On the way to Malgudi...

Nostalgia ! that's what hit me hard, when I started watching the long-forgotten episodes ! Thanks to youtube, I can watch all the episodes and now in 10 and running ! 

I must say I have re-lived those days of doordarshan, waiting for these shows to start and watch it with the family ! I don't even know if I knew hindi that time, nor understood the episodes ! 

Watching it again gives you a real perspective of what it's all about and what exactly the author of the book RK Narayan is trying to convey through these stories.  RKN is excellent in illustrating the mundane lives and so-normal-no-glitz-everyday life in an incredible way. I am eagerly waiting to read some more RKN books. RKN has been an excellent observer and each story has an inner meaning which in my opinion so so pervasive albeit realized. 

TV series has been directed superbly by Shankar Nag, a maverick in the Kannada filmdom and Kannada-English-Marathi plays. He has been really successful behind the camera and I think this could be the best way to respect a book like Malgudi days which it deserves. The series has been shot in a very colonial background much to the likes of the stories from the book. The setting and the stories reminded me of my childhood in Mysore, the houses, the streets, the people ! It was nostalgic and I just wanted to be in Malgudi (or Mysore, where RKN wrote the book) ! 

The cast has been amazing, truly suitable to the characters they are playing. Karnad as a watchman, Ananth Nag as a story-teller, Arundati Nag as a typical house-wife and so many others who are so familiar from the Kannada industry. The music by Lalgudi Vaidyanathan is just so fitting to the whole sequence ! It feels so perfect ! All in all, an amazing cast, an amazing series and a truly amazing book ! I bow before these legends ! A perfect 10, must watch  ! And am back in Malgudi !   

Beauty of Kannada

By seeing the Kannadigas’ plight to get the ‘Classical tag’ to Kannada, I wonder why the Government of India is still adamant of not going through with the decision of giving the classical status. Kannada is the most beautiful language I have ever come across, even better than my mother tongue, Telugu. It is not so surprising that Kannada has won the highest number of Jnanpith awards, which are the pinnacles of excellence achieved in Indian literature. This is an incredible feat of a language considering the fact that there are over 10 major languages in India. It is even more surprising that the Jnanpith awardees in Kannada, majority, are non- Kannadigas. Five of the seven are non-Kannadigas. It is interesting to understand the influence of the language which derived its roots as early as 230 BC. The script is more beautiful with most letters of the language being circular, which gives the script the symmetry and I vaguely remember my high school teacher saying it was voted the most beautiful script in the world sometime. The script is used by 3 other languages: Tulu, Kodava, Konkani, apart from itself. It is astonishing to know that the first Kannada –English dictionary was composed by Ferdinand Kittel, a German Priest. The transition from classical or the old Kannada (hale Kannada) to the present-day Kannada is of the demographical and has an historical significance. The invaders and the rulers had additions to the language and which can be clearly noticed in the language. Finally, with the current day additions to the language, mainly slangs, the classical Kannada has been reduced to something which has lost its stature. The beauty of the language lies in its ease of transformation and learning. I hope more people coming in to Karnataka, would learn the language, not because of some radical Kannada group's threats, but because of the beauty of the language. Wish I knew how to post this blog in Kannada. Proud to be a Kannadiga. :-)

Humble Beginnings

Like any other person's biography or autobiography contains an exclusive first chapter titled Humble Beginnings, I start my blog writing. And like any other forum to express personal opinions, whatever I write and express are my own views. I intend to discuss political and diplomatic issues. I have always thought that politics spans across many disciplines, let alone a region’s politics. I welcome comments, insight, and feedback by all the visitors to my blog. I am not much of a writer, but I read a lot. I will try and post a new article at least one every week. Keep blogging.

Testing :D

1..2...3... Testing... Blog Testing :D

Rajesh