached the difficult-to-attain ‘ounnatya panchaka’ – the ‘five-fold pinnacles’. There are only a few, who have reached this ounnattya panchaka.

He attained kAyOnnati – Whoever had seen him can vouch for the truth of this fact. His tall stature, and build that indeed was befitting the golden throne he was occupying. Next one in the unnati panchaka is mAnOnnati. It does not just mean he was abhimAnashAli.It has a much deeper meening. ‘mAna’ means to measure; If you have to create a new measure to evaluate someone or something, that shows the greatness of the insights and personality of him or her. All of us develop measures according to our own capability. JCW created new units of measuring for evaluating all worldly qualities. In addition to his, he also had  manOnnati and vidyOnnati. He was a great scholar and a dArshanika. If you read his book, ‘D attatreya- A Study’ you can appreciate and understand his deep insight and scholarship in the darshanas. To top it all, he also reached  AtmOnnati, thus completing this unnati panchaka. When you add his sangItOnnati, it indeed becomes ‘unnati shaTka’

JCW was thus a great soul who attained these pinnacles in contemporary times. But unfortunately, I feel sad that our generation does not seem remember and recognize contributions the kings of maisUru like mummaDi Krishnaraja Odeyar, nAlvaDi Krishnaraja Odeyar and Jayachamaraja Odeyar made specifically to our music and to our society in general.

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(I’d like to thank Sri Rajachandra, who gave me the audio recording of this speech.)

-neelanjana

Arabian Sea - Udyavara beach

Our second half of the day started after a sumptuous food. And this time we went in search of 'Udyavara beach', one more beautiful place suggested by Rajesh Naik. If you have been to Maravathe & like the place, here is the miniature version but more beautiful & pristine of Maravante.

The river

A narrow stretch of land (of about 200-300 meters width) is sandwitched bwtween Arabian sea on the west & a river on east. Starting somewhere near Kaup, the stretch suddenly hits a dead end very close to Malpe, where the river joins the might sea.

The boat & the journey

The place is very close to Udupi & yet less known to the world. Udyavara town is 3 KMs from Udupi & another 3 KMs from there takes you to Pithrodi village. A boatman awaits for people to take them to & fro the main land & the other side. One has to cross the river in a narrow boat which can accomodate 5-6 people.

The boatman

It's pretty difficult to find a beach in India which is clean & also no one around. But this was an exception. It was clean & untouched, not even foot marks of people. We were there around 3PM, definitely not a suitable time to be at the beach & for photography. But we had no other choice. I want to go there again to witness the Sunset, before the place get stormed by people & turns into just another beach in the world.

Continuing the West coast ride story

Route day two:

Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal

Route day one:

Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi

ಕಡಲನ್ನು ಸೇರುತ್ತೇನೆ ಎಂದು
ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲದ ನದಿ
ಕಡಲು ಸೇರಿದ ತಕ್ಷಣ ತನ್ನ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವವನ್ನೆ
ಕಳಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಸೋಜಿಗವ
ಧ್ಯಾನಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಧ್ಯಾನಿಸಿದರೆ ಕವಿ
ಋಷಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾನಂತೆ
ಯೇಟ್ಸನಂತೆ
ನನಗೋ ಬೋಧಿಲೇರನ ಹಾಗೆ
ಸಂತನಾಗುವ ಆಸೆ;
ಅಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿವಂಗತನಾಗಿ.

ಮಾಡ್ ಗಾನ್ ಬೆನ್ನಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ
ಯೇಟ್ಸ್‌ಗೆ ಕೊನೆಗೂ ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದು ಎರಡೇ ಸಾಲು;
Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
ನಾನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸಿ ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತೇನೆ
ಎಂದು ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು
ನಾನು ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆದು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ
ಎಂದು ಇವನಿಗೆ ಗುಮಾನಿ.

ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೂಡಿದ ನದಿಯ
ನೀರಿನ ರುಚಿ
ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ನೆನಪುಂಟೆ?
ನೆನಪನ್ನೂ ರುಚಿಯನ್ನೂ
ಕಡಲಲ್ಲಿ ಕಳಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ
ನದಿಗೆ ಕೊರಗುಂಟೆ?

ವರುಣಸೂಕ್ತ ಪಠಿಸುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೇ
ಅಗ್ನಿಕಾರ್ಯ ಶುರು.
ಕಡಲೊಳಗೂ ಸುಡುಕೆಂಡ
ಬಡಬಾಗ್ನಿ;ಬಾಕಿ ಮೊಕ್ತ.

ಜುಲೈ ತಿಂಗಳ ಮೊದಲಿನಿಂದ ಆಫೀಸಿಗೆ ಬಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಪ್ರತಿದಿನದ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದಲ್ಲೂ ಹೊಸತೆಂದು ತೋರುವ ಏನಾದುರೊಂದು ಇದ್ದೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.

ಬಸ್ಸಿನ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಈಗ, ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳೆದ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರದ ಒಂದು ಸಣ್ಣ ತುಣುಕು.
ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನದ ನಂತರ ಆಫೀಸಿಗೆ ಜುಬ್ಬಾ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದೆ. ಇಳಿಯಬೇಕೆಂದು ಏಳುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಜುಬ್ಬಾ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸೀಟಿಗೆ ಹಿಡಿದೆಂತೆನಿಸಿ ಗಾಬರಿ ಬೆರೆತ ಅನುಮಾನವುಂಟಾಯಿತು. ’ಹರಿತಾ?’ ಎಂದು ಬಗ್ಗಿ ನೋಡಿದೆ. ಕಂಡಿದ್ದು..


ತಟ್ಟನೆ ಒಂದು ಫೋಟೊ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ಕಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು, ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಇಳಿದು ನಡೆದೆ.© Sandeepa Nadahalli

ಗೆಳೆಯ ಜಿ ಎನ್ ಮೋಹನ್ ಫಿಶ್ ಮಾರ್ಕೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಕರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮೀನೆಂದರೆ ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಪಂಚಪ್ರಾಣ. ಫಿಶ್ ಮಾರ್ಕೆಟ್ಟು ಕೂಡ. ಷೇಕ್ಸ್ ಪಿಯರನಿಗೂ ಫಿಶ್ ಮಾರ್ಕೆಟ್ಟು ಇಷ್ಟವಿತ್ತಂತೆ! ಓದಿ ನೋಡಿ. ಮಜವಾಗಿದೆ.

William Shakespeare is a successful playwright living in old London. He’s smart, he’s funny, and he’s got the world at his fingertips. He’s the Stephen King of his day and everyone wants to be him. So what does he do? He gives someone a chance. In what many deem as a medieval publicity stunt, Shakespeare announces that he will pick someone to be his apprentice. Everyone in London is eligible, and wherever Shakespeare goes, people try to stand out. However, Shakespeare soon proves remarkably picky about whom he will take on.
Then, one day at the local fishmarket, Shakespeare sees Corbin Mantruck. He’s dirty, he’s poor, and he speaks in iambic pentameter. He’s perfect. Shakespeare has found his apprentice. Shakespeare makes Corbin Mantruck bathe, take that hat off, and then he begins to teach him the ways of the playwright.
It’s a huge surprise when we find that Corbin is an exceptional apprentice playwright. He soon begins writing plays that Shakespeare could only dream of writing. Though Mantruck’s plays aren’t in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare is stunned to see that they are, in fact, in diambic decameter and triambic pentakaidecameter. Corbin’s plays are so good that only William Shakespeare is able to appreciate them fully. It’s Good Will Hunting all over again.
But Shakespeare has grown used to wealth, celebrity, and velvet clothes. He’s long been known as the greatest playwright that ever lived and now he’s scared to give it up. And while Corbin Mantruck locks himself up in a room and continues writing plays, Shakespeare puts on Mantruck’s plays as if they were his own.
England loves the new plays and all the shows sell out except the first one. Shakespeare becomes even more famous and wealthy as the new plays have even more explosions, nudity, and swears, all of which leave audiences gasping for more.
Shakespeare knows he’s living a lie though, and his fame becomes empty and his riches become worthless. And boy does he start drinking. Though he receives Tony award after Tony award for Mantruck’s plays, they are just constant reminders of how fucking great Corbin Mantruck really is. In one stunning scene, after a Tony Awards, a jealous and drunken Shakespeare intrudes on the reclusive Mantruck. Shakespeare tells Mantruck that all of Mantruck’s plays have been garbage. Garbage! Amazingly, Mantruck agrees with Shakespeare, (!) but he tells him that the one he is writing now is his masterpiece. His masterpiece!
Shakespeare reads the first draft of Corbin Mantruck’s masterpiece and it blows his boots off it’s so good. Ashamed and crying, Shakespeare gets on his knees and confesses his plagerism crimes to Corbin Mantruck. What can he do? he pleads, What can he do to make it up to Corbin Mantruck? Mantruck tells Shakespeare that the only way he can make it up is to win London’s annual marathon race and donate the £500,000 prize to the local fish market.
Shakespeare can’t do it alone. His drinking problem has made him overweight and out-of-shape and he’s in no condition to run a marathon. Fortunately, Corbin Mantruck has an idea. He quickly sets to work writing a new play, a play where Shakespeare is the star. In the play, Shakespeare’s character does warm ups, jumps rope, eats healthy, and quits drinking. To rehearse for the play, Shakespeare does all these things. Soon he has abs of steel and he’s very in shape. It’s a true testament to Corbin Mantruck’s playwrighting ability.
On the day of the big race, both Shakespeare and Mantruck line up as contestants. They’re longshots because they’re up against known cheaters Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Barry Allen, and Edward de Vere, all of whom are dressed solely in black 15th century running gear.
The race starts and sure enough, Marlowe puts tranquilizers in Shakespeare’s water, Bacon cuts Shakespeare’s Achilles’ heel, Allen uses his powers, and de Vere uses his roller-skate shoes. It’s looking bad for Shakespeare, and he’s upset because he really wants win the money for the fish market so he can make up his plagiarism crimes to Corbin Mantruck.
Corbin Mantruck, expecting these troubles, is quick to react. In no time at all he writes another script in which Marlowe, Bacon, Allen, and de Vere all die before completing the race. Quickly, Mantruck passes out the screenplay to each of the four cheaters. Soon they are all dead, and Mantruck’s only problem now is getting the tranquilized and crippled Shakespeare across the finish line. In an act of complete heroism, Corbin Mantruck writes a script giving him the strength to pick up William Shakespeare and carry him across the finish line. As they cross the finish line together, Mantruck tells Shakespeare that he never cared about the plagerism. He just cared about their friendship. The movie closes as we watch Corbin Mantruck’s masterpiece play. It is called “Shakespeare’s Apprentice,” and it’s the Corbin and Shakespeare’s story.

No, I am not talking about Ravichandran’s movie

Bhakti Vedanta Darshana [a periodical published by  ISKCON,Bengalooru],  features my article (in Kannada) as the cover page feature in its July 2008 issue.

Click to read the article here:

Panduranga Vitthala: nele - hinnele (PDF)

The entire July 2008 issue of Bhakti Vedanta Darshana is available here.

My special thanks to Sunil Jayaprakash and Shrikanth Mishrikoti.

-neelanjana

ಗುಡಿಸಲು ತುಂಬಾ
ಮಸಿ ಹಿಡಿದು ಮುಕ್ಕಾದ
ಇಂಡಾಲಿಯಂ
ಪಾತ್ರೆಗಳ ಸದ್ದು-ಗದ್ದಲ

ಹಗಲಿಡೀ ನಿದ್ದೆಯಿಲ್ಲ
ಕುಡಿದ ನಶೆ : ಆರಕ್ಕೇರದು ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿಳಿಯದು
ಪಾಪ!
ಹರಕು ಚಾಪೆ ಕಾಲಿಗೂ ಸಾಲದು

ತವರ ಪಾಲಾದ ಹಿರಿಮಗಳ,
ಮೇಜುವಾನಿ ಮಾಡುವ ತಾಯಿಯ
ಜೋಡಿ
ಎಕ್ಕಡಕ್ಕೆ ಚುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡ ಮೊಂಡು ಮೊಳೆ!

ಮೂಲೆಸೇರಿ ಹೇನು-ಸೀರು ಕುಕ್ಕುವ ನೆಪದಿ
ಕಂದಮ್ಮಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ತನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ
ಕೋಪ-ತಾಪ
ತೀರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಗಂಡ ಸತ್ತ-ಹಿರಿಸೊಸೆ

ಮಾತೆತ್ತಿದರೆ ಸಾಕು
ಸೋರುವ ಮೂಗನೂ ಸೀಟದೆ
ಆಕಾಶ-ಭೂಮಿ
ಒಂದು ಮಾಡುವ ಮೊಮ್ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹಿಂಡು!

ಗುಡ್ಲು ತೆಗೆದು ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟ ಕೋಳಿ ಪಿಳ್ಳೆಗಳೂ,
ಮೂಲೆ ಸೇರಿ ಬೂದಿಬಿಸಿಗೆ ಮೈಯೊಡ್ಡಿ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದ
ಮುದಿನಾಯಿ
ಹತ್ತದು ಹರಿಯದು;

ದಿನದೂಡಿ,ಸಂಜೆ ಮಾಡಿ
ಅರವತ್ತರೆರಡಷ್ಟರನ್ನು ಕಣ್ಣು ಕಿರಿದುಮಾಡಿ
ನೇರ
ಗಂಟಲಿಗೆ ಸುರಿದುಕೊಂಡು ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಾಯ್ತು

ಮಫ್ಲರ್ ಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ವಾಚ್‍ಮನ್ ರಂಗಯ್ಯನಿಗೆ
ಇಂದೇ ಅತಿನಿದ್ದೆ,ಕನ್ನ ಕೊರೆದು ಮನೆ ದೋಚಿದರೂ
ಕಣ್ಣು
ಬಿಡಲಾಗದಷ್ಟು,ಸದ್ದಾದರೂ ಕೇಳಿಸದಷ್ಟು!

ಮನೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಮನೆಗಳು
ಆಕಾಶ ಮುಟ್ಟುವಂತೆ
ಅಂಗಳ , ಹಿತ್ತಲು?
ಎಲ್ಲ ನುಂಗಿಯಾಗಿದೆ
ಈಗ ಬಿ.ಎಚ್.ಕೆ ಅಮಲು

ನೆರೆಹೊರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರು?
ಅವೆಲ್ಲ ಬರಿಯ ಹೊರೆ
ತಂದೆ ತಾಯಿ?
ಊರಲ್ಲಿಹರು..
ಕಾಸು ಕಳಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ

ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ
ಹನಿನೀರು, ಮೂರು ತುತ್ತೆಂದು
ಬಂದೀರಿ ಜೋಕೆ!
ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ಜಡಿದ ಬೀಗಕ್ಕೆ
ಚಂದ್ರೋದಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ

ಗಿಡ ಮರ ಬಳ್ಳಿ ಹೂವು?
ಓಹೋ ಕುಂಡಗಳಿವೆ
ಬಣ್ಣದ ಗಿಡ
ಪೇಪರ್ ಹೂವು
ಎಲ್ಲ ಫಾರಿನ್ ಸಾಮಾನು

ಕಟ್ಟಿಟ್ಟ ಉಸಿರು
ಪರದೆಯೊಳಗಿನ ಪ್ರಪಂಚ
ಪುರುಸೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ
ಇದ್ದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲೇ...
ಯಾಕೆ ಬಿಡಿ...

ಆ ಮಾಲ್, ಈ ಮಾಲ್
ಆ ಸಿನೇಮಾ, ಈ ಹೋಟೆಲ್
ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಪಿ.ಡಿ.ಎಫ್
ಒಂದಿಷ್ಟು ಕರೆಗಳು
ಕೊನೆಯೆರಡು ದಿನಗಳು

ಊರ ಹೊರವಲಯದಲಿ
ತುಂಡುಭೂಮಿಗಾಗಿ
ಮೈಮೇಲೆ ಸಾಲದ ಗಾಯ;
ಉಪ್ಪು ಮೆತ್ತಿದ ಹಾಗೆ
ಇನ್ನೊಂದೆರಡು ಇಎಂಐ

ಹಸಿರು ಉಸಿರು, ಗಾಳಿ ಗಂಧ?
ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಪಕ್ಕಿ, ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಬಯಲು?
ನದ ನದಿ ಕಡಲ ಮಡಿಲು?
ಹೌದಲ್ಲ! ಬಹಳ ತಿಂಗಳಾದವಲ್ಲ
ಪ್ರವಾಸವಿಲ್ಲ

ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ಬಾಳೆಂದು?
ಇನ್ನೊಂದೆರಡು ಸಲ
ಭೂಮಿಯ ಆ ತುದಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ
ಬಂದರೆ , ಎರಡು ಕಾಸು ತಂದರೆ
ಖಂಡಿತ ಖಂಡಿತ...ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ

It has been a couple days since most of the mankind, including myself, went through the pains of updating to the latest and greatest iPhone software yet, and I have had some time to play around with some of its new features and try out some of the free cool apps. What follows below are [...]

೨೯೯ ಅಮೇರಿಕನ್ ಡಾಲರ್ (೧೨೦೦೦ ರುಪಾಯಿ) ಕೊಡಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕೊಳ್ಳಿರಿ ಚಿಕ್ಕದೊಂದು ಲ್ಯಾಪ್-ಟಾಪ್. ಕೆಲವು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಮುಂಚೆ ಸಿಂಪ್ಯೂಟರ್ ಅಂತ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಒಂದು ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳು ಮೇಲೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಿದ್ದು ನಿಮಗೆ ನೆನಪಿರಬಹುದು.

ಹೊಸಾ ಪೀಳಿಗೆಯ ಈ ಯಂತ್ರಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದಂಥ ಸಾಧನ. ಆದರೆ ಯಾರೂ ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದು ಕಾಣಲ್ಲಾ. ಹಲೋ?

ತುಳಸಿಯಮ್ಮನವರ ಮತ್ತು ಸುಪ್ತದೀಪ್ತಿಯವರ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಇದೆ ಜುಲೈ ೨೭ಕ್ಕೆ, ಬೆಂಗ್ಳೂರಿನ ಸುಚಿತ್ರಾ ಫಿಲ್ಮ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ೧೦ಕ್ಕೆ. ತಪ್ಪದೇ ಹೋಗಿ, ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಕೊಂಡು ಓದಿ :-) ಭಾಗ್ವತ್ರಿಗೆ ಬರ್ಲಿಕ್ಕಾಗಲ್ವಂತೆ. ಬೆಳಗಿನ ಪುಕ್ಕಟೆ ತಿಂಡಿ, ಮಧ್ಯಾನ್ಹದ ಪುಕ್ಕಟೆ ಊಟ ತಪ್ಪಿಹೋಯ್ತು ಅಂತ ಭಾಗ್ವತ್ರು ತುಂಬ ಕೈ ಕೈ ಹಿಸುಕಿಕೊಳ್ತಿದಾರಂತೆ :-)
************************************
Did you watch men's Wimbledon finals between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal? It is one of the best live tennis matches I have ever watched so far. Breathtaking beauty it was. When I started watching, the match was held up due to rain (first time interruption). I was shocked to see Federer trailing. Then the match started again. I wanted the match to go into 5th set and it did!!! I was jumping in joy seeing Federer save 3 championship points. Ultimately Nadal won, and he deserved it, for he was the better player throughout the match. Federer is my tennis sport idol and I wanted him to win from the beginning. However, I had no complaints for Nadal winning the match! In my view both were winners, but yes, officially we can have only one!

I like these champions for their focus, determination, never-say-die attitude and perseverance. The absolute class with which Federer saved the match points and sets, how he maintained his calm, composure throughout those tense moments....I just love it. Even during the post-match interview, each player gracefully acknowledged the greatness of each other. May be they are groomed to behave like that by their image building agencies, but does that matter? Is there something for our new generation of over-hyped cricketers to learn from this?

The past one year has been very disappointing for me in sports:-) All my favourites are on back foot. My cricket idol Dravid abdicated the captaincy, lost his place in limited overs team, was humiliated publicly in IPL....New England Patriots lost in the superbowl (NFL) to underdogs NY Giants, Federer lost Australian Open, French Open and now Wimbledon.....It is so disappointing. After the Wimbledon finals I was thinking about the match and was feeling bit low for some times!! How should it be for Federer then? When John McEnroe tried to interview Federer, he was almost about to break down and he finally did. Tears must have rolled down, but he turned his face away and went back. McEnroe ended the interview there very sensibly. It is a testimony to what emotions, stakes go into playing those matches. Money alone isn't the factor there. Have you ever invested so much of your heart into anything like that?

I was following Dravid ever since I came across an article when Dravid was 19 or 20 years old. It was essentially saying that Sachin got into Indian colours very early because he was from Mumbai. Although Dravid had a similar record in domestic cricket, he had to wait till the world cup of 1996 got over. I remember the Ranji match commentary. Kambli was replaced by Dravid in the Indian team before the start of that Ranji match. The commentator, with his own leanings for Kambli, was criticising Dravid's technique comparing that to Kambli's!!! That made me like Dravid more :-) I followed him very closed ever since. I liked him for his perseverance, elegance, substance and patience. He will hold on to one end come what may!!

This never-say-die attitude...it is real great fun. You try and try and try and try....till you are convinced that there is nothing left and that you have tried your absolute best. It makes one happy just for that effort put in!!! To be happy, I think there are two ways. One is to be laid back. You should not be perturbed by any earthly matters :-) You are one and only one in the world and there is nothing else to disturb your peace :-) Second way is to 'want' something and have a full go to get it. It could be as simple as wanting to watch a movie in a theatre of your choice. Or it could be becoming Prime minister of India :-) Once you have decided that you 'want' something then you should go for it!! I think the excitement will be in the effort that we put in rather than in the result.

It does not matter what you are or what you are not, if you want to enjoy. All that matters is that we have only one life and no one till now has escaped death :-)....So... have it or lose it :-)

ಗೆಳೆಯ ರವಿ ಬೆಳಗೆರೆಗೆ ಐವತ್ತು. ಲೇಖಕರಿಗೆ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಶೀಲರಿಗೆ ಐವತ್ತೆಂದರೆ ಏರುಜವ್ವನ. ಐವತ್ತರ ತನಕದ ಬಾಲಲೀಲೆ, ಹುಡುಗಾಟ , ತಾರುಣ್ಯದ ಸೆಳೆತಗಳಿಂದ ಪಾರಾಗುವ ವಯಸ್ಸಲ್ಲದೇ ಹೋದರೂ, ಇವೆಲ್ಲದರ ಜೊತೆಗೇ ತನ್ನನ್ನು ತಾನು ಮೀರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಹಂಬಲಿಸುವ ವಯಸ್ಸಂತೂ ಹೌದು. ಫಸ್ಚ್ ಹಾಫ್ ಭರ್ಜರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗಲೇ ನೆಕ್ಸ್ಟ್ ಹಾಫ್ ರೋಚಕವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊದಲ ಇನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾರಿಸಿದ ರನ್ನುಗಳೇ ಎರಡನೆಯ ಇನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಸನ್ನು ಕುತೂಹಲಕಾರಿ ಆಗಿಸುವುದು. ಫಸ್ಟ್ ಹಾಫ್ ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಯಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ, ಒಂದು ಸುಂದರ ಪುಸ್ತಕ- ಫಸ್ಟ್ ಹಾಫ್.ಶರತ್ ಕಲ್ಕೋಡ್ ಸಂಪಾದಕತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ, ನಿವೇದಿತಾ ಅಕ್ಕರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಶ್ರಮದೊಂದಿಗೆ, ರವಿ ಅಜ್ಜೀಪುರ ಪುಟವಿನ್ಯಾಸಗೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿರುವ ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಪುಟಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಲೇ ದಂಗಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟೆ. ನಿವೇದಿತಾ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಅಂದಾಗ ಅದೂ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ನೂರಿನ್ನೂರು ಪುಟಗಳ ಪುಸ್ತಕವಾಗುತ್ತೆ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಪ್ರತಿ ಮನೆಯ ಕಪಾಟನ್ನು ಚೆಂದವಾಗಿಸಬಲ್ಲ, ಪ್ರತಿ ಟೇಬಲ್ಲಿಗೂ ಕಳೆಕೊಡಬಲ್ಲ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಓದಬಲ್ಲ ಕೃತಿಯಾಗುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ಅರಿವಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಮುಖಪುಟ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಅಭಿನಂದನ ಗ್ರಂಥ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ರವಿಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಅಕ್ಕರೆಯೂ ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಸೇರಿದ ಚಾಕಲೇಟ್ ಬುಟ್ಟಿ.ಮುಖಪುಟವೇ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ, ನೋಡಿರಲ್ಲ.

Belonging to the kind of neophiliacs who just can’t prevent the itch for new things as well as cannot rest until trying it out, I too connected my iPhone (the 2G version) to iTunes and hit the Update button. Things looked slow but promising but then came a series of dreaded error messages (I should [...]

ಪುತ್ತೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಕುನ್ ಗುನ್ಯ ಹಾವಳಿ ವಿಪರೀತ ಮತ್ತು ಮೂವತ್ತಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಜನರು ಈ ರೋಗಕ್ಕೆ ಬಲಿಯೂ ಆಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಘನ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಇದುವರಗೆ ರೋಗದ ಹತೋಟಿಗೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಕ್ರಮಗಳಾವುವೂ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿಲ್ಲ.

ಜನರೇನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು? ನಿನ್ನೆ ಪುತ್ತೂರಿನ ಜನ ಧನ್ವಂತರಿ ಯಾಗ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಟಿವಿ ೯ ಸಂದರ್ಶನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾಪಕರೆಲ್ಲ ದೈವದ ಮೊರೆ ಹೋಗುವುದೊಂದೇ ತಮಗುಳಿದಿರುವ ದಾರಿ ಎಂದರಲ್ಲದೇ, ಯಾಗವನ್ನು ವೇದಗಳ ನಿಯಮಗಳಿಗನುಸಾರವಾಗಿಯೇ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವುದಾಗಿ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ಪಡಿಸಿದರು.

ಭಾಜಪದ ಹಿಂದು ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳೇ ದೈವದ ಮೊರೆ ಹೊಕ್ಕಿರುವಾಗ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರದ್ದೇನು ವಿಶೇಷ ಎನ್ನಬಹುದು ಬಿಡಿ.  

ಕಳೆದ ಅರು ವಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕುವೆಂಪುರ ಪದ್ಯ “ಧ್ರಾಂ ಧ್ರೀಂ ಧ್ರೂಂ” ನೆನಪಾಗಿರುವಷ್ಟು ಮತ್ತೆಂದೂ ಅಗಿಲ್ಲ.

Today, July 09, 2008 - The big planet Jupiter is in opposition.

What does it mean?

Both the Earth, and Jupiter are on the same side of the Sun, and you can almost draw a straight line through them (Just for a moment assume all the three objects are in the same plane )

If you were able to go far far away above the solar system, you will see something like this.

View from top

I guess you’ll have to click on the picture to see anything The yellow dot is the Sun, the blue dot is the Earth and the green dot is the Jupiter.

So what?

You’ll see Jupiter for most part of the night. It rises around sunset, and sets around sunrise. Also, it is at its brightest, because it is at the nearest distance to Earth.

How to locate it?

Look in the Eastern/ South-Eastern sky about an hour after the sunset. You should see Jupiter as a brilliant white star. Glowing at magnitude of -2.7, there is no other star in the region which is as bright.

Here is a star map for those who are interested. Jupiter is in Sagittarius, just below the curvy Scorpious. Standing eastward, drop a straight line to the horizon from the bright red star Antares, and you will see Jupiter! Click on the image for a zoomed view.

Eastern sky in evenings - July 2008

These events are not rare events - Jupiter is in opposition once in about 400 days. But if you want to see Jupiter and it’s moons in a backyard telescope, this is probably the best time.

-neelanjana

Some young people who met me recently, asked me these questions. I had no time then and promised to answer them here.
I will try to answer one question per day.

1: Why does the mainstream media not cover constructive social phenomenon like inter religious dialogues and efforts at communal harmony?

A: Yes and no. One of the oldest allegations against the media is that it highlights negative issues and downplays positive developments. There may be two reasons behind this. Negative issues seem to have a larger nuisance value that can create sensational news. They also have larger marketability than positive issues. Sensational stories attract attention faster than articles that demand the reader to stop, think and perceive.
However, this is an easy explanation.
A larger, academic explanation may be this. Our colonial history ridden with stories of exploitation and centuries of suffering might have shaped our psyche. May be this is responsible for our `Chalta hai’ or `Kuch Nahi Badlega’ attitudes. We tend to accept hopelessness and see hope as a rarity.
This might make us disinterested towards positive stories and make us savour the stories that speak of the dark side of man. Anything good is suspected. I know of a junior who tried to write about Salumarada Thimmakka, the iconic woman who planted and cared for hundreds of trees along the road side in a village in Kolar. His seniors were not convinced that someone ‘could be so good’. His story was not published for weeks. Then, someone else wrote the story and the rest is history. She became a celebrity overnight and went on to receive a national award.
I don’t need to give examples of negative issues. Look around you and they outnumber every other kind of a story by many times.
I don’t know of a study that has counted the number of positive and negative stories in any media product over a long period of time. However, a Mangalore University study by Shafi Saduddin revealed that during a communal riot, the number of news reports that seemed to help prolong it were more than those that could arrest it.

ಕಾಡು
ಕುದುರೆ
ಮುಂಜಾವದ ಕನಸಲ್ಲಿ
ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ
ಫ್ರಾಯ್ಡ್
ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಕಾಮ.
ಕಂಬಾರರದ್ದೂ ಅದೇ ಅರ್ಥ.

ಧಾವಿಸುವ
ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕೂ ಅಶ್ವಶಕ್ತಿ.
ನಿಂತಲ್ಲೇ ಮೇಲೆ
ಕೆಳಗೆ
ಠಳಾಯಿಸುವ ಇಂಜಿನ್ನಿನ
ಪಿಸ್ಟನ್ನಿಗೂ
ಅದೇ ಹಾರ್ಸ್ ಪವರ್.

ಕಡಲ ತಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ
ಕೆನೆಯುವ ಕುದುರೆ
ಕಂಡರೆ
ವಾತ್ಸಾಯನನಿಗೆ
ಅಮೃತ ಮಹೋತ್ಸವ.

ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಕುದುರೆ
ಸವಾರಿಯ ಗೀಳು.
ಮರದ ಕುದುರೆಗೆ ಕಾಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಕಾಡು ಕುದುರೆಗೆ
ಲಗಾಮಿಲ್ಲ.
ಅದು ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ದೂ
ಅಂಗಾಂಗ
ಸುಡುಗಾಡು.

ಆನೆಯ ಹೆಸರಲ್ಲಿ ಸತ್ತ
ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥಾಮ
ಚಿರಂಜೀವಿ.

When we took up Kruthika’s case, we knew we had to set the ball rolling immediately. Time was in short supply as it was already late for her prosthesis. We were looking for financial assistance from all possible directions when we learnt about the organization “Cankidsindia”. You can read more about this organization at - http://www.cankidsindia.org/

Cankidsindia is a unit of the India Cancer Society which is a family support group providing moral, financial, professional assistance/guidance to children with cancer and their families. We contacted them through e-mail containing the details of Kruthika's case. The response was quicker than expected and was positive. They even offered to bridge between us and the medical professionals in Delhi who have handled similar cases before. It is great to get acquainted with an organization which understands our concern, empathizes and is more than willing to lend a helping hand.

We express our sincere thanks to Cankidsindia organization for standing by Kruthika in the moment of need. This strengthens our belief that a true cause will never fail. Let us spearhead this cause with a new found zeal and make sure that we reach our next target of fund raising for Kruthika's remaining Chemotherapy cycles.

Let us do it together.

Continuing the West coast ride story

Day two started slowly and the day started at 7AM, still early on a Sunday morning :). On second day we travelled less in terms of distance but managed to visit quite a few places. It was more of chicken run - run here & there visit a place & next moment back to square one. Our first visit was to Udupi Sri Krishna temple. The temple was not much crowded. We roamed around the premises. From there we headed towards Malpe beach.

Before going to the beach, we paid a quick visit to Malpe port. It was a busy time at hte port. Lots of boats coming in with loads of freshly caught fishes. We had to leave early as the smell was unbearable. From there we hit the beach. Sat on the beach for few moments, looking at the endless number of waves. And the brought down the bike onto the beach. Getting onto the beach was easy, but pulling it back on road was the big problem. We went on and on in the lonely beach for few KMs. And then we managed to pull our bikes back on the road with the help of locals.

A morning walk
Fisherman at work
As per recommendation from Rajesh Naik, from Malpe we went in search of a less known place called Bengre. Bengre in Tulu (a dialect of Kannada language) means the place where river joins the sea. It was not so difficult to find the place. It was a great sight watching the slowly getting into the sea. We could even make out the difference in color of the water. I sat there on the beach mesmerized while Srik played in water. We returned from the place reluctantly as the Sun was going up every minute & we were getting late for the weeding.

Ready for a swim :)
Route day two:

Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal

Route taken on day one:

Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi

On sunday, Vijaya Karnataka had this funny story.

Last weekend farmers from Mandakalli and neighboring villages, who had lost their lands for the Mysore Airport project, met with the district officials. At this meeting, one farmer had this simple demand.

Sir, because of land acquisition for the airport, the road to my farm is gone. Would you kindly give me a plane, please?