Ever since I came back from India, I was feeling home sick. Days were depressing and gloomy. There’s no shouting of vegetable vendors or of street sweepers in the morning. Everything is so quiet. Adding to the monotony was the weather, it’s become cold, foggy and dark, doesn’t feel so energetic. I even became philosophic and these lines haunted me like never before.
ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತೋ ದೂರ ತೀರಕೆ ನಿನ್ನನು
ಯಾವ ಬೃಂದಾವನವು ಸೆಳೆಯಿತೋ ನಿನ್ನ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ಕಣ್ಣನು
I sang this song several times in my school days. These lines are from a poem by Gopalakrishna Adiga. Lord Krishna is a great flutist, people get engrossed and forget themselves when He plays. The music that comes from his flute is so beautiful and magnetic that one can’t help but get attracted to it. The poet says, what was that as great as music from Lord Krishna’s flute that took you to a distant place? What beautiful garden (Brindavana) attracted your eyes?
ಇರುವುದೆಲ್ಲವ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಇರದುದರೆಡೆಗೆ ತುಡಿವುದೆ ಜೀವನ
Life is leaving everything that you have and going towards nothing.
Ahhh!! how much it haunted me every day. To get myself out of this gloominess, my husband suggested me to read Beechi’s “Bullets-u Bombs-u Bhagavadgeete”, well the title is misleading but it’s a humorous book written by B.S. Keshava Rao about puns and articles written by Beechi himself. It also includes humorous incidents as told by people close to Beechi. Beechi’s complete name is Raayasam Bheemasen Rao, he is very well known as Karnataka’s George Bernard Shaw.
I liked an article I read yesterday. Beechi who is die hard fan of D.V.Gundappa/DVG especially DVG’s book – Mankutimmana Kagga – has written some poems appreciating Mankutimma – in the words of a fictional character -Timma.
One day Timma wins 2 lakh Rupees. Timma is a good Samaritan, wants to help people from this money. He thinks of building a temple and realizes only Hindus will visit. He then thinks of building a mosque, but only Muslims are allowed. He thinks of building a Church, but then only Christians will visit. Timma is confused, he thinks of building something that everybody will visit. He then builds six ‘toilets’ in a row!! Purpose served 🙂 Isn’t that beautiful?
I have finished half the book, already in love with Beechi. I bought this book and one more ‘Medammana GanDa’ and two books of my favorite author S.L.Bhairappa – kavalu – daaTu – Can’t wait to read them.
There is some kind of joy in reading books written in mother-tongue.
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
Nelson Mandela
Dhriti 