Nanna Kathe - College Days - I

This autobiographical narrative of mine moves on to college days. Like a long drawn out boring soap opera, this too is turning out to be too long for a story that really doesn't have a story. Anyway, much like the self-laudatory 'creative' directors of our soap operas, I too continue this narrative( although with a slightly modified title) with a strong belief, albeit a false one, that this story is interesting. Enough said about the length and the quality of this 'literary work'. Let me come back to the story.

As I said, Harish the Guru - that is me, the proud chronicler of this 'could-be award winning non-fiction magnum opus' - enters his college life. This story, not surprisingly, has the same lazy, easy going theme. Guru encounters another Guru, meets a certain Aravinda, who, much like his name, shared a lot in common with the man who named the author of this 'could-be award winning non-fiction magnum opus' as Guru, had a lecturer who shared the second half of my name and came next only to God, had as classmates boys who made their desks their guide to answering questions well in tests and many more. That there is no mention of anyone belonging to the female gender so far in this post, should not be construed as anything against my heterosexual nature. Its just that the girls, just like in PTA and Vijaya High School, didn't match up to the boys in any respect whatsoever to deserve a prominent mention in this story.

After successfully completing tenth standard education in a manner that is worthy of mention in the next generation of textbooks that will be read by the school-goers of 21st century, I enthusiastically joined National College Jayanagar(NCJ) for an education that was promised to prepare me for the challenges of university education ahead of me. So, if you assume this would be something that I am going to tell in graphic detail, you will be as wrong as you are in thinking that I wont attain literary glory from this work of literary marvel. Whatever the last sentence means! Simply put, there is not much to write about from my days in this college with a hyped up reputation. The reasons for that are many. One, the stay too was for a brief two year period. Two the college was too near to my house to attend the classes daily even for that short period of two years. Thirdly, and more importantly, there weren't any who came close to the entertaining and special characters of PTA and VHS - the ones I have introduced to you so far. This might hurt the NCJ classmates of mine if they happen to read this blog(which is a highly improbable event) , but this is the truth. Truth, say men of wisdom, is always bitter. But there were quite a few really good lecturers, whom, I should say, we were really fortunate to have. Rare gems they were, be they K V Ghanshyam, K S Ramprasad or the inimitable K S Kannan. But in the second year most of them didn't handle our classes due to administrative rejig. At the end of two not so fascinating years of my life, I ended up in an engineering college called Bangalore Institute of Technology(BIT). And the four years I spent there were as eventful, as memorable, as comical and as entertaining as my school days. Its those days at BIT that will form the remaining part of this narrative.

Singing National Anthem Might 'Embarrass' Foreigners

According to one of India's greatest 'patriots' (according to some sections of society), singing national anthem in front of foreigners will embarrass them. To avoid such an 'embarrassment' to the foreigners, what the 'patriot' did was to play an instrumental version of the song. But the infinitely wise 'patriot' - whom the Indian media and a certain section of our society exclusively credit for India's progress in the last decade, could not anticipate the 'embarrassment' even this ingenuity of our 'patriot' would cause to foreigners when people start singing the anthem alongwith the instrumental version. How frivolous the "patriot's" argument was!

When such a simple thing was beyond our "patriot Guru's" comprehension, how can one expect him to have some worldly knowledge which would have told him that singing your own national anthen infront of people from other countries isn't an 'embarrassment' even in the lands of those 'foreigners'.

You might say that why observe the protocol of playing the anthem at all if it's so irksome to you . But then our 'patriot' would not do that being a person "who prides himself on being an Indian". "Heights of hypocrisy" says the true Indian.

Well, why blame the 'patriot'? Probably our 'patriot' is blinded by corporate success and badly afflicted by the disease of being the fashionable global citizen at the cost of one's own nation and national identity. I personally feel that this nation is headed for doom and gloom if people like our 'patriot' are the role models for a young nation like ours. God save our nation!

Dr. Raj - A tribute

It has been a year since Dr. Raj left us all on that fateful day last year. But as with great men, he continues to live on, in the hearts and minds of every Kannadiga. He has immortalized himself through the innumerable good films he gave us, through the pure and pristine Kannada that he spoke in those films, through those evergreen melodies that he rendered that continues to enliven us. His humility despite his stardom is something that everyone of us can learn from. He truly was a great Kannadiga. Our salutations to thee, Dr. Raj! May this land be blessed with more souls like you!