Not just Music, Now News too...

If the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) gets approval from the Broadcasting Ministry, you could soon hear news on private FM channels too! The sources of news for these FM channels have to be one of All India Radio, Doordarshan, authorised TV news channels, UNI, PTI or other authorised news agencies.

Well, now state owned FM Channels like Vividh Bharathi 102.9 FM and FM Rainbow 101.3 FM broadcast news in bytes or for a brief moment. If the Broadcasting Ministry gives its node to the TRAI's proposal, this could begin a new era in news broadcasting. Now, with FM Radios becoming extremely popular in Metros and Tier II cities in the country, this could well change how fast people get to know the news and have their opinion.
It is not that private FM channels are not broadcasting any news stuff now. They are, with those score updates of cricket matches and some wacky but interesting news to keep the listeners tuned. Also, some untraditional news like jam busters or reporting of traffic jams in various parts of the city in peak hours. How these jam busters by FM channels played their role in reducing traffic jam needs to be surveyed!

So, now we might have FM Stations which broadcast news too, along the usual film songs. In Bangalore, there are already 7 private FM Radio channels - Radio City 91.1 FM, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, Radio One 94.3 FM, Radio Indigo 91.9 FM, Radio Big 92.7 FM, SFM 93.5 FM, Fever 104 FM. It would be interesting to see how these channels would make the best use of this license, if they get one. With very competitive FM Radio market in place, sometimes these channels have used the same trick to get more audience. One example for this would be the back to back playing of 3 songs with no advertisements in between. Radio Mirchi, Radio Big and SFM, all use the same concept with different names. Now, dont ask me who started this first!

Regards
Raveesh

References:

The Hindu

The Times of India

Also Read,

Radio Revolution in Bangalore

Game Shows in Radio

FM Radio Channels in Mangalore

Changing Times, Changing Tunes

‘Akasha Ishte Yaakideyo’, the song with western tunes, set the tone for the first hit of the year in Sandalwood, ‘Gaalipata’. Last year, it was raining songs with western tunes in Gandhinagar. If ‘Onde ondu saari kanmunde baare’ of Mungaaru Male renewed this trend off late, Hudugata with Jessie Gift’s music continued it to a larger extent with many songs with western tunes – Ommomme heegu aaguvudu (sung by Alisha Chinai), Mandakiniye Nee Sidilina kidiye(sung by Jessie Gift himself, original tune of Malayalam song Lajjavathiye from '4 The People'), Stylo Stylo, Eno Onthara... and then came the Krishna highlight – Satyabhame baramma(sung by Gurukiran), which was a unique blend of western and classical tunes, composed by none other than the guru of music here, Gurukiran.

Jassie Gift

[Picture Source - The Hindu]

Guru started or rather renewed the interest for these tunes/music with films like ‘A’, Upendra. How can one forget the famous song – Idu one day matchu kano from ‘A’. Here, Upendra’s lyrics too played its part in making the song popular. Well, the song was not fully western. It is the song where you have cricket commentary too as a background score! Sachin Tendulkar’s heroics in the field in commentator’s words filled the song with all the ‘josh’! Guru even sung a song in that film which was completely westernized – 2000 AD lady ye ultra modern! Khushi for which film he composed music continued this trend.

Gurukiran

[Picture Source - nowrunning.com]

Going back further, Shankar Nag’s Santhoshakke haadu santhoshakke (sung by SPB) even today forms one of those party numbers. Then, we have our own crazy star, Ravichandran with his versions like ‘yaare neenu roja hoove, yaare neenu mallige hoove’. Usually Kanglish lyrics forms an integral part of this type of music like – Stylo stylo, and most songs written by Upendra. But Jayanth Kaykini’s Akasha Ishte yaakidiyo, Mungaaru Male’s Onde ondu saari are exceptions for this rule.

And now we have this rap album coming up in Kannada from a band called 'Urban Lads', based in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru/Bangalore. Found this article on Karnatique, a blog by Banavasi balaga. Click here for more details. So, we have now, the best of both worlds – humming soft tunes like Minchaagi Neenu Baralu and also josh filled Akash Iste yaakideyo and that too in the same film!

Regards,
Raveesh

Also Read,
Kanglish in Sandalwood
ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿನ್ನಲೆ ಗಾಯನ

Hubli-Dharwad Trip : Part 2 - Sadhanakeri

Sadhanakeri is some 5km away from Dharwad, the district centre. ‘Bendre Bhavana’, a memorial in memory of great Kannada poet and Jnaana Peetha award (which is the highest civilian honour in India for Literature) winner Dr. D R Bendre or Da Ra Bendre is here. Nearby is the home of Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, ‘Shri Matha’.

Bendre Bhavana, Sadhanakeri, Dharwad

When we reached Sadhanakeri it was already past 5 pm and visiting hours for Bendre Bhavana is till 5 pm. But when we requested the personnel there, he agreed to let us in. Bendre Bhavana is full of rare photographs from Dr. Da Ra Bendre’s life and portrait paintings of the great poet. Certificates received by Dr. D R Bendre – Padmashree award from Govt. of India, Doctor of Literature from Mysore University, Bachelor of Arts(B.A) and Master of Arts(M.A) from University of Bombay and Doctor of Literature from Karnatak University, Dharwad are also on display. Quotes, extracts from his poems too filled the memorial with greatest Kannada poet’s memories. One of his quotes, I would like to mention here is – Rasave Janana, Virasave Marana, Samarasave Jeevana.

Bendre's Home in Sadhanakeri

Ambikatanayadatta Vedike, Sadhanakeri

After visiting the Bendre Bhavana we went to see Dr. Bendre’s home which is adjacent to the memorial. For Da Ra Bendre, who wrote with pen name Ambikatanayadatta, Sadhanakeri was a place of inspiration with his poems praising the beauty of nature here. Bendre’s home too is a place of memories where you can find – things used by the great poet in his life time, dresses he used to wear, mementos received by him from various organizations and the Jnaana Peetha Award certificate along with the memento. You can also buy the books written by Da Ra Bendre from here. Written on the walls of the home are the poems by the Vishva kavi. In the premises of the house you can find the Ambikatanayadatta Vedike, a stage for literary discussions and Varakavi Dr. Da Ra Bendre Adhyayana Kendra, centre for research on works by Bendre.

Sadhanakeri Lake

In front of the house is the vast Sadhanakeri Lake. No wonder, Bendre was inspired by these wonderful surroundings. When we went to see this lake, the time was perfect; sun was about to set. Sunset at this beautiful lake is really awesome. Add to this different types of birds flocking towards the lake. Picture is perfect, nature at its best for the man to watch and enjoy every moment of it. Hakki Haaruthide Nodidira? ( Have you seen the birds flying) – goes one of Bendre’s poems. If the evening brings you these best moments then what about the mornings when the sun is rising? One of Bendre’s most famous poems describing the mornings soothes you at every word – Moodalamaneya muttina neerana erakavaa hoida, Nunnanerakava hoida…Baagila teredu belaku haridu jagavellaa.. toida hoyitu jagavella toida… I was found wanting to translate these lines into English which describes how morning sun rays have made the world wet! This poem was adapted to a Kannada film, Belli Moda. With Vijaya Bhaskar’s music and S Janaki’s voice this song is made ever green.

Sunset at Sadhanakeri Lake

It was a very nice feeling to be in these surroundings, far away from the busy and tense city areas. After several unsuccessful attempts to get that perfect picture of flock of birds flying towards the lake, we were on our way back to Dharwad carrying sweet memories of Sadhanakeri.

Regards,
Raveesh

Also Read,
Hubli-Dharwad Trip : Part 1

Hubli-Dharwad Trip : Part 1

Hubli trip was at a short notice. We were going to attend the marriage of our former colleague on 10th Feb 2008 at Hubli. So, we four, me, Nithin, Guru and Harsha had booked our tickets with KSRTC Volvo for 10 pm slot on 9th Feb 2008.We were at the right time, waiting for Airavatha (KSRTC name for Volvo buses). 10, 10:30 and 11, but there was no sign of Airavatha arrival. Repeated assurances by KSRTC control room personnel about its new arrival times kept the passengers waiting little more every time. Finally, Airavatha (Airavatha literally means Elephant from heaven) majestically arrived at 11 10 pm!

Kitturu Rani Chennamma Circle
Picture courtesy hdmc.gov.in

This was my first journey towards north of Karnataka. When the bus reached the old bus stand at Hubli it was 7 30 am. The famous Kitturu Rani Chennamma circle is nearby. As most of you would know, the famous Kannada song Huttidare Kannada Naadalli Huttabeku sung by Dr.Raj in the film Aakasmika was shot at this circle only. Our lodge was near Gokul Road close to the new bus stand in Hubli. We got into a bus towards the place which was some 3-4 kms away from the old bus stand. Public transport here is similar to Bangalore with KSRTC owned buses providing the service for majority of the routes and in other parts Private operators chipping in.

Near Old Bus Stand, Hubli

Hubli or now Hubballi in this part of Karnataka is called Chota Bombay for it being the commercial hub of north Karnataka. Dharwad which is 20km away from Hubli is the seat of learning but both cities are clubbed together under Hubli-Dharwad City Corporation. Hubli is being seen as the tier II IT destination in Karnataka along with other cities like Mysore, Mangalore, and Belgaum. To substantiate this fact, we saw the Hubli IT Park on our way towards Gokul.

Hubli IT Park
Picture courtesy hdmc.gov.in

After attending the marriage, we came back to the lodge eager to watch the India Australia tie at Melbourne. Unfortunately the cable connection which was working perfectly in the morning had a half day! Regular score updates by cousins back in Bangalore kept us well informed. Then at 3 pm, as per Guru’s plan we headed towards Sadhanakeri near Dharwad, place where great Kannada poet and Jnaana Peetha Awardee Sri.Da Ra Bendre lived. I will be writing a detailed post on this place which is a nature lover’s paradise.

A Commercial Complex in Hubli

Hubli to Dharwad is one hour journey by bus. On our way to Dharwad we rued ourselves for having missed the opportunity to spend time near Unkal Lake, when we saw it passing by while traveling in the bus. The lake is about 110 years old and has the statue of Swami Vivekananda at the center. We were told by the co-passengers about the prospect of enjoying the boat ride there.

Basaveshwara Statue

From Dharwad we went to Sadhanakeri, spent some time there and were back in Dharwad at 7 30 pm. When in Dharwad, you should never miss enjoying the famous Dharwad Pedha, a milk based sweet. We bought some packets of Dharwad Pedha for the people back home in Bangalore. From Dharwad we were back in Hubli, searching for a hotel to have dinner. Unanimous opinion was to go to Basaveshwara Khanavali near the Kitturu Chennama circle. Though we had to wait for some time for our turn, we thoroughly enjoyed the Jolada Rotti meals(Jowar Roti meals) there. Yun hi nahin kehte hain ki, sabr ka phal meetha hota hai. So, next time you are in Hubli don’t miss the north Karnataka special Jowar Roti meals. After finishing the pet pooja we were at VRL pick up point for our journey back to Bangalore.

In Dharwad

Though we could not explore the city far and wide, I felt Hubli as a city which is large and wide but modernity is yet to cast its spell over it fully. Already some of the retail majors have set shop here and IT revolution is slowly picking up. Language spoken here is another flavour of Kannada with Hindi words mixed!

Regards,
Raveesh

Also Read,
Hubli-Dharwad Trip : Part 2 - Sadhanakeri

Click the image below to see all the photos from Hubli

Type your posts in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam in Blogger now

Blogger has incorporated typing new posts in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam using transliteration, a facility which till now was only available to Hindi as far as Indian languages are considered. So now you don’t have to type your regional language posts using some third party applications like Baraha, Quillpad and then paste the content in Blogger post. You can now directly type in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam in Blogger keeping the transliteration button on and selecting the required language. Advantage here is that you can correct the typing mistakes, the moment English letters are changed to Indian language letters.One more change which would be of interest to all the bloggers (for providing backtrack links to their blogs) is while providing comments to any Blogger post, you now have the option of choosing your identity from LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad and AIM. And if you own a domain you can also provide your URL in the comment form.For all the changes introduced by Blogger click the below link
Blogger Buzz

Updates : How to disable transliteration in blogger?

If you are not using tranliteration you can disable it using global settings. For this, go to Settings section in your blogger dashboard. Then in the lower half of this page you will find Global Settings. You can enable/disable transliteration facility as shown in the figure below.

Stona 2008 Bangalore

I had been planning to go for Stona 2008, an international granites and stone fair held in Bangalore. So, on last Saturday, 09th February 2008, I went for the show accompanied by my cousins. Stona 2008 was held from 06 – 10 February 2008. First three days of the show were reserved for business delegates and on the last two days, 09th and 10th Feb, general public was allowed view the exhibition. 2006 was the last time when the show was held. This time show was big with 2100 stalls (from 400 exhibitors) compared to 100 stalls in 2006. Exhibitors from Italy, China, Turkey, Egypt and other European countries were also present in the show.

Bangalore Palace

Bangalore Palace Grounds near Vasanth Nagar, where the show was held was busy with activity. Red carpet welcome was at its truest sense when the whole Palace ground was covered with the same. People flocking to see granites, marbles, tiles and various creations from the same was a common sight. It being a second Saturday had attracted many people from the city to witness the stone wonders.

'No War' Pistol

We started our Stona 2008 journey by visiting pure business stalls where information about the company and stones they dealt with, along with sample stones were on display. This as you would expect did not arouse much interest in us. I had seen photographs of some of the best stone creations in Stona 2008 in news papers, so was eager to see that. After visits of some similar business stalls, we saw those stone creations like – idols of Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna and other gods, animals like elephant, lion, themes like a giant pistol tied at the tip saying No War etc. Stone creations have been fascinating men from pre historical times and in this modern age it was no different. Lord Ganesha was the favourite of most of the artisans at Stona 2008, with most of the idols being of Him. Lord Buddha seemed to be the next favourite.

Granite Train

Apart from stone creations there were stalls which exhibited machinery which were used to give the artistic shape to a mere stone. Also on display were power tools, abrasives, house keeping chemicals, grinders etc. State owned companies in stone business from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too had their stalls. Andhra Pradesh map formed from various tiles available in the state was artistic. Apart from the business representatives, there were people buying stone work for that artistic and aesthetic look in their homes. One of the great attractions of the show was the train made out of granite by Granite Products Corporation.

Fountain

But the biggest attraction of the show, what I felt was the Shilpagram. Shilpagram was a congregation of some of the best artisans, where they used to display their works. Idols of gods, animals, temples, abstracts were on display. Main attraction here was the giant Lord Ganesha idol which was on sale for some 35 lakh rupees. Fine carvings made on the idol for over 3 years by the artisans were the prime reasons for the price. Artisans from north, south, east and west of India were present in Shilpagram showcasing their talent.

Lord Ganesha idol in Shilpagram

Truly it was an enjoyable experience in all, seeing the brilliant stone works on an otherwise usual Saturday!

Regards,
Raveesh

For all the photos from Stona 2008, Bangalore click on the slide image below.