Teacher: “Sita, where is the Cauvery born and where does she flow?”
Sita: “Cauvery is born every year on October 17 in Talacauvery in Kodagu jille. From there Cauvery straight flows to Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu. In Mettur, 270 tmc feet of water will be pumped back to Karnataka, if it really needs it. Otherwise, it is allowed to flow to alpha, beta, gamma, delta.”
***
Teacher: “Rama, what is Karnataka ekikarana?”
Rama: “After a lot of struggle, in 1956, all Kannada-speaking people from other cities and provinces such as Bombay, Hyderabad, Kasargod were brought under a new State called ‘Karnataka’. Even after 50 years, people from these regions are being referred to as ‘those’ from Bombay-Karnatak, Hyderabad-Karnatak and Kasargod-Karnataka. We don’t how many centuries it will take, before they just become people from Karnataka, Miss!”
***
Kitti: “Can I ask you a question, Miss?”
Teacher: “OK.”
Kitti: “Can you name all the central railway ministers from Karnataka?”
Teacher: “Let’s see. Kengal Hanumanthaiah, K.C. Reddy, C.K. Jaffer Sharief, George Fernandes… I don’t know all the names. But most of the former railway ministers are from Karnataka.”
Kitti: “Then how is it our largest port-city Mangalore is still not connected to Bangalore, our capital city, (on a regular basis), whereas it is connected by rail to Bombay?”
Teacher: “That’s true. I don’t know.”
***
Mohan: “Miss, Karnataka has the most number of Jnanpith awardees in the country, right?”
Teacher: “Yes! Yes!”
Mohan: “And it is given for their literary contribution to Kannada language, right?”
Teacher: “Indeed!”
Kitti: “And government still feels Kannada does not deserve classical status?”
Teacher: “I don’t know.”
***
Gopal: “And finally, Miss, Carnatic Music was first formulated by Purandara Dasa?”
Teacher: “That’s right.”
Kitti: “And yet singers from Karnataka who are over 80+ still don’t get even ‘Padma Sri’ awards?”
Teacher: ‘That’s true, I don’t why.”
***
E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes: Inthaavu bahala iddaave. Hyange sarimadodrappa? Yaarigadru enaadru holeethada?
people are never happy with what they have eh? idhe prashnegalu assam athva nagaland nalli yaarigo holeeiyalla. Because they have less “important” questions like “why are we caught in the cross-fire between the army and militants?” or “when are we going to get economic prosperity, some trains and flights at least while the rest of india grows at its sky-rocketing pace?”
sumne bekagilldero regionalistic sentiments yaake keralsthira swaami?
ShreyasG
If you cannot appreciate humor in this witty piece by ERR, just stay away!
Sumne bariyokke enaadru baribahudu. Swalpa yochane maadi bariri saar.
The grouses mentioned may be valid but the reasons mentioned are not valid or relevant. I wish better research had been done.
It is not as if Karnataka railway ministers have not contributed. I am not sure KC Reddy was even a railway minister. Kengal was railway minister only briefly (70-71?) and George Fernandes though originally from Karnataka was raised in Bombay & was elected from Bihar at the time. He initiated the Konkan Railway which is quite useful as there are a lot of people from our coastal districts who have ties with Bombay. Jaffer Sharif got the Bangalore-Mysore broad guage link done. The link from Mangalore to Bangalore has been delayed for reasons other than just ministers, like the bus lobbies etc if reports are to be believed.
I would like to point out that several singers/musicians from Karnataka (including 80 year olds) have received awards. Gangubai Hanagal, Bhimsen Joshi, Mallikarjun Mansur & Basavaraj Rajguru have received Padma awards for Hindustani music. Remember that Hubli dharwar also belongs to Karnataka. Who are the major Carnatic singers from Karnataka
that are left out?
And what have Jnanapith awards got to do with classical status? These have been instituted only after independence.
Ree Faldo!
Just look at the railway network in TN and then comment! Don’t throw stones living in a glasshouse!!
What the incompetent Railway Ministers from Karnataka have achieved is laughable!
Like I said the grouses might be valid but the causes or reasons cited are not relevant.
Certainly, railway ministers could have contributed more but my belief is that it has to do with more than just that. Of the above mentioned only Sharief was a full fledged minister representing Karnataka for any considerable period of time. Fernandes did not represent the state and the others were stop gaps.
I believe, the main problem has been articulating the demands clearly and of different regions being on the same page. The Mangalore Bangalore link was not consistently raised earlier as it is being done now.
Faldo,
I some what agree. Among these ministers, Jaffer Sharrif seems to have done better. But the surprise omission from ERR’s list is niddhe-muddhey DeveGowda! This man was PM of India and ‘Karnataka’ and yet he accomplished zilch!
swami, yaare Railway mantri aagirali,namma MPgaLige Rajyada abhivriddhi bagge nijavaada kaaLaji iddiddare ii riitiya matugaLige avakaashave iruttiralilla. Pakshabedha maretu nijavaada aasaktiyinda kelasa maaDida MPgaLu yeshTu jana iddaare? Cinemadante mantripadavige raajinaame neeDuva mantrigaLinda yaarige prayojana…
Faldo,
I think Mr. Poonacha, a former CM of Coorg became Railway Minister.
Similarly H.C. Dasappa , Mr.T.A. Pai were also a Railway Minister.
Mr. Suresh Kalamadi though from Maharashtra is a Kannidiga
Musicians you have mentioned are all from HM .
From CM there are many singers and scholars just to name one each , we have Vid. R.K.Srikantan and Mahamahopadyaya Dr. R.Satyanarayana.
Jeevarathna, thanks for mentioning the other ministers and the musicians. I did remember T A Pai but could not recollect the rest. Yes, Vid. Srikantan and Dr. R. Satyanarayana deserve better but maybe it is lack of visibility or lesser focus on Carnatic music within our state that is responsible.
DB, I agree that mannina maga was our best chance to get some movement on issues. But even there infighting among state politicians, not knowing which issues needed priority and the compulsions of coalition politics – all of these were limiting factors.
Another reason above all these is historical. Karnataka became unified only recently. The areas which belonged to other states like Bombay, Hyd and Madras were not too commercially important except for Mangalore.
In TN’s case the whole state was one and the basic road and rail network was laid during British times. The latter day rulers only developed it further like converting it to broad gauge etc. You will agree that Mangalore too already had railway links to the Madras/ Kerala.
After these parts joined KA, things had to be started from scratch. So we had to identify and prioritise issues first before expecting them to be resolved.
There is something you are ignoring here. While Karnataka has been discriminated against, Maha has certainly been as discriminated. (if not more)
1.) Most of the trains passing through Pune are up or down trains to other states cities; very few are to other cities in Maharashtra. I.e. just as there is Bangalore-Mangalore, there is no direct Pune-Nagpur, Pune-Kohlapur.
2.) The per-capita assistance to Mah by the Central (annual plans, Central government aid et al) are lower than what is given to TN, Kerala, AP, Gujarat, and even the national average on occasion.
3.) The Air-Force in Pune refuses to allow expansion of Pune airport, thereby curtailing its growth completely.
4.) Maharashtrians in Mumabi are a minority too (
5.) Most of the IAS officers in Maha aren’t Maharashtrian, same goes for the IPS.
6.) Most shops in Pune/Mumbai are owned by non-Maharashtrians.
7.) Those who argue that Maharashtrians are regionally-minded, please look at it this way: if you compare the Shiv-Sena’s performance to any other regional party in India, it has performed hopelessly. So what “Marathis vote for the SS” phenomeon are we really talking about:
TDP (Est 1982-in power in AP 16 out of 25 years)
ADMK: (Est 1977.-in power 20 out of the last 30 years)
DMK: (Est 1960) in power 20 out of 46 in TN
UDF/LDF: 50 % each way: 13 years each since 1982.
CPM: 30 years unbroken rule
Now let us compare it to the party which every Marathi votes for and all Maharashtrians are supposed to be solidly behind, which truly reflects Maha aspirations and is the upholder of all things Marathi etc etc:
Shiv Sena: (Est 1966) in power…..five years out of 41!
To drive the point home:
Hence, every other state has given their regional parties many more chances than the Maharashtrians. Keeping in mind that 80+ % of Mah is Maharashtrian, if the SS has been unable to form a government for more than one term-it very clearly shows: the majority of Maharashtrians never voted, are voting nor will vote for the SS.
(Because: if the majority of Maharashtrians ever vote one way or the other decisively, whichever party it is, will come to power. )
However, in Maha like in Karnataka, caste loyalties take precedence over the regional identity. Hence, as one of our local wits says: there are no Maharashtrian voters, there are OBC, Mali, Muslim, Mahar and above all else-Maratha voters. Each of these are loyal only to whichever party satisfies what their ends, they are really not bothered about anything of the state.
That is why the SS can never win. Because the Marathas vote for the Congress, the Mahars for the Congress, the Malis for the NCP and the OBCs for the Congress, the Dalits for the RPI/Dalit Panthers/and so on.
Hence, Karnataka’s non regionalism as well as its his own blog seem ok.
Faldo,
If time were to be frozen, I can understand. But man, we have had almost 65 years of statehood and the clown politicians from Karnataka have had no vision at all! That is the grouse we have and are upset about!
But once again, to follow up on your message, irrigation projects were undertaken in the state in a big way! That made Karnataka hinterland more prosperous and led to backward class ‘upliftment’, land reforms and so on.
ha ha ha Inspite of all these… sirigannadam gelge….
Atleast aaTakkadru iddivalla…
ella namde tappu… apthamithra film na copy hODda “Chandramukhi” sooper hit… ivaga janagaL na kELi… Chandramukhi original, Apthamithra copy anthare…
Thimma: “Is it true that Kannada language is being ignored in Bangalore?”
Teacher: “Yes, Yes. Very true.”
Thimma: “Then…why kannadigas are so obsessed with Tamil channels and Tamil movies? ”
Teacher: “Ummm…I don’t know. ”
Thimma: “May be, we are very smart people? ”
Teacher: “Yes, yes – We are. “
Faldo,
You said: but maybe it is lack of visibility or lesser focus on Carnatic music within our state that is responsible.
Suvarna Karnataka award did not include any CM stalwarts .
HDK had agreed to inauguarte and preside over the annual sankranti muisc festival of RKS (His birthday) but he skips it at the last minute .
But he agrees to Dr. Balamurali krishna to open a carnatic music university in Karnataka!
Jeevarathna – You have made a good point. In addition CM also probably needs a more active music association or sabha.
DB – Yes I agree about the lack of vision. Add lack of unity to that. Hopefully with people demanding more things will change.
Sugatha – You have raised some nice issues and both KA/ Maha do seem to have similarities. But I would like to point out that there is a Nagpur – Kolhapur Maha express that passes thru Pune, connecting it with both cities. This train has been around for many decades.
JR, Faldo….
chitra sings jagadodhaarana
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/carnatic_vocal/s/artist.49/
idella, how do they allow?
aayar paaDiyill kaNNan illeyo?
aase huTTisi haaDu komdeyo?
paavum daasa.
subblakshmamma also sang yashodha.
Dear Faldo
I agree about Nagpur-Kolhapur. The other points are still valid. I do feel that the Kannidagas have become to some extent, the Maharashtrians of south India. In fact, the things outsiders say about Kannadigas today are curiously reminscient of what they used to say about Maharashtrians. Its fascinating to see the same things “lazy” “unenterprising” “content with a middle class lifestyle” “cautious” etc, being said about another community. The similarity extends right down to the somewhat patronizing attitude of the English press towards the locals. I believe that what has happened to the locals in Bangalore is Mumbai-Mark Two, except its not the Maharashtrians this time. You may violently disagree.
it will would very naive to discount all the caste equations in kerala. ditto TN.
aside….
In SI TN has a hegemonic influence disproportionate to its numbers. (More Telugu speakers than Tamil in SI)
for example even an article on south indian brahmins,in a national progressive publication like outlook, is all about the Tamilian Brahmins with not a single mention about any other group. To complete the indoctrination the article was written by a correspondent usually covering karnataka affairs for outlook. I mean common. U might be Raos and U might be Murthys but afa national outlook is concerned U are level two even in a list of brahmins.
TS
Take some consolation from the fact that this was written by a Japanese with an Indian name covering the affairs of Karnataka…:)
Nitpicking warning…..
Someone could confirm this but I think Maharashtra has a different status under the constitution than Karnataka does. J&K has article 370, I think Nagaland has 371 and Maharashtra is somewhere there. Maybe this explains their problems w.r.t Central govt. influence (or lack of)?
GK3S
Not at all…I think you are onto something here. Where is Rathnajeevi?
Sugata – Yes the similarities are quite remarkable and I have noted this in many cases. I guess Mumbai, Bangalore and to an extent Pune being quite cosmopolitan face more of such issues than other cities. In KA’s case some of the bigger cities other than Bangalore like Mangalore, Belgavi etc also have significant populations of people who do not speak the state language. So that makes it challenging.
DB: Did you mean Chinese?
Faldo
Nope, I mean Japanese. Like Ogata, Sigata and Sugata. Chinese don’t have such names,
DB – I get it now. I saw your comment right after reading what TS had to say and thought you were referring to the leanings of the person who wrote the piece.
ayyo, bengaluru mangaluru rail link illa andre sugama, bluelines, durgamba bus operatorgalanna kelbeku :P
geLeyare,
“En guru” blog hosa posting nodi.
http://enguru.blogspot.com/2007/07/blog-post_16.html
Karnatakadali Hindi herikeya bagge atyanta pariNaamakaariyaagi baredidaare.
banni, ee charche yalli ellaroo bhAgavahisoNa !
-Santhosh Rao
Manichitrathazhu is original not Apthamithra – for kannadakanda