D.P. SATISH writes from New Delhi: This is not the right time to talk about the divide between Old Mysore and northern Karnataka. The northern part of the State is reeling under the flood of the century, and needs all the support and sympathy old Mysore and every other part of the State can give.
But, as Karnataka turns 53, the Rajyotsava is as good a time as any to revisit Chiranjiv Singh, the distinguished turbaned bureaucrat, who beautifully describes the divide in the article below, excerpted from the admirable anthology on Bangalore edited by Aditi De.
Chiranjiv Singh is often times referred to as more Kannadiga than the most Kannadigas. A scholar and a thinker, he has written books on Kannada and Karnataka in both Kannada and English; he was the first secretary of Kannada and culture department. He retired five years ago as additional chief secretary.
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NEW SHOOTS AND OLD ROOTS
The Cultural Backdrop of Bangalore
By Chiranjiv SinghWhen Devaraj Urs changed the name of the State from Mysore to Karnataka, there was jubilation in northern Karnataka, but a sense of loss in old Mysore. I remember the unhappiness which many people expressed to me at this symbolic act; for them it was a break with a cherished past, a loss of the rich cultural legacy of the Maharajas of Mysore.
In Bangalore, in a matching symbolic act, K. Balasubramanyam, the respected revenue commissioner of the State, gave up his old Mysore gold lace turban (Mysore peta) in favour of the black cap of northern Karnataka.
“When there is no Mysore now, why should I continue to wear the Mysore turban?’ he said.
The elegant Mysore gold lace turban vanished, along with the culture it represented. It is seen now in Sir M. Visvesvaraya‘s portraits which hang in schools and offices and in the ‘ in memorium ‘ columns of daily papers, where grandparents are occasionally remembered with their photographs.
In the Vidhana Soudha, the northern Karnataka turbans (the roomal) drew attention amidst the Gandhi caps for a while. The minister of urban development Mr Upnal with his outsized turban, was jokingly called ‘the minister of turban development’.
Now Bangalore has no time for Gandhi caps or turbans.
The divide between zari peta and the silk roomal remains.
A saying current in northern Karnataka, which was quoted to me by Mahalinga Shetty of Hubli, who was married into the old Mysore family of S. Nijalingappa, the first chief minister of unified Karnataka, meant ‘Don’t trust the zari peta-wallahs’. The zari peta-wallahs thought the roomal-wallahs were odd and rough.
Across this Old-Mysore – northern Karnataka divide stereotypes persist.
When I suggested to a film maker who was planning to make a film and television serial on Shishunala Sharif, the mystic poet-saint on northern Karnataka, who is sometimes compared to Kabir—raised a Muslim and becoming the disciple of a Hindu—that he should use the northern dialect which Shishunal Sharif spoke and wrote in, he said, ‘No, it won’t run. The northern Karnataka dialect in Bangalore is still used only for comic effect.’
If jokes are at the expense of the other, then Bangalore has many others besides the northern Karnataka ones; north Indians, Tamils, Telugus, Marwaris, Christians, Muslims, each one laughing at the other, behind their backs. But for all that, Bangalore remains a serious city.
‘Swalpa adjust maadi‘ (please adjust a little), that cliched phrase often quoted while referring to Bangalore’s culture, has become meaningless. Calcutta and Hyderabad could as well claim the phrase and, during floods, Mumbaikars showed more adjustment than Bangaloreans.
Perhaps the distinguishing feature of Bangalore’s culture is the ability to live within divisions and to rise above them at the same time and accept the new oppenness. This flexibility is helpful in times of constant change. Food habits are changing; clothing is changing; houses are changing; ways of life are changing; entertainment is changing; culture is changing.
Jasmine sellers are changing over to selling vegetables; demand for jasmine strands is declining because many women now sport short hair and do not decorate their hair with jasmine and Kanakambara flowers. Looms that weave Bangalore silk saris and dhotis are dwindling because men and women have taken to Western and Punjabi garb.
Also read: Chiranjiv Singh on H.Y. Sharada Prasad
churumuri 
Well, if you continue to make fun of the other and claim, justified or unjustified, superiority over the other, when will Karnataka emerge? Maybe it is time to split the state into North and South – another reorganization.
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chiranjivi singh is a truly noble soul. when he retired people felicitated all him over karnataka. they wept. he just did not serve karnataka, he served the country as well. he was one of the finest ambassadors india had at unesco and i have seen him function there from close quarters. he was held in great awe. people like him never retire. in my opinion he should have been this country’s culture minister. it is still not late.
however, there are people like sm krishna who treated him badly. if people like devraj urs, hegde and deve gowda got a good name they partly have to thank people like chiranjiv singh, satish chandran (who passed away recently), vkrv rao and j c lynn. remarkable men of integrity. thank you churmuri for this piece. happy rajyotsava.
satish is wrong when he says he has written books in kannada and english. he is yet to write a book and when he writes it will be the most authoritative. in this respect he is like sharada prasad.
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“Perhaps the distinguishing feature of Bangalore’s culture is the ability to live within divisions and to rise above them at the same time and accept the new openness.”
Could not agreed more. I think we can extend this to most parts of the state as well.
Happy Rajyotsava.
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Stereotypes are still in abundance in churumuri who don’t publish my comments at times.
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leaving aside bangalore i feel that old mysore people are more aggressive compared to their northern kannadiga counterparts.
north kannadigas generally speak better kannada compared to south kannadigas.
south karnataka villages are much cleaner compared to north where sanitation is almost universally absent.
hindi love is most in north karnataka where as english is accepted instead of hindi in south.
south karnataka politisians are much better educated and efficient than politisians of north.many of the north politscians are over hyped who did nothing to their districts.
Veg food of north like rotti,badenakayi gojju etc is better in north (except hassan veg food which i found best) where as south mandya style non veg is almost unbeatable in taste.
tea is better tasted in north whereas coffee is better tasted in south(read only bangalore)…..
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Well reasoned out piece. But I don’t understand one thing: why should he be referred to as the ‘turbaned bureaucrat’, distinguished or not. What if another website calls a person distinguished ‘sambar-licking bureaucrat’ in UP? I don’t intend to be nasty.
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Jagirdar sahebre, yaakri yaaro thirboki director maath keLi namma karunaaDanna eraDu maaDtheera? swami aa tarah aDkonDu nago jana yella kaDe irthare aadre, karnatakadalli iruva yellaru nammavru annoru nooru paTTu jasthi irthare. naavu namma vishaala hrudayakke hesaruvasi alva?
yaaro obbarige heLi, adanna innobba keLisikonDu yello barediddakke neevu kaDDi tunDu maaDidahaage heLbiTTralla swami! idu nyaya na? navella ondu alva?
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Nice piece by Mr. Chiranjeevi Singh, the distinguished and bold officer who faced tough situations with courage and conviction, while serving the State as an IAS administrator. True, ‘Mysore turban’ has more or less disappeared, except during Dasara when some enthusiastic Mysoreans wear the traditional Durbar dress and walk in front of the Howdah elephant. Mysore Jasmine too has disappered and what we are getting now is ‘Madras Jasmine’ which arrives every day from neighbouring Tamil Nadu!
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My uncle was always in a old Mysore turban. When ever my aunt wanted oil for cooking, he would go to the gana and smell the oil in the tank bending down and the turban will fall into the tank. In turn he would be very apologetic about it and bring the turban home and squeeze oil out of it for cooking!!
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if “demand for jasmine strands is declining” why is the price increasing?
perhaps the author’s is trying to say it’s not very cool to wear flowers nowadays. but to aver, based on that opinion, that the demand is declining is a fallacy — it is unsupported by evidence. as a matter of fact, in mysore (for example) the daily number of trucks arriving from (ironically) sathyamangalam with “mysore mallige” has doubled in the last five years.
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jayashree,
That’s a story that appeared in the very first issue of Tinkle.
Is the source same or is your story sourced from that?
peshva,
That probably gets supplied to temples, chatras and politicians’ haaras.
JSS has been expanding its hospital and sacrificing the famous elé thOTa because of it, Mysore betel leaves is scarcely available now. Soon it may become extinct.
I remember a scientist from a pharma MNC saying in a lecture that Nanjangud rasabaaLe we find in markets are bastard variants, the genuine variety was being preserved few places around the world including Germany(he had likened it to Small Pox viruses’ preservation)!
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Nick– there was no Tinkle when this story originated, 70-80 yrs back!! This was told to us by Battru in Lakshmipram girls school.
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