Padmashri B Jayashree

Padmashri B Jayashree is in the bay area to direct 'Jasma Odan' performed with actors and crew from our theater group Nataka Chaitra. Two shows of Jasma Odan is coming up next weekend on Feb 8 and Feb 9. The play is in the tradional Gujurathi folk art 'Bhavai'. Incidentally Nataka Chaitra is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In the last ten years Nataka Chaitra has performed twenty two shows of fourteen Kannada plays.

This evening Nataka Chaitra had organized a very nice event where we got a chance to have close interaction with B Jayashree. It was a pleasant and informal setting. Jayashree madam spoke about her childhood days in Gubbi Veeranna's drama companay, her career, her times at National School of Drama and even her stint in the Rajya Sabha. The audience participated enthusiastically by asking very interesting questions to which Jayashree responded with her opinions as well as vividly describing wonderful instances in her life. She spoke about many aspects of theater including director's vision, acting techniques, differences with film acting and much more. The evening was sweetened with tea and samosa.

We are all excitedly looking forward to this stage festival next week's performance of Jasma Odan. Please do not miss this colorful folk production.

Thanks to Niveditha Kashyap for taking this nice picture.

Kannada film review: Avame Sriman Narayana

I found the movie engaging and very well made. The movie provides good entertainment without resorting to vulgarity. I give it a 'thumbs up'. As many have already noted it should have been reduced by 20 to 30 minutes and some just did not like it. So your mileage may vary.

It takes special talent to make something really silly. The maker needs to convince the audience that what (s)he created looks silly but will be entertaining and demonstrates that a lot of effort and creativity went into making it. If the audience believes this, then it is willing to suspend or entirely check out disbelief and simply enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts. I think this might explain the popularity of the latest Kannada hit film 'avane srimannarayana'. It was dubbed in four other languages and I heard that the movie is a already a hit in Telugu.

The story is a mash up of folklore, fantasy, Hollywood westerns, Tarantino-ish cinema tricks and our own good old hero worshiping stories. I hope I can use this term 'Magic realism' for the genre of this movie. The dictionary explains it as 'a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy'. A scene which fits this description in the movie is the dance sequence with the drama troupe - it is dream like.

Many times you feel the hero does stunts which are ridiculously unbelievable but hey if Avengers and John Wick can do it and make money why not Rakshit Shetty?

Congratulations to the director Sachin and the entire team on the commercial success of this movie. But soon they should come out with their own style which is not heavily influenced by foreign movies.

Game of Thrones fans : What in the movie reminds you of GOT?

ವರ್ಕ್ ಫ಼್ರಂ ಹೋಮ್

ವರ್ಕ್ ಫ಼್ರಂ ಹೋಮ್

"ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ದೋಸೆ ಬರ್ತಾ ಇದೆ"
ಅಂತ ಒಳಗಿನಿಂದ ಅಮ್ಮ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ
ಬೆಳಗಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಕೊಠಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ
ಮನೆಯಿಂದಾನೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನಾನು
ಪೂರಿಯಂತೆ ಉಬ್ಬಿ
ಆಡುಗೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹಾರಿಹೋದೆ.
"ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ ಡಬ್ಬೀಲಿ"
ಅಂತ ಅಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದುವರಿಸಿದಾಗ
ಉಸಿರು ಹಿಡಿದು ಪೂರಿ ಪರಿಯಲ್ಲೆ ನಿಂತೆ.
"ಹನ್ನೊಂದು ಗಂಟೆಗೆ Zee ನಲ್ಲಿ"
ಅಂತ TV ಕಡೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟು ತೂರಿಸಿದಾಗ
ಪಂಕ್ಚರ್ ಆದ ಬೆಲೂನಿಂತೆ
ಸುರ್ರೆಂದು ತೇಲಿಕೊಂಡು
ಹೊರ ಕೊಠಡಿಗೆ ಬಂದು
ನಿಯಮಾನುಸಾರ ಕೌಚಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಕುಸಿದು
ಕೆಲಸ ಮುಂದುವರಿಸಿದೆ.

ವ್ಯಾಲೆಂಟೈನ್ ಗುಲಾಬಿ

ವ್ಯಾಲೆಂಟೈನ್ ಗುಲಾಬಿ

ಇಂದು ಪ್ರೇಮದ ಸಂಕೇತವಾಗಿ,
ನಾಳೆ ಗುಲ್ಕಂದ್ ಆಗಿ,
ಎಲೆಯೊಳಗೊಂದಾಗಿ,
ಬೀಡಾ ಎಂದಾಗಿ,
ತುಟಿ ಬಾಯಿ ಕೆಂಪಾಗಿ,
ಕೈಯಿಂದ ಮುಡಿಗೆ,
ಮುಡಿಯಿಂದ ಅಡಿಗೆ,
ಬಿದ್ದರೂ,
ಬಾಯ್ ಸೇರಿ ಮೆರೆವೆ,
ಓ ಕೆಂಗುಲಾಬಿಯೆ!

ಶುಭ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ

Photo Credit: Internet

ಶುಭ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ

ಕಂಪನಿ ಕೃಪಾಪೋಷಿತ
ನಾಟಕ ಮಂಡಳಿಯ
ಗೋಳು ನಾಟಕದ
ಈ ವಾರದ ಕಡೇಯ
ಆಟಕ್ಕೆ
ಬೇಗಲೇ ಬಂದು
ಬೇಗಲೇ ತಿಂದು
ಕಾಫಿ ಕುಡಿದು
ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಮಧ್ಯೆ
ಒಂದೆರಡು ಬಾರಿ
ಒಂದೆರಡ ಮುಗಿಸಿ
ಮದ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಮೀಟಿಂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ
ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತು
ನಾನೂ ಇದೀನಿ ಅಂತ
ಕನವರಿಸಿ
ಇಂದಿನ ಆಟಕ್ಕೆ
ಪರದೆ ಎಂದು ಬೀಳುವುದೋ
ಎಂದು ಕಾಯುವಾಗ
ವಾರಾಂತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಆಗಲಿರುವ
ಈಗಾಗಲೆ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಸಲ ನೋಡಿ
ನಿರಾಸೆಗೊಂಡಿರುವ
ಹರ್ಷಮಯ ನಾಟಕದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ
ಸಂಭ್ರಮ.
ಸಡಗರ.

ಪಾತ್ರೆ ಸಾರಥಿ

ಪಾತ್ರೆಸಾರಥಿ ವಾರ್ತೆ.


ಪಾತ್ರೆಸಾರಧಿ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಪಾತ್ರೆ ತೊಳೆಯುವ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಹೊತ್ತವನು ಅನ್ನೊ ಅರ್ಥವೂ ಇದೆ. ಸ್ವತಹ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಳೆಯುವುದೊ ಅಥವ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ತೊಳೆಯುವ ಯಂತ್ರವನ್ನು ಬಳಸೋದೋ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಅವನ ಕಾರ್ಯವೈಕರಿಯನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿದ್ದು. ಈ ಎರಡು ವಿಧಾನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ವಿಧಾನಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಕೈ ಕೆಲಸವೇ ಸಾಧು ಎಂದು ಅನುಭವಸ್ತರು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನೀವು ಯಂತ್ರವನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವಿರಾದರೆ ಪಾತ್ರೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೂರಕ್ಕೆ ತೊಂಬತ್ತು ಭಾಗ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಳೆದೇ ಯಂತ್ರದೊಳಗೆ ಇರಿಸಬೇಕೆಂಬುದು ಯಂತ್ರದ ಅಲಿಖಿತ ಕರಾರು. ಹಾಗೆ ಮಾಡದಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾತ್ರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತೊಳೆಯದೆ, ಆಹಾರದ ತುಣುಕುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಕಡೆ ಉಳಿಸಿ, ಅಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೇ ಸುಮ್ಮನಾಗದೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೀಳುವುದಿರಲಿ ಮೊಗುಚೋ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಬ್ಬಿದರೂ  ಬರದ ರೀತಿ ಪಾತ್ರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಆಂಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಒಣಗಿಸಿ, ಯಂತ್ರವು ಪಾತ್ರೆಸಾರಥಿಯ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ಸಂಕಟಮಯವಾಗಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ನೂರಕ್ಕೆ ತೊಂಬತ್ತು ಭಾಗ ತೊಳೆಯುವುದೇ ಆದರೆ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲೇ ತೊಳೆದು ಬಿಡುವುದೇ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಕ್ರಮ ಎಂದು ತನ್ನ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಸ್ಥಳಿಯ ಪಾತ್ರೆಸಾರಥಿ ಸಂಘದವರು ಆದೇಶ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಳೆದ ಪಾತ್ರೆಗಳನ್ನು  ಪಾತ್ರೆತೊಳೆಯುವ ಯಂತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಿಸಿ ನೀರಿಳಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಯಂತ್ರದ ನಿರುಪಯುಕ್ತತೆಯನ್ನು ನಿವಾರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು ಎಂಬ ಸಲಹೆಯನ್ನೂ ಸಂಘವು ನೀಡಿದೆ

Facebook Mantra

ಅಣ್ಣಾವ್ರು ಇದ್ದಿದ್ರೆ ಹೀಗಂದಿರೌರು.

ಮುತ್ತಿನಂಥ ಮಾತೊಂದು ಗೊತ್ತೇನಮ್ಮ
ನಿನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತೇನಮ್ಮ
ನಾವು ಒಂದು ದಿನಕೆ
ಒಂದೇ ಪೋಸ್ಟು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು
ಲೈಕು ನೂರು ಇದ್ದರೂ
ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಮಾತ್ರ
ಮೂರು ಸಾಕು.

Ancient Theater in Greece.

I had read that theater originated in Greece as early as in the 5th century BC. Thespis was the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor playing a character in a play (leading to actors being called Thespians). Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles are three ancient Greek tragedians from that period whose plays have survived. Antigone, Oedipus Rex and Medea are some of their pioneering works. They would play these 'Greek Tragedies' on the slopes of hills watched by thousands of viewers. It was nice to imagine being there when they performed these plays.

Last summer I got the opportunity to visit one such place. This is the picture of the ancient theater located on the slopes of the mountains in Delphi, Greece, It was originally built in the 4th century BC.

It is a mesmerizing experience to stand and walk in the place where theater originated more than 2000 years ago. The occasion of 'World Theater Day' brought back this memory.

Dostalgia

Yesterday my friend Vinay posted on FB asking where in the Bay area he can find set dosey similar to what we get in Bengaluru. That reminded me of my NCC parades on Saturday and Sunday mornings during my Pre University College days back in Bengaluru. In my College days I was a cadet in Armored Corps. I would go off to Malleswaram 18th Cross grounds early in the morning to take part in a 4 hour tiring NCC parade which involved march-pasts, standing in ATTENTION and once in a while the drill sergeant would order 'Stand at ease'.

After all the grilling NCC drill, they would give us a coupon for Rs 1.80 for 'New Krishna Cafe' at the intersection of 17th cross and 8th Main in Malleswaram - very close to MES college.

So walking back home from the parade ground I would stop at Sri Krishna Cafe. What could I get for Rs 1.80? As it turns out we could order a 'set dosey' with three thick porous Doseys for Rs 1.80. I would tell the 'hotel' clerk "set dosey. Parcel !! " .

The high light was that they would wrap the 3 Doseys in two layers of banana leaves with - get this - a generous serving of the most delicious gaTTi chutney (Thick Chutney) between the 2 banana leaves. Those banana leaves enhanced the taste of the Dosey and the Chutney by 200%.

I could not wait to go home and unwrap this dosey packet. The bliss of eating it made the 4 hour drill in the morning on an empty stomach and the 30 minute walk back home well worth the effort.

ನಿವೇದನೆ..

ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಪರಿಮಳ ಆಸ್ವಾದಿಸುವಾಗ ಮೂಗು ತರಚುವ ಮುಳ್ಳು,

ಸವಿರುಚಿಯ ನಡುವೆ ನಾಲಿಗೆ ಗೀಚುವ ಕಂಟಕ ಪೈನಾಪಲ್ನಲ್ಲೂ!

ಹೇ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಕರ್ತ, ಇದು ಯಾವ ರೀತಿಯ ತರ್ಕ?

ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದಾದರೂ, ಸಕಲ ಜೀವರಾಶಿಯ ಸೃಜಿಸುವ ಮುನ್ನನಮ್ಮನ್ನೂ ಒಂದು ಮಾತು ಕೇಳುವುದು ಚೆನ್ನ

The Wire

A decade late to the game, I started watching HBO's 'The Wire' a few months back. It took me a couple of months to finish the 60 episode series. But it was well worth it. The first season started off as a police procedural which takes on the drug traffickers in the city of Baltimore in Maryland. It involved the cops trying to bring down drug dealers in the high rise projects of Baltimore. I thought the whole series was about drug dealers. But the show turned out to be more ambitious than that. It takes the lid off of the city of Baltimore and lays bare in elaborate detail the forces that makes the city what it is including law enforcement, poverty and life of crime, politics, education system, the working class of the city - all with the backdrop of the drug trade especially in the poorer and broken neighborhoods of the city. The show is engrossing and thrilling. I have been asked how it compares with Breaking Bad. Even though Breaking Bad was very exciting, it has many situations which are sometimes beyond the limits of plausibility. The Wire is an absolutely realistic portrayal of many walks of life but they are all within the realms of possibility. Even though it is the story of Baltimore, many critics have raved that it captures essence of any big city in the USA.

There is a big cast of interesting characters played to perfection by the actors. Snoop, Bubbles, Carcetti, Lester, Stinger are just a few of the unforgettable characters.

It is being touted 'The best show ever'. It is not an exaggeration.

ಅಣ್ಣಾವ್ರಿಗೆ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ

ಅಣ್ಣಾವ್ರಿಗೆ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ

ಈಗ ನಮ್ಮೂರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ ಸೀಜನ್ನು. ಹೀಗಿರಲು ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ ವಿನಯ್, ವರನಟ, ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಕಣ್ಮಣಿ, ಅಣ್ಣಾವ್ರಿಗೇನಾದ್ರು ಅಲರ್ಜಿ ಆಗಿದ್ರೆ ಹೇಗಿರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಅಂತ ವಿಚಾರ ತೆಗೆದ್ರು. ಅ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯಿಂದ, 'ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಲಿ ಅಕ್ಷೀ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಿರುವ ಸೀನನ್ನೆ ಕಾಣುವೆ' ಅನಿಸುವ ಈ ವಾತಾವರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿದ ಈ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ, ಅಭಿಮಾನಿ ದೇವರುಗಳಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿತ .....

ಬಬ್ರುವಾಹನ: ಏನು ಪಾರ್ಥ, ಆಂ... ಹೆಹೆ, ಕೆಂಗಣ್ಣಿನಿಂದ ಕೆಕ್ಕರಿಸಿ ನೋಡಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಗೆಲ್ಲಲಾರೆ...ಅಲರ್ಜಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಶರಣಾದ ನಿನಗೆ ಆ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ.

ಅರ್ಜುನ: ಮದಾಂಧ! ವಸಂತ ಕಾಲ ಬಂದಾಗ ಪರಾಗ ಸ್ಪರ್ಷವಾಗಲೇ ಬೇಕು, ಕಣ್ಣು ಕೆಂಪಾಗಲೇ ಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯದ ಮೂರ್ಖ. ಅತಲ, ವಿತಲ, ಸುತಲ, ತಲಾತಲ, ರಸಾತಲ, ಮಹಾತಲ, ಪಾತಾಳ ಲೋಕಗಳಲಿ ಅಲರ್ಜಿಗಳ ಸದೆಬಡಿದ ಈ ಅರ್ಜುನನ ನಾಸಿಕ ಬಲದ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮ ನಿನಗೇನು ತಿಳಿದಿದೆಯೋ

ಬ: ಅಹ್ಹಹ್ಹಹ್ಹ ... ಯಾರು ತಿಳಿಯರು ನಿನ್ನ ನಾಸಿಕಬಲದ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಾ. ಆ ಆ ಆ ಆ

ಚೈತ್ರದೋಳ್ ಆರ್ಜಿಸಿದ ಆ ನಿನ್ನ ಅಲರ್ಜಿಗಳ ಗೆದ್ದ ಮರ್ಮ..ಆಂ ಆಂ

ಎಲ್ಲದಕೂ ಕಾರಣವೂ ಫ್ರೀ ಕ್ಲಾರಿಟಿನ್ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ......

ಹಗಲೆರಡು ಇರುಳೆರಡು ಗುಳಿಗೆಗಳು ಮೇ ಸೇರಿ

ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ ತಂದಿತ್ತ ಆ ಮದ್ದು ನಂದನ

ಅದಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಬಂದ ನೀನು ಒಂಟಿ ಸೀನಿಗೆ ಸಮಾನ ಆಂ ಆಂ ಆಂ

Movie Review - Shuddhi - Kannada (2017)

Shuddhi is an excellent thriller

Today I watched the new Kannada movie Shuddhi in Serra Theaters in Milpitas.

Usually when I watch a movie and like it, I just write about it saying I liked it. But this movie is so SOLID I am going to stick my neck out and say "Please go and watch this movie".

We needed a Kannada movie like this and I was waiting for it.

The movie takes up the prevalent issue of rape and atrocities on women and delivers awareness in the form of a top notch thriller that keeps you guessing and frequently provides twists which keep turning your grasp of the story upside down till the end.

It is a satisfying movie experience.

I am so impressed by the team that made this movie I can't help wonder where were all these guys till now! Well I guess they were not around making movies because they were young and growing up. Hats off to the writer-director Adarsh H Eeshwarappa for making this movie which has a fantastic story with many layers to it. The entire cast and crew have turned in their best performances and made this movie a real thrill to watch.

The first thing that stands out for me is the very natural acting by all the actors. In this movie everybody speaks one of the most authentic Kannada I have ever heard in movies. The characters are all very natural and believable. The police officers appear, behave and talk like real police officers and not like the artificial larger than life screen heroes which we usually see in movies. The movie has three leading ladies Nivedita, Amrutha Karagada and the American actress Lauren Spartano.

Nivedita and Amrutha have given very dignified understated but yet very endearing performances. What I liked about them was the way they act like real human characters without the false airs we commonly see in movie heroines. They deliver their dialogues in down-to-earth Kannada which is spoken in real life and not with the artificial stuck-up accent heard only from movie heroines. Shashank Purushotham who plays the police detective and his assistants (don't know their names) stand out for the ease with which they essay their roles. Lauren Spartano speaks only English as she should and is very impressive in her role.

It is worth noting that the actors were all picked up from five or six drama troupes and are all strongly rooted in Kannada soil and culture. That explains the attractiveness of the dialogue delivery in the movie.

The movie scores well in technical aspects too with good photography, screen play and dialogues.

Kudos to the story-writer-director Adarsh Eeshwarappa and the producers Nandini Madesh and Madesh Bhaskar.

And thanks to Kasturi Media for bringing this movie to USA.

We are really lucky that we see a band of young directors like Rakshit Shetty, Pavan Kumar, Anup Bhandari, Duniya Suri, Hemant, Satyaprakash and others who are coming up with fresh ideas and delivering well made movies. It is a great time for Kannada Film Industry with a stream of successful high quality movies like Ulidavaru Kandante, Lucia, Rangitaranga, U-turn, Kenda Sampige, Godhi Banna Sadharana MykaTTu, Rama Rama Re and many more to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXIcCYjr-s

Disgusting exploitation of the loving characters from the phenomenal Kannada movie Thithi

Disgusting exploitation of the loving characters from the phenomenal Kannada movie Thithi

I love the recent multiple award winning Kannada movie 'Thithi' so much that I can't get enough of it. After watching the movie twice, I binge watched any video on Youtube remotely connected with the movie. In that process I ended up watching a disgusting trailer of a movie which is still not released.
ಆ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಹೆಸರು "ತಾತನ್ ತಿಥಿ, ಮೊಮ್ಮಗನ್ ಪ್ರಸ್ತ " >:( >:( >:(

The name of that movie (still in the making) is "Thaatana Thithi, mommagana prastha".

I really regretted watching the trailer of that movie.

In the words of Gaddappa - the 'phramose' character from the movie : "ಏನ್ ನೋಡ್ಬಾರ್ದಾಗಿತ್ತೊ .. ಅದನ್ನಾ ... ನೋಡ್ದೆ!"

ನೆನೆಪಿಸಿ ಕೊಂಡ್ರೆ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ತೊಳ್ಸತ್ತೆ!
ಅಯ್ಯಪ್ಪ! ಎಂತ ಜನ ಇರ್ತಾರೆ. ಥೂ ನಿಮ್ ಜನ್ಮಕ್ಕಷ್ಟು ! ಒಂದ್ ಚೂರೂ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನ ಇಲ್ಲದ್ ಹೊಲಸ್ @#$%& . ಈ ಕೆಲಸ, ಭಟ್ಟಿ ಇಳಿಸಿ ರೀಮೇಕ್ ಮಾಡೊದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ನಾಚಿಕ್ಕೇಡಿನ್ ಕೆಲ್ಸ! I guess there is no way to stop such shameless a$$h&^%$ from making this kind of vulgar thrash of a trailer and in the process make money by riding on someone else's classy work of art.

All the characters in the movie Thithi are so dear it feels yukky to see them being exploited in such a crass way. It is unfortunate that the makers of Thithi cannot curtail such cheapos from exploiting the work they lovingly created. At the same time it is understandable that the actors want to capitalize on their own fame. But these parasites who made the trailer have no business to freeload on other's painstaking achievements.

I think the only thing the makers of Thithi can do and are doing are to disassociate themselves from such sh&^.

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Renaming Mysore Bank

Renaming of the Mysore Bank Building

No more "mysur bank! mysur bank! yarree Mysur Bank?.. iLkoLi" ?

No more asking "mysur bank mele hogutto, KR Circle mele hogutto? "

No more telling "mysur bank hatra sigona. Vishnu Bhavanalli masal dose coffee baarisi, saagaralli first show nodkond baroNa"

When I was a kid this gorgeous looking building on Kempegowda Road, the head office of the home grown State Bank of Mysore was the pride of Bengaluru. Until Jayanagar Complex came into being, until the Public Utility Building (aka 22 story building) on MG Road and the LIC building near General Post Office came up, this 'Mysur Bank' was the most imposing and beautiful building in Bengaluru. To my mind at that time, the presence of such multistory buildings was an indication of modernity. It was an indication that Bangalore too can one day become like those cities in foreign countries or for that matter like Bombay in our own country.

I have walked past this building countless times right from my childhood days. It only became more frequent when I became a student of UVCE which was at KR circle nearby. We used to go to that restaurant (forgot the name) in Kaveri Bhavan complex diagonally opposite Mysore Bank. I remember eating cutlet in that place. We have walked past Mysur bank every time we had to go to Subhas Book house on Avenue Road. Just to clarify I did not use Subhas Guides. We only bought Text books :-) There were also those footpath vendors who sold books titled "Janapriya Kannada Chitragetegalu". Just having one of those song books gave the amateur singer the confidence to subject listeners to the pleasure of listening to his songs.

We also used to visit a store across the bank, where they sold Scientific Supplies. This was necessary for those unfortunate students who broke Test tubes, Burettes, pippets and beakers in the Chemistry Lab and had to replace them

Probably it was in this building that I used the lift (elevator) for the first time. I remember going to the top floor of this building and being fascinated by the view of the tree lined Kempegowda road and of the greenery of the garden city in general.

This building which has been in existence for at least more than four decades was renamed "State Bank of India" as of last week. Even though the name has changed, the name "Mysur Bank" cannot be erased from the lips of bus conductors and the general public so easily.

Oh just to clarify, we don't need to despair. The Mysore Bank building itself is intact. It will be there hopefully for a long long time.

Photo Credit: thehindubusinessline.com.

Here is a link to article on this topic in The Hindu.
http://www.thehindu.com/…/adieu-state-b…/article17746027.ece

ಅಧಿಕ ಪ್ರಸಂಗಿ ಫೋನು

ನಿನ್ನೆ ಸಂಜೆ ನನ್ನ ಮಗಳ ಬ್ಯಾಸ್ಕೆಟ್ ಬಾಲ್ ಪಂದ್ಯ ಒಂದು ಸ್ಕೂಲ್ ಮೈದಾನದಲ್ಲಿತ್ತು. ಆಫೀಸಿನಿಂದ ಆ ಸ್ಕೂಲಿಗೆ ನೇರವಾಗಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅಂತ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಫೋನಿನ ಗೂಗಲ್ ನಕ್ಷೆಯನ್ನು ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದೆ. ಆ ಅಧಿಕ ಪ್ರಸಂಗಿ ಫೋನು ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ನನಗೆ ಬೇಕಾದ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡೋದು ಬಿಟ್ಟು "The school will be closed by the time you reach there" ಅನ್ನುವುದೆ? "ಎಲೆ ಎತ್ತೊ ಗುಂಡ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಉಂಡೋರ್ ಎಷ್ಟ್ ಜನ?" ಅಂದ ಹಾಗಾಯ್ತು ಇದು. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಿರಿಕಿರಿ ಉಂಟಾದದರೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಗಾದೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಕಾಲ ದೇಶಗಳನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನಗಳನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತತೆ ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯಾಯಿತು.

endendu ninnanu maretu on guitar

endendu ninnanu maretu on guitar

Listening to these two ladies play this song gave me pure joy! Right from the opening note I fell into a trance. Especially because this song 'endendu ninnanu maretu' from Eradu Kanasu from 1974, is still green in the minds of Kannada film aficionados. That is the magic of this song picturized on the much loved actor Dr. Rajkumar and Manjula who is also popular in her own right. Listening to the original song sets the mind to the mood of the early 70s. The instrumental rendition by these ladies with the ringing guitar notes only enhances that mood. I have listened to it many times now.

On a related note, among romantic songs this song goes head to head (I know head does not fit in the same sentence as romantic, but ) with "Jeeva Veene needu " from Hombisilu picturized on another popular pair Vishnuvardhan and Arathi.

If you want to listen to more music from these two ladies search for 'Sandhya Raman or Vidya Ashok Kumar' on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftiCZLb8wFc

ಋಎವೆವ್: Lion (2016)

Lion (2016)

It is very rare that non Indian film makers get it right when they make a movie set in India. The recent movie Lion is an exception. The movie tells the tale of our desire to search for our roots and identity. The first half tells the story of Saroo a five year old darling of a boy who lives with his mother and his siblings. He is very attached to his older brother Guddu. Once Saroo gets separated from his brother Guddu and starts looking for him. Scared and desperate he ends up getting inside a stationary train compartment and falls asleep on a seat. When he wakes up the train has moved far away from his town and eventually he ends up thousands of Kilometers away from home, in Kolkota. The little boy does not know anything other than the name of his hamlet - Ganesh Talai and not knowing Bengali he is unable to communicate with others there and is unable to get any help. After many encounters with other homeless children and adults including some with nefarious objectives he ends up in an orphanage. Soon he is adopted by a very noble minded Australian couple and grows up in Australia. In the later part of the movie we meet a twenty five year old Saroo who is still searching for his home in India and still yearns to meet his mother and brother. The rest of the movie is about Saroo's efforts to try and return to his original home.

The highlight of the movie is without doubt the lovely performance by the five year old Sunny Pawar. He is the embodiment of an innocent child and yet can convey so much of feelings and emotions and portrays the role of Saroo wonderfully. Dev Patel plays the older Saroo and is very effective. He was nominated for the best actor award at the Oscars. But Nicole Kidman as the mother who adopts Saroo, stands out with her dignified acting. The movie is very successful in capturing the Indian side of the story with authenticity and wonder.

The story comes across as unbelievable except that it is a true story. It is based on the novel "A Long way home" by Saroo Brierley the main character in the movie. Also I think this is the first time that an actor of India origin was nominated in the best actor category at the Oscars.

Lion is a very significant movie and it is worth watching.

ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆಯುವ ಈ ಪ್ರಯೋಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ - ಏಕ್ ಅಕೇಲ

ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆಯುವ ಈ ಪ್ರಯೋಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ :-)

ನೀವು ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ್ದು: ಕೆಳಗೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಹಿಂದಿ ಹಾಡಿನ 7 ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸಿ ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕು.

ವಿವರಗಳು:
ಇದು ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಯೋಗ. ಒಂದೆ ಅರ್ಥಬರುವಂತ ಕವಿತೆಯನ್ನು ವಿವಿಧ ಬರಹಗಾರರು, ವಿವಿಧ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದರೆ ಹೇಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ತಿಳಿಯುವುದೇ ಈ ಪ್ರಯೋಗದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಬರಹಗಾರರು ಬರೆಯಲು ಅನುಕೂಲಕರವಾಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಸ್ವಂತ ಕವಿತೆ ಬರೆಯುವ ಬದಲು ಭಾಷಾಂತರ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಸುಲಭವೆನಿಸಿ ಈ ಪ್ರಯೋಗವನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಹಿಂದಿಯ ಒಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಗೀತೆಯ ಕೆಲ ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಆಯ್ದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಈ ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸೃಜನಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸುವುದೇ ಈಗಿರುವ ಕೆಲಸ.

ಘರೋಂಡ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆಂದು ಗುಲ್ಜಾರ್ ಅವರು ರಚಿಸಿರುವ "ಏಕ್ ಅಕೇಲ ಇಸ್ ಶಹರ್ ಮೆ" ನನಗೆ ಅತೀ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗುವ ಹಾಡುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು. ಭೂಪಿಂದರ್ ಅವರ ಸಾಂತ್ವಾನ ನೀಡುವಂತಹ ಧ್ವನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಮಂದ ಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುವ ಈ ಹಾಡಿನ ಅರ್ಥಗರ್ಭಿತ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆಗಳುಳ್ಳ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ಮುಂಬೈನಂತ ಬೃಹತ್ ನಗರದ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳ ಯಾಂತ್ರಿಕತೆ ಹಾಗು ಅನಾಥ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸಮರ್ಪಕವಾಗಿ ಹೊರಗೆಡುಹುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಹಾಡಿನ ಎರಡನೆ ನುಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಈ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ಕೇಳುಗರ ಅಂತರಂಗವನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟುವಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹಳ ಸಫಲವಾಗಿವೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

"ಇನ್ ಉಮ್ರ್ ಸೆ ಲಂಬಿ ಸಡಕೋಂಕೊ,
ಮಂಜಿಲ್ ಪೆ ಪಹುಂಚ್ತೆ ದೇಖಾ ನಹಿ
ಬಸ್ ದೌಡತಿ ಫಿರತೀ ರೆಹತಿ ಹೈ
ಹಮ್ನೆ ತೊ ಟೆಹರತೆ ದೇಖಾ ನಹಿ
ಇಸ್ ಅಜನಬೀ ಸೆ ಶೆಹರ್ ಮೇ
ಜಾನಾ ಪೆಹಚಾನ ಢೂಂಡ್ತಾ ಹೈ,
ಢೂಂಡ್ತಾ ಹೈ, ಢೂಂಡ್ತಾ ಹೈ"

ಈ ಸಾಲುಗಳ ತಾತ್ಪರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಶ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.

I have tried to give a simple translation of the above lines here. If there is anything wrong please correct me.

"These streets which seem longer than one's life span,
never seem to reach a destination.
It seems they just run and move around.
They never seen to stop for a while.
In this unfamiliar city, all it does is to constantly search
for known and familiar faces"

ಈಗ ಇಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಜಾಣ ಜಾಣೆಯರಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಸವಾಲು.

ಈ ಮೇಲಿನ ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ, ಮೂಲದಲ್ಲಿರುವಷ್ಟೇ ಅಥವ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬರೆಯಲು ನಿಮಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆ? ಯಾವುದೇ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧವಿಲ್ಲ ! ನೀವು ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಕಾವ್ಯಾಲಂಕಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸಬಹುದು, ಬಳಸದಿರಲೂಬಹುದು. ಈ ಮೇಲಿನ ಅರ್ಥ ಬರಬೇಕು ಮತ್ತು ಹಾಡಿನ ಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬದ್ಧವಾಗಿರಬೇಕು ಅಷ್ಟೆ! ನೀವು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಪಡುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಬೇರೆಯವರು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಅದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಭಾವಿತರಾಗಬೇಡಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಲ್ಪನೆಗೆ ಬಂದದ್ದನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿತ ಬರೆಯಿರಿ. ಆಯ್ಯೊ ಅವರಿನ್ಯಾರೋ ಈಗಾಗಲೆ ಬರೆದು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದಾರೆ ಅಂತ ನೀವು ಸುಮ್ಮನಾಗಬಾರದು ಅಂತ ನನ್ನ ಕೋರಿಕೆ.

ಆಲ್ ದಿ ಬೆಸ್ಟ್!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pax5xLX6aNU

Americans learn process and efficiency in their schools

For the thousandth time, Friday brought with it the hope and anticipation of a joyful time called the weekend. The promise held good till Saturday morning. Dinner outside with family on Friday evening, watched Netflix till late in the night and woke up late on Saturday morning and enjoyed avalkki breakfast with family. Once Saturday started rolling, doubts started creeping into the mind, not without justification, that this was going to be yet another weekend whose promise was not going to be realized.
But today has been different. So, I just want to make a note of it.
This morning I had the duty of re-proving that we are still residents of San Jose so that my daughter can continue to go to the local school. The school district had sent a letter which listed in clear language all the documents (originals) that I needed to take to prove residency like Driver's Licence, latest Electricity bill, current property tax bill etc. They also had suggested alternatives if you did not have these exact documents.
This task was causing a bit of anxiety because I had to collect all these documents (in the last minute of course) and then there would be long lines. In this frame of mind, I took the documents and went to the school.
But I was very pleased with how it all turned out. As soon as I approached the office, a teacher wearing a bright T-shirt with the school emblems, walked up to me and gave me a small piece of paper and told me "If you organize all your documents in the order shown on this paper, it will make it faster" and then pointed me to the line where I should stand. I stood in the line listening to classical music playing on an IPOD connected to a speaker. As I moved to the head of the line, another teacher showed me to a table where there were 5 teachers, One of them verified all the documents, put them in a packet and on I went to another station where there were two girls (students) doing the next part. One of them took my packet and said in a confident voice "This is how it is going to work. I will send this to the back office where they will make copies of these documents and put them into a file. They will then call your name and give you back the originals. Until then please go and sit where all others are sitting".
I then went and sat in a group of 50 people - all parents, with heads buried in their smart phones. waiting for the originals to come back. I sat there watching with admiration as 4 or 5 young girl students all wearing school t-shirts came out of the back office every couple of minutes and in an authoritative voice called the names of parents to hand back the originals. The girls impressed me with their excitement about what they were doing. They were having fun too. One girl came out of the back office and called "Alex Chen" and immediately four moms walked up to her and the girl started laughing and said "Oh there are four Alex Chens ?" . One of the parents said "there are lot more than four". Then two girls came out together and one of them pointed to the other and said with a big smile "Calling the parent of this beautiful young lady" and a dad came running with a big laughter to collect his originals. In the process "he created a big scene with loud talking" much to the embarrassment of his daughter.
Eventually I got my originals after just 10 minutes. Every document was intact and I walked out feeling a sense of accomplishment.
I thought the whole episode was beautifully managed. It is easy to see how the American system inculcates a system of efficiency and process right from an young age.
Saturday has been - so far so good. I am sure the experience at the school contributed to it. But I am still not able to decide which was more brighter this morning - the sun or the smiles on the young faces.