ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ -- Play Review

ಯಾರ್ಗೋಸ್ಕ್ರ ಬರೀಬೇಕು? ಏನ್ ಬರೀಬೇಕು? ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಅವ್ರ ಕವಿತೆಗಳು, ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕ ಎರ್ಡೂ ಸಕ್ಕತ್ famous. ಸಾಲದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಇದೆ ಹೆಸ್ರಲ್ಲಿ picture ಕೂಡ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನ ನಾನೇನ್ ಹೊಸಾದ್ ಬರ್ಯೋದು? ಇರ್ಲಿ, ಬರ್ಯೋಣ, ಆದ್ರೆ ನನ್ನ ಯಾವಾಗ್ಲೂ ಮಾಡೋ ಹಾಗೆ ಈ ಸರ್ತಿ Dramadose ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಕೋದ್ ಬೇಡ, ನನ್ನ ಸ್ವಂತ blogನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಕೋಣ ಅಂತ decide ಮಾಡ್ದೆ.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೀಬೇಕಾ ಅಥ್ವಾ Englishಆ? ಅಥ್ವಾ ಕನ್glish try ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಅಂತಾ ಅನ್ಸಿ ಅಂತೂ ಈ reviewನ ಶುರು ಮಾಡೇಬಿಟ್ಟೆ.

ನಾನ್ ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕಾನ ಐದು ಸರ್ತಿ ನೋಡಿದೀನಿ... chance ಸಿಕ್ರೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ನೋಡ್ತೀನಿ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಇದ್ವರ್ಗೂ ಯಾವತ್ತೂ disappoint  ಆಗಿಲ್ಲ. Bore ಅಂತಾ ಅನ್ಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಯಾಕೆ?
ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಪ್ರೇಮ ಕವಿ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್ ನರಸಿಂಹಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವ್ರ ಕವನಗಳ್ನ base ಆಗಿ ಇಟ್ಕೊಂಡು ಹೆಣೆದ ನಾಟ್ಕ. ನಾನೇನ್ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್ ನರಸಿಂಹಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವ್ರ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಬೇರೆಯವ್ರ ಕವನ ಹಾಡಿನ್ ರೂಪ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದ್ರೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಕೇಳ್ತೀನೋ ಹಾಗೆ ಇವ್ರ ಕವನಗಳನ್ನೂ ಕೇಳ್ತೀನಿ, ಅಷ್ಟೆ.
ಆ ನಾಟ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ friends ಯಾರಾದ್ರೂ ಇದಾರ, ಬಿಟ್ಟಿ pass ಸಿಗುತ್ತೆ ಹೋಗಿ ನೋಡೋಣ ಅನ್ನೋಕೆ? ಇಲ್ಲ, ಅದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ.
ಹೋಗ್ಲೀ ಇದೇನಾದ್ರೂ Stand up comedy ನಾ? ಪ್ರತಿ ಸರ್ತಿನೂ ಏನಾದ್ರೂ ಹೊಸಾದಿರುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ನೋಕೆ? ಅದೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗಾದ್ರೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು?

ಮೊದಲ್ನೇ ಕಾರ್‍ಣ - ಬಳೆಗಾರ ಚೆನ್ನಯ್ಯ. ಒಬ್ಬ middle aged ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ (ಮುಂಚೆ ರ್‍ಆಜೇಂದ್ರ ಕಾರಂತ, ಈಗ ಪ್ರವೀಣ್) ಸುಮಾರು ಎಪ್ಪತ್ ವರ್ಷದ್ ಮುದ್ಕನ್ levelಗೆ  voice modulation ಮಾಡೋದು, ಅದೂ full two hours. ಬರಿ ಮಾತಾಡೋದ್ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಹಾಡ್ ಕೂಡ ಹಾಡ್ತಾರೆ, ಅದೆ voiceನಲ್ಲಿ. Films ನೋಡೋವ್ರಿಗೆ ಕಮಲಾ ಹಸನ್, ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ್, ಸೂರ್ಯ, ಎಲ್ಲಾರೂ ಇಂಥ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದಾರೆ, ಇದೇನ್ ಮಹಾ ಅನ್ಸ್ಬಹುದು. ಆದ್ರೆ ಇವ್ರೆಲ್ಲಾರ್ನೂ ಆ ಪಾತ್ರಾನ, retakes ಇಲ್ದೆ ಮಾಡೋಕ್ ಹೇಳಿ. ಆಗ ತಿಳ್ಯುತ್ತೆ ಇದು ಎಷ್ಟ್ ಕಷ್ಟ ಅಂತ. ಆದೂ ಅಲ್ದೇ filmsನಲ್ಲಿ mostly sound engineer ಕೈವಾಡ ಕೂಡ ಇರುತ್ತೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ.  Pure  talent and nothing else.

ಎರ್ಡ್ನೇ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮೂರ್‍ನೇ ಕಾರ್‍ಣ - ಹಾಡುಗ್ಳು ಮತ್ತೆ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳು. ಇವೆರ್ಡನ್ನೂ ಯಾಕೆ combine ಮಾಡ್ದೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಇದು ಹಾಡುಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗ್ಳು ಇರೋ ನಾಟ್ಕ. ಹಾಗಂದ ಮಾತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡು ಹೂವು, ಕಥೆ ನಾರು ಅಂತಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಡುಗಳು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹಾರ ಆದ್ರೆ, ಕಥೆ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಬಂದು ಹಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಶೋಭೆ ತರೋ ರೋಜಾ ಹೂ. ಈ ಕವನ ಸಂಕಲನವನ್ನ ನಾಟ್ಕದ ರೂಪಕ್ಕೆ ತಂದ ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ ಕಾರಂತ್ ಅವ್ರು ಸುಮ್ನೆ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಅವ್ರ popular ಹಾಡುಗ್ಳನ್ನ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡ್ಕೊಂದು ಕಥೆ ಹೆಣ್ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಅವ್ರ ಜೀವನಾನ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಪರಿಚಯ ಮಾಡ್ಸೋಕೆ ಯಾವ ಹಾಡು ಅನ್ಕೂಲ ಆಗುತ್ತೋ ಅದನ್ನ ಮಾತ್ರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡ್ಕೊಂಡಿದಾರೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹಾಡುಗ್ಳು contextual ಅಗಿದ್ದು, ಎಲ್ಲೂ force fit ಅನ್ಸೊಲ್ಲ.

ಅದೂ ಅಲ್ದೆ ಈ ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಾಡುಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನಕ್ಕೂ ಅನ್ವಯ ಆಗುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ, ಮದ್ವೆ ಆಗಿ ಗಂಡನ್ ಮನೇಗ್ ಸುಮ್ನೆ ಅತ್ಕೊಂಡ್ ಹೋಗೋಕಿಂತ, ದಾರೀಲ್ ಹೋಗ್ಬೇಕಾದ್ರೆ ಗಂಡ ನಮ್ಮೂರು ಚೆಂದವೋ ನಿಮ್ಮೂರು ಚೆಂದವೋ ಅಂತ ಕೇಳ್ದಾಗ, ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ನಮ್ಮೂರ ಮಂಚದಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮೂರ ಕನಸಿರಲು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿ ಹೇಳಬೇಕೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಹೊಸ ಹುಡ್ಗಿ ಹೊಂದ್ಕೊಂಡ್ ಹೋಗ್ತಾಳಾ ಅನ್ನೋ doubt ಬರೊಲ್ಲ.  ಹಾಗೆ, ಹುಡ್ಗಿ ನೋಡೋಕ್ ಬಂದಾಗ್ಲೋ ಅಥ್ವಾ, ಮದ್ವೆ fix ಆದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ್ ಜೊತೆ parkನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂತಿದ್ದಾಗ, ಅಂತಿಂಥ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ನೀನಲ್ಲ, ನಿನ್ನಂಥ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಹಾಡ್ದಾಗ ಯಾವ್ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ತಾನೆ ನಾಚ್ಕೊಳೊಲ್ಲ. ಇನ್ನ, ರಾಯರು ಬಂದರು ಮಾವನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹಾಡಿನ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳೋದೆ ಬೇಡ. ತೌರ ಸುಖದೊಳಗೆನ್ನ ಮರೆತಿಹಳು ಎನ್ನದಿರಿ ಹಾಡು ಆಷಾಡ್ ಮಾಸ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಮ್ಮನ್ ಮನೇಗ್ ಹೋದ್ ಪ್ರತಿ ಹೆಂಡ್ತೀಗೂ apply ಆಗುತ್ತೆ. ಅತ್ತಿತ್ತ ನೋಡದಿರು, ಅತ್ತು ಹೊರಳಾದದಿರು ಅಂತಾ ಹಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಬಹುಶಃ ಎಂಥಾ ಗಲಾಟೆ ಮಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಮಗೂನೂ ಆರಾಮಾಗ್ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೆ. ಇನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯೊಬ್ಬಳು ಮನೆಯೊಳಗಿದ್ದರೆ ನನಗದು ಕೋಟಿ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಅಂತ ಗಂಡ ಹಾಡಿದ್ರೆ, ಹೆಂಡ್ತೀರೆಲ್ಲ full ಖುಶ್! (ಕೆಲವು ಹೆಂಡ್ತೀರು ಹಾಗಾದ್ರೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಕೋಟಿ ಇಟ್ಟಿದೀರ ಅಂತಾ ಕೇಳ್ಬಹುದು, ಹುಷಾರು ;) ) ಹಾಗೆ, ವಯ್ಯಸ್ಸಾದ್ ಮೇಲೆ, ಗಂಡಂಗೆ ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ಆತ ಅವ್ಳಿಗೋಸ್ಕ್ರ ಬರ್ದಿದ್ ಹಳೆ ಹಾಡನ್ನ ಮತ್ತೆ ಹಾಡೋಕ್ ಹೇಳ್ದಾಗ, ಗಂಡನ್ ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಅದ್ನ ನೋಡ್ತಾ ಇರೋ ನಮ್ಗಳ ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದ್ ಹನಿ ಆನಂದಬಾಷ್ಪ ಬಂದ್ರೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಇಲ್ಲ.

ನಾನು ಈ ಹಾಡುಗಳ್ನ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಸರ್ತಿ ಕೇಳಿದೀನಿ, ಕೇಳೋವಾಗ ನಾನು ಕೆಲವು ಸರ್ತಿ visualize ಕೂಡ ಮಾಡ್ಕೊಂಡಿದೀನಿ, ಆದ್ರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಜೀವ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕ. ಈ ವಿಷ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲಾಗಂಗೋತ್ರಿ ತಂಡದವ್ರು ಮಾಡಿರೊ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಕೆಲ್ಸ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಹಾಡುಗ್ಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಶ್ವಥ್, ಮೈಸೂರು ಅನಂತಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಇವ್ರಗಳ  version retain ಮಾಡಿರೋದು.

ನಾಲ್ಕ್ನೆ ಕಾರ್‍ಣ - ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿಗಳು. ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಅವ್ರ ಯೌವ್ವನದಿಂದ ಶುರು ಆಗಿ ವೃದ್ಧಾಪ್ಯದವರ್ಗೂ ಅವ್ರ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗೋ ಘಟಣೆಗಳನ್ನ ತೋರ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಇದ್ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಅವ್ರ ಪಾತ್ರ ಮಾಡೋವ್ರು ಮೂರ್ ಜನ -- ಯುವಕನ ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿ ಹೆಸ್ರು ಮರ್ತಿದೀನಿ, ಮಧ್ಯವಯಸ್ಕ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ - ಕಲಾಗಂಗೋತ್ರಿ ಕಿಟ್ಟಿ, ವೃದ್ಧ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನ ಸ್ವತಃ ಬಿ.ವಿ.ರಾಜಾರಾಂ. ಅವ್ರ ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ಪಾತ್ರ ಮಾಡೋವ್ರು ಇಬ್ರು -- ನವ ವಧು ಆಗಿ ಸೌಮ್ಯ, ನಂತರ ಜೀವನದ ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಅವ್ರ ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತ ಬರೋ supporting artists ಸುಮಾರು 8-10 ಜನ. ಇವ್ರೆಲ್ಲ ಅವ್ರ್-ಅವ್ರ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳ್ನ ಎಷ್ಟ್ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗ್ ನಿಭಾಯ್ಸ್ತಾರೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ಯಾರು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಚಪ್ಪಾಳೆ ಗಿಟ್ಟಿಸ್ತಾರೆ ಅನ್ನೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವ್ರಲ್ಲೇ ಏನೋ ಒಂಥರ healthy competition ಇದ್ಯೇನೋ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಎಲೆ-ಅಡ್ಕೆ ಹಾಕೋ ಮಾವ. ಆ ಪಾತ್ರ stage ಮೇಲೆ ಇರೋದು ಸುಮಾರ್ ಮೂರ್ ನಿಮಿಷ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಅಷ್ಟ್ರಲ್ಲೆ ಅವ್ರು ತಮ್ಮ ಮಾತಾಡೋ ಶೈಲಿ ಮೂಲ್ಕ audience mindನಲ್ಲಿ print ಹಾಕ್ ಹೋಗ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ marriage broker-cum-ಪುರೋಹಿತ. stage ಮೇಲೆ ಇರೋದ್ ಎರ್ಡೇ ನಿಮಿಷ ಆದ್ರು ಅಷ್ಟ್ರಲ್ಲಿ audienceನ ನಗ್ಸಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಾರೆ.

ಹೀಗೆ, ಒಂದು ನಾಟ್ಕದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಅಂಶ ಕೂಡ A class ಆಗಿರೋದು ಬಹಳ ಅಪ್ರೂಪ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಇದನ್ನ ಕಲಾಗಂಗೋತ್ರಿ ತಂಡ ಸಾಧ್ಸಿದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ  proof ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕದ 148ನೇ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನದಲ್ಲೂ ಇವ್ರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗೋ standing ovation.  ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕ ನಿಮ್ಮೂರ್ಗೆ ಬಂದ್ರೆ ಖಂಡಿತಾ miss ಮಾಡ್ಕೊಬೇಡಿ.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Takes me to the good ol' days of our Vinayak Mitra Mandali...
The days when we used to ...
... make countless visits on our cycles to Mavalli to select the "right" Ganesha
... spend endless hours in the police station and corporation office to get permission
... knock every door in the area to collect every rupee possible,
... thank (and in some cases curse later) people who ask for receipt even for 5 rupees contribution,
... make long-term investments by buying stuff instead of renting
... everything (right from weaving coconut leaves for the pandal to testing the serial set) on our own instead of hiring people
... request our relatives to sponsor "prasad" for each day
... wake up to the rude voice of night beat policemen at 2 a.m. asking for "prasad"
... feel sooooo happy when a visitor says "chennag maadideera" (good job)
... plead with our employers to give 5 days off

Today, we are in a position to...
... take our 2/4 wheelers to select the Ganesha
... make phone calls to get permissions
... withdraw cash from ATMs and spend thousands
... give 5k as a charity to any organization
... rent stuff instead of visiting shops looking for the best price
... outsource everything to a contractor
... hire a catering contractor for "prasad"
... give a damn about the policemen
... just give a smile when we receive some appreciation
... take leaves for any number of days

But what don't have is TIME. The banner, serial set, tarpaulin, curtains, Welcome board, tables, pots, and most importantly, the people are all there. But priorities have changed, for good or bad.

A visit to Lepakshi

Lepakshi has been in my mind for quite a long time. Though it is very close to my native place in Pavagada taluk and I have heard its significance from my parents since my childhood, I somehow never had a chance to visit it. In fact, few months back when I read an article about this place in Deccan Herald  I decided to go the very next weekend. But somehow things didn't materialize then.

But the photos from an ex-colleague's photowalk group on Facebook changed that. Thanks to the high-end cameras, some pictures were enhanced so much that I felt they lost their natural colors. So, I decided to go and check out on my own.

The Journey

Lepakshi is about 120 kms from Bangalore. So, I started at about 6.30 in the morning on July 21st with plans of coming back early in the evening. One can take the Gowribidanur-Hindupur route or the Chikkaballapur-Bagepalli route to reach Lepakshi. I took the latter as I knew that the roads were good (I was on that road a week before while visiting my native).

But what I didn't know was that there is only one good food complex on that entire stretch. The food complex had Kamat Upachar (and Nandini restaurant, as I learnt later) which was too crowded when I reached. I skipped that with a hope that I would find something decent in Bagepalli. When I reached Bagepalli, I found that though it has many street-side food huts, none of them had a seat where I can lean my back on and take a much needed break. Disappointed, and with grumbling stomach, I went ahead hoping that I will find something near the temple at Lepakshi.

As soon as I entered Andhra Pradesh, I noticed their tourism department's restaurant and barged in with a huge smile on my face. But then, the joy melted when I was served idli with cold sambar. When I asked the supplier, his excuse was that it was too late in the morning. Seriously? 10 a.m is late for a hot idli-sambar?

Lepakshi

Lepakshi is about 20 kms from that restaurant. I reached Lepakshi at about 10.30, almost an hour later than my planned time. My first stop was the Nandi.

This is India's largest monolithic Nandi. It was carved by well-known sculptor Jakanachari.

The main temple is about 500 meters from the Nandi. I went around the main temple for about an hour and was about to leave when I saw a guide explaining the history of the temple to a group. I joined them and here is what I learnt.

The name of this town is derived from Ramayana. While Ravana was taking away Sita, an eagle by name Jatayu tried to stop him. During the fight, Ravana cut one of its wings and the bird fell in this place. Later, when Rama came in search of Sita, he saw this bird and said "le, pakshi" (which means "get up, bird"). Hence the name Lepakshi.

This temple was constructed by Virupanna, a chieftain under the Vijayanagara king Achyutaraya. The theme of this temple is Shiva's marriage with Parvati. The sculptures and paintings on the ceilings depict various events of marriage.

 Most of the paintings on the ceilings are still clear.

Shiva being welcomed for his marriage

Parvati getting ready for her marriage

...and the marriage begins

The highlight of the hall is the hanging pillar which supports all other pillars. Once the British got curious on how this pillar can stand without any support at the bottom and tried to move it. They had hardly moved this by few centimeters and all the pillars of the hall started moving along with it. They feared that the temple will collapse and stopped it there. Even today, one can see the pillar is tilted by about 10 degrees.

The tilt

Up in the air...

The pillars around this are also tilted slightly.

Once, when the laborers came to the dining hall for lunch, the cook asked them to wait for some time. Instead of wasting time, these laborers carved out a serpent (shown below) in front of the dining hall. When the cook came out to invite them inside, she was so shocked and the idol cracked in three places. As per Hindu tradition, a broken idol cannot be worshiped. So the chieftain installed a Shivalinga below the serpent's hood.

And because every Shiva temple should have a Nandi facing the statue, Nandi (mentioned earlier) was carved out outside the temple premises. Today, even though lot of houses and shops have come up between Nandi and the main temple, one can see the serpent's hood from one corner of the Nandi statue.

King Achyutaraya died while the construction was on. People who disliked Virupanna complained to new king (forgot his name) that Virupanna was wasting money by constructing a temple on some hilltop. The king immediately ordered that his eyes be gouged out. When Virupanna learnt about this order, he pulled out his eyes on his own and threw them on a wall. The spot where his eyes hit the wall still bear the red color blood stains.

The temple construction stopped after Virupanna's death. He completed the main hall and the temple. and got the pillars and sculptures ready for the marriage hall.

These pillars have Lord Brahma at the entrance of the hall ready to welcome guests and Saptarshis on the platform giving company to Brahma.

Brahma at the entrance of the marriage hall

In what appears to be the inner part of the hall, the Gods have taken positions as per Vaastu shaastra. For example, Yama is in south and Kubera is in the north.

Apart from these gods, other carvings on these pillars include two acrobats, two monkeys carved in such a way that they look like four monkeys in various positions, and a woman showing the right way of keeping bindi.

 

Outside the hall, there is huge footstep of Sita which has water all through the year. Apparently, Sita was considered a dwarf as the average height of human beings in that era was about 25 feet. Later I learnt that Lord Krishna was 150 feet tall!!!

Further up, we saw a plate with 10 bowls around it. Here again, while we were wondering if this plate was shared by multiple people, guide clarified that it is one laborer's plate. Laborers in that era were as tall as 15 feet and they needed THIS to keep them strong and healthy. Phew!

Walking towards the exit of the temple, we saw one Brindavana carved out of stone with a tiny tulsi plant, and some neatly barricaded scriptures in Kannada.

I finally left the place at 12.30 and reached home by 4 p.m.

Sidewing:

The guide doesn't charge any fixed price. He is happy with whatever the tourists offer. This was in stark contrast to my experiences in Chitradurga and Badami where the guides charged Rs.200 after much bargain.

The uniqueness of the temple is that it has both Shiva and Vishnu idols.

Ritzed the moment!

It was my long cherished dream to own a car. But this year, it was one of my resolutions. I had decided to gift a car to my parents on their anniversary.

Back then, the car I had in my mind was Maruti Swift. I liked it the first time I sat in it in my ex-colleague Sairam's Swift and that very moment I decided that whenever I buy a car, this is the one.

Sometime in the month of March, I made a general inquiry at Sagar about the waiting period and they confirmed the waiting period of 6 months. With the anniversary on July 1st, I thought of looking at other options.

My requirements were simple:

1. A good, easily accessible after-sales service
2. Inexpensive spares
3. Budget 6.5L, all inclusive
4. Diesel 
5. Window doors should go down atleast 80% to get the max view (atleast 80%)
6. Max leg room as my I have aging parents
7. Tall boy body
8. Delivery before the D-day
9. Max boot space (Desirable)
10. Fully loaded (Desirable)
11. Good looking (Desirable)

I don't understand anything technical about the cars. So, I don't know anything about rpm, torque, etc.

After hours of reading on net and consulting few friends and relatives, I decided to take a test drive of the following cars:

• Maruti Ritz
• i10
• i20
• Toyota Liva (added at the last minute after testing i20).
• Figo (added almost for the name sake)

I ruled out the following options though some of them were very promising:

• Brio, Jazz -- No diesel version
• Beat -- Fails on points 5, 6 and uncertain about 1 and 2.Almost same with Aveo
• Fabia -- Heard horror stories about Skoda service. 
• Punto -- Not convinced by the reviews and user experiences. I somehow felt it has a feminine look. (I know that it sounds silly.)

I finally took a test drive on May 19th. Ok, I must admit that I (still) don't know to drive, so it was actually my cousin Abhijith who drove the car while I sat next to or behind him.

And the hunt began...

Sagar Auto
 
On entering the Maruti Suzuki's Sagar Auto showroom, we were introduced one Mr. Manju, who checked our requirement and quickly arranged for the test drive of both Swift and Ritz to clear our dilemma. He was patient and answered all our doubts and recommended Ritz to suit our requirements. Even I liked Ritz. The experience also re-affirmed my belief that Swift is 70% value and 30% hype and Maruti charges for the hype as well.

After the test drive, Manju introduced to the finance person, Shivakumar who explained the finance options.

Overall, we left the showroom highly satisfied with the experience and almost decided on Ritz.

Advaith Hyundai:

First thing that struck me about this dealer was that their premises is very congested. Cars competed for the space outside the showroom. 

Once we made our way through the cars and entered the showroom, the scene was no different. The space was showroom, reception, lounge, all rolled into one. Anyway, we met one Venkatesh who explained all we wanted to know about i10 and i20. We took a test drive of both the cars and were bowled over by the magical iGen i20. But it was about 1L more than my budget. Had to let it go with a heavy heart. :'(

Ruled out i10. It was way too cramped.

As we walked out of the showroom, my cousin suggested we try the Toyota Liva as well. We wrapped up some other work my cousin had in his office and headed towards Nandi Toyota on Kanakapura Road.

Nandi Toyota:

Nandi Toyota premises is huge with ample parking space. Even the showroom is very spacious. The sales executive explained the features of the two diesel variants and we were on the road for a test drive within minutes. 

Liva looks good from outside and minimal on the inside. The USP are its leg space and boot space. Guess they are best-in-class. The on-road price was about 7L. We quite liked it.

Since it was an auspicious day, I had to book a car at any cost. After a quick analysis, we booked the Ritz; with an eye on Liva. 

Lathangi Ford:

Later that week, I read some good stuff about Ford Figo and went to check it out at Lathangi Ford.

It was a good car to drive, but I was not impressed.

Ritzed...

Here is the summary of my impressions on the car I test drove:

• Ritz -- Good value for money. Meets most of my mandatory requirements.
• i10 -- Good small car. But has space constraints. So ruled out. Not sure about 5.
• i20 -- Wow! Highly recommended for anyone who can afford.
• Liva - Not convinced about 1 and 2. With minimum mandatory accessories, the price comes close to i20. Strongly 'not recommended' by a user with whom I spoke later.
• Figo - Fails most of my mandatory requirements.

I finally took the delivery of my car on 22nd June. Ecstatic and excited.

Sidewing:

I was mighty impressed by the guys at Sagar (Mr. Manju and Narayan, who processed my car loan).

Sales

Since the showroom was right next to my office, I visited it atleast 5 times before taking the delivery and Mr. Manju was very co-operative and patient in answering my queries (sometimes repetitive) every single time. He called me several times to check when I will be meeting him (for downpayment, submitting the documents, finalizing the accessories), but not even once did he sound to be in an unnecessary hurry to close the deal. Even on the day of delivery, he never rushed on anything even though he had two more deliveries scheduled.

Finance

I was very apprehensive about taking a loan from a nationalized bank. I expected to visit the bank atleast twice before I get a final go-ahead. However, Mr.Narayan, a Sagar Auto veteran, was very knowledgeable about the entire process and made the experience completely hassle-free. Once I gave the required documents, all I had to do was to visit the bank at a mutually agreed time, sign the papers, meet the loan processing officer to show the originals, and submit the ECS Debit form to my salary account bank. That's it. Plain and simple.

Surprised and supremely satisfied. 10 on 10. 

Once in a lifetime experience

I was at Rangashankara to watch Agni Mattu Male on Saturday.

While I was waiting for my Jaljeera at the cafe, a gentleman came over and ordered for some Saboodaana. I could instantly guess it was Hamsalekha, Sandalwood's most popular music director of his generation. However, I also got a doubt because there was nobody around him. I mean, no fans, nobody from Natana (the troupe staging the play). Eventually, we just exchanged glances and walked our own way.

While I was sipping my jaljeera, Mandya Ramesh (director of the play) came over and sought the music maestro's blessings. I was delighted.

Hamsalekha is known to be a very jovial person. Every person who has spent time with him has said that laugther fills the room he is in. The skeptic in me always thought that these people are telling this just to please him. However, in less than a minute he met Mandya Ramesh, I could hear them cracking up. Later when he met B.Jayashree and her group, I heard a roaring laughter! Sometimes it is good to be proved wrong. :)

Thoughts in my mind, naguva, nagisuva, nagisi naguta baaLuva varava mige neenu bedikoLo mankutimma. Salute to the man who does this.

I also saw Girish Karnad (the playwright of Agni Mattu Male) at the venue. For me, it was like a dream come true. I simply could not believe my eyes. Just the thought of watching his play with him gave me goosebumps.

After the show, he was called on to stage to receive some honors. He walked down the seating area, removed his footwear, offered his salutations to the stage, and got on to the stage. I was spellbound by the charisma, simplicity, and modesty of the man. When he was receiving the flower bouquet from Mandya Ramesh, I was so overwhelmed that I had a lump in my throat. First time that has happened in my 5 yrs of theatre-watching experience.

This is one moment I will cherish for a very long time.

Sanjay and his Master - My View

I and Scorps watched the play Sanjay and his Master at Rangashankara on Jan 29th.

Sanjay and his Master, by KinderKinder, Germany, is a story of a young boy who learns music to make a living. Once he masters it, he desires to be a court musician. But the king sets a condition to accept him. How he wins is the climax of the story.

The characters in this story are in the form of puppets managed by well-known puppetteer Mathais Kuchta. There is a band of three musicians who takeover the role of Sanjay and his master in the scenes where they play music. Thus, this is a blend of music and puppet show.

After my amazing experience with Red Balloon (Read my review here), my expectations from puppet shows were naturally high. I booked tickets the very day it opened on IndianStage and even urged my friends to take their kids to this show.

Let me put my experience in a simple format:

What I liked:

• Puppets - The puppets were big (almost life-size) and cute.
• Music - The musicians played some good music.

What I did not like:

• Mathais -- Mathais gave voice to all the characters -- Sanjay, his master, witch, king, and if I remember correctly even the master's daughter. His tried to modulate his voice to suit the character, but was never convincing. At times, his dialog delivery was incomprehensibly fast.
• Story -- The music and the story were good as separate tracks. However, when they blended, they lost their significance. In fact, in some scenes excellent music overshadowed the lacklustre screenplay.
• Screenplay -- I have seen quite a few plays targetted towards younger audience. Among other things, the highlight of those shows was engaging screenplay -- the hilarious dialogues and witty one-liners that made kids laugh their guts out. During this show, there was no dearth of kids in the hall. But they only laughed three times. Twice for some slapstick acts and another a crass act where Mathais puts Elephant shit back to where it came from. (Yes, you read it right.)

Have you seen this play? What do you think?

Chitra Sante 2012

Yesterday was a hectic day.

When the day began, I had my plans clearly defined.

1. Visit the temple at 10.30 a.m.
2. Have breakfast at CTR or NKB, Malleshwaram.
3. Reach Chitra Sante at 11.30.
4. Come back home for lunch by 1.30.
5. Sleep till 5 or so and head to RS for the Sanjay and his Master play.

But then, my plans never work.

First up, Balu, called me at 10 a.m and said that his plans of visiting Chitra Sante with his friends is cancelled and he will be joining me. I was so glad to hear that. Balu is an artist. So, it is always a delight to visit Santhe with him. He explains me whats, whys, and hows of a painting. He has been accompanying me for the last 4 years or so and during this period, I have learnt to appreciate the art (in this case, paintings) in a much better way just because of him.

We met at the Monotype bus stand, visited the temple at Majestic and reached Chitra Sante at 11.30. Both of us had agreed that we have some important work to do back home and should leave the place by 1.30 max.

But as we went around, we realized that the number of stalls have increased and we have so much to see. Among them, there were few excellent ones, many good ones, some bad, and atleast one worst.

Art is about creativity. It is about being different, being oneself. There may be 10 paintings of a river flowing between two hills, but a good artist can bring in uniqueness in each of them and yet maintain his/her signature style. This time, we got to see some such exquisite piece of work which will stay in our mind for long. The innocent smile of two kids sitting on a branch of tree, the anticipation in the eyes of a lady leaning on a pillar at the entrance of her house, the rage of bulls in bullfighting, or a mural depicting the stone age carvings in caves -- each of them was perfect. They were different. They had the Wow! factor.

The most unfortunate trend we saw in this year's fest was the increase in number of copycats. For example, few years ago, a painting of an elephant sold for a record amount in this fest. This time, we saw that every third stall had atleast one similar painting. It was either the exact replica (which means the same color, size, and position, and not the same quality), or a slightly modified version.

Similarly, we had several paintings of Buddha's face, Godhuli, Ravivarma's works, etc. Some of them were good, but none of them were convincing.

Here is the pic taken at the entrance of the fest:

I haven't taken pictures of even the best ones because I don't want to see their imitations next year.

Finally, we were done by 3 p.m. It was not as early as we wanted it to be, but it was still the quickest of our visits.

Sidewing:

About Chitra Sante
Chitra Sante is an annual art fest organized by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Anybody (from amateurs to professionals) can book a stall, which is an area of about 10 ft x10 ft on the Kumara Krupa Road's footpath, for a nominal fee (this year, it was Rs. 100). Every year, there are hundreds of stalls showcasing thousands of paintings and murals.

My association with Chitra Sante:
My ex-colleague from Edutech, Suresh Waghmore, a regular participant in this fest, invited me to this fest when we were working together. Back then, for me, it was just an opportunity to see his works. Later, after I left Edutech, it was also an opportunity to meet some old friends who come to see his works. And yeah, he does some wonderful paintings. This is not just my opinion, it is Balu's as well. (Balu is quite frank on that front. If he finds some issue in a painting, he explains it to me. It doesn't matter to him if it is my friend's work or his friend's work.) You can see a sample (which does not his include his latest passion -- Abstracts) at http://www.visualartz.net/.

My Favorite Plays of 2011

I watched a good variety of plays in 2011. The year started with the show of Mukhyamantri and ended with Mariyamla Moorane Maduve.

Here are my 2011 faves:
Dayashankar ki Diary
Never knew Ashish Vidyarthi was such an amazing actor. Before this show, I looked at him as just another actor playing similar roles in every movie. But here, when I saw him in the role of a commoner who starts hallucinating when his dreams never turn into reality, I was stunned. He simply changed my perception about him forever.

Red Balloon
This was a puppet show by String Theatre, London. Right from the seating arrangement to story and its execution, everything impressed me. Here is my full-fledged review:
http://www.dramadose.com/review-the-red-balloon/

Dhaam Dhoom Suntaragaali
The music, lighting, acting, script, and most importantly the magician's tricks in this play based on Shakepeare's Tempest kept the kids and accompanying adults hooked to their seats.
My favorite scene: The flouroscent angels and dining table.

Did you happen to watch any of these? Or which is your favorite play? Share your views in the comments section.