Buddhivantha - Little Sweet, More Salt (Uppu)!

Upendra's films evokes lot of curiosity when released. In the latest case, the new release Buddhivantha entertains you only in patches and will be more liked by his fans for Uppi's dialogues and mannerisms. Buddhivantha is a story of man who cheats 5 women under various disguises as Vijay Mittal, Shree Ranjaneesh, Samara Simha Reddy, Zakir Hussein and Shyam. Joseph Fernandes or Panchamrutham (again disguising himself) projects himself as a business man, a divine person, a macho man, a painter and a personal secretary to win hearts and later cheat them. When he is caught and produced before the court, he tells his name as Panchamrutham and denies all the allegations by the 5 ladies saying he is none of the 5 men mentioned or rather asks them to prove his misdeeds if he was one. The court hall becomes witness only for the sorrow stories of these women and not for the evidences to prove that. The court acquits Panchamrutham due to lack of evidence. Why the hero dons many roles to cheat the 5 women is revealed by him at the end of the film.Though Upendra plays in different roles in the film, only few will be in mind even after the show. As Panchamrutham he speaks Kannada with coastal Karnataka flavour in the court putting logic behind his every argument in the court. Samara Simha Reddy reminds you of the Telugu film hero with all 'extra' special effects for stunts and soon puts you into laughter mode. Krish and Dhoom2 spoof scences by Upendra, here add to the comedy. Talking of songs, I did not find any song worth listening again. Lyrics is horrible compared to class lyrics found in Kannada cinema nowadays with not only Jayanth Kaykini but other lyricists putting effort in composing good songs. Ravivarmana remix song could have been made better - more importantly it is not bearable to hear 'Kalle' and 'Bhalle' instead of Kale and Bhale in the line 'Ravivarmana Kunchada Kale Bhale Saakaaravo'. The mispronounciation continues in Chithranaa song where it is pronounced as 'Chithraanna' instead of Chithranaa in the pallavi of the song. To the folks who still think it as Chithraanna here is the correct lyrics - 'Chithranaa Chithranaa, Neene Nanna Manasina Chithranaa'.

Chidaanand (Pa Pa Paandu fame) appears for a brief moment in the film as friend of Upendra. Also after a long time, Lakshmi is seen in a supporting role as judge and mother of Pooja Gandhi. Another long forgotten face on the silver screen is veteran actor Shridhar who had done lot of films with yester year queen of Kannada cinema, Maalaashree. Out of the 5 heroines only Pooja Gandhi and Suman Ranganath shine. Film is just a time pass and can be avoided if you think only dialogues do not make up a good film.

September 15th - Engineers Day in India

Every year, September 15th is celebrated as 'Engineers Day' in India in honour of the greatest engineer and statesman the nation has ever seen, Sir M Vishweshwariah. Sir M V was born on September 15,1860. He was bestowed the highest civilian honour in India, Bharatha Rathna in 1955. He is a role model for all engineers for his brilliance, honesty and dedication to his job. Karnataka owes most of its industrial progress to this man. He was responsible for the starting of following institutions in the state

• Krishnarajasagara or KRS dam
• Bhadravati Iron and Steel Works
• Mysore Sandal Oil Factory and the Mysore soap factory
• Mysore University
• State Bank of Mysore
• Public libraries in Mysore and Bangalore
• Mysore Chamber of Commerce
• Kannada Sahitya Parishad
• Sri Jayachamarajendra Occupational Institute, Bangalore

Apart from these his other achievements include

• Implementation an extremely intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan area.
• Design of a system of automatic weir water floodgates, which was first installed in 1903, at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune.
• Design of a flood protection system to protect the city of Hyderabad from floods.
• Developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.

To know more about this simple man from Muddenahalli in his own words, you can read the book : Memoirs of My Working Life written by Sir MV in 1951. This book has been translated to Kannada in 2005, which is titled - Nanna Vruththijeevanada Nenapugalu by Dr.Gajanana Sharma. Sir MV's call for the nation was "Industrialize or Perish" contrary to Mahatama Gandhiji's "Industrialize and Perish". Seeing the current scenario, it is the former saying which has come true and India needs to be industrialized more, to stand among the developed nations of the world.

ಅಮೆರಿಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಕ೦ಪು

’ಅತಿಥಿ ಲೇಖನ’- ’ಈ ಪ್ರಪ೦ಚ’ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೊ೦ದು ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ. ಅಮೆರಿಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಉನ್ನತ ವ್ಯಾಸಾ೦ಗ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ನನ್ನ ಗೆಳೆಯ ರಾಘವೇ೦ದ್ರ ಭಟ್ ಅವನ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ವರದಿಯನ್ನು ತಲುಪಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ.

ಸಿ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಡಾ|ಪುತ್ತೂರಾಯ

ಅಮೆರಿಕದ ’ಅರಿಝೋನಾ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸ೦ಘ’ ಕಳೆದ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಸೆಪ್ಟೆ೦ಬರ್ ೭ ರ೦ದು ಶ್ರೀ ಸಿ.ಅಶ್ವತ್ ರವರಿ೦ದ ಗಾಯನ ಹಾಗೂ ಡಾ|ಪುತ್ತೂರಾಯ ರವರಿ೦ದ ’ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಹರಟೆ’ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಆಯೋಜಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಕಿಕ್ಕೇರಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮೂರ್ತಿ, ಸುಪ್ರಿಯಾ ಆಚಾರ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಇತರರನ್ನೊಳಗೊ೦ಡ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ತ೦ಡದ ಹೆಸರು - ’ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ಸತ್ಯ’.

ಸ್ವಾಗತ ಭಾಷಣದ ನ೦ತರ ಮೊದಲ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ - ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥರವರ ಗಾಯನ. ಮೊದಲ ಗೀತೆ ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಡಗೀತೆ - ’ಜೈ ಭಾರತ ಜನನಿಯ ತನುಜಾತೆ ಜಯ ಹೇ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಮಾತೆ’. ನ೦ತರ ’ಬಾರಿಸುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ಡಿ೦ಡಿಮವ’ ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ನಾಡಗೀತೆಗಳು. ತದ ನ೦ತರ ಭಾವಗೀತೆಗಳ ಸರದಿ. ಶಿಶುನಾಳ ಶರೀಫರ ರಚನೆಗಳಾದ ’ಕೋಡಗನ ಕೋಳಿ ನು೦ಗಿತ್ತ’, ’ಸೋರುತಿಹುದು ಮನೆಯ ಮಾಳಿಗೆ’ ಹಾಡುಗಳು ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆದವು. ಇದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಭಿಕರಿ೦ದ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಹಾಡು ’ನಿ೦ಗಿ ನಿ೦ಗಿ’, ’ಮುಕ್ತ’ ಧಾರವಾಹಿಯ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆ ಗೀತೆ ಮತ್ತು ’ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತೋ’(ಸುಪ್ರಿಯಾ ಆಚಾರ್ ಈ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಹಾಡಿದರು) ಹಾಡಲು ಒತ್ತಾಯ ಬ೦ತು. ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ತಮ್ಮ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ’ತರವಲ್ಲ ತರಗಿ ನಿನ್ನ ತ೦ಬೂರಿ’ ಹಾಡಿನಿ೦ದ ಕೊನೆಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಸಮಯದ ಅಭಾವದಿ೦ದಾಗಿ ಈ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಅ೦ದು ಹಾಡಲಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಸಿ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ಹಸ್ತಾಕ್ಷರ ಪಡೆಯಲು ಯುವಕರ ಸಾಲು

ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ಕ೦ಠಸಿರಿ ಕೇಳುಗರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೋಡಿ ಮಾಡಿತ್ತು. ಸಭಿಕರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವರು ತಾವು ಕೂತ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲೇ ಕುಣಿದರು. ವಯಸ್ಸು ೬೯ ಆದರೂ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಎ೦ದಿನ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿ೦ದ ಕೇಳುಗರ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಮೊದಲ ಸಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದ ಯುವಕರ ಗು೦ಪನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರು ಖುಶಿಪಟ್ಟರು. ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ’ಮುಕ್ತ’ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಒಲ್ಲೆ ಎ೦ದಿದ್ದರೂ ಯುವಕರ ಒಕ್ಕೊರಲಿನ ಒತ್ತಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಮಣಿದು ಹಾಡಲು ಅಣಿಯಾದರು. ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್ ರವರ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ನ೦ತರ ಡಾ|ಪುತ್ತೂರಾಯರ ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಶುರುವಾಯಿತು. ’ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಸಿ’ ಎ೦ದು ಮಾತು ಆರ೦ಭಿಸಿದ ಪುತ್ತೂರಾಯರ ನ೦ತರ ತಮ್ಮ ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಚಟಾಕಿಗಳಿ೦ದ ನೆರೆದಿದ್ದವರನ್ನು ರ೦ಜಿಸಿದರು. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾನುವಾರದ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ ಅಮೆರಿಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಾತಾವರಣವೇ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಒ೦ದು ಭಾಗವಾಗಿದ್ದ ನಮಗೂ ರಜಾದಿನವನ್ನು ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಕಳೆದ ಧನ್ಯತಾ ಭಾವ.

Bring Home Mungaaru Male

If you are an ardent fan of Kannada blockbuster, Mungaaru Male, here is some great news for you. Mungaaru Male, released at the end of the year 2006, is now available as VCDs/DVDs on Anand Video. VCD is priced at Rs.49/-. This is good development since most of the Kannada hit films are never made into VCDs, which indirectly encourages pirated VCDs of the movie. I got the Mungaaru Male VCD today, when are you getting it? This blog post was mentioned in thatskannada.com

Tulu Wikipedia - Lets Realize the Dream

Wikipedia is a living encyclopedia on the net as it allows the users to edit the content. Add to that it is available almost all the major languages of the world and also it continuously adds new languages to its ever growing knowledge bank after some requirements are met. And now it is the turn of Tulu language to have its own wikipedia.

Proposal to open new language subdomain for Tulu in wikipedia has been verified as eligible. But there are still some requirements described in the language proposal policy for the final approval to get the wikipedia in Tulu - There should be active test project on Multilingual Wikisource (Wikisource only), Beta Wikiversity (Wikiversity only), or the Incubator (all other projects). Currently Tulu has test project in Incubator. The project should be active until its approval. Also there should be a MediaWiki interface available in the language. For Tulu, some of MediaWiki messages are left untranslated. For a complete list of requirements for the approval of wikipedia for a particular language click here.

You can contribute Tulu articles written in Kannada script for this test project, thus increasing the chances of getting Tulu wikipedia approved. For this you need to have a wiki account created. For creation of wiki account click here. You can visit the request page for Tulu wikipedia and add yourself as an user interested in forming an editing community. As per language policy of wiki, at least five active users must edit that language regularly before a test project will be considered successful. Also you can add arguments in favour of creating Tulu wikipedia in the same page. Most importantly it is your articles written in Tulu contributed to test project, which will make Tulu Wikipedia a reality. Calling all Tuluvas for contributing to this cause.

Thanks
Raveesh

Shivagange Trip

In the last post, I mentioned about Goravanahalli temple visit. On our way back to Bangalore we went to Shivagange – a place for the pious and adventure enthusiasts. Shivagange is about 50 kms from Bangalore and 8 kms from Dabas Pete on way to Tumkur on NH4.

One of the Gopuras at Shivagange

Shivagange,a rocky hill appears in 4 different shapes in 4 directions in the form of Nandi , Lord Ganesha, Shiva Linga and Cobra. As you climb the rocky hill, you will find shrines at almost each halting point. Statues of Nandi or Basava carved from rocks are also seen, though called by different names – Emme Basavanna, Harake Basvanna. We were told about the monkey menace on offer in the place and were told to be on alert about our belongings! But to our surprise no monkey dared to try its tricks on that day!

Emme Basavanna

Steps to climb the hill are carved out of the rocks as it is done to help the devotees. Gopuras, old monuments, also a fort wall fill the canvas of the Shivagange pictures. Main entrance for the Shivagange temple is being constructed. As you reach near the peak of the hill, you will find your batteries need to be recharged as you would have exhausted by then. Eatables, soft drinks are available at several halting points in the rocky hill. When we were exploring the place, we used to stop at various heights to see a glimpse of the land below and how they were shrinking in size when we climbed newer heights. Needless to say that breath taking photographs were taken after that!

Fort Walls at Shivagange,
in the backdrop you can see the statue of Nandi

Our aim was to reach the top as early as possible. On the way, we went to Olakall theertha. Olakall theertha is a cave like structure. Place is dark with no electric lamps. After initial hesitation we were on our way inside. After getting the Theertha or the holy water for the first time, we were thrilled and went there again now without fears! When we looked at our watches by this time, it was already 5 30 pm and it was time to return back to Bangalore, leaving aside the hope of reaching the top of the hill.

Shivagange Peak

On climbing down the hill, we went to this temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva which also houses treasure room of the times of Kempegowda, king of Bangalore and tunnel route to reach Bangalore in those times. Time was not permitting us to explore the place further. We also missed visiting Pathala Ganga temple. On our back home, plans were already in place to visit the place for the second time.

Birds view from Shivagange hill, lush greenery

Rocks at Shivagange hill

Birds view of the Shivagange town

Way to Treasure Room at Shivagange

Treasure Room at Shivagange of Kempegowda's times

Tunnel Passage from Shivagange to Bangalore
built in the times of Kempegowda

Inside the tunnel Passage