6 siblings of Haldodderi!

During the excavation of photos at home, you realize you have grown up little too much to see the elders in the photograph. A lot of elders have gone to a better place to stay and a few are less reminiscent of the way they came from a far-off village to make Bengaluru home.

To start it our paternal family migrated from a village called “Haldodderi” in Tumkur. It is 28 km from Tumkur district headquarters,  26 km from Sira and totally 108 km from Bengaluru. That is too much of a distance to cover in the 1940’s and 1950’s.  Well according to me I can never imagine leaving my city for anything, 1-year masters in Barcelona put out a very scary face of migration to me.

If you look at the map there, you could see a kere and an Anjaneya Swamy temple. That is all my reminiscence of the place.  You can also find Seebi which is our mane devru Laksmi Narasimha Swamy temple abode. Now closer to it you find the country club which is the showcase of too much migration to cities where farmers sell or forcibly sell to get a better life in Tumkuru or Bengaluru. I have heard stories of how the name of the village came up to. Halu(milk) is the key word here. Thaatha did mention saying the kere was as white as the milk and it was flowing too good. Now it is almost dry. Tumkuru was the dry area of Karnataka. After North Karnataka, I presume a lot of migration to Bengaluru happened from here. My great grandfather Ranganna was a farmer and I have heard he was an innocent man. A lot of his relatives gobbled up his land. Whereas his wife Krishna Veni was a compassionate but much more practical lady.  She studied more than him. This was also the same case with my maternal great-grandmother. In a way, these women uplifted the house.

Ranganna had 6 children, 3 boys, and 3 girls. A villager, a farmer dreamt of only to get his daughters married off and sons maybe take care of the farm. But Krishna Veni had other plans. She had a sister named “Puttu” who was already a teacher. She had her personal issues to work and stay in a place to educate children. Krishna Veni migrated to Tumkuru with her children to educate them. Interestingly this was the biggest step to take for a lady at the era where women in the household were asked to not go out. Well, breaking barriers had to start somewhere, isn’t it?

She got her eldest daughters married and the eldest son who secured a job in the city due to his studious marks.  This was the first successful migration to a far-off city unknown place. My grandfather, my thaatha H R Nagesh Rao who is middle in the picture probably had other plans but a lot of things changed for him. Yesterday when I spoke to my maternal thaatha he told my paternal thaatha was a rank student in his intermediate. I was a little baffled as to how he never acknowledged it. Well so case to say a tragedy struck a house with his youngest sister. She was widowed at age 13 with a son. Which meant tonsuring the head and locking up in the house for the rest of her life. Thaatha disagreed, he rebelled. He bought his sister, his son, his mom, his brother and took all their responsibilities and migrated to the city Bangalore. The village put a ban on him for going against their customs. It probably deterred him initially because he was a teenager or in early 20’s but the unit around him helped him profusely.

The story of this is very inspiring me for reasons to vary. One was the rebelling against wrong things. Even if you don’t have an ample support system, if you think you are right we should stand alone. Second, owning up responsibilities. Third, going against what was wrong even though everyone foolishly followed it. I was just thinking what would be our states if Thaatha would not have taken a decision so boldly. Would women in the family be again tortured in dark chambers? Well, I can only assume!

 

 

[First Row: Raghavendra Rao, the eldest, Nagesha Rao, my thaatha, Prahlad Rao. Second Row: Akka, the eldest(also my maternal great grandmom), Satyavati, the survivor and Janaki, the most fav of thaatha]

So all the 6 siblings of Haldodderi successfully migrated to Bengaluru. For job, marriage or any such things. A little reminiscence of the village for all of them. I see they never spoke about their childhood in front of us. Their story only began with they migrating to the city. I think this is the most comfortable story to share for them and mostly a success story.  Now all of them have houses in the city, made it their home. 5 out of 6 siblings have passed away. One remains to tell us how beautiful was that sibling bondage. Grandchildren have made the city their native. I proudly say I belong to Bengaluru or even very narrowingly write Jayanagaradahudugi. Migration causes disruption says a lot of activists but in a way, we are all migrants. Someone had to take a bold step for leading a better life. When I was in Barcelona for a year, I could see the disagreement for this. They hated people from other places. Europe is very strict on that. They hate the inter-country migration as well. So much of opposition to for a different color of skin, race, and language. I was just wondering how similar or different it was before. I always wanted my thaatha, The News Editor of Samyukta Karnataka to answer this. Well, he went away too early.

Recently in a family meet up speaking to the eldest dodappa he told our generation that, If one person would not have migrated, all of his cousins would be grazing cows in a dry village and women would be not allowed to study like me going abroad. I gulped down that with a pinch of pepper saying “Maybe its true for men, women are still banned for 3 days in a month and still only a few like me make a choice. Is this going ahead or they don’t want to forget where they are from”.

Well in my case, I am a rebel like my grandfather and not worried about bans 😛

 

The grass is always green on the other pasture!

So to introduce myself, I recently finished my masters from Barcelona(Well recent is July, some may not think it is recent). I did a course which was the most interesting and amazing way a course should have been called “Sound and Music Computation”. It involved courses in Audio Signal Processing, Machine Learning and even something very interestingly called Music Perception and Cognition. I enjoyed all those courses, My batchmates were highly intelligent. Since I went there after 2 years of work experience and few of my classmates had just finished their Bachelors, I thought I had the edge. Well after the first week I realized how it was untrue. I had to put in more efforts to understand what was happening around me. Leaving home after 25 years and trying to recoup with the loneliness was another issue. However, I managed to defend my thesis with a broken hard disk, misbehaving MAC and absolutely no clue on my future.

I did something most of the people who do their masters abroad don’t do. I came back to my hometown for future prospects. This was absolutely for personal reasons so I would not really discuss my choice to come back or stay there but I would say I was totally disappointed in the beginning. We have people around you who exist because they want to talk ill of you. They want you to lose your mind and prove how wrong was your previous action. I have exactly such kind of people around me. While I was on a job hunt a lot of funny stories happened to me.

I was called by a certain company ‘A’. It was in Whitefield and took 2 hours for me to travel and I went to be told: “my profile does not suit their company”. I was wondering sitting in 500CA and listening to “Yaarige beku ee loka” on radio and contemplating what prevented the HR to not tell me that on phone. So company ‘B’ called me next day, that was my ex-company(ex = previous). I went there. I knew everyone, the security guard, the housekeeping and even wifi connected automatically. It was a good sign for me. The person who interviewed me said we can put you in different places, so let me check all your skills. After every question, there was a taunt of “oh that’s not as easy as how you create music, like your course you know”. After the 5th question, I knew I was playing a losing match.  The HR was courteous enough to put me in an interview, these guys were hammering me because they didn’t want me in the team. I almost had tears in my eyes, the same 500CA had to console me. The song also was not in sync. I was frustrated. Company ‘C’ said I should do a software testing course. Company ‘D’ said I am a master of all. I hated how they questioned me, asking some random dictionary problem. After everything, they said, “I don’t know where to put you, we will get back”.

So after similar experiences with E, F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X, Y and I cursed myself for following my heart for doing masters in the subject as fancy as I love. Seeing all my friends putting up statuses on Facebook saying their work takes them to USA, UK, Australia and even Guahnatara resort for a weekend office party, I here was sitting at home eating mosaranna. I wrote Jayanagaradahudugi, taught Kannada at KG to keep myself busy and also make some peanuts. I read exactly 2 pages of self-help books and threw it away. I tried to be spiritual it went for a toss and finally I applied to company Z.

I had no expectations honestly. I thought either I shall flunk or I would hear I will get back to you. But it wasnot. I chose Z because the office is in Basavanagudi. The heart of the city and every South Bangalorean will die for that place. They did some amazing Machine Learning stuff as well. But the interview was in Hoodi. 500 series bus became some sort of a joke on me. I went, it was an amazing thing there. I was asked about my skills, my exact work that needs to be done. Technical discussions, work-related discussions, and the CEO, CTO also spoke to me. It was interesting because the questions were totally related to the product they develop and how a certain problem could be solved. That’s the smartest way to test a person’s skill. It tests how quick a learner a certain person is, how can he use his python or algorithmic skill to get the problem fixed. Far better than a random dictionary, database problem.

Finally, I work for AppAchhi, an amazing ML-AI startup. Now I am Research and Development Engineer. AppAchhi is a vision to help the entire world test their apps as though they hired an expert. I laugh at myself sometimes telling “Hey the world doesn’t listen to me, but I am making a bot listen to me”. I just sighed a relief saying “AppAchhi, Man sachhi”.

To hit some nails on the head if you are a new masters graduate or planning to do masters ask yourself few questions and then proceed.

1. Why do you want to do Masters?
2. Are you really interested in that?
3. What are your career prospects on that?
4. Are you staying in the place you did masters or coming back? (Deshbhakti is not the skill for technical job)

If you can answer such questions honestly then you are on the right track to hit the throttle.

 

PS: This blog was in drafts from the day I finished my masters, I was just waiting to add AppAchhi in the blog.

Friendship day !?!?

It was somewhere in the year 2000 I heard that there is a day specific to celebrate friendship  😊 . My childhood friends who stayed in the same road, tied a hand made band and wished me happy friendship day. In return I was so bad at art and craft I turned to my grandfather’s sister who with her intricate wolleen weaves produced few bands to me. I also did the custom. My friends told me the friendship is as strong as the thread on the hand, the day it breaks we are in trouble. It also stood as the testimony of how many friends we had. Every year there was a count, few added, few subtracted and few well vanished. The band depended on how special the friend was, used all my creativity(very less) to make that special band to the friend 😊. While cleaning my room today I found one such band which had friends forever written on it. Thankfully that friend is still my best friend 😊 so the deal is sealed. I thought I would write on the friendship I experienced. I had a very happy childhood, so friends were plenty and it was fun to hang around. I hate being alone so friends are a major part of my life.

I was traveling back from Barcelona after my masters. The flight and the layover was long. Even before I did my masters I was under a confusion of what to do. Every friend I  had was either getting married or flying for Masters. I had no clue what to do,also I had my urinary tract infection relapsing 3 times and I visited hospitals much more than I frequented home. That was the most difficult phase of my life. That’s where the true test of friendship came to me. Actual friends came home without asking whether they could come , gave me nice prep talk, sometimes scolding me for being sad. I cannot thank them enough. Well well that’s not the end. I treat friendship as the most important entity in life sometimes even beyond relationship. I have seen the trait of people ditching their friends as soon as they get married and move to a different country. I cannot take that sudden change 😁.

When I was in Barcelona, I realized the value of true friends. You cannot share everything with your parents, I could not tell them how crazy my landlady was when in the middle of night she wanted us to vacate the house because her boyfriend wanted us to do so or she hid her own food and blamed on all tenants tat it was stolen. Such things could be shared only to friends. I am glad I had people to talk to at 2 A M or whatever time zone. Growing up you realize it’s not the physical presence of friends all the time that matters but what they did when you needed them. I am sure I have been 2 A M friends to many so I understand how it works.

Friendship between opposite gender is most complicated in India. Here we don’t express our love openly but hatred at its peak. We take pride in saying it loud we hate someone but even if we love our friend we don’t say it. Make things more complicated. I have seen that people don’t realize friendship is the basis of such relationship,also we grew up watching bullshit like boy and girl can never be friends 😁.

Barcelona taught who my real friends are. Surprisingly I have friends I met through Facebook who I have never met but worked for a common cause of Kannada content . We create Kannada content, read poems together and discuss ideas as well. That’s a strange thing that could happen to me but it’s very interesting friendship I garnered. 

Growing up I have realized it’s important to let go of people who don’t want to be part of your life. It’s a very matured process of not fighting over things which are not yours. I am glad I let go many and found a lot more.

There was not a day where I have felt lonely and dealt with the word ‘no one to look upto’. My father says that’s the situation you create on your own with your ego, if you are at least honest and respectful with just one person in your life that’s where you are never lonely. When you put your ego and start speaking rubbish because of the mood, everything is spoilt. What a sound advise I say 😊 

So life is beautiful with friends, I have had such beautiful moments and continue to have so for the rest of my life. There is absolutely one I can be myself with, school buddies who have been friends from age of 7, childhood buddies who I don’t know when I became friends, friends of my age , younger to me, older than me. These friends have been the most respectful and loving.

So my dearest buddies who stood by me and I stood by them, happy friendship day though friendship bands and the number have lost relevance but those are always in my heart ❤ because ಕಾಲ,ದೇಶ ಮೀರಿದ ಭಾವ.ಸ್ನೇಹ ಅತಿ ಮಧುರ

Love, peace and happiness always.

ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ Barcelona !

It’s been a month I came to Barcelona,a far away land from my city. I  grew up in Bengalooru. The city which is called the Silicon Valley of India. I had a great childhood,my loved ones stay there in namma Bengalooru. Its been the longest time I have been away from home. There are times I miss my city,my people and most importantly my language I used to speak,kannada.

Barcelona is a part of Catalunya,have a very distinct culture rather a little different from Spain. The identity most of the people are really proud of. Coming to Barcelona I did learn a lot in terms of being independent,not being judgmental and to have hell loads of patience to get the work done.

Barcelona like namma  Bengalooru has its own Kempegowda,Hamilcar Barca. Well everyone had a different story to tell why this city was named so. I still want to draw parallels to my city. So I vote for this .

I remember few months I visited this city for a trip our family friend took us to a place which has a big statue of Columbus and said this is where it all started. Yes he started his voyage to India and then accidentally found America. Well this pretty much sums up my life as well. Accidental discoveries of life lead you to the best place! Well I am here now!

Spanish people are the most passionate people for their language. They do not impose it on you but make you slip into it like the sugar in the coffee. Sometimes I may forget to tell my daily prayer or practising music but I would probably never forget to revise few words my landlady taught me.

The house I live in is mini India – different faiths,different languages and different food habits. Being the only vegetarian in the house it was difficult for my flatmates to understand what i was eating. Now I can safely say they eat my anna,saaru,pulyogare and avalakki. I have made peace with bread, bocata, paella and cold salads.

This has become my familia in Spain. Everyday as a family we sit for dinner and discuss how good or bad was the day. Fortunately India’s foreign policy is so good that,none of the days I was in an uncomfortable position at the dinner table when discussing the politics of the country. One day I had to explain karma theory, sanathanadharma and yoga to them. My ajji would have been so happy to listen to what I would be preaching 😝.

Music culture is amazing here.Metros to museos to beach to ports, people play music. Interestingly all my classmates are musicians. They play an instrument,sing or do both. I was really shocked at their vidwath. My Indian friends who are self taught musicians give me a complex as to  what did I learn for 15 odd years of classical music and not compose a song , they write play so well.

On a serious note, I see that women are very independent here. I do not see ladies compartment,ladies seat or reservation on any kind here. I still remember an old lady giving snobby look for asking her to sit on my seat in the metro. My landlady herself manages the house,drives her car and works for a living. Her daughter wakes up and makes breakfast,goes to school. Never did I see her asking her mother to make breakfast,pack lunch. It’s all about being independent. The timings, deadlines don’t matter much. But this doesn’t mean people are too well behaved. There are black sheep everywhere. The other day when me and  my friends decked up for a dandiya night , a truck driver made an ugly comment on us for a long time until he saw a police patrol car and disappeared. I wasn’t scared but it just puts your morale down to move freely.

The place I study and work has an amazing way of putting out music to the people. There are musicians,musicologists,engineers to make music,write algorithms,do research on different music cultures. It brings a smile on my face when the professors and PhD researchers  pronounce the Carnatic music technical details,its theory closest to its original pronunciation. What seems great is looking at the department with different nationality and culture,music is the only uniting force.

Few months before I moved to Barcelona,i had serious contemplation on what to do in life. I could really count the number of  people who stood by me and gave ears to all the stuff I spoke about. Oh yes they are my forever. I learnt the lesson to prioritize,not give importance to unnecessary things and mainly you are not everyone’s cup of tea☺.

I teach Kannada on WhatsApp to few people in bengalooru,i attend  Skype class for music,write blogs,study,do assignment,work and talk to my most favorite people which gives me peace. Well thats the best to do isn’t it.

I miss you Bengalooru,my loved ones but hey!  this is nice too. This is all that you built on your credibility ☺

Until next episode  : Adios  Amigos     Next episode : Como estas barca 😁

Life is a BTS bus journey!

A fortnight back when BMTC was on strike in Bengalooru, the roads were empty and it was raining heavily a small conversation about my Thaatha motivated me to write this. Appa,Ranga sir and I were talking generally on how awesome our public transport rides were,how much of bus pass fees we paid and all those minor adjustments with the depo manager on the bus route. Interestingly none of us in three different generations actually complained on the bus service as we studied in the colleges close to the bus stops. Suddenly appa told an interesting snippet of Thaatha’s life which I thought was the ultimate philosophy of life.

Long back when BMTC was called BTS, Thaatha the Resident Editor of ‘Samyuktha Karnataka’, though entitled for a car from the organization always travelled by bus. He always told my father that the simpler you live life becomes less complicated. In fact while I was growing up he had told me it’s very important to have inexpensive hobbies to lead a happy life! So on the day he retired from the service from the newspaper, his farewell function was organized. Thaatha didn’t go in the car that was sent but travelled in the usual bus. While coming back he promptly surrendered his ‘Press Pass’ exclusive bus pass for the journalists by BTS.

Appa could not contain his curiosity asked him as to why he was fond of bus travel as it was so tiresome. He told my appa, life is a BTS bus journey. It’s filled with so many stories. Imagine you take a bus to JC Road from Jayanagar,there are no seats and you would have to stand. You would he eyeing a certain seat and suddenly someone else who alighted the bus after you would take that seat. This is a perfect example of us when we start grumbling when someone else who goes ahead of you even though you are aged,senior or think you always deserve it more than others.

Also he always said life is a bus journey everyone has different destinations to reach,sometimes you get the same bus everyday sometimes you don’t. A day where you really need a bus to go early,it deliberately comes late. A day when you are totally free the journey happens very smoothly. Just to draw parallels,how much have we wanted something and so desperate to do something,a minute thing halts the whole procedure or something becomes a hit with very little efforts. 

There will be a day where the bus driver and conductor wait for you or even ask for you,give utmost respect and may be even miss you if didn’t turn up the previous day. Also there will be a day where the driver and conductor both in bad mood would scold you for traveling by pass,not stop at your destination or deliberately move the bus even though they see you run. This is as simple as you sometimes get too much respect and consideration at times not required or do not get at all when you expect it the most.

Sometimes we get multiple buses at the same time when there is no urgency but we cannot take a bus at the time we require the most. I think sometimes help also comes at time when you require the least and you struggle with your own battles alone. You meet interesting people in the journey for a short time,sometimes sharing the same destination as yours, making it beautiful or making it as disastrous as stamping the feet to bleed. 

I was taken aback by this simple philosophy thaatha preached and probably lived by it throughout his life. I never saw him cursing someone nor appreciating too much. A very very subtle expressioned face who took responsibility of every action and words he did or spoke of. Interesting that 13 years has passed by and he has taught me lessons for life time to cherish. A day doesn’t pass without thinking of him or his lessons. I think very less people have lived life the way they have preached and thaatha stands first in the line of all the people I have seen. Year after year during his birthday or death anniversary the memories don’t fade away  rather increase. Obsession will not be the word to say but truly inspirational!                        I miss you thaatha, you cut short your journey in the bus or may be reached the destination too fast leaving us alone to find our paths and destination. I promise to write in memory of you because that’s what you taught me. I also promise to stand by all that you have taught me.
I really miss you 😢

Dearest Thaatha

Thaatha’s first poetry,the design and handwriting is his.

God’s Domain!

[This is a Six part series of my Euro travelogue ]

EPISODE : 2/6

So,Day 1 was awesome in Roma. My friend had her classes on Day 2,she had to attend them. We decided to explore the city on our own. As we were so hooked on to our phones,google maps and internet. We decided to take a local sim with internet connection in Roma Termini. This place is like our own Majestic(Kempegowda Bus station),center place for metros,trains and any other information about the city. It has a history from 1863 modernized in 1950, architecturally, the building punctuates the sense of arrival to Rome, and communicates a sense of the Eternal City as both modern and traditional, looking forward to the future as well as remembering its history. Its bold presence in the urban fabric expresses the diversity of the City’s history, and speaks of the dramatic new scale of the modern industrial economy of Italy.

TERMINI

With our limited knowledge in Italian and Monika helping us,we went to a ‘sim card angdi’. A token was issued to wait in the queue and we started explaining in broken Italian and perfect English that we wanted a sim which would work in the whole of Europe and to call home(India). The man in the angdi nodded his head and understood something,gave a brochure which promised a fortune!. As usual any tourist makes comparisons of how it is better here than India,nobody follows queues,strangers don’t help you etc. We bought a sim which worked fine in whole of Italy but didn’t in Austria,Spain and France our next stops. Mr.Shopkeeper had understood that we wanted a sim which could make calls from Italy to anywhere! So lesson learnt,take a sim card that works anywhere in the world in INDIA than trying to explain to anybody!

So our next stop was the most famous The Trevi Fountain, the  wish making place in Europe. This stretch of fountains were built in the honor of a girl who showed the soldiers freshwater to drink after a long tiring journey. But Trevi is famous for its wish making-fulfilling powers. Promptly every tourist throws a coin,making a wish mostly saying I will come back to Europe/stay in Europe. We also made a wish and returned.  Interesting Trivia was everyday the coins in the fountain would be used for the development of the city . No wonder Rome is so beautiful! While I was writing this blog, remembered my ajji telling me that she was so fascinated seeing River Kaveri near Mysooru long back and it was a ritual for everyone to throw coins. The bus was stopped on a bridge and she also religiously did it in reverence to her favorite god. I had told her it was so stupid and how a coin to the river would make her wish come true,also gave her gyan to not to do any such unreasonable acts which she would be ashamed off in future. Now I sit and write a blog about my wish making story in Rome. I think its a way that you get carried away because everyone does that! Nevertheless the roads leading to fountains were fantastic. Sculptures everywhere,each one narrating a story.

TREVI FOUNTAIN

After walking miles together,we decided to stop at a place which is famous for Ice cream. Yes the famous Gelato Ice cream. The place is called ‘Quinto Gelateria’ in Piazza Navona which is there since 1915. The gallery in the shop shows most of the celebrities,world leaders eating ice creams there. Much emphasis was given to natural flavors of ice creams,crepes to suit everybody’s taste. I can very safely say its one of the best things I ate in my life. Yes it didn’t give me sore throat,hence its very apt for my sensitive throat!

Famous Gelatos!

So the most famous Vatican City could not be missed by a Dan Brown and Pink Panther fan visiting Italy,an independent country in the country. A place of religious importance for Roman Catholics and spread over only of 110 acres. It contains St.Peter’s Basilica,Sistine Chapel and few museums. The sculptures by  Michelangelo and other famous artists were mesmerizing. Every sculpture,painting was very detailed. I used the heading ‘God’s Domain’ because like in India,Italy is not a great country for atheists. Every place has a history attached to God,miracles and the religion that is followed. Empires have fallen,risen and flourished in the name of GOD. If you are a fan of Dan Brown,his novel explains a lot about every inch of the roads leading to Basilica and I was more intrigued on the Vatican Secret Archives which is a closely guarded secret of the church. All the enthusiasm came to an end when it started to rain in Vatican. It looks beautiful in the evening,but rains were harsh. I imagined all the scenes of Pink Panther which showed the funny side of the city and laughed! I found a similarity in the architecture of theirs and ours,they also had a huge pillar in front of every religious place they worship something like Garudagamba.

Vatican City

I am pretty sure everyone would have a question how could we not eat Pizza in Roma. We went to a Vidhyarthi Bhawan like place in the midst of the city. It was called Carlo Menta,the best pizza I had ever eaten. It had too many people,waiting queues and less vegetarian options as usual. Margarita was the only vegetarian pizza available,if mushroom is classified veggie then two exactly! The pizza joints in Bengalooru have definitely made pizza junk here looking at them in Rome.  Best desserts like Tiramisu, Panna cotta were savored.

Real Original Pizza

We left Italy with a sweet note to travel to Austria. Yes it is a beautiful country  but has it’s own problems,conflicts,pregnant single woman begging on streets,heavy smoking,refugees,radical religious followings etc. For a tourist Rome fills your heart with beauty. Grazie Roma!

Next Episode – Vienna,detour to Rome,Venice

Rome,Roma, Romaanchana !

[This is a Six part series of my travelogue to Europe]

It was a holiday that a family which traveled rarely took. I scantly remember going to a family trip far away to ‘Badri Kedara ‘ when I was three years old. Other trips were to Tumkuru,Mysuru and Mangaluru.  Traveling was never a part of our culture mostly due to financial constraints,different priorities and unavailability of South Indian vegetarian food everywhere!  We a family of four decided to travel to Europe, hard core South Indian Asian vegetarian people traveling to Rome,Venice,Vienna,Barcelona and Paris for 12 days. It was a budget and not a tour package travel. The biggest problem would be food  Half of our luggage was Ready to eat(instant food),Instant Rasam and Basmati rice.

After the necessary preparations for food,bookings of apartments(mainly due to non availability of vegetarian food),we booked an AIR INDIA flight to Rome(Transit in New Delhi ) from Bengaluru. The flight duration was about 12 hours including the transit time at Delhi. A childlike excitement to see all the luxuries in the flight made me feel like ‘Maharaaja’, the mascot of the Airline I traveled in.

Our in-flight entertainment had lots of kannada movies and songs as well. I was very thrilled that AIR INDIA did recognize other official languages in India, because few years back when I traveled they audaciously had declared Hindi is our national language. But flight announcements in the domestic flight from Bengaluru to Delhi only had Hindi and English. An elderly couple who only knew native language were totally clueless about the safety announcements. I had the best time watching those kannada movies back to back,great Indian food and chatting with the fellow passengers.

We reached Rome (ROMA) 7pm local time,my close friend Monika who studied with me in school is doing her MBA  became our guide there. We had deliberately booked our apartment/hotels very near to the city center so that accessing public transport is easier. Do not travel in Taxis until you  know the local language and also the public transport is cheap  – safe. The whole of Europe had woken up from the terrorist attack in Brussels and Paris,hence every tourist spot had a tanker,hulk men(very good looking though) guarding the places. Indians do not have a problem anywhere because of our good foreign policies and not poking our nose in other’s business. There was warmth by the people welcoming us saying India a beautiful place to naming few of the important cities.

If you are a non smoker and a teetotaler,its difficult to survive. Wine is a staple just the way we drink coffee. The cigarette butts covered the footpath,metro stations because dustbins were overflowing. My friend who is in Rome,did not know the local language until she went there and has learnt it extremely well. She came down all the way from the university to visit us to the hotel. My mother had told her strictly that she should not be visiting us if it’s dark (typical Indian mother you see),but the sun doesn’t set until its 11pm. My friend very happily said ” Aunty ilella esht ghantege bekadru odadbodhu,thumba safe”, the biggest lesson we learn there is being independent and not time bound.

We started our journey with world famous Colosseum, the massive stone amphitheater which has stood the test of times since  AD 80. This was the largest amphitheater ever built with the capacity to hold 80,000 spectators. This was used for gladiatorial contests,mock sea battles,animal hunts,executions,re-enactments of famous battles and dramas based on Classical Mythology. In medieval times it was used for housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine. This monument has stood the earthquakes,world wars(the bullet marks,shells,grenade damages are seen) and stone thieves. The difference between the Indian monuments which are older than this is, the compounds don’t read ‘Roopa loves Arjun,heart shape symbols and  idiotic caricatures‘. The local authorities and the people are extremely careful on ‘others‘ spoiling their precious monument. Yes,sometimes the guides to trouble us to tell us the actual story of the Great Roman Empire holding different color umbrellas and receivers with headphones.

Colosseum

The next stop was Arch of Constantine,built to commemorate the victory of Emperor Constantine I over Maxentius. This looked very similar to India Gate but its purpose was very different. Roman Kingdom had the concept of a Senate,a political institution to advise the kings. Interestingly the guides there project it as the first democratic institution in the world.

Arch of Constantine

Roma has the best footpaths to walk. I should tell you pedestrians are most respected there. The superspeed cars,the trams,and vespas stop until the last man crosses the road. Old people do not hesitate to come out or rather  not dependent on anyone to do their work and women specially are independent.I saw many lone female travelers,single mothers with their children and people who spoke absolutely no Italian carrying city maps,metro map,a back pack walking miles to know the culture and heritage of the city.My friend Monika,who came here as a complete stranger a year back as a student could take us to every single place on the map without any help and also not really thinking about the timings. Interesting that this country has given her so much of confidence,independence and new hobby of travel. She told me that she has a check list to travel and she would do it even alone. This is something we needed to learn as our travels are just so restricted to few religious places and native places!

Monika and I in front of Colosseum

Rome reminded me of the Vijayanagara Empire,which was ruled by great kings and it was most prosperous. But never do people there project the leftover parts of old Rome as Ruins. They are really proud of their kings,the culture and music. I really felt every second how easily we say ‘Ruins of hampe’ but why don’t we really give the nicest name to the place and feel really proud,protect it.

The place we next went to was Altare della Patria(Altar of the fatherland), is a monument built in honor of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of goddess Roma after World War I. My friend told me that the soldiers do not move even if it rains,winds or too sunny.

Tomb of an unknown soldier-Goddess Roma

Well we almost walked about 10kms on Day 1,interestingly weather was with us. Though it was windy,we had the most interesting places to see. I really cherished the day 1 at Roma. The music culture at Roma was very interesting. Street musicians were really good,violins played the best music. Being a Carnatic Classical Vocalist, I wanted to really capture the music of the cities I visited in Europe. I was not disappointed as the best music was heard on the streets and not in the big avenue halls. It was very evident that music was a part of their culture,some left their lucrative jobs to pursue music as their passion. I did not see much difference in the culture of Indians and Italians. They love their children too much and would do anything above their capacity to keep their children happy. Monika did tell me that Government in Italy pays certain Euros a month to young people who could accompany the elders to do their daily activities as the children would move away from them or they do not have children…………

Amazing Street Musicians!

Next Episode :Roma Day 2,the sim card story,vatican city and metro experience 

 

 

ನೀ ಮರೆತಿರುವ ಕಥೆಯೊಂದನು……….

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಬಸವನಗುಡಿಯ ಹಿರಿಯರು ಕಾಣೆಯಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ಶುರುವಾಗುವ ಕಥೆ,ನಾವು ಮರೆತಿರುವ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ ಅಂದರೆ ನಂಬೋದು ಎಷ್ಟು ಕಷ್ಟ  ಅಲ್ಲವೇ !!
ರಾಜ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ನೋಡದ ಅಜ್ಜಿ, ನನಗಿಂತ ಮೊದಲು ಈ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ನೋಡಿ ಅದು ಇದು ಅಂದಮೇಲೆ ನೋಡಿದ್ದು ‘ಗೋಧಿ ಬಣ್ಣ,ಸಾಧಾರಣ ಮೈಕಟ್ಟು’.

ನಾನು ಯಾವ ಸೀಮೆಯ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ವಿಮಶ೯ಕಿ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಆದರೆ ಕಥೆಗಳು ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಗಾಢವಾಗಿ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಬೀರಿ,ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹುಟ್ಟು ಹಾಕುತ್ತದೆ ನೋಡಿ ! ವೆಂಕೋಬ್ ರಾವ್ ಎಂಬ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯನ ಕಥೆ,ಬಹುಶಃ ನಮ್ಮ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿನ ಬಹಳ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರ ಜೀವನ ನೆನಪಿಸೋದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶಯ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ಹೋದ ನಂತರವೋ,ಕಾಣೆಯಾದ ನಂತರ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿನ ಅಸಮಾನ್ಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ನನ್ನ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಆದ್ದದ್ದು ಇದೇ. 

ನನ್ನ ತಾತನೂ ಸಹ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಾಗಿಯೇ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದು. ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ರೀತಿ ನೋಡಿ,ಬಹುಶಃ ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕರು ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೆ. ಆಫೀಸ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೇಳಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಬರುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಆಮಂತ್ರಣ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ, ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ಅಕಾಡೆಮಿಯಿಂದ ತಾತನಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ. ಅಂತೂ ತಾತಾ ‘ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತ’ ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಳೀತು. ದಿನ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಓದೋದು,ಕೇಳೋದು “ನೀವು ಹೀಗೆ ಬರೀತಿದ್ರಾ ತಾತ ? ಇದು ತಪ್ಪಲ್ವಾ” ಅಂತ ತಲೆ ತಿಂದು ಚಿಟ್ಟು ಹಿಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂಯಮದಿಂದಲೇ ಉತ್ತರ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾ,ನಾನು ಡೊಡ್ಡ ಲೇಖಕಿ ಥರ ಬರೀತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸಾಲುಗಳು,ಎರಡು ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳು-ಸೂರ್ಯ-ನದಿ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಇವೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಜೋಪಾನವಾಗಿ ಇಟ್ಟು ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಿಗದಿರೋ ಹಾಗೆ ನೋಡಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡಿಗಾಗಿ,ಬರಹಕ್ಕೆ ಏನೇ prize ಬಂದರೂ, ತಾತಾನೇ ಗೆದ್ದಷ್ಟು ಸಂತೋಷ. ಕಲ್ಲು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಕೆನ್ನೆ ಹಿಂಡಿದರೇ ಅದೇ ಅವತ್ತಿನ ನನ್ನ ಸಾಧನೆ. ಯಾವ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಕೇಳಳಿ,ಯಾರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೇಳಿದರೂ ಉತ್ತರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅವರು ‘ನನ್ನ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶ’. 

ಕೊಂಚ ಬುದ್ದಿ ಬಂದಮೇಲೆ ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ ಕನಾ೯ಟಕದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾಗಿದ್ದರು,ತಾಯಿನಾಡಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದಾಗ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ! My thaatha was not an ordinary retired old man,ಹಾಗಂತ ತಿಳಿಯೋ ವೇಳೆಗೆ ಅವರು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ವಾಪಸ್ ಬರದೇರೋ ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರಟರು.
ಈ ಸಿನಿಮಾದಲಿ ಹೀರೋ ಅಂತಾನೆ, ‘ He was an ordinary man’ ಅಂತ. ಬಹುಶಃ ನಾನು ತಾತನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅದೇ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೆ. ಅವರು ತೀರಿ ಹೋದ ನಂತರ,ಕಪಾಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದು ‘Art By Meghana’ , ‘Written by Meghana’ ಎಂಬ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಹಾಳೆಗಳು,ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಣ್ಣ ಟಿಪ್ಪಣಿ ಅವರ ಕೈ ಬರಹದ್ದು. ಒಂದು ದಿನವೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೊಚ್ಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳದೇ, ಪಂಚೆ,ಶಟ್೯ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಅಟ್ಟಕೇರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನ್ನ ತಾತನ್ನ ಹುಡುಕಿ ಕೊಡಿ! 

ಆ ಕಪಾಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಅತ್ತೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಬರಹ,ಅಪ್ಪನ ಮೊದಲ ಪ್ರಕಟಿತ ಲೇಖನ,ನನ್ನ ಹಾಡಿಗೆ ಬಹುಮಾನ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದ್ದಿದ್ದ  ವಿವರ(ದಿನಾಂಕ ಸಮೇತ),ತಾತನ ಡೈರಿ,ಅವರ ಪುಸ್ತಕ, ನೋಟ್ಸ್ ನೋಡಿ ಅವರ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಮುಖ ಅನಾವರಣಗೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ಅವರು ಕೂಡ ಚಿತ್ರ ಬಿಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ,ಅವರಿಗೂ ನೋವು ನಲಿವು,ಸಾಲ ಸೋಲದ ಹೊರೆ, ದುಃಖ ಇತ್ತು. ಅವರೂ ಸಹ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಂಡ ನಾನು ಎಂದಿಗೂ ತಾತನಿಗೆ ಅವರ ಇಷ್ಟ,ಕಷ್ಟ ಕೇಳಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಬೇಜಾರಾಯಿತು. ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ‘ನಿಮಗೇನು ಗೊತ್ತಾಗತ್ತೆ’ ಎಂಬ ಉದ್ದಟತನದ ಮಾತಾಡಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ನಾಚಿಕೆ ನೂ ಆಗತ್ತೆ. ಪರದೆಯ ಮೇಲಿನ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ನನ್ನ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆರಳಿಸಿ,ಹೊರ ಹಾಕುವ ಮಾಗ೯ ಹುಡುಕೊಹಾಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದವು.ಎಷ್ಟೋ ವಷ೯ಗಳು ಬೇಕಂತಲೇ ಹುದುಗಿಸಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಭಾವನೆಗಳು ಆಚೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ಏನು ಮಾಡೋದು ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.ತಾತನಿಗೆ ಬರಹದ ಮೂಲಕವೇ ‘ಸ್ಸಾರಿ,ಥ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಸ್’ ಎರಡೂ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಿದೆ.

ಹೀರೋ ಸಿನಿಮಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳೋದು “ಒಂದೇ ಒಂದು ಸಾರಿ ನೋಡಬೇಕು ಅಣ್ಣನ್ನ” , ಪ್ರಾಯಶಃ ನಾನು ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಬಾರಿ ನೋಡಲೇ ಬೇಕು, ಮಾತಾಡಬೇಕು ತಾತನ ಜೊತೆ.

ಸಿಕ್ಕರು ಸಿಗಳು,ಇದ್ದರು ಇರಳು ಇವಳದೇ ಹಗಲು ಇವಳದೇ ಇರುಳು !

So quarter life crisis has set in,I have 15 more days to turn 25. Well not exaggerating things, this is the age reality hits you ! Trust me I never had questions in my head till the last birthday but this birthday it has slowly started creeping way before 2 weeks.

Life would have seemed easier before, also being something where there was a definite path to follow the elders or someone you admired. Now the playground has become bigger and each one has their set of rules to play and win. Earlier today my father was telling God sets a different question paper to each of them and we tend to just know the answers in a certain order to different questions, answer that paper and fail miserably. I remember the time we were in 12th standard and everyone went to a certain tutorial because last year’s topper was from that institution. Such rats we were! Well is it the same now ?

We also know 20’s is the age we meet a lot of temporary people in life. But the intensity of them would make an impact for the rest of our lives. A big group of friends would actually downsize to a small group of friends who would constantly keep in touch regularly and tell each other,advise each other and may be answerable to each other. We slowly realize that we are only responsible for our actions not what others do even your most loved one! If you get hurt,you are foolish.

Life becomes very straight. Study –  work  – Save. Sometimes a small ray of hope comes in the means of volunteering, teaching a language you love,music and traveling. May be we learn lessons that way rather than the textbook – classroom approach. Also you would surprise yourself with some abilities that you seemed to never posses( Like I ran a Marathon 😛) .

We would be intellectually attracted to someone rather than good looks,money and this and that 😁.. Remember when was the last time we saw a movie of a hero doing stupid antics on the screen,wooing a heroine and just the smile melted the heart. Well, we see movies with content, even if we see stupid antics, it would just come as a waste of time and money. The best thing life has taught us now is to forgive people and let them go,not clutch them to us. There would be no time to grow such feelings,not worth giving it a shot.

We do become god fearing(is that the word or believable ?). An unknown force somehow makes the impossible possible and possible impossible. What is that called ? 🎈 . We start questioning things, ask uncomfortable queries to the elders. Take some for granted or totally ignore them! Well to be frank life is too short to change other people but we have enough time to change ourselves in positive
direction.

Its the nicest period we have got to do things we love, cling on to people we love,to forgive,to be thankful, to travel,to do our duty towards the society, to value our self respect, leave people who hurt you and the most important thing to be HAPPY and SUCCESSFUL in our own terms. Likewise we get a different question paper from god, we also have different streams in answering them isn’t it ?
Have you guys thought about all these or this is abnormal ?
Well,another 25 years I would love to probably see how different I am 😁

Probably in search of these things,no I didn’t attend a spiritual guru’s sathsanga 😛 These came up because I read a lot of books 😁

Also a piece of poetry I love from Javed Akthar
Dilon me tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum
Nazar me khwaabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

If you have eagerness in your heart, it means you are alive,
If your eyes are filled with dreams, it means you are alive

Hawa ke jhokon ke jaise aazad rehno sekho
Tum ek dariya ke jaise lehron mein behna sekho
Har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein
Har ek pal ek naya sama dekhe nigahein
Jo apni ankhon mein hairanian leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum

Learn to be free like the wind, 
Learn to flow freely like the river,
Embrace every moment with open arms,
See a new horizon every time with your eyes,
If you carry surprise in your eyes, it means you are alive

Happy birthday Raajanna ☺

A 6 year old girl is biting her nails in the HAL Airport in 1997,her father is supposed to go to USA on work. Her thaatha is calming her down saying her father will be back as soon as possible. Then suddenly her father takes her inside a VIP waiting room,there she sees Annavru Raajanna. Before she could say Namskaaara, the demi god comes and picks her up kisses on her cheek. He asks her ‘En Kanda ninna hesru?'(What is your name,child?).So that lucky child was ‘ME’. I very well remember him talking to my father with great respect also saying neevu(you in kannada with respect) though my father was much younger to him. It was a magical moment for me. Dr Rajkumar or Annavru as he is fondly called here in Karnataka is a member of every Kannadiga family not because he did numerous movies,his style or dialogue delivery because for his simplicity, his achha-swacha Kannada and his healthy habits.

The time I grew up in late 90’s, Annavru had stopped doing movies paving the way for youngsters. I always saw his movies in TV and it was a family affair. Nobody attempted to change the channel if his movies were on TV. My Ajji would fold her hands in respect if we were watching Srinivasa Kalyana because he was the Lord Venkateswara or cry when the last scene of Bangarada Manushya played because Dr Raj would leave everything and go away. That was the impact he had on the viewers, where everyone believed he was Venkateswara, Bhabruvahana,Krishnadevaraya,Immadi Pulakeshi,Ranadheera Kanteerava,Satya Harischandra,Raajeva,Bhakta Kanaka or Mayuravarmaa.

For an average Kannadiga,he was the best Kannada teacher available. Be it the longest dialogues in the historical roles or the kanakadaasa keerthanes or Gaades we would always follow him. I remember watching all his historical movies be it Shreekrishnadevaraya,Mayura,Ranadheera Kanteerava,Immadi Pulakeshi and write about Vijayanagara Empire,Kadambas,Wodeyars and Chalukyas respectively in my History exam and my teacher subtly warned not to add songs and sequences which are fictional. Such was his impact!

All said and done why he was loved so much was for his portrayal of a loyal son,a great lover,innocent villager,loving husband,a great monarch,a soft villian or a demon like Hiranyakashipu very very natural. I still think he was the only actor who didn’t portray drinking or smoking onscreen or off screen making him an icon.

He was a National Award winner for playback singing. The only singer actor combination we saw in the industry. A classical song to club song,Dr Raaj perfected it. The only film i saw him on Big screen was ‘Shabdavedi’, when he appeared as a Police officer the whole theatre was filled with whistles, claps and there were three generations sitting and watching the movie.

He was the single Uniting force for kannadigas.The Gokak movement was one such example. The day he died,I was coming back home from Gandhi Bazaar the shopkeepers were shutting the shop. I asked them as to what happened, he replied in teary eyes ‘Anna hogbitru’(Anna passed away) such was the emotional connect he had with the people. Though vested interests turned his last journey into violent mob,but the impatience and sadness was gullible to see their favorite man one last time.

Even 10 years after he passing away, why is Dr Raj relevant ? He is because he was and still is the single uniting force for Kannadigas,his kannada diction is impeccable,his respect towards the land that he lived is imitable and he was a self made man.
He did not represent a section of people or a political party and rule anyone. Every movie or speech just reminded one thing, there was no one there will be no one as him ever born.
I was too lucky to have met him,may be disappointed that a photo wasn’t clicked but white shirt,white panche and a smiling face is memory of a life time. We miss him but he lives forever in our hearts.