Ugadi Radio Program 'enri hosa suddhi'

“ಏನ್ರಿ ಹೊಸ ಸುದ್ದಿ”.

ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೩೦ರಂದು ಸ್ಟಾನ್ಫರ್ಡ್ ರೇಡಿಯೊದಲ್ಲಿ ಯುಗಾದಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಪ್ರಯುಕ್ತ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ “ಏನ್ರಿ ಹೊಸ ಸುದ್ದಿ”.
ಶ್ರೀ ಖರನಾಮ ಸಂವತ್ಸರದ ಈ ಹೊಸ ವರುಷದ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಹೊಸತು? ಎನು ವಿಶೇಷ. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ದೂರವಾಣಿ ಮೂಲಕ ಕರೆ ಮಾಡಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆ ಅಥವ ಗೆಲುವುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹೃದಯ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಇದು ಸದಾವಕಾಶ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹೊಸ ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರಗೀತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಆನಂದಿಸಬಹುದು.

ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ವಿವರಗಳು:
ದಿನಾಂಕ: 2011 ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೩೦ ಬುಧವಾರ
ಸಮಯ: (ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಫೋರ್ನಿಯ ಸಮಯ)

ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 6.00 AM PST – 9.00 AM PST (ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಫೋರ್ನಿಯಾ ಸಮಯ)

ಬಾನುಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ: ಸ್ಟಾನ್‌ಫರ್ಡ್ KZSU 90.1 FM [ಕ್ಯಾಲೀಫೋರ್ನಿಯ ಸ್ಯಾನ್‌ಫ್ರಾನ್‌ಸಿಸ್ಕೊ ಬೇ ಏರಿಯ]
ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಮೂಲಕ: http://www.itsdiff.com/Kannada.html (Listen live and to archives from anywhere in the world)
ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ: ಮಧು ಕೃಷ್ಣಮೂರ್ತಿ

Whats' new?

Kannada Radio program “What’s new” on Stanford Radio KZSU 90.1 FM to welcome Sri Khara naama samvatsara. On the occasion of the new year for Kannadigas, what is new in your life? Any new accomplishments? Do you have anything special and joyful you would like to share?

Please call during the show and share with fellow listeners and also listen to new Kannada songs.
Details:
Date: 2011 March 30 Wednesday
Time: 6.00 AM PST – 9.00 AM (California Time)
Radio Station: Stanford University’s KZSU 90.1 FM
On Internet: http://www.itsdiff.com/Kannada.html (Listen live and to archives from anywhere in the world)
Host: Madhu Krishnamurthy
Note to listeners in India: The program is from 6.30 PM to 9.30 PM IST on Wednesday March 30
Please visit my blog: http://rasikararajya.blogspot.com/

The Raghu Dixit Experience athawa RDXp

Video: Raghu Dixit calls on the audience to come out and dance in Mysooru bhaashe

at Sunnyvale Temple auditorium on March 5 2011

When I read Raghu Dixit's words that his concert will be such that everybody will start dancing I had thought that I could agree with it only after being in the concert myself. It is not that I am not familiar with Raghu Dixit's music. I have heard his songs before and like them for their distinct style but had not imagined how it would be to hear the band live.

But the band Raghu Dixit Project (known as RDX in cool circles) played at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple auditorium on Saturday, March 5th 2011 and lived up to its promise totally.  This concert was organized by Kasturi Media (http://www.kasturimedia.com/) in collaboration with Kannada Koota of Northern California.(http://kknc.org/)  It was a sell out crowd with an estimated audience of five hundred to six hundred.

When I showed up with my family at 5.45 PM the doors were closed and there was an excited crowd of one hundred or more in the lobby of the auditorium. What struck me was that a large section of the crowd was very young in its twenties and they were all speaking Kannada. They were all excited about this rock concert and their excitement was as much reflected in their dresses as in their conversations. It was good to see this section of the Bay area Kannada community which we do not see in the regular Kannada Koota functions.

As the entrance doors remained closed beyond the stated start time, the crowd in the lobby got bigger and the voices of the organizers got hoarser as they bravely tried to explain the cause for the delay in opening the doors. At one point Raghu Dixit himself opened the door, explained the delay which was due to their flight arriving late and requested every one's patience.  Finally at around 6.45 they let us in only to be seated not in the auditorium but in a half way room. It might well have been the transit lounge in the Singapore Airlines' section of Taipei airport. 

Finally the doors between the 'Transit lounge' and the auditorium opened and people ran in to grab their quota of six or so seats in a row. (May be  four for their own family and two for their friends - the newly-married-no-kids-yet couple). Some people were mildly disappointed when they were out paced by colorful duppattas which flew past them and deftly landed on the right number of chairs. The owners of the duppattas could be heard patting the duppattas and saying "oh I am so proud of you". Still it appeared that the duppattas  were later complaining amongst themselves that Raghu Dixit did not serenade them with "hava mein uduta jaaye, mora laal duppatta mal mal ka".

In spite of feeling irritated that I got crappy seats with poles obstructing my view and forcing me to tilt my head, I was really pleased with the way they had arranged the chairs.  It was done with audience participation in mind. 

Then the band 'The Raghu Dixit Project' walked on to stage and got a rousing welcome.  They appeared totally cool in colorful shirts, 'panches' (the un-stitched cloth, wrapped around the waist) and anklets. The majority of the crowd showed how much they were fans of Raghu Dixit by enthusiastically cheering and clapping. RDX implored the audience to just get up from their seats and come up front and be ready to dance. I went up immediately if only to watch over my daughters and was among the jostling crowd right in front of the stage.

True to their promise, RDX had their audience singing and dancing to their tunes. They sang both in Kannada and Hindi. The music was very catchy and attractive especially because it combined exotic Indian and Kannada folk music and lyrics with the powerful rhythms and sounds of rock music. It was an amazing experience to watch the band perform as one entity. Raghu Dixit interacted with the crowd in a very friendly and personal manner. The audience cheered and responded with excitement when RDX mentioned his own neighborhood Jayanagar and talked in Kannada with typical local accent.

I stood right in front below the stage for most of the concert. The crowd there included little children, teenagers, young adults and pre-middle aged men and women. Almost everybody shed their inhibitions and danced.  The excitement was building up and I was watching around to see if anyone would up the stage and dive into the audience. Obviously it did not happen. (The safe mosh pit at the Sunnyvale Temple)


I was hesitant in the beginning but then, before I knew I had lost myself in the music and was totally immersed in this hugely entertaining rock concert.  The band rendered their hits such as 'Hey Bhagwan', 'Mysore Se Aayi',  'Gudugudiya', 'Khidki', 'No man will ever love you, like I do', 'lokada kaalaji', 'just maath maathalli' and the audience favorite 'ninna poojege bande mahadeswara'.

                                                                Video: Mysore se aayi

The audience soaked up the excitement the band offered. They enjoyed and cheered everything the band did including when RDX scolded the audience a couple of times for talking amongst themselves or for not participating in the concert enthusiastically.


I felt proud watching these superbly talented musicians perform. They are from my home state of Karnataka and they spoke my language Kannada. They looked hip and they knew how to rock the audience. Best of all, they demonstrated that they are equally talented in and capable of performing both contemporary popular genre like Rock music as well as traditional Indian folk music. Now that was cool.

The band is comprised of Raghu Dixit, Gaurav Vaz, Vijay Joseph, Karthik Iyer and Wilfred Demoz.

Deccan Herald article on kelade nimageega

Here is an article from Deccan Herald a respected and long standing News Paper in India, on 'Cinema Santhe Reel -1' a short film festival organized in Bangalore on February 25th 2011. The entire Yuga Creations team should be feeling a sense of elation for getting this recognition. Congrats to all the team members responsible for such a successful and well appreciated movie. These words from the article are worth noting - "The film was rich in technical elements and all the artists did a commendable job".

That's right. Three cheers to the Yuga team especially those who worked in the background.

Please click here to watch the short film 'kelade nimageega' (15 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_GW0wSD9g

Audience Reactions
Please click here to view a 3 minute compilation of reactions from audience who watched the movie at the Suggiyaana function organized by Kannada Koota of Northern California at Gunn High School in Palo Alto in January 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/yugacreations#p/a/u/1/zqxFGKAouY0

Since the text in the attached picture is not very clear, I have included the entire article below. It is from 2011 March 5th edition.

A touch of reality DHNS

WeMove Theatre in association with Yuga Creations organised Cinema Santhe, a special premiere of short films by a young bunch of artistes, at K H Kala Soudha, Hanumanthnagar recently.

The event, which was aimed at bridging the gap between film-makers and audience, succeeded in doing so.

Four films — Aaa Raatri, I’m, Kelade Nimageega and Bhagavanta Kai Kotta —were screened for the first time in front of a big audience.

All the movies had different themes and left a lasting impression on the minds of the audience. The best thing about the event was the interaction which made both the audience and film-makers take cinema seriously.

First came Aaa Raatri which turned out be an edge-of-the-seat entertainer for the spectators. Directed by Sujay, the story revolved around a set of mysterious events that happen in one night.

The peaceful life of Ram, the protagonist, gets affected by his neighbour’s murder. Excellent expressions by the actors and wonderful music were highlights of the film.

Next up was a six-minute film, I’m, which dealt with the psychology of a kid. This film was shot in just three days. Athena Clarke, the child artiste, got all the appreciation from the audience.

The next film, Kelade Nimageega, succeeded in touching the hearts of everyone present through the relevance of its subject.

The short movie focussed on the plight of the parents of NRIs, who long for their children to return. The film was rich in technical elements and all the artistes did a commendable job.

Bhagavanta Kai Kotta, directed by Abhijit Mahesh, was a pleasurable experience due to its comic elements. Using humour, the film heralded a subtle message that everyone should be content with whatever they get.

The story was about a greedy person who is always sad though he gets everything he wishes for.

The interactive sessions held after each show were quite lively as the audience gave its feedback instantly. Sampath, a professional, shared his wish to join the team in their upcoming ventures.

“I enjoyed all the movies and each one was different from the other. Aaa Raatri succeeded in creating a kind of fear among the audience while Kelade Nimageega was very touching. The efforts of these young artistes are appreciable. After watching their films, I want to work with them,” he expressed.