November 1st - The day when all the kannada speaking regions of South India was unified to be called as Karnataka. It is celebrated in a huge way across the state as 'Kannada Rajyothsava'....It is a Government Holiday......... You get to listen to all the Kannada patriotic songs.....vehicles (mostly Auto Rickshaws) flaunting the Karnataka Flag and also a lot of cultural events with some supposed to be kannada patriotic people giving powerful speeches.....these are common sights on this day if you are a resident of Karnataka..!!
There are other things that you notice as well....People trying to speak only in Kannada on this day, promoting talent in Karnataka, recognizing and remembering all the great people who have excelled in Kannada Literature, book releases and concerts....Impressive....!! But why flaunt you patriotism on this single day??? when there are a lot of things that you can do on a regular basis to bring respect to the language.
Before we talk about the people from other states speaking different languages, let us concentrate on our own people....If you just go out and observe, there are a lot kannadigas who simply refuse to speak in Kannada....If not everyone, at least some feel its below their dignity to speak in their own mother tongue when in public..Isn't it ??? Next come the famous rakshaNa vedike people...they protest to give reservations for kannadigas, they protest to make Kannada compulsory in all the schools, they go and bully the radio stations to play only Kannada songs....But.....If you simply observe the way they speak the language, you feel like banging your head to some big rock.....the quality of the language is stabbed to death..!!
Now let us speak about people from outside.....with due respect to all the other languages, I feel it is necessary for them to learn at least to do the basic conversation in Kannada if not the whole language...but instead what is happening??? You see people residing in Karnataka for decades and still manage by not speaking even a single word in Kannada..!! Recently in my office I saw a girl make a huge hue and cry because the Auto driver spoke only in Kannada which made it difficult for her to converse.....sounds ridiculous doesn't it??? A message to all such people - 'I don mind talking to u in the language that you are comfortable conversing in...but it becomes your responsibility to learn at least the basic conversation in the local language of the place that you reside..!!!
And for all kannadigas...its never below dignity to speak in Kannada....Instead of just putting status on Facebook, bursting crackers, celebrating and encouraging the language for a single day in a year, just try to consistently uphold the dignity the language has carried for a long time now..!!!
ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ಸತ್ಯ........ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ನಿತ್ಯ :-)
-Sethu-
There are other things that you notice as well....People trying to speak only in Kannada on this day, promoting talent in Karnataka, recognizing and remembering all the great people who have excelled in Kannada Literature, book releases and concerts....Impressive....!! But why flaunt you patriotism on this single day??? when there are a lot of things that you can do on a regular basis to bring respect to the language.
Before we talk about the people from other states speaking different languages, let us concentrate on our own people....If you just go out and observe, there are a lot kannadigas who simply refuse to speak in Kannada....If not everyone, at least some feel its below their dignity to speak in their own mother tongue when in public..Isn't it ??? Next come the famous rakshaNa vedike people...they protest to give reservations for kannadigas, they protest to make Kannada compulsory in all the schools, they go and bully the radio stations to play only Kannada songs....But.....If you simply observe the way they speak the language, you feel like banging your head to some big rock.....the quality of the language is stabbed to death..!!
Now let us speak about people from outside.....with due respect to all the other languages, I feel it is necessary for them to learn at least to do the basic conversation in Kannada if not the whole language...but instead what is happening??? You see people residing in Karnataka for decades and still manage by not speaking even a single word in Kannada..!! Recently in my office I saw a girl make a huge hue and cry because the Auto driver spoke only in Kannada which made it difficult for her to converse.....sounds ridiculous doesn't it??? A message to all such people - 'I don mind talking to u in the language that you are comfortable conversing in...but it becomes your responsibility to learn at least the basic conversation in the local language of the place that you reside..!!!
And for all kannadigas...its never below dignity to speak in Kannada....Instead of just putting status on Facebook, bursting crackers, celebrating and encouraging the language for a single day in a year, just try to consistently uphold the dignity the language has carried for a long time now..!!!
ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ಸತ್ಯ........ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ನಿತ್ಯ :-)
-Sethu-
Very very good post Sethu!!! :D wonderfully captured.
ReplyDeleteSiri Ganadam Gelge :D
Ramya - Thanks tons :-) truly inspires me to write more :-D
ReplyDeleteತುಂಬಾ ಚಂದವಾದ ಬರಹ... ಸಿರಿ ಗನ್ನಡಂ ಗೆಲ್ಗೆ!!! ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಸಿ, ಬೆಳೆಸಿ :)
ReplyDelete