ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ನಾನು ’ಫೆಮಿನಿಸ್ಟ್’ ಅಲ್ಲ! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ನಾನು ’ಫೆಮಿನಿಸ್ಟ್’ ಅಲ್ಲ! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ಗುಮ್ಮನ ಕರೆಯದಿರೆ! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ಗುಮ್ಮನ ಕರೆಯದಿರೆ! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ’ನನ್ನೆದೆಯ ಕಡಲುಕ್ಕಿ ಸಾವಿರದ ಸಂತೋಷ’ « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ’ನನ್ನೆದೆಯ ಕಡಲುಕ್ಕಿ ಸಾವಿರದ ಸಂತೋಷ’ « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ಒಬ್ಬ ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ವೇರ್ ಹುಡುಗಿ, ಮಕ್ಕಳಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಕಟ್ಟೆ ಸುತ್ತುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ಒಬ್ಬ ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ವೇರ್ ಹುಡುಗಿ, ಮಕ್ಕಳಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಕಟ್ಟೆ ಸುತ್ತುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು! « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ’ಕನ್ನಡವೆನೆ…’ « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : ’ಕನ್ನಡವೆನೆ…’ « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : “ಸಂಬಂಜ ಅನ್ನೋದು ದೊಡ್ಡದು ಕನಾ…” « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಸಂಪು ಕಾಲಂ : “ಸಂಬಂಜ ಅನ್ನೋದು ದೊಡ್ಡದು ಕನಾ…” « Avadhi / ಅವಧಿ

ಆ ಅಳಿಲು!

ನ್ಯೂಸ್ ಪೇಪರ್, ಟಿವಿ ಗೂಡು
ಎಕಾನ್ ಪಾಪ್ ಹಾಡು
ಪಕ್ಕದ ಸೀಟಿನ ಮೂಡು
ಇವೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಗಮನಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಹುಡುಕುತ್ತಾ,
ಕಂಡ ಹಾಗೇ ಮೆಲ್ಲನೆ ಮೆಲ್ಲುತ್ತಾ, ಮನದಲ್ಲೇ ನಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ

ಆಗಲೇ, ಬಾಗಿಲ ಬಳಿ ಇಣುಕಿತ್ತು ಅಳಿಲು ಮರಿಯೊಂದು
ಕಂಗಾಲಾದ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮರಿಯು ತನ್ನಮ್ಮನ ಹುಡುಕಿತ್ತು
ಕಲ್ಲು, ಮರಳು, ಕಸ, ಗಿಡ, ಚಪ್ಪಲಿ
ನಡುವೆ ಪುಟ್ಟದೊಂದು ಜೀವ
ಸುತ್ತ ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರಪಂಚ, ಅಮ್ಮ ರಕ್ಷೆಗಿಲ್ಲ!

"ನನ್ನಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದಳು?
ನನ್ನ ಪುಟ್ಟ ತಮ್ಮ, ತಂಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿ
ಅಪ್ಪನಂತೆ ನಾನೂ ನಡೆಯಬಲ್ಲೆ ಎಂದು ಕುಣಿದೆ,
ಆದರೆ! ನಡೆದಾಟ ಕಲಿತದ್ದೇ ತಪ್ಪೇ!"
ಆ ಅಳಿಲ ಭೀತ ಕಂಗಳ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ!

ಮುದ್ದಾದ ಮರಿಯು ಭಯದಿಂದ
ಇತ್ತ ಅತ್ತ ತಿರುಗಾಡಿ
ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ನನ್ನ ನೋಡಿ,
ನಾ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಹಾಗೆ ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಯಿತು!
ಎತ್ತ ಕಳೆದು ಹೋಯಿತೋ!

ಮರುಘಳಿಗೆಯೇ ಕಾದಿತ್ತು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಅಚ್ಚರಿ!
ಈಗ ತಾಯಿ ಅಳಿಲ ಸರದಿ!
ಇತ್ತಿಂದತ್ತ ಅತ್ತಿಂದಿತ್ತ ಓಡುತ್ತಾ ಹಾರುತ್ತಾ ಹುಡುಕಿತ್ತು
ತನ್ನ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮರಿಯ ಕಾಣದೆ ಗಾಬರಿಗೊಂಡಿತ್ತು
ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಓಡಾಟ, ಹುಡುಕಾಟ!

"ನನ್ನ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮರಿಯ ಕಂಡಿರಾ?
ಈಗತಾನೆ ಕಲಿತ ಜಿಗಿತ ಅದರ ಮೃತ್ಯುವಾಯಿತೆ!
ಬದುಕು ಘೋರ, ರಕ್ಷೆಗೆ ಕಲಿಯುವುದಿನ್ನೂ ಅಪಾರ
ಕೂಸದಿನ್ನೂ ಸಣ್ಣದು, ಬಾಳ ಬವಣೆ ಕಾಣದು!"
ತಾಯ ದುಗುಡ ಹೀಗಿದ್ದೀತೆ!

ಎಂಥ ಸಡವರ, ಎಂಥ ಚಡಪಡಿಕೆ
ದಿಗ್ಭ್ರಮೆಗೊಂಡೆ!
ಮನುಜರಾದರೇನು, ಪ್ರಾಣಿಯಾದರೇನು
ಉಸಿರಾಡುವ ಜೀವಕೆಲ್ಲ
ತಾಯಪ್ರೀತಿಯೊಂದೇ - ಚಿರಂತನ, ಅಪಾರ, ಅಮೋಘ!

An ‘AGM’ through my looking glass!

It was a Sunday afternoon, quite windy and sultry. I accompanied my mother-in-law (mother, by nature) to an ‘AGM’ (Annual General-body Meeting) of ‘Flat Owners Association’! Curious, since I was no flat owner for good’s sake and still attending the one, so how could it be! Known issue for discussion was the broken lift and its upliftment followed by a cup of coffee and biscuits. Over! Is it so? …… No!

Well it was a potluck with different minds, different say, different wavelengths etc., with one idea of dedicated time and space for discussion and problems solving.

We reached the destination very early and we visited the ‘tenant’ house there. They were extremely polite and sweet. The house lady not only served us with nice tea but also sat close and conversed with us. We left to attend the meeting.

We were still early and had a privilege to choose the desired place to ‘participate’. We chose a comfortable place and waited for the invitees to fill the hall. Every face entered was welcomed with smiles and hellos by everyone present. Everyone entered with conscious and delicate smiles. It was a neat neighborhood for several minutes!  

The ‘President’ started the ‘meeting’. Well, I did not think it would be so official (I would not say professional!) since it was a conversation of neighbors. Felt happy that they are doing it all so organized and corporate! Yes, I hatched the word, its ‘Corporate’! I should say it was in all ways corporate.

Our ‘President’ of the meeting is a great orator, an amazing person in charge who grabs the attention of the gathering with his loud and authoritative voice. “He should be a personality development coach” I thought, may not be because of his personality but because of his persuasion skills and language.

The decorum of the community hall started getting warmed up as the discussion passed on. Old, young, mid aged people, everybody presented their way of body language to the meeting.

“I must first apologize to ‘my dearest friend’ who is not here with us today, who has misinterpreted my concerned words as ‘abusive’ which I never exercise, which I never have rights to impose on others. If his misconduct is noticed and question by the so called ‘President’ which is me, if that is considered to be offensive and abusive, then openly, in public, I wholeheartedly apologize!” – Oh! This was the welcome speech of the ‘President’. I was listening to him carefully guessing his nature of job!

The heat increased more when people opened up to speak against the President and one another. This didn’t differ in any way than a corporate organization! I could see an easy toggle of individual ego raising up and satisfying the selves in their own manner of talks and gestures.

Some seemed arrogant, some seemed sincere, some were just curious like me since they were new to this meeting. I could hear an old voice murmuring from behind saying “Its always the case, we never discuss any productive things in our meetings”. Noticeable was his attempt to please the young and cute lady next to him!  

The convincing voice of President again, “Coming back to the issue of the broken lift, I don’t understand why people hesitate to pay the requested amount. I saw Jagan uncle the other day, an old man who was struggling to climb the stairs (imitated) from arthritis. I had tears in my eyes looking at his plight”. The lady was gushing to climb I said, “sorry amma” all these are because we are unable to repair the lift since our good neighbors are not paying the nominal amount!” “Don’t we have the heart to think and act upon this issue!”, “He is a real gentleman” I thought.

“My husband has a knee fracture, he cannot climb the stairs, he never comes down since the lift is under repair”…..the voice of an old lady. She grinned with pride on flattering the crowd with her English skills. “I agree with Mrs. Sathyanarayana, I am having so much trouble everyday to go up and down without the lift”…..another fan of English language sufficed her tempt of raising her voice amidst the crowd in English. However, due respect their genuine suffering!  

I smiled within thinking, its not their mistake to feel English as a great language, it’s the generation at which they were born when we were being ruled by the English. One thing was sure, that the old people out there had the better (or I should say purer) English than the younger crowd. Generation again!

Everyone pointed out fingers at one another for the lift not being repaired. Everyone are sorry for the old people, everyone are suffering, feeling bad. But still, the problem is not yet solved! Why?!

“Ok let us not embark over the things past, let us concentrate on what has to be done”, a voice raised from a more sensible and knowledgeable person. He had abundant knowledge on the legalities and commercial issues. “How much funds do we have with us right now”.

“Around 4 to 5” a gentleman said.

!!!!

4 to 5……..hundreds? thousands? We had, 4 to 5 lakhs as backing funds from the association!!! And still, the lift is not ready, we get ‘tears in eyes’ for old people suffering, we feel sorry, still, the lift is undone! Only reason being, still some of the house owners have not paid the charges for lift repair! I was shocked! We have enough funds to get the lift repaired several times!!

Ok….anyways…we got into a conclusion to get the lift repaired ‘immediately’! Now, is the question of its maintenance, how do we maintain it!

“Let us not allow the housemaids, vendors to use the lift” some voice said!! Wow…! This is amazing…..we, sitting below the ACs and fans feel the pain of claiming the lift and we command the housemaids, the toilers to use the stairs!? Is it a sign of slavery? Are we not supposed to respect our maids with the work they do? It is true that they may not be literate enough to use the lift properly but isn’t there any alternative than banning them from using it?!

“How do we control them from using the lift, we should inform the security”, I was astonished to listen to this from an old lady who is nearing her 80s!

“When anyone family is shifting the house, then please switch off the lift”!! another voice from a well dressed young lady!

I don’t understand this grammar! Suppose if a family is in 4^th floor and wants to vacate……then the lift will be shut?! More bothering issue was, the crowd nodded in agreement to this point!! Don’t we have any alternative such as suggesting them to use less weight at one time of shifting!!

Where are we all heading to! Where is the concept of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam”?! We cannot revere our own neighbors, and we are heading towards having a “global village”!!

Let me remind, its not anybody’s mistake over there with the way they reacted!! I seriously feel so! It’s the entire wave of society that’s making all of us more selfish and narrower!!! Is it all the money or is it the act of middle class emerging into the upper class chaos!

I might have also reacted the way they did, if I were to be in their place, never know, since I am also a part of this society! But, as per now, as an outsider, I felt extremely conscious and concerned with the way the society is being tuned up and accept the ‘Corporate’ way!

We all departed with the conscious smiles back on our faces!   

ಸಣ್ಣ ದೀಪದ ರಸ್ತೆ

ಇನ್ನೇನು ಮಲಗುವ ಹೊತ್ತು
ಕಿಟಕಿಯಿಂದ ಕಂಡದ್ದು
ತಂಪಾದ ಗಾಳಿ, ನೀರವ ಮೌನ ಹಾಗೂ
ಅಗಲವಾದ, ಬರಿದಾದ ಆ ಸಣ್ಣ ದೀಪದ ರಸ್ತೆ!

ಅಂತಹ ಮನೋಹರ ನೋಟವಲ್ಲ ಬಿಡಿ
ಒಂದಷ್ಟು ಸೈಡ್ ಸ್ಟ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಹಾಕಿದ ಗಾಡಿಗಳು!
ಕಾಗದ-ಎಲೆ ಚೂರುಗಳು, ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ಕು ಕವರ್ ಗಳು
ಆದರೂ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಆ ರಸ್ತೆ ಬಹಳ ಹೊತ್ತು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸಿತ್ತು!


ಎಂತಹ ನಿರ್ಭಿಡತೆಯಿಂದ ಹರಿದಾಡಿದೆ! ಕಣ್ಣು ಹರಿದಷ್ಟು ದೂರ!
ಈ ದೈತ್ಯ, ಎಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅನುಭವಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೂಕ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಇರಬಹುದು!
ಎಂತೆಲ್ಲ ವಿಧದ ಭಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತಿರಬಹುದು!
ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಜೀವವೇ ಬಂದರೆ ಎಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳಬಹುದು!


ನೂರಾರು ತಲೆಗಳು, ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಆಲೋಚನೆಗಳು
ಸಂಕಷ್ಟಗಳ ಹೊತ್ತ ತರಕಾರಿ ಗಾಡಿಗಳು
ಚಪ್ಪಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಬರಿಗಾಲುಗಳ ಎಳೆತಗಳು
ನಡೆಯಲಾರದೆ ನಡೆದು ಸವೆವ ಮೂರು ಕಾಲುಗಳು


ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಕಲ್ಲೆಸೆವ ತುಂಟ ಹುಡುಗಿಯ ನಗೆ
ಕದ್ದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಮರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆರೆಯುವ ಸ್ಕೂಟಿ-ಬೈಕುಗಳು
ಸೆಲ್ ಫೋನ್ ಗಳ ಲೆಕ್ಕವಿಲ್ಲದ ಸಲ್ಲಾಪಗಳು
ನಿಲುಕಿಗೂ ಮೀರಿದ ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥಗಳು, ಸ್ವ-ಅರ್ಥಗಳು, ಕಲಹಗಳು


ಗ್ರಾಮ ಸಿಂಹಗಳ ಅತಿಕ್ರಮಣ ಘರ್ಜನೆಗಳು
ಕಾರ್ಪೋರೇಶನ್ ಕೃಪೆಯಿಂದ ಶುದ್ಧಿಗೊಂಡರೂ
ಸಹೃದಯರ ದಯೆಯಿಂದ ಮಹಡಿಯಿಂದ ಸುರಿವ ಕಸ ಕೊಳೆಗಳು
ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠೆ ನಿಭಾಯಿಸುವ ಚಿಕ್ಕ-ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪೆಂಡಾಲ್ ಗಳು

ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರೋಮಾಂಚಕಾರೀ ಘಟನೆಗಳಿಗೆ,
ದೈನಂದಿನ ಬದುಕುಗಳಿಗೆ, ಬವಣೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೌನ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ;
ಒರಟಾದ, ಮೌನವಾದ, ನಿಶ್ಚಲವಾದ
ಆ ಸಣ್ಣ ದೀಪದ ರಸ್ತೆ!

ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾ ನಕ್ಕೆ!
ನನ್ನ ವಿಯರ್ಡ್ ಥಾಟ್ಸ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ನೆನೆದು!
ರಸ್ತೆಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಂಡು
ಥ್ರಿಲ್ ಆಗಿ, ಮಲಗಿದೆ!

You asked me why I smiled!

Sat close and gazed at you
Couldn’t miss that inane smile
You asked me, what made me smile
I say, you make me smile

Your look which is inquisitive
Of my baffled thoughts,
Your childlike involvement on that movie
Which is one another story

Your comments and teasings
On everything that happens around,
Your subtle naughtiness amidst
That eliminates the coldness surround

You evoke the child in you
And in me, by being so
You confound me at times
With the profoundness of you

The husbandly care tuned
With childlike outlook
Makes me bestow that motherly love
That is beyond all the affection!

Mirroring Music, Culture and Time

Very few movies give that essence of satisfaction and fulfillment after the watch. Shankarabharanam is one such movie which provides a delight along with new perspective and new reading each time.

The whole movie is connotative on the essence of music, the cultural significance and the temporality of all these values and the heritage.

It has a rustic imagery of a beautiful village of those olden days. A village filled with rooted cultural legacy and predominantly dominated by traditional values and customs. Like

those maharaja stories say, every village will have a doresani/prostitutes. This village also will have a prostitute who is aged but is with a beautiful daughter named ‘Tulasi’ (Note the chastity behind the name).

Tulasi is a good dancer and her mother wants her to continue the inheritance but she is strong opponent of that. She will have a silent devotional love towards a great musician of that period known as ‘Shankarashastri’. He is widower and a startling artist who was able to capture the audience attention just by his name.

Tulasi will be prompted to sleep with a wealthy person of the village but she refuses and eventually she will be raped by him. Tulasi murders him in rage and elopes to the refuge of Shankarashastri.

The profound knowledge and experience of this musician allows him to give shelter to that lady though she was from an ‘infamous’ family. At this point of time the entire village wraths against this musician and shows non-cooperation to him. Tulasi, noticing this, will leave the village thinking, she must not become the cause for that great personality’s spoilt image. Tulasi as a result of that bad incident, will conceive and give birth to a baby boy whom she names as Shankara.

After many years, she returns to the village with her son on purpose to edify her son by the maestro Shankarashastri. By this time, the village had changed completely by the stepping of modern, western ideologies including music. Shankarashastri will be in a very bad condition socially and economically. Because of this and also the age he will be weak physically too. Tulasi makes her son his disciple without his knowledge and he will train him and pass on the great music heritage to her son and she will be blessed by this.

Shankarashastri will have his daughter married and in a concert secretly arranged by Tulasi herself, takes his last breath and Tulasi too, will see the end of her life at the same moment. The movie ends by showing their sacred bondage.

Significant Characterization:

“Shankarabharanam Shankarashastrigaaru” a magical characterization that epitomizes a grandeur, a strength of knowledge and culture. I believe its Mr.Somayajulu

who has added value to that great characterization with his chivalrous and incredible performance. His core values towards tradition and cultural heritage does not affect in anyway by the blind believes and customs which was in practice. He was absolutely practical, soft cornered, knowledgeable and a good matured man as a person. Interesting to note that Music becomes his biggest strength and weakness too! He utters a line which keeps lingering in ears for long, which is “Music is divine whether it is Indian or Western!”. The sublimity, the divinity of Music was attainable by him is the aspect which makes us, as audience too start res

pecting “Shankarashastrigaaru”.

Tulasi’s persona throughout the movie has been characterized as a pure, soft and silent lady who is completely with love and devotion. She hardly talks in the entire movie but her personality is portrayed as a soft yet strong lady who is packed with overflowing energy and love for music and passion for dance. Feminism is brushed through her character who protests against the rooted custom. Her silent love for Shankarashastri is noteworthy and exquisitely shown.

Shankara a lively character of Tulasi’s son, has shown extraordinary performance as a dedicated son of Mother who was ready to do anything for his mother’s happiness. For him, more than the music, making his mother happy was the major goal behind being the student of Shankarashastri. This shows the pure, innocent personality of a boy whose life, world will be his mother alone.

Shankarashastri’s Friend Allu Ramlingaiah’s humorous and vivacious characterization adds a wink of hilarity and lightness to a much serious plot. His performance is so natural and active that one cannot help burst out laughing even for a small casual statement of his.

There are other major characters which exceeds pages if I start talking about. Each and every character in the movie is with a cause and K Vishwanath, the director has pared excellence in projecting each characters to its best.

Theatrical Representation:

There is an answer to the craze of western music leading to negligence of Indian music. There is a response to blind customs and believes which was practiced (and still is mostly!). There is a substantiation to the spirit and the divinity of music.

It is a blend of traditional and radical thoughts spread across logically and sensibly. Overall, there is a beautiful imagery of the landscape, the interiors, the spirit of life and the enigma of the enchanting music which is unfortunately lost in transition….of time and of life!