Rishikesh

Bangalore: India’s IT city may take pride in its image of India’s futuristic city. But its hinterlands seem to rest in the stone ages. In villages less than 100 km from Bangalore, widows are bought and sold. The practice is still common among the pig -rearing Kunchalu Koracha or Handi Koracha community. The centuries old `Ruka’ practice persists among the community that dwells in taluks on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border. Women thus sold, are used as bonded labourers to rear pigs or make brooms. They are also made to run errands, wash dishes or clothes or take up baby -sitting. What is interesting is that similar rules do not apply to men who are widowed. The custom is treated as sacred and few victims protest. What is Ruka? It is a practice opposed to dowry. During marriage, a bunch of coins tied in a piece of cloth is given to the bride to keep for life. This is treated as a solemn promise from her that she would serve her husband and in -laws for life. This provides her parents ...

Pavagad (Tumkur district): This is the story of a woman with courage who took on the establishment and fought for self -respect. Nagamma, a woman from the Handi Koracha community, was born in Pavagada in Tumkur district. At the age of 14, she was married to Narayanappa from Ananthpur in Andhra Pradesh. They had four children. One day, he died of a mysterious stomach -ache. As her parents –in- law were not willing to take care of her, the widow thought she will come back to her parents in Pavagada. However, she came to know a few weeks later that her parents -in -law had sold her to Maddaleti, a rich pig -rearer. He had paid Rs 32,000 to buy Nagamma. When Maddaleti came to take her away, she protested. She was the first person in the community to protest against the evil custom. Sogadu Venkatesh, a social worker from the Urikala Koracha community brought this to the notice of leaders during an election rally in 2004. Former minister B T Lalitha Naik who was addressing the rally, condemn...

My friends keep asking me from where we get our contacts. People in the profession do need to keep talking to those who take decisions and every reporter needs a ready -reckoner list of phone numbers and other details. Earlier, it was pretty difficult. Now, however, it is far more easier. Governance is far more transparent. For example, all details of bureaucrats are on the Net. All, except their confidential records. Details like how they entered the IAS and where they were posted. Their e-mail, phone numbers and other contact details are available to the public. The sites from where you get such information are http://dpar.kar.nic.in/civillist-ias.htm (for state officers), http://persmin.nic.in(IAS ), and http://persmin.nic.in/(IPS ). We are evolving. But we need to do that faster.

ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನವೂ ಒಂದು ಪುಟವನ್ನಾದರೂ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕೆಂದುಕೊಂಡವನಿಗೆ ಆ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಆಗಿಲ್ಲ. (ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕೆಂದು ಹೊರಟವನು ತನ್ನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಓದುವವರಿಗೆ ಬೇಜಾರಾಗಬಹುದು ಎಂದು ಸಹ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.) ಅಮಿತ್ ರೇ ಬಬ್ಬ ಬ್ಯಾರಿಸ್ಟರ್‍. ಜೀವನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಸೀರಿಯಸ್ ಅಗಿ ಇರಲಾರದವನು. ಅವನಿಗೆ ಗಂಭೀರವಾದ ಹುಡುಗಿಯೊಬ್ಬಳು ಭೇಟಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಯಾವುದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೂ ಲೆಕ್ಕ ಇಡದ ಇವನಿಗೆ, ಎಲ್ಲದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಲೆಕ್ಕ ಇಡುವ ಲಾವಣ್ಯಳ ಸ್ನೇಹ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗತೊಡಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅನೇಕ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಬೆಳೆಸಿ ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಕಮಿಟ್ ಆಗದವನಿಗೆ, ಇದೊಂದು ಬೇಡವೆಂದರೂ ಬಿಡದ ಸಂಬಂಧವಾಗಿಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ. ತನ್ನ ಸ್ವಭಾವಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ತಾನೇ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಅವನಿಗೆ ಅ‌ಚ್ಚರಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವರಿಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಅನ್ನಿಸುವುದು ಇಷ್ಟು. 'ತುಂಬ ಸ್ವತಂ‌ತ್ರ ಸ್ವಭಾವದ ತನಗೆ ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಜೋಡಿ ಸಿಗದು'. ಅವರು ಭಯಂಕರವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕ್ಷಣಕಾಲ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರೆ ಜೀವ ಹೋಗಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತದೇನೋ ಎನ್ನುವಷ್ಟು. ಅಮಿತ್ ಲಾವಣ್ಯಳ ಮನೆಯವರ ಅನುಮತಿ ಪಡೆದು ಮದುವೆಗೆ ತಯಾರಿ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಎರಡೂ ಮನೆಯವರ ಅನುಮತಿಯೂ ದೊರಕುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಮದುವೆಯಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಯಾಕೆ? ಓದುಗನೆದುರಿಗೆ ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಧುತ್ತೆಂದು ಎದುರಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯುದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ತಾನೊಂದು ಪಾತ್ರವಾಗಿ ಬಿಡುವ ಲೇಖ...

ಹೋಗಿ ಬಾ ಗೆಳೆಯಾ, ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದಾಗಲಿ ರವೀಂದ್ರನಾಥ ಟಾಗೋರ್‍ ಅವರ ಫೇರ್‍ವೆಲ್ ಮೈ ಫ್ರೆಂಡ್ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ತರಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವುದು ನನ್ನ ಬಹುದಿನದ ಬಯಕೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಅದರ ಹೆಸರನ್ನಾದರೂ ನಾನು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸಿದೆನೇ ಎನ್ನುವ ಸಂದೇಹ ಇದೆ. ಲೇಖಕ ಚಿದಾನಂದ ಸಾಲಿ ಅವರ ಮುಂದೆ ಈ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಅನ್ನಬಾರದೇ ಅಂದು ಬಿಟ್ಟೆನೋ ಏನೋ. ಅವರು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಿಡದೇ ಕಾಡುವ ಮಾತಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರು ಗೆಲ್ಲುತ್ತಾರೋ, ನಾನು ಗೆಲ್ಲುತ್ತೇನೋ ನೋಡಬೇಕು. ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳಿವೆ. ಕೆಲವರು ಇದನ್ನು ಜೀನಿಯಸ್ ಎಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕೆಲವರು ಸಾಧಾರಣ ಎಂದು ಮರೆತು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ನನಗೆ ಇದು ಎಂದೂ ಮರೆಯದ ಅನುಭವವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಬೇರೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಹೇಳದೇ ಇದ್ದರೆ ಪಾಪ ಎನ್ನುವಷ್ಟು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಇದು ಕಾಡಿದೆ. ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಜನ ಸ್ಹೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಇದನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿ ಹೇಳಿ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಕೆಡಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಇವನು ಯಾಕಾದರೂ ಇದನ್ನು ಓದಿದನೋ ಅಂತಲೋ, ಅಥವಾ ನಾವು ಯಾಕಾದರೂ ಇವನ ಗೆಳೆಯರಾದೆವೋ ಅಂತ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿರಬಹುದು. ಅದನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕು ಅಂತಲೂ ಬಹಳ ಸಾರಿ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದೆ. ಬರೆಯಲಾರದ್ದಕ್ದೆ ಕಾರಣಗಳೇನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಶಿಸ್ತು ಇರಲಾರದ್ದು, ಸೋಮಾರಿತನ, ಅಥವಾ ಯಾವಾನಿಗೆ ಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಇರಬಹುದು. ಈಗ ಮಾಡಲೇ ಬೇಕಾಗಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಟಾಗೋರರ ಯಯಾತಿಯಾಗುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದ ಫಲ ಅಂತ ಯಾರೋ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದು ಅವರು ತಾನು ಯ...

An Indian wife’s poem He did not like the curry And he did not like my cake He said my biscuits were too hard … Not like his mother used to make I did not prepare the coffee He did not like the stew, I did not mend his socks The way his mother used to do I pondered for an answer I was looking for a clue Isn’t there anything I could do To match his mothers shoe Then I smiled as I saw light One thing I could definitely do I turned around And slapped him tight Like his mother used to!!! Author unknown

Fertilizers: Siddalingappa Choori was barely 33 when he died after a bullet hit him in Haveri on Tuesday. The victim unfortunately got caught in the mob that tried to stone policemen who were stopping them from storming a fertilizer shop. The farmers were angry at the severe fertilizer scarcity. The Haveri incident is symptomatic of a serious problem plaguing the state- the severe scarcity of fertilizers. And if the state does not act immediately, there is a danger of the discontent taking the shape of riots and spreading to all corners of the state. What is the problem? This is the first major problem facing B S Yeddyurappa who took oath in the name of farmers. All the 12 pulses growing districts of north Karnataka are suffering from scarcity. Farmers don’t have enough DAP (Di Ammonium Phosphate) and Nitrogen – Phosphorous-Potassium (NPK) complex needed during sowing. Neither the government operated agriculture produce marketing committees (APMCs) nor the private traders have enough ...

Some young people who met me recently, asked me these questions. I had no time then and promised to answer them here. I will try to answer one question per day. 1: Why does the mainstream media not cover constructive social phenomenon like inter religious dialogues and efforts at communal harmony? A: Yes and no. One of the oldest allegations against the media is that it highlights negative issues and downplays positive developments. There may be two reasons behind this. Negative issues seem to have a larger nuisance value that can create sensational news. They also have larger marketability than positive issues. Sensational stories attract attention faster than articles that demand the reader to stop, think and perceive. However, this is an easy explanation. A larger, academic explanation may be this. Our colonial history ridden with stories of exploitation and centuries of suffering might have shaped our psyche. May be this is responsible for our `Chalta hai’ or `Kuch Nahi Badlega’ a...

Transcript: Senator Barack Obama's speech Tuesday, March 18, 2008 The following is the text of Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia, as prepared for delivery and provided by his campaign. "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more yea...

This week has been happy and sad for me. I have been happy because the President of India in her wisdom accepted the delimitation commission’s recommendations. It will change the way politicians think about voters and the other way round. I have also been sad because S Rangarajan or Sujatha, who developed the Electronic Voting Machine, is dead. This guy changed the way we vote. The country owes him a lot. An alumnus of IIT Madras, he was general manager, research and development, at the Bangalore based Bharat Electronics Limited. His team worked extra hard to ensure it was proved error free when some politicians alleged that it could be rigged. Another interesting aspect of the man was that he was a prolific writer. He is credited to have developed a taste for science fiction, in the younger generation. He wrote stories for many successful films of Rajanikanth and Kamal Hassan. Let us pray his death is offset by the birth of more such people.

Are you tired of seeing the same old faces in assembly and parties? Would you go out to vote this time if you had a better choice? Then please seek early implementation of the report of the delimitation commission (www.delimitation-india.com). It aims to create a new political map of India by redrawing the boundaries of parliament and assembly constituencies. According to me, delimitation is the biggest thing to happen to this country after freedom and democracy. I have reasons to say so. Senile politicians who are rusting in their seats will have to look for new constituencies and the voters will have a real choice from among new faces. The commission’s report offers new opportunities to refresh democracy. Everyone thought it would be implemented from 2009. But that is not so. It may happen anytime. The cabinet committee on political affairs approved it on January 3. Some leaders with vested interests have been nurturing their constituencies for decades. For example, the Karnataka ass...

Are you tired of seeing the same old faces in assembly and parties? Would you go out to vote this time if you had a better choice? Then please seek early implementation of the report of the delimitation commission (www.delimitation-india.com). It aims to create a new political map of India by redrawing the boundaries of parliament and assembly constituencies. According to me, delimitation is the biggest thing to happen to this country after freedom and democracy. I have reasons to say so. Senile politicians who are rusting in their seats will have to look for new constituencies and the voters will have a real choice from among new faces. The commission’s report offers new opportunities to refresh democracy. Everyone thought it would be implemented from 2009. But that is not so. It may happen anytime. The cabinet committee on political affairs approved it on January 3. Some leaders with vested interests have been nurturing their constituencies for decades. For example, the Karnataka as...

Poll politics and caste are inseparable in India. For those who came late, caste is a social group whose membership is determined by birth. Here is a backgrounder to the caste system in Karnataka. Our friends culled out these figures before the last polls. These are the statitistics provided by various state appointed committees. As they say, facts are sacred. Opinions are free. Caste percentage Nagana gowda Havanur Venkat swamy Chinnappa reddy 1. Lingayat 15.57 14.64 16.92 15.34 2. Vokkaliga 12.98 11.98 11.68 10.81 3. Kuruba 04.08 06.77 06.92 06.27 4. Eediga 02.40 02.25 02.45 02.31 5. Brahmin 04.28 04.23 03.81 03.45 6. Maratha 04.08 ...

How many reams of paper have been spent writing about Aham Brahmasmi? Countless. How many times has Anal Haq been explained by writers and scholars? But how many times has it been written that both have a strikingly similar meaning? Why do we do this? Is it because we are afraid of exploring meanings of new terms? Or to open up to different cultures? Or to share what we know? Are we afraid to think aloud? Do we think we will be offending others’ sentiments if we speak the truth? After all, is being politically correct the only aim of a civilized society?

I chose this title because I wanted to sound strange and confusing. Yesterday over lunch, I got to know former US vice president Al Gore won the Peace Noble for his environmental campaigns. I was busy and could not think much about it. I had heard about Al Gore’s film on snow animals. The only other thing I could recall about him was the way he introduced himself to students in a US university. ``I am Al Gore. I used to be the next President of the US’’. For me, that smelt of Narcissism. But when I went home yesterday night, I began watching TV to get details. I hopped between channels that were speaking to Al Gore and the one that was speaking about former Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Then it struck me. How a former vice president of a resourceful country can smoothly go out of politics in that country and how some one like Gowda could remain an undying irritant in Indian politics. About how a not so young man can comfortably forget the luxuries of the White House and go film...

ಇಸ್ಲಾಮಿನ ಮೂರನೇ ಕಲೀಫಾ ಅಲಿ ಅವರು ಧಮ೯ ಯುದ್ಧವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಇವರ ಮೇಲೆ ದಾಳಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಂದ ಎದುರಾಳಿ ಸೈನಿಕನೊಬ್ಬನನ್ನು ಸೋಲಿಸಿದರು. ಇನ್ನೇನು ಅವನನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಖಡ್ಗ ಎತ್ತಿದಾಗ ಅವನು ಇವರ ಮುಖದಮೇಲೆ ಉಗುಳಿದ. ಇವರು ಖಡ್ಗವನ್ನು ಇಳಿಸಿದರು. ಅವನ ಜೀವ ಉಳಿಸಿದರು. ಅವನು ಯುದ್ಧ ಕೈದಿಯಾದ. ಅವನನ್ನು ಜೈಲಿಗೆ ಕಳಿಸುವಾಗ ಅವನು ಅಲಿಯವರನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ. "ಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ನಡತೆ ನನಗೆ ಅಥ೯ವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ನಾನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮುಖದ ಮೇಲೆ ಉಗುಳಿದಾಗ ನೀವು ಸಿಟ್ಟಿಗೆದ್ದು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲುತ್ತೀರೆಂದು ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದೆ. ಆದರೆ ನೀವು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಜೀವ ಸಹಿತ ಉಳಿಸಿದಿರಿ. ಯಾಕೆ?" ಅಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದರು: ನೋಡು, ನೀನು ನನ್ನ ಮುಖದ ಮೇಲೆ ಉಗುಳಿದಾಗ ನನಗೆ ಕೋಪ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ನಿಜ. ಆದರೆ ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಜೆಹಾದ್ ನಡೆಸಲು. ನನ್ನ ನಿನ್ನ ನಡುವಿನ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ದ್ವೇಷ ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಅಲ್ಲ. ನಿನ್ನ ಮೇಲಿನ ಕೋಪದಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೊಂದರೆ ಅದು ಪವಿತ್ರ ಜೆಹಾದ್ ಹೇಗಾದೀತು?. ನನ್ನ ನಿನ್ನ ನಡುವಿನ ಬೀದಿ ಜಗಳವಾದೀತು ಅಷ್ಟೇ"

We all know who Pratibha Patil is. We also know how she got to be the President of India. For the first time in India's 60 year history, we have a women as President. She is also head of the Parliament of the World's largest democracy and Supreme Commander of the largest voluntary armed force in the World. Some people say she is there on merit. Some say loyalty to one political party and a family is the only merit she has. The debate continues. More people know who Sania Mirza is. The Tennis star is remembered by the number of matches she won and the equal number she lost. However, more people seem to recall the designer's magic wand that transformed a simple urban middle class girl into someone who looks like a celebrity. What is unfortunate is that fewer people know who Koneru Hampi is. The World Grand Master in Chess has won more matches than she lost. This girl from a modest family in a small town was a national champion when her classmates were mugging ...

ಇಗೋ ಕನ್ನಡ!