Cauvery, Mysore, Ravi and Kannada

"Namma Mysooru"

Last weekend , that is 8 December 2012, i had been to Mysore with my wife and my mother to attend a wedding. It was a bundh (Shut down in protest) in the city of Mandya that day on account of the cauvery river water dispute. The news was that the highway connecting Bangalore and Mysore is blocked near Mandya. The state transport department had suspended operations in that route. My neighbour's driver who is from Mandya advised me that even the other route via Kanakapura which touches Mandya is also blocked. He strongly advised me not to venture in particularly when my wife Sheethal is having such a big plaster on her left leg (Ligament tear and fracture). My mother was also a little worried and was hesitating. 

View Larger Map              The route to Mysore 

But we were in no mood to cancel the trip. My intuition said that there would be no problem in the journey. I decided to go ahead with the trip. But i decided against the main highway via Ramnagara, chennapattina and Mandya. Instead we took the Kanakapura road which connects to Mysore via Malavalli and Bannur.

Near Malvalli 

We left at about 1300 Hours and drove towards Kanakapura. I was driving on the Kanakapura road towards Mysore after a very very long time. The road was quite empty and quite scenic. It was pretty cool and we enjoyed the drive. Though slightly longer, this road was easier and more enjoyable than the state highway 17 . State highway 17, though broader and four lane has more traffic and chaotic at peak hours. So, though by serendipity  choosing Kanakapura road (partly NH 209) to reach Mysore proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Heart-felt Homage to the donkey 

There was absolutely no disturbance anywhere on the road. In fact, we did not even find a Karnataka flag on the road. Bannur which falls in the Mysore district had a few policemen standing at a junction. But for this we could not find any security anywhere all the way till Mysore.
I was even greeted by a group of young men near Bannur when i stepped out of my car to take a picture. The picture was a condolence poster put out by the villagers for a donkey which had left them recently for the heavenly abode. The villagers were true animal lovers who had taken so much pains to put out a poster for the departed soul (of the donkey) on the village bus stand.

Sheethal on the horse cart (tonga) with a broken leg. 

We reached Mysore by 1700 hours after a relaxed drive. We freshened up and left for the wedding reception. After a nice meal at the wedding, we drove towards the city. It was about 2045 hours when we reached the Mysore palace. The palace was closed. I was just standing near the temple outside the palace when someone spoke to me in Hindi. I ignored him but he continued to speak in Hindi. He was the horse-cart (Tonga) owner. He continued saying "साब  मैं आपको 50 रूपए में एक चक्कर कटवा कर लाता हूँ! सुबह से कोई कमाई नहीं हुई है और घोड़े को चारा भी नहीं मिला है साब, इसलिए एक चक्कर थो कटवा लीजिए!"( Sir, since morning i have not had any business , at rupees 50 i will give you a ride around the palace, please come).
I could sympathize with him but at the same time was little annoyed. He was speaking to me in Hindi in my hometown Mysore in front of the symbol of contemporary Kannada culture, the Mysore palace.
I was quick in my response.  I told him that i would respond to him only if he talks in Kannada.  After-all he was a kannadiga. He said he had to speak in Hindi to attract customers. Most people visiting the place are from North India. Nevertheless , i had to turn down his offer since Sheethal had a plaster on her leg with two ligament tears and a fracture. Sheethal was however interested. The guy inspired Sheethal and Sheethal made the bold attempt of getting on the Tonga.
We went around the place in the horse-cart. I could recollect my younger days when my father used to take us in the horse-cart (Tonga) from the Mysore bus stand to CFTRI (Where my uncle worked as a scientist.)
We came back and again bumped into a specimen who wanted to sell "Peace of Mind" Compact disks in Hindi. He got a mouthful from me and i did turn down his offer without a second thought.

Sheethal and Amma at Holiday Village, Bangalore 

We went home for the night. The next day we attended the wedding. Our hosts at Mysore were happy to see Sheethal attending the wedding with a "fractured leg". After relaxing for a while, we set out to Bangalore by 1530 hours.

We again chose the Kanakapura road since the bundh was extended by a day. Again there was no disturbance anywhere on the road and absolutely no Policemen anywhere.

It was a pretty tiring drive since it quickly got dark and i had to drive on an undivided road with high-beam lights flashing on my eyes from the opposite direction.

I was tired of driving. It was a very long time since i had dined out with my mother. So Sheethal and me thought that it would be a good idea to go to holiday village, a resort off the Kanakapura road for dinner. I have been there many times and i quite admire the ambiance over there.

Ravi from Varanasi 

But this time, the food and the service both were pathetic. It was horrible. Nevertheless, there was a Karaoke at the resort by an artist named Ravi . He was singing very well. His numbers were  only  Hindi. He was also taking requests from the guests. I could see a few Kannada speaking crowd as well.
I have this habit of requesting for kannada songs at public spaces. I have done it many times at many different places like Pizza hut, cafe coffee day and at Malls.
I was pretty sure that Ravi would not take my request. I had also made up my mind for some rebellion. I walked to him and asked him for a Kannada song. Sheethal and my mom were looking at me with a little awe.
I spoke to Ravi in Kannada. Ravi told me that he was basically a Hindi singer and cannot sing Kannada well. But he promised me he would try. He could not read Kannda.

To everyone's surprise , the next song that he started was a popular Kannada number "ಮಿಂಚಾಗಿ ನೀನು ಬರಲು ". He sang it pretty well and also dedicated it to me.
His pronunciation was quite poor. But he tried very well. One must appreciate his spirit and attitude. He was reading the lines from his laptop. He had got his kannada songs with English script.
Ravi has in fact composed and sung kannada jingles for a popular gold store "RR Gold palace". Ravi is basically a science graduate from Varanasi. He has set up his company "Jeni event professionals" in Bangalore. He is a full time artist and entrepreneur.


Though he could have done a better job with his Kannada pronunciation  i gave him a standing ovation for his spirit and his customer care attitude. His effort was applauded by the other guests as well.  He promised me to sing another popular Kannada melody "ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆಯೇ" form the super hit movie "Mungaru Male" .

We left for home soon after Ravi started his next melody but not before wishing luck for Ravi for his ventures.

There are many many people like Ravi who genuinely make an effort to learn the local language. People like him need to be encouraged.

It was a memorable trip to the royal city of Mysore via the country side roads where we could find  from Animal lovers to Hindi speaking vendors in Mysore palace to kannada singing artists at the resort.