Quiz on Tulu Nadu and Tulu Culture

Every year ‘Aatidonji Koota’(a get together of Tuluvas in the month of Aati) is celebrated with great enthusiasm among Tuluvas. In cities like Bangalore, it is an occasion to take break from the busy life and meet the fellow Tuluvas and have a good time. Recently, I attend one such gathering. On that occasion, I was responsible for conducting a quiz on Tulu Nadu and Tulu culture. Following are the questions from the quiz. I must admit that I enjoyed preparing these questions - had fun searching several texts for questions, finding English equivalent terms for native Tulu words. I came to know more about my culture and felt proud about the Tulu heritage. Hope you enjoy answering these questions. Do let me know how many of these questions you are able to answer correctly! :)

1.       When was Vishwa Tulu Sammelana held?

a.       December 2008

b.      December 2010

c.       December 2009

d.      December 2007

2.       Why does ’Aati Kalenja’ visit homes in Tulu Nadu in the month of Aati?

a.       To indicate that the month of Aati is over

b.      To ward off evil spirits and diseases

c.       To convey the message of Emperor Bali

d.      To begin the cutting of the crop

3.       What do you call the umbrella made of palm leaves, held by Aati Kalenja?

a.      Tatra

b.      Kedinjel

c.       Toppige

d.      Gaggara

4.       Who published the Tulu-English dictionary in 1886?

a.       Reverend Manner

b.      Reverend Kittel

c.       Hegan

d.      Father Muller

5.       Whose rule was majorly confined to parts of Tulu Nadu?

a.       Gangas

b.      Alupas

c.       Chalukyas

d.      Rashtrakutas

6.       During  Aati Amavaasye people have the drink made from the bark of which tree?

a.       Jack fruit

b.      Alstonia Scholaris / Milkwood Pine/ Ditabark

c.       Banyan

d.      Indian gooseberry / Nelli Kayi / Amla

7.        Historically, which river separates from Tulu Nadu from Kerala?

a.       Varahi

b.      Chandragiri

c.       Netravati

d.      Kaveri

8.       Which famous Tulu theater actor acted in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Malayalam movie ‘Vidheyan?

a.       Devadas Kapikad

b.      Naveen D Padil

c.       Vamana Nandavara

d.      Anand Bolar

9.       Which great poet invited Kannadigas, Telugoids and Tuluvas to enjoy his poetry by saying ‘ayyayya chenaadudene Kannadigaru, rayyamanchidiyene  Teluga, ayyayya encha porlandendu Tuluvaru maiyyubbi kelabekanna!’

a.       Muddana

b.      Ratnakara Varni

c.       Kunda Verma

d.      Charukeerti

10.   What is the original name(moola nama) of ‘Kallurti’ bhoota?

a.       Kalkuda

b.      Kaali

c.       Kalkutiga

d.      Katyayini

11.   According  to Hindu cosmology, which one of the following regions became Tulu Nadu?

a.       Yaksha Loka

b.      Kinnara Loka

c.       Naga Loka

d.      Deva Loka

12.   ‘kang gla, taare gla onje tale athth’ – what is the meaning of this Tulu saying?

a.       Areca nut tree and coconut tree are not the same

b.      Though the task done is same charge according to the person’s financial status

c.       Relationship and business are two entirely different aspects and not to be mixed

d.      Treat everyone as equal

13.   Which is the birth place of warriors of Tulu Nadu – Koti and Chennaya?

a.       Padumale

b.      Veeramale

c.       Elumale

d.      Kemmale

14.   Which is the special game played during the month of Aati?

a.       Marbles

b.      Tip-cat / Chinni Daandu

c.       Chenne Mane

d.      Game of dice / Pagade

15.   Who is the author of Tulu epic – ‘Shree Bhagavato’?

a.       Nrupa Tunga

b.      Vishnu Tunga

c.       Naranappa

d.      Muddana

16.   Which is the first movie to be released in Tulu language?

a.      Pagetta Puge

b.      Bisatti Babu

c.       Udald Tudar

d.      Enna Tangadi

17.   Who among the following served as the wrestler in Mayippadi Palace and was famous for super human feats?

a.       Agoli Manjanna

b.      Maroli Chomanna

c.       Pulkuru Baacha

d.      Hydroose

18.   Who is the mother of Koti and Chennaya?

a.       Deyi Baiditi

b.      Kinnidaru

c.       Chennamma

d.      Ponnamma

19.   Which two rivers meet in Mangalore/Kudla?

a.       Netravati, Varahi

b.      Netravati, Payaswini

c.       Netravati, Chandragiri

d.      Netravati, Gurupura

20.   During the reign of which king did the ‘Aliya Kattu’ tradition come into place in coastal Karnataka?

a.       Kunda Verma

b.      Bommarasa

c.       Bhootala Pandya

d.      Nagarasa

Answers:

1.       December 2009

2.       To ward off evil spirits and diseases

3.       Tatra

4.       Reverend Manner

5.       Alupas

6.       Alstonia Scholaris / Milkwood Pine/ Ditabark

7.       Chandragiri

8.       Naveen D Padil

9.       Ratnakara Varni

10.   Kaali

11.   Naga Loka

12.   Though the task done is same charge according to the person’s financial status

13.   Padumale

14.   Chenne Mane

15.   Vishnu Tunga

16.   Enna Tangadi

17.   Pulkuru Baacha

18.   Deyi Baidithi

19.   Netravati, Gurupura

20.   Bhootala Pandya

Going Far East - Tokyo Memoirs!

It was my first international trip and I was travelling to the land of rising sun known for its technological prowess. Needless to say, arriving at the Tokyo Narita airport, I felt a sense of awe.

Tokyo Narita Airport

At the Tokyo Narita Airport : On arrival at the Narita Airport, we bought the Airport Limousine tickets to Akasaka in Minato-ku, Tokyo, where we had booked our hotel rooms. Then, we waited for the bus to arrive. The first thing I noticed was the punctuality of the bus service.

Airplanes at Narita Aiport

We handed over our baggage to the baggage handler who loaded them underneath the bus tagging them with id tags. With a courteous smile, baggage handler bowed us. That was the first time we received the traditional greeting in Japan! When the bus was about to start, we were given instructions to wear the seat belt and they were in Japanese as well as in English. This was strange as in India even the people who drive avoid wearing seat belts though now it is mandatory for the passengers in front seat of the car to wear them. It was about an hour long non-stop smooth drive from the airport to the Tokyo city, one of the many things I would come to know about infrastructure in Japan! After a while, huge skyscrapers became a common sight from the bus window. Within few minutes we reached our hotel. We got our luggage handing over the tag slip to the luggage handler. After freshening up, we got ready to try some Japanese cuisine. That and more in the upcoming posts.

Related Posts

• Tokyo Memoirs : Roaming in world's expensive streets! 
• Tokyo Memoirs : In and around Asakusa 
• Tokyo Memoirs : Electronics shopping spree in Akihabara and its aftermath! 
• Tokyo Memoirs : Tokyo Tower, Shiba Park, Minato

Tulu Courses from Mangalore University

From the academic year 2012-13, Mangalore University will be offering courses in Tulu through correspondence. Certificate, Diploma and Post-graduate diploma courses would be on offer from the Directorate of Correspondence Courses. Kannada script would be used for the purpose of curriculum and instruction.

Eligibility Criteria :

• Six-month certificate course - Pass in SSLC examination or equivalent course
• One-year diploma course - Pass in the pre-university course or equivalent course
• One-year postgraduate diploma course - Bachelor degree 

Content of Course :

• Six-moth certificate course - Basic knowledge of Tulu and communication in Tulu
• One-year diploma course - Tulu literature, folklore and culture and communication
• One-year postgraduate diploma course - contents of certificate and diploma courses and comparison study of Tulu with other Dravidian languages.

Now, this development would definitely help those who are keen on understanding Tulu language and culture. For more details on please refer to the link from The Hindu. Also, you can check the Deccan Herald news website.

Kannada KBC Questions blog

I am happy to announce the launch of a new blog featuring the questions from Kannadada Kotaydhipati. Not only that you will also be provided with set of practice questions every week! I hope that will help many in answering the questions in the game show as well as getting updated with latest in GK. Hope to find your support for this venture by me and my friend Sandeep.

The blog name is Kannada KBC and you can visit the site here - Kannada KBC

All About Beladingala Baale

Beladingala Baale is one my favourite films. I was thinking of blogging about this movie for a long time. After I read the novel based on which the film is made, I had enough material to talk about the epochal movie.

The Movie: The movie is based on original Telugu novel - Vennelalo Aadapilla by Yandamoori Veerendranath. This was translated to Kannada by Vamshi as Beladingala Baale, which later was made into film. Incidentally, Vamshi also wrote dialogues for the movie or rather dialogues from the novel are adapted in the film without any modifications. Beladingala Baale literally means "lady in the moonlight". Story revolves around Revanth(played by Ananth Nag), a grandmaster who is set to find out the identity of his fan who calls him often and whom he refers to as beladingala baale. Beladingala Baale gives Revanth the clues to find her out. How Revanth accomplishes his task forms the gist of the movie.

Original Novel : I was looking for the novel in Kannada based on which the movie is made. Thanks to my friend Guru, I got hold of the book from an old books store. The novel was published in the year 1984. I also found out that the novel was serialized in Kannada magazine Sudha then.

More about Chess : If you are not devout follower of Chess, while reading the novel you will come to know many fascinating aspects about the game originated in India. One of the highlights of the movie is the blind fold chess game protagonist Revanth plays. Before this he is accused of hypnotizing his opponent. The book provides the background for this plot(In 1978, Anatoly Karpov was accused of hypnotizing his opponent Viktor Korchnoi in the game at Baguio in the Philippines). Also, if the game is extended to the next day, what ensures that the opponent does not get an overnight for thinking about his next move. One has to make 16 moves within an hour of his play else he will loose the game(with the time being counted by the stop clocks provided to both the players)

Working in Telephone Exchange : The book discusses about the problems women working at the telephone exchange had to face(though the scenarios here are from the 1980s) You will not find anything about this in the movie. Also, you will come to know about several terminologies used in the telephone sector, which now may have become obsolete.

I ate nothing for six ghante kaala : This is the clue provided to Revanth to find the telephone number of his secret fan and is used several times in the film. But the movie does not explain the logic behind this clue but you will find it in the Yandamoori's novel.

Mathematical Details : Many mathematical details in the novel are missing in the film. That is understandable as the film caters to variety of audience. Clue with which Revanth finds about the whereabouts of the mystery girl has its routes in Pythogoras theorem. Also, while finding her name, which is Ramya, Revanth uses his knowledge of permutations and combinations. You will come across such mathematical backgrounds for the puzzles posed by the mystery girl. Though at times, you feel like being a grand master Revanth could have solved the puzzles, we can give the creative liberty to the author.

Voice : Throughout the movie, though the heroine's face is not revealed, her voice echoes in the minds of the viewers. Guess who lended the voice? Manjula Gururaj - background singer of many popular Kannada film songs.

Miscellaneous : There is a scene involving a Marxist in the movie, which is used as an irony in the novel. Revanth's friend James, a cartoonist is an unusual character in the movie. Why he behaves the way he does has deeper psychological background in the novel. I am OK, You are OK - philosophy in the film is explained by American psychiatrist Thomas Anthony Harris in his 1969 book - I am OK, You're OK.

Hope you enjoy the post!

Kannadada Kotyadipathi Episode 4 Questions

Questions from the 4th episode of Kannada Kotyadipathi telecasted in Suvarna channel on 15th March 2012.
Fastest Finger First Question: Starting from the lowest arrange the following notes in increasing order - (Answer) ri ga ma pa

Which of these you would order by asking 'by-two'? Coffee

Which card is normally used to withdraw money from an ATM? Debit Card

Peocock is vehicle of which god? Subramanya