ಕೆಲವು ವಾರಗಳ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಒಂದು ರಾತ್ರಿ. ಸುಮಾರು ಹತ್ತೂವರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಿರಬಹುದು. ಮನೆಯ ಬಳಿಯಿರುವ ಶಾಂತಿಸಾಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಂತ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ನನ್ನ ಎರಡನೆಯ ಸುತ್ತಿನ ಮೊದಲನೆ ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆಯನ್ನು ಸವಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಎಂದಿನಂತೆ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಜನರಿದ್ದರು. ಹತ್ತಿರದಲ್ಲೇ ಯಾರೋ "ಅಂಕಲ್" ಎಂದು ಕರೆದಂತಾಯಿತು. ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿ ಅಲಕ್ಷಿಸಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಎರಡನೇ ಬಾರಿ ಮತ್ತೆ "ಅಂಕಲ್" ಎಂದು ಕರೆದದ್ದು, ಅದೂ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹತ್ತಿರದಿಂದಲೇ ಧ್ವನಿ ಕೇಳಿದಂತಾಗಿ, ತಿರುಗಿ ನೋಡಿದೆ. ನನ್ನ ಬೆನ್ನಿನ ಬದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ಹುಡುಗ ನಿಂತಿದ್ದ. ಅವನ ಮುಖ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಅವನು ಕರೆದಿದ್ದು ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಎಂದು ಖಾತ್ರಿಯಾಯಿತು. ಸುಮಾರು ೧೨-೧೩ ವರ್ಷದವನಿರಬಹುದು. ಉದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ, ಬಡಿ ಬಡೀ ಇದ್ದ. ಅವನು ಧರಿಸಿದ್ದ ತಿಳಿ ನೀಲಿಗೆರೆಯ ಬಿಳಿ ಅಂಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕಡು ನೀಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಚಡ್ಡಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದರೆ, ಅದು ಯಾವುದೇ ಶಾಲೆಯ ಸಮವಸ್ತ್ರವೆಂಬುದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗುವಂತಿತ್ತು.

"ಏನು" ಎನ್ನುವಂತೆ ಅವನ ಮುಖನೋಡಿದೆ.
"ಸರ್.. Excuse me ಸರ್.. " ಎಂದ..
ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಬಾಯಿಬಿಟ್ಟು "ಏನು" ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದೆ.

ಧೈರ್ಯ ಬಂದವನಂತೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಚುರುಕಾಗಿ ನನ್ನ ಪಕ್ಕ ಬಂದು ನನಗೆ ಅವನ ಮುಖ ಕಾಣುವಂತೆ ನಿಂತುಕೊಂಡ. ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ೧೦ರೂ. ನ ಮೂರ್ನಾಲ್ಕು ನೋಟು ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಆ ಹುಡುಗ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದರೆ ನಾಲ್ಕೈದು ಸಾಲಾಗಬಹುದಾದಂತಹ ಒಂದು ಉsssದ್ದ ವಾಕ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕೈಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು, ಹೇಳಿದ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದನ್ನೆ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದ.

ಸಾರಾಂಶ ಏನಪಾ ಅಂತಂದ್ರೆ: ಅವನಿಗೆ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಲು ದುಡ್ಡಿಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸಹಾಯ ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದ..
ಸರಿ..
"ಮನೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿ?" ಎಂದೆ.
"ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಸಾರ್, ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ ನಗರ" ಎಂದ.

"ಊಟ ಆಯ್ತಾ" ಎಂದರೆ... ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ಬಾವನೆ ಮೂಡಿಸಿ ತಲೆ ಕೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾ.. "ಸಾರ್, ಸ್ಕೂಲ್ ಫೀಸು" ಎಂದು ರಾಗ ಎಳೆದ.

"ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ ನಗರ ತಾನೆ? ನಾನೆ ಬಿಡ್ತೀನಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಇರು, ಹೋಗೋಣ" ಎಂದು ಅವನ ಮುಖವನ್ನೇ ಗಮನಿಸಿದೆ. ಈ ಮಾತಿನಿಂದ ಅವನು ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೆದರಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಕಂಡುಬಂದ.
ಒಂದರ್ಧ ನಿಮಿಷ ಸುಮ್ಮನಿದ್ದವನು, ನಂತರ ಹೇಳಿದ..

"ಸಾರ್, ಮನೆ ಇರೋದು ಇಲ್ಲಲ್ಲ; ಮತ್ತೀಕೆರೆಲ್ಲಿ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅಜ್ಜಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ."

ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೋ ತಿಳಿಯದ ಅನುಮಾನ ಮೂಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಹಾಗೆಂದೇ ಹೇಳಿದೆ
"ನನ್ನ ರೂಂಮೇಟು ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೇ ಹೋಗ್ತಾ ಇದಾನೆ. ಇಷ್ಟೊತ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ನೇ ಹೇಗ್ ಹೋಗ್ತೀಯ, ಅವ್ನು ಬಿಡ್ತಾನೆ"

"ಬ್ಯಾಡ ಸಾರ್, ಸುಮ್ನೆ ಯಾಕ್ ತೊಂದ್ರೆ" ಎಂದು ನಕ್ಕವನೇ ಅತ್ತ ತಿರುಗಿ ಹೊರಟುನಿಂತ..
ಅವನು ಕೇಳಿದ ದುಡ್ಡಿಗೆ ನಾನೇನೂ ಉತ್ತರವನ್ನೇ ಹೇಳಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.
"ಇರು ಕೈತೊಳ್ಕೊಂಡ್ ಬರ್ತೀನಿ" ಎನ್ನುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲೆ ಅವನು ಫುಟ್ಪಾತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜೋರು ಜೋರು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಯಿಡುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಕಂಡಿತು.

ಅವಸರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೈತೊಳೆದು ಅವನು ಹೋದ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಸರಸರನೆ ನಡೆದು ಎಲ್ಲಾದರು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾನೆನೊ ಎಂದು ನೋಡಿದೆ. ಎದುರಿನ ಬಸ್ ಸ್ಟ್ಯಾಂಡಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.. ಮತ್ತೀಕೆರೆಗೆ ನಡೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟಿರುವ ಸಾದ್ಯತೆಯೂ ಕಡಿಮೆಯೆ.

ಏನೋ, ತಲೆಯಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಗೊಂದಲವೇ ತುಂಬಿದಂತಾಗಿ, ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಜೋರಾಗಿ ತಲೆಕೊಡವಿ ಮರಳಿ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಬಳಿಹೋಗಿ ಒಂದು ಬಿಳಿ ಎಲೆ ಸ್ವೀಟ್ ಹಾಕಿ ಮೋಡದ ಮರೆಯ ಚಂದಿರನನ್ನೇ ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ಮನೆಕಡೆ ನಡೆದೆ..© Sandeepa Nadahalli

25 minutes past the lunch hour. There is a long standing queue up to the gate. Three employees of the bank who were supposed to get into the cash counters are engrossed in a gossip, loud enough for everyone to hear. Over the helpless crowd, the lovely notice board says, "Welcome to the Corporation Bank of India".

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ತುಳಸಿಯಮ್ಮನವರ ಮತ್ತು ಸುಪ್ತದೀಪ್ತಿಯವರ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಇದೆ ಜುಲೈ ೨೭ಕ್ಕೆ, ಬೆಂಗ್ಳೂರಿನ ಸುಚಿತ್ರಾ ಫಿಲ್ಮ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ೧೦ಕ್ಕೆ. ತಪ್ಪದೇ ಹೋಗಿ, ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಕೊಂಡು ಓದಿ :-)

ಇವತ್ತು ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂದಿನ ಹಾಗೆ ವಿಹರಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೆ. ನನ್ನನ್ನ ತುಂಬ ಗಾಢವಾಗಿ ಓದಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋದ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಬರಹಗಳುಳ್ಳ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಒಂದನ್ನ ನಿಮಗೆ ತೋರಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೇನೆ. ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಡಿ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. ಇದನ್ನ ಬರೀತಾ ಇದ್ದವ್ರು ಮಂಗ್ಳೂರಿನ ಡಾಕ್ಟರೊಬ್ರು :-) ಅವ್ರು ಬರೆಯೋದನ್ನ ನಿಲ್ಸಿದಾರೆ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಮುಂದುವರಿಸ್ಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಕೇಳಿ ನೋಡೋಣ :-)

It isn't much of trouble when switching languages while typing. All it needs is a toggle that after sometime becomes quite instinctive for the mind, not that easier though it seems when it comes to switching the languages while speaking.

Well, at least for me it has not been easier. Everyday I interact with so many people in Kannada that switching back to English sometimes gets me staggering.

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So, I got around to sketch this today:

This is for an article that questions the prudence of State Government's decision to allocate funds for providing free Electricity to Farmers in this year's budget.

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From Udyavara we headed towards our next destination - Kunjarugiri, a hillock (giri = hill, mountain) with temple of Goddess Durga atop. One can reach the top either by steps (a hundred or so) or by road. Though we wanted to climb the hills, we didn't want to risk our luggage on the bikes with so many monkeys around. There were so many monkeys near the temple, I stood gaurd near our bikes while Srik went inside the temple. And later we switched. To the west of Kunjarugiri, there is another smaller hillock. And there is a temple of Parashurama.

From there we visited Pajaka, the birth place of Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy. He is the one who installed the deity of Sri Krishna at Udupi. A priest volunteered and took us on a guided tour. It is said that Sri Madhvacharya used to visit the Durga temple everyday & worshipped the goddess. Listening to the stories and the legends, took me to my childhood days of reading books and comics. And how we tried enact or immitate the mythological heroes.

After traveling 500+KMs in todays and visiting many places, we were tired. We reached Srikanth's Aunt's house in Surtakal. Before calling it a day, we met another fellow blogger Venu Vinod. At the end of day two, our trip meter read 540 KMs & distance for the day 100KMs.

Day Two:

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

Day One:

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

Most of us take photographs and many of us post them in this vast, nearly infinite internet. Inherent to this process is a desire to put our name on the pictures - either to protect them from plagiarism or to feed our ego or whatever other reason. There are many software and multiple ways to [...]

ವಿವರಣೆ ಬೇಕೆ?© Sandeepa Nadahalli

ಅದು ಕವಿ­ತೆಯಾ? ಕಥ­ನವಾ? ಕವಿ­ತೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಹೇಳುವ ಕತೆಯಾ, ಕತೆಯೇ ಕವಿ­ತೆ­ಯಾದ ಬೆರಗಾ?
ಹೀಗೆ ಶುರು­ವಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ ಅದು;
ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಬರು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ ಮಗೂ, ಹಾಲು ಮಡಕೆ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಡು.
ಕತ್ತ­ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಎಡ­ವ­ದಂತೆ ದೀಪ­ವೊಂದು ಹಚ್ಚಿಡು.
ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಬರು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನು­ತ್ತಲೇ ಹಾಲು ಮಡಕೆ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಡು ಅಂತ ಬರೆ­ಯು­ತ್ತಾನೆ ಕವಿ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ತಿಳು­ವ­ಳಿ­ಕೆಗೆ ತದ್ವಿ­ರುದ್ದ ಯೋಚನೆ. ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಬರು­ತ್ತದೆ ಹಾಲು ಮಡಕೆ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಡು ಅನ್ನು­ವುದು ಒಂದು ಥರ. ಅಧರ ಮುಂದಿನ ಸಾಲಲ್ಲೇ ಕತ್ತ­ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಎಡ­ವ­ದಂತೆ ದೀಪ­ವೊಂದು ಹಚ್ಚಿಡು ಅನ್ನುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಅಚ್ಚರಿ.
ಇದನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಕವಿ ಮತ್ತೆ­ಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಜಿಗಿ­ಯು­ತ್ತಾನೆ;
ಬೆಟ್ಟ­ಗ­ಳಿಗೆ ಹಗ­ಲಿ­ರುಳೂ ನೀಲ ನೀಲ ನಿದ್ದೆಯು
ಊರ ಸುತ್ತ ತೆನೆ­ಗ­ಳಿಂದ ತೊನೆವ ಹಸಿರು ಗದ್ದೆಯು
ಸಾಲು ಮರದ ನೆರ­ಳಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾವಿ­ನಂಥ ಹಾದಿಯು
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ­ಯಿ­ಡುವ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿ­ಗಿ­ರುವ ಭಯ ಅನಾ­ದಿಯು.

ಹೀಗೊಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಣ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಕವಿ ಜಿಗಿ­ಯು­ವುದು ಊರಿನ ವರ್ಣ­ನೆಗೆ. ಆ ಊರಿನ ವರ್ಣ­ನೆಯೋ ಮತ್ತೂ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ;
ಊರು ಉಡಿ­ಯೊ­ಳಿ­ಟ್ಟು­ಕೊಂಡು ನಿಂತ ತೆಂಗು ಅಡ­ಕೆಯು
ಸಾಲ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಲಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಯು­ವ­ವರ ಮಡ­ಕೆಯು
ಮುಗಿಲು ಹರಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಸುರಿ­ದು­ಬಿದ್ದ ಮಳೆಯ ನೀರಿಗೂ
ನೆಲದ ನೋವು ಎದೆಯ ಕಾವು ಆರ­ಲಿಲ್ಲ ಯಾರಿಗೂ.
ಈ ಊರಿನ ಚಿತ್ರ­ದಿಂದ ಒಂದು ಕ್ಲೋಸ­ಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಹೊರ­ಳು­ತ್ತದೆ ಕವಿತೆ. ಅದೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನಾ­ಗಿದೆ ನೋಡಿ;
ಇಲ್ಲೆ ಇದ್ದ ಮಂಜು­ಗೌಡ ಕೆರೆಯ ಬಯ­ಲಿ­ನಂ­ಚಿಗೆ
ಹೂವ ಹೊದಿ­ಸು­ತಿತ್ತು ಬಳ್ಳಿ ಹೆಣೆದ ಮನೆಯ ಹೆಂಚಿಗೆ
ಅವ­ನಿ­ಗಿ­ದ್ದ­ಳೊಬ್ಬ ಮಗಳು, ನಾಗಿ ನಾಗ­ವೇ­ಣಿಯು
ಹಾವಿ­ನಂಥ ಜಡೆಯ ತುಂಬ ಹೂವ ಮುಡಿವ ರಾಣಿಯು
ಇದು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಸಮೀಪ ಚಿತ್ರ. ಊರಿ­ನಿಂದ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದು, ಮನೆ­ಯಿಂದ ನಾಗಿಯ ಕಡೆ ಹೊರಳಿ ಕವಿ­ಕೆ­ಮರಾ ನಿಲ್ಲು­ವುದು ಅವಳ ಮುಂದೆ;
ಬೊಗ­ಸೆ­ಗಣ್ಣು, ಗಲ್ಲ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿ ನಗೆಯ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ
ಕಂಪು ಸೂಸಿ ಕರೆ­ಯು­ತಿತ್ತು ಕನ­ಸು­ಗ­ಳನು ಮೆಲ್ಲಗೆ
ಅವಳ ನುಡಿಯ ಮಿಂಚು­ಕಿ­ಡಿಯ ಹೊತ್ತಿ­ಸಿತ್ತು ಸುತ್ತಲೂ
ಅವಳ ನಗೆಯ ನೂರು ಬಗೆಯ ನೆನಪು ಬುಗ್ಗೆ ಎತ್ತಲೂ
ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ನಾಗಿಯ ಸೌಂದ­ರ್ಯದ ವರ್ಣನೆ ಕೊನೆ­ಯಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಶುರು­ವಾ­ಗು­ವುದು ಅವಳ ದೈನಿಕ. ಕಷ್ಟದ ಬದುಕು. ಆ ಕಷ್ಟ­ದಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದು ಚೆಲು­ವಿದೆ ಅನ್ನು­ತ್ತಿ­ದ್ದಾನಾ ಕವಿ;
ಹೊಳೆಯ ಅಲೆ­ಗ­ಳೆ­ತ್ತಿ­ಕೊಂಡು ಸಾಗು­ವಂತೆ ನಾವೆಗೆ
ಹಾಡು ಹರಿದು ಹೋಗು­ವಂತೆ ಮಾವಿ­ನಿಂದ ಮಾವಿಗೆ
ಹುಲ್ಲು ಹೊರೆಯ ಹೊತ್ತು­ಕೊಂಡು ಅವಳು ಬರುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ
ಸೂರ್ಯ­ನೇಕೋ ತಣ್ಣ­ಗಾದ ನಿಂತ­ರೂನು ನೆತ್ತಿಗೆ.
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ಸುಬ್ಬಣ್ಣ ರಂಗ­ನಾಥ ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿ ಅವರ ಕಥನ ಗೀತ `ನಾ­ಗಿಯ ಕತೆ' ಹೀಗೆ ಶುರು­ವಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಕೆ ಎ್ ನರ­ಸಿಂಹ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಯ ಹಾಗೆ ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿ ಕೂಡ ಮೃದು ಮಧುರ ಪದ­ಗ­ಳನ್ನೇ ಬಳ­ಸು­ತ್ತಾರೆ. ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೇ ಮೈವೆ­ತ್ತಂತೆ ಬರೆ­ಯು­ತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕತೆಗೆ ಕೂಡ ಕವಿ­ತೆಯ ಸ್ಪರ್ಶ ಕೊಡ­ಲೆ­ತ್ನಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವಳ ಚೆಲು­ವನ್ನು ಬರೀ ಮಾತು­ಗ­ಳಲ್ಲಿ ವರ್ಣಿ­ಸಿ­ದರೆ ಸಾಲದು ಅನ್ನಿಸಿ ಕವಿ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಹಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಜಿಗಿ­ಯು­ತ್ತಾರೆ;
ಅವಳ ಹಗುರು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚೆಲುವು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಇಟ್ಟಿತು
ಗೇರು ಹೂವಿ­ನಂತೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಎದೆಗೆ ಲಗ್ಗೆ ಇಟ್ಟಿತು.
ಅವಳ ಕೈಯ ಕೊಡವ ಕಂಡು ನೀರು ಬೇಗ ತುಂಬದು
ನಿಲ್ಲು ನಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲು ನೋಡ­ಬೇಕು ನಿನ್ನ­ನೆಂ­ಬುದು.
ಈ ವರ್ಣ­ನೆಯ ನಂತರ ಕತೆ ಶುರು­ವಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ತನ್ನೂ­ರಿನ ಜಾತ್ರೆಗೆ ನಾಗಿ ಹೋಗು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ. ದುಂಡು ಕುಂಕುಮ ಇಟ್ಟು, ಹಸಿರು ಸೀರೆ­ಯುಟ್ಟು, ಹೊಳೆವ ರವಿಕೆ ತೊಟ್ಟು ತಾಯಿಯ ಜೊತೆ ರಥೋ­ತ್ಸವ ನೋಡಲು ಹೋಗು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಹಾದಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕೆ­ಗೊಂದು ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಸಿಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಎಷ್ಟು ಚೆಂದ ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಾ ಅದನ್ನು ಅಮ್ಮ­ನಿಗೆ ತೋರಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ ಆಕೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿ ಎದೆ­ಗೊ­ತ್ತಿ­ಕೊಂಡು ಮುದ್ದಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ.
ತಾಯಿ ಮಗಳು ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಸಂತೆಗೆ ಹೋಗು­ತ್ತಾರೆ. ಸಂತೆ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವ­ರಿಗೆ ಅನೇ­ಕಾ­ನೇಕ ಅನು­ಭ­ವ­ಗ­ಳಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತವೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕೆ ಅವ­ನನ್ನು ೇಟಿ­ಯಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ.
ಯಾರ­ವನು?
ಚಿಗುರು ಮೀಸೆ ಎಳೆಯ ನಗೆಯ ರೂಪ­ವಂತ ಆತನು
ಎದೆಯ ಕದವ ತೆರೆದು ನುಡಿದ ಕಣ್ಣಿ­ನಲ್ಲೆ ಮಾತನು
ಕಣ್ಣು ಕಣ್ಣಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಿ ಝಳ­ಪಿ­ಸಿತ್ತು ಮಿಂಚನು
ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯೆಂಬ ಸಿಡಿಲು ಹೊಡೆ­ಯು­ತಿತ್ತು ಹಾಕಿ ಹೊಂಚನು

ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯನ್ನು ಸಿಡಿಲು ಅಂತ ಕರೆ­ಯು­ತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿ. ಆ ೇಟಿಯ ನಂತರ, ಕಣ್ಣು­ಕ­ಣ್ಣು­ಗಳ ಸಮಾ­ಗ­ಮದ ನಂತ­ರದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ­ಯನ್ನು ಅವರು ವರ್ಣಿ­ಸು­ವುದು ಯಾವ ಪ್ರೇಮ­ಗೀ­ತೆಗೆ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಹೇಳಿ?

ಯಾರು ಹಾಕಿ ಹೋದ­ರ­ವಳ ಎದೆಗೆ ಗಂಧ­ಧೂ­ಪವ
ಯಾರು ಹೊತ್ತಿ­ಸಿ­ಟ್ಟ­ರೊ­ಳಗೆ ಬಂಗಾ­ರದ ದೀಪವ
ಯಾವ ಕೆರೆಗೆ ಯಾವ ಕರೆಗೆ ಹಾರು­ತಿ­ಹವು ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆ?
ಯಾವ ತಾರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರೆ ಮಾಡು­ತಿ­ಹವು ಅಕ್ಕರೆ?

ಈ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ­ಗ­ಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೇಮದ ಸಾರ­ಸ­ರ್ವ­ಸ್ವ­ವನ್ನೂ ಹೇಳುವ ರೀತಿ ನೋಡಿ. ಇದ್ದ­ಕ್ಕಿ­ದ್ದಂತೆ ಹಾಜ­ರಾ­ಗುವ ಕೊಕ್ಕ­ರೆಯ ರೂಪ­ಕ­ವನ್ನು ಗಮ­ನಿಸಿ. ಯಾವ ಕೆರೆಗೆ ಯಾರ ಕರೆಗೆ ಹಾರು­ತಿ­ಹವು ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ಸಾಲಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆಳೆ­ತ­ವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿ­ರುವ ರೀತಿ ಬೆರ­ಗು­ಗೊ­ಳಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತದೆ.
ಜೊತೆಗೇ ಬೆಕ್ಕನ್ನೂ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ರೂಪ­ಕ­ವಾಗಿ ತರು­ತ್ತಾರೆ ಅವರು. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಉಳಿ­ಯು­ತ್ತದಾ? ಅದನ್ನೂ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಸೊಗ­ಸಾದ ಉಪ­ಮೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಹೇಳಿ­ಬಿ­ಡು­ತ್ತಾರೆ ಅವರು;
ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಹೊತ್ತಿ­ಸಿಟ್ಟ ದೀಪ ದಾರಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕತ್ತಲು
ದೀಪ ನಿಲ್ಲ­ಬ­ಹುದೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುತ್ತಲು

ಇದರ ಜೊತೆಗೇ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ತೀವ್ರ­ತೆ­ಯನ್ನು ಹೇಳುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಸಾಲು;
ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಪಂಜು ಹೊತ್ತಿ­ಸಿತ್ತು ನಾಗ­ವೇಣಿ ನಾಗಿಗೆ
ಆರಂ­ಭ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಬೆಕ್ಕಿನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಹೀಗೆ ಕತೆ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮರು­ಕ­ಳಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಯಾಕೆ ಬೆಕ್ಕಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕವಿತೆ ಶುರು­ವಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ ಅನ್ನು­ವುದು ಗೊತ್ತಾ­ಗ­ಬೇ­ಕಾ­ದರೆ ನಾಗ­ವೇಣಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂಧಿ­ಯಾ­ಗುವ ತನಕ ಕಾಯ­ಬೇಕು. ಆಕೆ ಬೆಕ್ಕನ್ನು ಎದೆ­ಗ­ವ­ಚಿ­ಕೊಂಡು ಅದರ ಸಂಸ­ರ್ಗ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯನ್ನು ತೋಡಿ­ಕೊ­ಳ್ಳುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೇ ಅವ­ಳಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಅನು­ಭ­ವ­ವಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ;
ಸಾಲು­ಮ­ರದ ನೆರ­ಳಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾವಿ­ನಂಥ ಹಾದಿಗೆ
ಕೈಯ­ಳೊಂದು ದೀಪ ಹಿಡಿದು ಸಾಗು­ತಿ­ರಲು ನಾಗಿಗೆ
ತೆರೆದ ಹಾಲು ಮಡಕೆ ನೋಡಿ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಹಾರಿತು
ಕತ್ತ­ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಎಡ­ಹು­ವಂತೆ ಹಿಡಿದ ದೀಪ ಆರಿತು.
ನಾಗಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಸೆಳೆ­ತಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಮನೆ­ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೋಗು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಅವ­ಳನ್ನು ಹಾವಿ­ನಂಥ ಹಾದಿ ಅದೆ­ಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಕರೆ­ದೊ­ಯ್ಯು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಹಾಗೆ ಸಾಗಿ­ಹೋದ ಹಾದಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗ­ವೇಣಿ ಕೊನೆಗೂ ಕಂಡ­ದ್ದೇನು? ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕೆಗೆ ಎದು­ರಾ­ದ­ದ್ದೇನು? ಬಿಳಿಯ ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಹಾರಿ, ದೀಪ­ವಾ­ರಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಅವ­ಳನ್ನು ದಡ ಸೇರಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತದಾ?
ಅದ್ಯಾ­ವು­ದನ್ನೂ ಕವಿ ಹೇಳು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಫೋಕ್ ತಿರು­ಗು­ವುದು ಅವಳ ಮನೆಯ ಕಡೆಗೆ. ಮನೆ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವ­ಳಿ­ಗಾಗಿ ಹುಡು­ಕಾಟ ನಡೆ­ದಿದೆ.
ತಾಯಿ ಬಂದು ನಾಗಿ ಎಂದು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕರೆ­ದಳು
ಮಂಜು ಗೌಡ ಮಗಳ ಹುಡುಕಿ ಊರು­ಕೇರಿ ಅಲೆ­ದನು
ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ­ಯಿ­ಡುವ ಹಾದಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬರದ ಹಾದಿಯು
ಇಲ್ಲೆ ಅಲ್ಲ­ವೇನು ಹೆಣ್ಣಿ­ಗಿ­ರುವ ಭಯ ಅನಾ­ದಿಯು

ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಪದ್ಯ ಮುಗಿ­ಯು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಹಾದಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಆ ಅನಾ­ದಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊರ­ಟಾಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ತಲು­ಪು­ತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಅವಳ ಅನಾದಿ ಭಯ­ವನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿ ನಿವಾ­ರಿಸಿ ಅಭಯ ಹಸ್ತ ನೀಡು­ತ್ತದಾ? ಅವಳು ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗೆಲ್ಲು­ತ್ತಾಳಾ? ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ­ಗ­ಳಿಗೆ ಕವಿತೆ ಉತ್ತ­ರಿ­ಸು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ. ನಾಗಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿ­ಯನ್ನು ಹುಡು­ಕಿ­ಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರ­ಟ­ಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಕತೆ ಮುಗಿ­ಯು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಮುಂದಿ­ನದು ಮುಂದಿನ ಕತೆ. ಅದರ ಸುಳಿವು ಬೇಕಿ­ದ್ದರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಪದ್ಯ­ಗ­ಳನ್ನು ಓದ­ಬೇಕು.
ಅದರ ಮುಂದಿನ ಪದ್ಯ­ದಲ್ಲೇ ಬರುವ ಎರಡು ಸಾಲು­ಗಳು ನಾಗಿಯ ಭವಿ­ಷ್ಯದ ಕತೆ­ಯೇನೋ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಕಾಡು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಆ ಪದ್ಯದ ಹೆಸರು `ಹು­ಡು­ಗಿಯ ಕತೆ'.
ಮುರಿ­ದು­ಹೋದ ಗುಡಿ­ಸ­ಲೊಂದು ಹರಿ­ದು­ಹೋದ ಚಾಪೆಯು
ತೊಟ್ಟು­ಕೊಂಡ ಲಂಗ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂಟೋ ಹತ್ತೋ ತೇಪೆಯು
ಸೊರ­ಗಿ­ಹೋದ ಕೊರ­ಗಿ­ಹೋದ ಮೈಯ ಕೆಂಡ ಕೆಂಡವು
ಪುಟ್ಟ ಹುಡುಗಿ ಅವಳ ಕಣ್ಣು ಏನೋ ಏನೋ ಕಂಡವು
ಯಾರಿ­ವಳು? ನಾಗಿಯ ಮಗಳಾ? ನಾಗಿಯಾ? ಅಥವಾ ನಾಗಿ­ಯಂಥ ಮತ್ಯಾ­ವುದೋ ಹುಡು­ಗಿಯಾ? ಯಾವ ಸೂಚ­ನೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಕೂಡ ವಿಷಾ­ದ­ದಲ್ಲಿ, ಅಗ­ಮ್ಯ­ದಲ್ಲಿ, ನಿಗೂ­ಢ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊನೆ­ಯಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಪದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು ದಾಟಿ­ಕೊ­ಳ್ಳು­ವಂತೆ ಮಾಡು­ತ್ತದೆ.
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ಕವನ ಕತೆ ಹೇಳ­ಬಾ­ರದು ಅನ್ನು­ವುದು ನವ್ಯರ ನಿಯಮ. ಅದೇ­ನಿ­ದ್ದರೂ ಒಂದು ಭಾವ­ವನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿ­ದಿ­ಡ­ಬೇಕು. ಆ ಕ್ಪಣ ಮನ­ಸ್ಸಿ­ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿ ಮರೆ­ಯಾದ ಒಂದು ಲಹ­ರಿ­ಯ­ನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ದಾಖ­ಲಿ­ಸ­ಬೇಕು. ಒಂದು ಮುಂಜಾನೆ, ಒಂದು ಅಗ­ಲಿಕೆ, ಒಂದು ಹಂಬಲ, ಒಂದು ಪ್ರತೀ­ಕ್ಪೆ­ಗ­ಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿ­ದರೆ ಅದು ಕವಿತೆ ಎಂದೇ ನವೋ­ದ­ಯದ ಮಂದಿ ನಂಬಿ­ದಂ­ತಿತ್ತು. ನವ್ಯರು ಅದನ್ನು ಕೊಂಚ ವಿಸ್ತ­ರಿಸಿ, ಸುಪ್ತ­ಮ­ನ­ಸ್ಸಿನ ಅತೃಪ್ತ ಆಶೆ­ಗ­ಳನ್ನು `ದೀ­ಪ­ವಿ­ರದ ಹಾದಿ­ಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಡ­ವ­ರಿ­ಸುವ ನುಡಿ'ಗ­ಳನ್ನು ಮಾತಾ­ಡಿ­ಸಲು ಯತ್ನಿ­ಸಿ­ದರು.
ಕಾವ್ಯ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ತನ್ನ ಸ್ವರೂ­ಪ­ವನ್ನು ಬದ­ಲಾ­ಯಿ­ಸಿದ್ದು ಅಮೇ­ಲಾ­ಮೇಲೆ. ಖಡ್ಗ­ವಾ­ಗಲಿ ಕಾವ್ಯ ಎಂದರು. ಅದು ಬಿಡು­ಗ­ಡೆಯ ಹಾದಿ ಎಂದರು. ಅದು ಅಭಿ­ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಅಂದರು. ಅದನ್ನು ಅಸ್ತ್ರ ಎಂದು ಕರೆದು ಬೆನ್ತ­ಟ್ಟಿ­ಕೊಂ­ಡರು. ಕವಿತೆ ಅಸ್ತ್ರವೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ವಿಮೋ­ಚ­ನೆಯ ಹಾದಿಯೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅದೊಂದು ಕತೆ ಹೇಳುವ ವಿಧಾನ ಮಾತ್ರ ಎಂದು ಅನಾ­ದಿ­ಕಾ­ಲ­ದಿಂದ ನಂಬಿ­ಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದದ್ದು ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಮರೆ­ಯಾ­ಯಿತು. ಇವತ್ತು ಕಥನ ಕವಿ­ಗಳೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಕವ­ನ­ದೊ­ಳಗೆ ಕತೆ­ಗ­ಳಿಲ್ಲ, ವ್ಯಥೆ­ಗ­ಳಷ್ಟೇ ಇವೆ.
ನಮ್ಮ ಮಹಾ­ಕಾ­ವ್ಯ­ಗ­ಳೆಲ್ಲ ಕಥನ ಕವ­ನ­ಗಳೇ. ತಿಳಿಯ ಹೇಳುವ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಕತೆ­ಯನು ಎಂದೇ ಕುಮಾ­ರ­ವ್ಯಾಸ ತನ್ನ ಕಾವ್ಯ­ವನ್ನು ಆರಂ­ಭಿ­ಸು­ತ್ತಾನೆ. ಕಾವ್ಯ ಎಂದಾ­ಕ್ಪಣ ಅದು ಯಾರ ಕತೆ ಎನ್ನು­ವುದು ಮೊದಲು ದಾಖ­ಲಾ­ಗ­ಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನು­ತ್ತಿ­ದ್ದರು ಆ ಕಾಲದ ವಿಮ­ರ್ಶ­ಕರು. ಜನ­ಸಾ­ಮಾ­ನ್ಯರ ಕತೆ ಕಾವ್ಯ­ವಾ­ಗು­ವು­ದಕ್ಕೆ ಯೋಗ್ಯ­ವಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ರಾಜಾ­ಧಿ­ರಾ­ಜರ, ಚಕ್ರ­ವ­ರ್ತಿ­ಗಳ, ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ವಂಶ­ದಲ್ಲಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿ­ದ­ವರ ಕತೆಯೇ ಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಆದಿ­ಕ­ವಿ­ಗಳೂ ಅವರ ನಂತರ ಬಂದ ಅನಾ­ದಿ­ಕ­ವಿ­ಗಳೂ ನಂಬಿ­ದಂ­ತಿತ್ತು.
ಕವಿ­ತೆ­ಯನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಹೇಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬಳ­ಸ­ಬ­ಹುದು ಎಂದು ತೋರಿ­ಸಿ­ಕೊ­ಟ್ಟ­ವರು ಬೇಂದ್ರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಡಿಗ. ಅವ­ರಿ­ಬ್ಬರ ಕವಿ­ತೆ­ಗ­ಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಿ­ಸುವ ಭಾವ, ಕೇವಲ ಭಾವ­ವಾ­ಗಷ್ಟೇ ಉಳಿ­ಯು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಮಾತಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳ­ಲಾ­ಗ­ದ್ದನ್ನು ಹೇಳು­ತ್ತದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಅನೂಹ್ಯ ಆಶೆ­ಗ­ಳಿಗೆ, ಅನಿ­ಸಿ­ಕೆ­ಗ­ಳಿಗೆ ದನಿ­ಯಾ­ಗು­ತ್ತದೆ. ಕೆಎಸ್ ನ ಕವಿ­ತೆ­ಗಳು ಕಥನ ಕವ­ನದ ಧಾಟಿ­ಯಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದಂತೆ ಕಂಡರೂ- ಗಂಡು, ಹೆಣ್ಣು, ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಮದುವೆ, ದಾಂಪತ್ಯ, ಬಳೆ­ಗಾರ, ತಾಯ್ತನ, ಮಗು, ಕುಟುಂಬ- ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಬಂದರೂ ಅದು ಕೇವಲ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಆಗಿ ಉಳಿ­ಯು­ವು­ದಿಲ್ಲ.
ಹುತ್ತ­ಗ­ಟ್ಟದೆ ಚಿತ್ತ ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೆತ್ತೀ­ತೇನು
ಅಂಥ ಪುರು­ಷೋ­ತ್ತ­ಮನ ರೂಪ­ರೇಷೆ
ಎಂದು ಕೇಳುತ್ತಾ ಅದ್ಯಂತ ರಹಿತ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ­ಯನ್ನು ತಲು­ಪು­ತ್ತದೆ.

ಒಂದು ಆಹ್ವಾನ-
ಮುಂದಿನ ಭಾನುವಾರ, 27ನೇ ಜುಲೈ 2008, ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿಯವರ ಸಮಗ್ರ ಕಾವ್ಯ ಬೆಳ್ಳಕ್ಕಿ ಹಿಂಡು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ. ಅನಂತಮೂರ್ತಿಯವರು ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಆನಂದ ಝಂಜರವಾಡ ಮತ್ತು ಜಿ ಎನ್ ಮೋಹನ್ ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆನಂತರ ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿಯವರ ಕವಿತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸಿ ಆರ್ ಸಿಂಹ, ಜಿಕೆ ಗೋವಿಂದರಾವ್, ಎಚ್ ಎಸ್ ವಿ, ಕಾಯ್ಕಿಣಿ, ದಿವಾಕರ್, ರವೀಂದ್ರಕುಮಾರ್, ಬಿಳಿಗೆರೆ, ಮಮತಾ ಜಿ ಸಾಗರ, ಬಿ ಸುರೇಶ, ರೋಸಿ ಡಿಸೋಜಾ ಮತ್ತು ರಘುನಂದನ ಓದುತ್ತಾರೆ.
ಸೆಂಟ್ರಲ್ ಕಾಲೇಜು ಆವರಣದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸೆನೆಟ್ ಹಾಲ್ ಗೆ ಬಂದರೆ ಎಕ್ಕುಂಡಿ ಕಾವ್ಯಲೋಕ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.
ಅಂದ ಹಾಗೆ ಇದು ಸಂಚಯದ ಸಂಚು.

March 29, 2008 - a warm, yet pleasant Saturday afternoon - I was driving back from my first visit to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area when I saw the signs to mineral museum - not one, but two!! I should have carried The Picking Table (Journal of The Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society) that Dr. [...]

I had to use the following in my /etc/X11/xorg.conf to get acceptable performance on a old PC with Ubuntu 8.04 installed.

Section "Device" Identifier "Configured Video Device" Option "AccelMethod" "EXA" Option "AGPMode" "4" Option "ColorTiling" "1" EndSection

  

It was early in the morning. I was in the toilet, trying to hurry morning rituals awaiting my Manager’s call. While in tension, nature’s call or telephone call – seldom comes on time.

 

We had an appointment for an important meeting today, which, as per my manager, would “change the face of the company.”  We were to meet someone who was to re confirm the meeting in the morning and I was supposed to be ready early and wait for my manager’s call since we had to be there within the next one hour… I woke up early, but the tension was not allowing me to finish off the routine!

 

I was still in the toilet, looking at the heaven…no progress. “Do not concentrate on it. Change the focus; keep a book in toilet and start reading. You will find it easier that way” the doctor had told me. I took the book kept there specifically to shift the focus but “shit”… Oh No… realized that I did not have my reading glasses!

 

Outside, my mobile started ringing. I was in no position to get out and receive the call. “It is probably the manager” I told to myself. “Darling, take the call, I am in the toilet” I gave loud plea at my wife

 

My wife does not like to be disturbed like this in the morning. Early in the morning, sending the kids to the school is her top priority. According to her, those who have finished schooling should be able to do all their own work independently…but today was an exception. Probably she had overheard me talking to my manager and thought of helping me.

 

Suddenly, my sleek cell phone came sliding in from beneath the toilet door. I do not know how good she is in bowling game; it came all the way in, hit my toe and stopped there. I was about to pick it up, it stopped ringing! I foresaw the trouble. Manager would call me again and fire me for not taking the call. Anyway, if something is bound to happen, it will…

 

It started to ring again. Without my reading glasses, Caller ID feature was useless for me. I was ready… ready to be fired. Mustering all the courage to hear it all from the manager in early in the morning, I said ‘hello.’

 

“Good morning sir…” A sweet voice sailed through… “I am calling from XYZ bank. Can I have five minutes of your time sir?” She requested.

“Sorry… I am busy here” (Oops… I did not intend telling her that… but that was my standard reply for such calls and as a routine, it had come on its own.)

“I will take just two minutes sir” she pleaded again.

Credit card, auto loan or personal loan or some other product promotion- It’s going on everywhere and this is no different - I thought for myself. “Look madam… I have enough of credit cards. My company is about to give me a car and hence I have no idea of taking vehicle loan. My Father-in-law had promised a house site during marriage… though it has still not come through, I have no idea of going in for a housing loan. Now tell me why do you want to meet me? I gave a full burst of negatives so that she will not try talking to me again.

 

“But sir, I think I have answer for some of such problems…give me two minutes” she told at her mildest voice.

 

“I am sorry… I am expecting an important call… call me later on in the evening” I told her and disconnected.

 

Out of focus for a few seconds, the nature’s call was up and kicking straightaway! What a relief… I thanked the lady profusely for the favour…

 

***

 

Getting dressed up, I had a small doubt. Should it be formal or normal is alright? This meeting will “change the face of the company” was still ringing in my ears. I did not want to take chances. I put on the formal dress.

My cell phone rang again. It was my manager. “Sorry I did not call you earlier. Are you ready? We will be there to pick you up in two minutes, wait near the main gate of your building’

“Yes sir, I will be there” I told and almost ran to the main gate.

To my surprise, my manager was dressed in white dhoti and silk shirt with decorated kumkum on his forehead. “Sir, I did not know… otherwise, even I would have dressed like this” I begged his pardon.

“It’s OK. My dress suits the person we are meeting. When I introduce a well dressed person like you as my assistant, it shows my status” beamed my manager.

 

After about half an hour drive, we stopped in front of a big compound. May be a big rural industrialist - I thought, but he was not. We were in an ashram and we were told that Swami is waiting for us.

 

Hands folded in the Air India mascot style, we went and sat in front of him.

 

“So you are here to consult me on your promotion” told the Swami “and you want to know whether it is safe to accept the new position”

 

“So far I was in charge of our operations within the country. Now my area would be the whole of Asia. That is why…” smiled the manager.

“You will succeed” Commented the Swami “but you have to take some precautions before accepting the position. Ensure you assume the charge on a clean slate. All the misdeeds of the previous Director should be cleared up. Even remote chances of failure are written off straightaway. Otherwise, next year, it will be counted as your non-performance and your failure”

 

“But Swami, that way, my whole company portfolio could be wiped off. The company is already into trouble because of sub-prime losses” my manager was apprehensive.

“What is important for you? Your performance or that of your company? All the bigwigs are writing of losses accumulated over the years in the name of sub-prime losses this year. It is a chance. God sent chance. Ask for the clean slate. The management will agree, the lenders will agree, the investors will not grumble, and above all, the tax authorities will not question. This year would be considered an exceptional year and there is nothing wrong in taking the best out of it.  Write off all, if you could recover something in the next year, it adds to your future performance” Swami was quite authoritative.

 

“OK Swami”

 

“One more thing” swami told “By the by, who will replace you here?

“I have not recommended anybody, let me see”

 

“See to it that you put one of your trusted men here and make sure that your performance here is not unduly checked and reported. This will help you in the future”

 

“OK Swami” my manager bowed, put some folded currency near his feet and we came out.” “He was a management consultant earlier but the returns in this profession lured him here” commented my manager on our way out.

 

“Even before we met Swami, I had you in my mind as my replacement. Now that Swami guided me on this, I will recommend your name” my manager sitting in the car.

 

“But Swami never told my name” I expressed my surprise.

 

“He told to put somebody here who is my man. Who else can protect my interests here more than you?

 

“But we will also request to write off all those losses, as Swami told this is a chance to clear all those” I put it mildly.

 

“No… No… That will spoil my reputation, my HR files… Let it be there. Write them off slowly in the next few years”

“But that will spoil my HR files and will ruin my promotion chances” I retorted.

“You don’t understand. Now I am in a position just to recommend you. Don’t forget, I would be moving to a position where I would be approving your promotion”

 

Realising the danger of talking anything silly, I said “Yes sir. I know”

 

“Now you go to office, I will go home, change my dress and come to office. Keep this meeting secret. If anybody asks, tell them it was a business meeting.”

 

***

 

I could see my manager’s chair from my seat. A few days more and I will be sitting there, which I did not even dream in the morning!

 

The lady who called me in the morning must be really lucky for me…?

 

I was just wondering but enjoying the very thought of it.

My cell started ringing. It was the same lady … My lucky lady again!

I said “hello”

“Good evening sir, I am calling from XYZ Bank. You had told me to call in the evening”

 

“Yes… I remember you… I am free now… Tell me” I did not want my lucky lady to get angry and curse me!

 

“Sir, I would like to suggest an investment option which would secure the interests of your entire family. I told your wife about this and she showed great interest in it. She has told me that you will be at home by 8pm. I want to come and meet you both. Would 8:30pm be fine?

“Well, if my wife has shown interest and invited you, you can come by all means”

 

“She has convinced my wife as well! That is great” I thought.

 

I had never joined any investment scheme other than that teakwood plantation scheme, where the company had died even before the sapling. My wife had joined several schemes in the past and every time she wanted to invest in some, she would call the agent home and discuss for half an hour about the scheme in my presence. But still, I would forget every other detail except the agent’s appearance and the amount invested.

 

My lady luck was at home when I arrived. She was looking gorgeous in her blue salwar. My wife was discussing the investment scheme with all the seriousness. I was not interested in that half percent more here and the few promotion lotteries there.

 

Looking at them I declared instantly “today is a great day and I will invest in your scheme”

My wife was surprised. A week earlier I had sent back her cousin, who had an investment scheme – saying that I have no funds at the moment.

My wife called me inside and asked me “where the money has come from now?”

 

“I still have no money. But I think we can withdraw the deposit we made with the lady who had come with a red color low cut blouse?”

“That’s still not one year and there is heavy deduction on premature withdrawal before one year”

“How about that deposit which we put with that lady with jeans and sleeveless T shirt?”

 

“That is the only deposit we have which yields above 8% return when calculated over a period of five years”

 

“Come on, we will take it out and give this lady. Or that deposit held by the bank of that girl who always wears dangerously low jeans?”

 

Why? What is this lady offering? 6.5% with a chance to visit Manali. We will never win such offers. We know our luck very well.”

 

“But we will try” I pleaded

“Why? I do not understand. What is special with this lady?”

“I think she is very lucky for me”

 

Oh No!! I should have explained starting from the toilet to what my manager told after meeting the swami. Without that, it was bound antagonize my wife.

My wife went out like a rocket. “Leave your Telephone number with me. We have to cancel some other investment and then only we can invest in your plan. I will give you a call when we are ready” and practically pushed my lucky charm out.

 

“Thank you madam. I will keep calling you to remind you for this sir” told the lady and went away

“OK… but call me preferably early in the morning… like today…” I quipped in.

 

***

 

I was desperately searching for the list of over due and problem accounts brought home yesterday to prepare a report. I needed something to clear the tense air as well. Taking a big breath I announced aloud “The entire home including my table looks surprisingly clean. Who did the great job?”

 

My daughter replied from the next room “mama brought a new broom and we all tried it out in turns. It was great fun.”

   

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.

===============================================================

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