The story of AK-56

Sanju Baba’s release from the Yerawada Jail on an interim bail might have provided some respite to Bollywood. But ‘Munnbhai’s’ episode has certainly flashed enough light upon Ak-56 rifle! The rifle, after Sanju’s incident, seem to have surpassed the reputation of AK-47 as the most advanced and preferred weapon by the terrorists in India and other countries that are infested with terrorism. Taking cue from the incident, Shobhan Saxena writes about the history and evolution of the weapon which has made the modern history bloodier than ancient and medieval times.

The name is Kalashnikov! Sixty years ago, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the lost son of a rich farmer was swallowed by a Siberian gulag. Then he found his calling and became a Soviet patriot by putting together eight pieces of hard wood and strong metal pipes in such a way that they could spit 600 bullets in a minute and reduce an army of men to a bloodied pulp of flesh and bones in seconds. Since then Kalashnikov’s automatic, and its many offspring, have spat from all corners of the world, drilling holes into bodies and firing insane imaginations.
In 1947, it was the People’s Gun. Then AK-47 became an instrument of foreign policy and found a place in Chairman Mao’s thoughts. It inspired books and films. It launched vodka brands. It has become the darling of international terrorism. It’s always there, resting quietly against a green backdrop whenever the bad boys of Al Qaida cut a new terror video for international release.
In the 1950s, AK-47 fell into Chinese hands and in 1956 out came a deadlier, slightly big ger and a little heavier version. From the Chinese cottage factories, the AK-56 followed the route of global conflicts, going to all hotspots and screaming as thousands of men dropped dead. It has left a long trail of blood — from Vietnam’s dense forests to Africa’s famished lands to Afghanistan’s hungry dustbowls to Iraq’s bloody alleys.
Cold-blooded killers love it. It’s light and it never fails. It never breaks down. It’s easy to use: fix the magazine, release the latch, press the trigger and spray it like perfume. It kills in big numbers. It’s called an assault rifle. It’s not meant to defend yourself. Today, apart from the many armies of the world, it’s the favourite gun of the murderous gangs roaming the streets of Baghdad, the drug-fuelled traffickers in Rio’s favelas, the confused and crazy child-soldiers in Chad and Sudan, the band of killers calling the shots in Kandahar, and the pack of pirates running a reign of terror in the Indian Ocean, just off the African coast.
When a man holds an AK-56 assault rifle in his hands, he knows what he is going to do with it. So, when a man living in a plush house in a posh neighbourhood in a big city wants to keep the gun at his home as a trophy of his manhood, he is not being gullible. He knows what he is doing. An assault rifle, even in a closet, is death waiting for an opportunity, a moment of intoxicated madness. Just listen to the echoes in a palace in Kathmandu, or some schools in America.
In the last six decades, 100 million pieces of Kalishnakovs have been sold. It has created a Rambo culture where you fire the gun before you shoot off your mouth. The Kalashnikov, which costs just $ 50 in some places, has been called the “Coca-Cola of small arms”.
After 60 years of fame for making this killing machine, Mikhail Kalashnikov says his conscience is clear and he sleeps well at night. He made this gun to fight the Nazis. Maybe he slips into sleep listening to John Lennon’s ‘Happiness is a warm gun’. But, every day, someone, somewhere in a dark corner of the world is being shaken out of his sweet dreams by a hail of bullets flowing from a magic machine.

Bamboo; new raw material for construction crazy Bangaloreans

Soaring prices, crunch of construction materials like cement, sand and bricks and increased concern over eco-friendly homes, have made people to mull alternatives for building construction in near future. Fly ash bricks, mud bricks seem to be passe with the engineers and architects and use of bamboo for both commercial and domestic construction seem to be next option for Bangaloreans.
Besides elegant style and cost, energy sufficiency and greener technology seem to be fast catching up with many city people. Neelam Manjunath, renowned architect from Centre for Green Building Materials and Technology, Bangalore “The idea is not new and has been with us since many years. But none of us have given it a clear thought on how to use it for construction. It is both cost effective and eco-friendly and durable than the common constructions.”
Bamboo, as construction material, caught the bangaloreans attention only a few years back. “We all love to stay in resorts and huts of bamboo either on beach sides or in jungles. The same technology is now being utilised for domestic and commercial construction,” says Dhananjay, building contractor from Bangalore. “Still many are preoccupied with some misconceptions and prefer bamboo only at a few levels and not in its entirety. Currently we have been using bamboos to embellish outer structures like parapet, railings, cupboards, shelves and doors. Very few are opting for the full use of bamboos in the place of other materials,” explains Dhananjay.
Meantime, with an effort to create awareness among public Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited has set up energy park at the premises of the Indira Gandhi Musical fountain garden. The park besides showcasing energy production by harnessing solar energy also accommodates a house completely made of bamboo. From wall panels to roof and other accessories, the entire house is made of bamboo and the structure has been a testimony to the fact that bamboo too can withstand the catastrophes of nature like heavy rains, winds. The house also has the plumbing work, furnished accessories made from bamboo.
“People are in dilemma over the use of bamboo as it is new. We are not using neither the raw or bamboo straight from the forest. Instead, it will be processed according to the standards and only after withstanding all tests, it us used in construction. North East region known for heavy rains also has the highest density of bamboo houses in the country. So there is no question of bamboo affected due to heavy rains. The cost of the structure varies according to the size but fits within Rs two lakhs to seven lakhs for a decent house on 30X40 site. But it depends on the owner and requirements at the house,” explains Neelam Manjunath.

Further, the Horticulture department too appear to be realising the importance of bamboo in construction. The department has put up a mammoth rest house cum ticket centre for the visitors at the heart of the park. A recent summit on the green building technologies in Bangalore has also highlighted the use of Bamboo as an alternative for available resources. Leading architects like Jaisim, Ravindra Bhan have been the flag bearers in making the new material a success among people.
Neelam Manjunath, who has won National award for her innovation in Bamboo based technology says, “Even the government is keen in implementing in its projects. We are experimenting with it during the upcoming Hudco project near Channapatna. Besides I have been working on projects in Electronic City, Hebbal and Whitefield area by using bamboo and other green technology as against the conventional methods.”
Bamboo can be procured from the State Forest Department in the notified areas such as Shimoga, Mysore, Belgaum, Kodagu, Kanara and Bellary. According to the official notification by the department, hundred sticks of big bamboo would cost Rs 1000 to 1300 and hundred sticks of small bamboo can vary from Rs 500 to 800.

Out of IT, Techies join hands for social cause

The story of a young engineer from NASA, giving up his high profile job to bring about a change in the lives of villagers in India in last year’s Bollywood blockbuster ‘Swades’ is still afresh among all of us. Further, the concept not limiting itself to silver screen, seem to have found a place in reality too with Bangalore based IT companies’ techies. Well, believe it or not the much hyped techies have been moving away from the glaring monitors to join hands with each other to uplift society from its intriguing problems.

While a few have been gearing up to face the elections, a few have set out to rural areas becoming harbingers of change. A small group of techies from leading software firms in city, have opted out to join together and water for future seem to be basic agenda for all of them. The collective effort of these techies turned social activists have now resulted in developing country’s first water portal aimed to create awareness among people about the conservation of water and water bodies.
The India Water Portal (www.indiawaterportal.org) launched a few months ago is an open, inclusive, web-based platform for sharing water management knowledge amongst practitioners and the general public. It aims to draw on the rich experience of water-sector experts, package their knowledge and add value to it through technology, and disseminate it to a larger audience both online and offline. Sharada Prasad, a former employee with Infosys and now a project officer at the portal said, “The crisis in water is very real. At the Water Portal you can find various kinds of information related to water. There are slideshows on how to construct rainwater harvesting systems for your house or recharge groundwater. We have case studies of successes from around the country. You can see what minister has been asking what questions in Parliament about water. We also have a dedicated section for children.” About his personal motivation he says “Interacting with local people, understanding their social and economic problems and working with them towards developing a sustainable solution excites me more than interacting with global people to understand their business problems and proposing a technology solution.”

The portal is not an independent venture but an initiative of ‘Arghyam’, a charitable trust founded by Rohini Nilekani in 2001. The Water Portal is a free, public website and is being run as service to the water community. Vijay Krishna, a former employee with Juniper Networks and product manager of the Water Portal said, “If we can apply the power of technology in an imaginative way to make things function better in our cities and villages its an achievement that would give me a lot of satisfaction. Its been fascinating for me to think and work on something basic and concrete yet complex like water.”
The portal aims to bridge a gap between the governments and implementing agencies, envisages to share information between government, working NGOs and academia. The portal uses latest technologies such as GIS, Multimedia and virtual community tools to project the required data bank for the field workers. Sunita Nadhamuni, CEO of Arghyam, has been guiding the evolution of the portal from the early days. She says “There is an asymmetry in knowledge and information where not everyone has access to what they need, to make sensible and informed decisions. We want the Portal to correct that.” Working far away from home, on IT projects which seemed disconnected from problems people faced on the ground, led her into volunteering. “Through that, I had the opportunity to interact closely with many development sector leaders and was then inspired to switch to the social sector.”

Taking radio’s help to reach mass
The entry of private sector to broadcast media with various FM channels has made the medium more ubiquitous. The portal is now harnessing the medium to reach out to the public about their plans. The Portal has started a radio initiative covering Bangalore, Tumkur and Chitradurga.
Every Sunday night, between 8:00 and 8:30pm, Bangalore AIR (MW 612kHz) is broadcasting a half hour Kannada radio programme titled “Jala Jaala” (‘Catching Rain in a Net’). The programme can be heard in Kolar, Tumkur and Bangalore . Another half an hour radio programme titled ‘Mayadanta Male’ (Magical Rain) is broadcast live every Thursday between 7:45am and 8:15am in Chitradurga district. The programmes share experts’ views and suggestions on rainwater harvesting, recharging ground water sources and other water issues with the public. During the programme the station will also air film songs strongly related to the theme that are technically called sweet pills.
In Tumkur, the programs are ‘narrow cast’ in 60 villages where the NGO BIRD-K is working. This allows for closer interaction and people can get their questions answered. “It is difficult for us to convince a lay man about using technology to save water. But we are trying imaginative ways to communicate the message. In the first broadcast in Chitradurga last week, the lines to the station were flooded with queries during the live broadcast. The questions posed by people during a narrowcast in Kabbigere village (Tumkur District) is a testimonial to the success of the program – making people think about water as a precious resource” explains Sharada Prasad.

Zestful exploration of North Karnataka

Touring North Karnataka in Summer is indeed an herculean task for any travel buff. Braving the scorching heat, acclamatising to the local ‘hot’ food would certainly test your nerves. But amidst the raging cacophony of urbanisation, the spirit and glory of many North Karnataka places have still remained unexplored and unsung. The districts Gadag and Bagalkot known for its copious contribution in many areas are one of the lesser known places for the travel buffs. But for out team of nine journalist from the city, the place was chosen after a series of discussion and plans.
Located high on the lofty Deccan Plateu plain land Gadag is known for its cultural and literary contribution. In fact the famous Veeranarayana Temple at Gadag is synonymous with the poet laureate of Kannada Literature, Kumaravyasa. His coruscant work ‘Karnataka Bharatha Katha Manjari’ is viewed as a milestone in the history of Kannada Literature. The temple tower interspersed with erotic sculptures is one of the few temple towers in South India to be embellished with such motifs.
Besides cultural contributions, elongated stretch of black-regur soil is another characteristic of Gadag. Even though useful for the cotton cultivation it is grown seldom. On the either sides of the National Highway 4, you will be treated with the gyrating swinging action of sunflowers. The charismatic sunflowers on the backdrop of black canvas will rejuvenate the exhausting soul. Further, on entering the city, the busy narrow dingy roads, outmoded shops and gothic style houses with rich wooden carvings offer an elated visual treat despite somber draught situation.
Unmindful of the geographical loopholes, the city treats you with its century old musical legacy. Gadag is credited with honours for being the reviving centre of excellence in the field of Hindustani Music. Beginning with the legendary vocalist Ganayogi Panchakshari Gawai to Puttaraja Gawai to the recent sensation Pt Bhimsen Joshi, the district has coloured the classical music arena with such devoted practitioners at regular intervals of time. The ashram founded by Panchakshari Gawai and now functioning on the guidelines of Puttaraja Gawai has been churning out some of the scintillating voices in Hindustani Music.
The rustic charm and beguiling beauty of the city and hospitality of the locals dented our plans. Our plan of covering Gadag and Bagalkot in three days got lost with much of the time spent in Gadag itself. The nitty-gritty of our travel, the golden triangle of states tourism-Badami, Aihole and Pattadkal had to be skipped due to dearth of time and we rushed straight to Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar (Alamatti) dam built across the Nile of North Karnatka Krishna river.

Caught in the controversy between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the dam has withstood many legal blows. With more than 65 per cent of the population practicing agriculture, the backwaters of the dam forms the backbone of districts agriculture. But the impact of summer was such that the water level has almost reached bottom of the reservoir and relatively offered a cool ambience amidst the unbearable heat. But the theme park next to the dam was indeed a punctilious experiment by the government in recreating the local heritage which got submerged in the backwaters of the dam.
Spread over a sprawling 70 acres interspersed with small hillocks, the theme park offers a veritable insight into the local life as well as the environment. With the abundant flora at all levels, the park ha s been divided into blocks. The entrance decorated with the sculptures of people from different background highlights the importance of cooperation which has been a pivotal force among the locals to live harmoniously. The three acre artificial water tank treats you with a pleasant boat journey and thus recharge the tired souls.
Further, the rock gardens close on the heels of Chandigarh rock gardens, depicts the various traits of modern day art, species of erstwhile era, reptile park and artificial power park bewilders the visitors. The cultural park showcasing the native tribes along with their profession and traditional hamlets recreates the verisimilitude glorious past. Yadava, Mogaveera, Kammara, Kambara, Farming community details are some of the impressing ones among many. The Dinosaur park virtually unfolds the activities of mighty mammals amidst thick bushy hillocks. The upcoming digitally synchronised fountain, Moghul Gardens, Radhakrishna Garden retelling the life of Lord Krishna would certainly woo tourist from all directions.

The journey which was planned after a long gap of time among ourselves did bring in some amount of joy but the missing of heritage site like Aihole, Pattadkal and Badami due to improper planning was a haunting one.

Gulmohar amidst concrete jungle

Since the ages, poetry and nature have become synonymous with each other. The mutual fostering has nurtured an enough length bandwagon of poets and infinite quantity of poems to ruminate with great solace and glory. Barring a negligible amount of discrepancies, poetry has offered the same to its connoisseurs cutting across the geographical barriers. Ranging from the tender and soothing rays of the rising sun to the enigmatically blooming flowers, the splendid and stupendous change in the nature has inspired in its own way on the literature and propelled poets to say “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day.” In fact the summer season has become a cynosure of all poets. The vast imageries and content replete with summer season have greatly fascinated the creative caprice of litterateurs.
Perhaps no other flower in nature heralds the onset of summer better than the seraphic beauty of Gulmohar. The beamish flowers of Gulmohar have always had special bond with the Indian literature. Irrespective of the language, the Gulmohar has often conveyed the human passion with elements of nature and its bewitching beauty, be it in the forest or in the middle of the tree line on either side of the roads, has embellished the structure of the poetry. In Kannada literature, even though the presence of Gulmohar is palpable, the professor poet Nisar Ahmed’s poems are abundant with the imageries of Gulmohar. The elegant explanation of the beauty of these flowers in many of his poems, often articulates the objective of his poetry to an extent.
Being eponymous with the widely used imagery in Nisar’s poems - Gulmohar, a poetry recitation session was organised to recollect the lasting beauty of these amidst concrete jungles. When it is hard to find the real blooming Gulmohar trees in cities, how about the experience of reading poems that literally befit the appealing beauty of these flowers? A novel venture by the ‘Rasika Kelo’, a poetry lovers group of Bangalore, was in deed a rare opportunity to re-identify us with the poetry as well as the joy emanating from it. Disappointing the calculations of poet and the organisers, the auditorium at Yavanika was jam-packed despite being a Sunday. Even when there is month’s time to welcome the spring, the ambience on Sunday, pug marked with the tender rays of the rising sun and tranquilising calm, was perfect for such reunion.

‘Gulmohar’ as it was named, was a montage of personalities from various fields like literature, journalism, cinema, theatre and politics. Backed with diverge experience in their respective fields and reading poems on that backdrop was it self a great experience. The focal point of the programme was the poet, Nisar Ahmed himself. More than any awards and accolades, the celebration of a poet’s poems with him during his life time is certainly a great and treasured experience for the poet himself. Enthralled by the exuberant response, Nisar acknowledged, “This chance should have happened to Kuvempu, Bendre. But it is happening to me and I have no words but a silence to explain my joy.”
The programme was full with all kinds of poems signifying the varying moods of a man. But the tonal language adopted by the readers has virtually made even some of the serious and complex poems so assertive for a common man. The recitation marked with intermittent screening of shots from some of the world classics like ‘Great Dictator’ of Chaplin and the Spanish ‘Postman’ pitched around the literature of Neruda, who had a considerable amount of influence on Nisar was refreshing to the hilt.
“The motto of the Gulmohar was to make poetry people friendly and let the common people too enjoy the taste of it which was hither to isolated all these days,” explains S Diwakar, a columnist, writer and the brain behind the entire concept. “For the first time in the history of Kannada literature, poems have been read in the presence of poet,” he remarked. Breaking all protocols of a formal function, the poetry was the forerunner and everything – prayer, talk, illustration and drawing- was articulated through poetry. Nisar’s poems which have no defined barriers were unfolded much to the satisfaction of the people under the banner ‘Gulmohar’. The exhibition of paper cuttings pertaining to Nisar poetry and the magic of artists’ pallet in giving visual expression on canvas was something extemporaneous and a huge success.
Unlike the swaggering billboards and banners announcing the imminent events in the city, the ‘Gulmohar’ was organised with a least amount of publicity and proved to be a great success. It was lamentable to know that not many sponsors came forward to endorse the cause and even poet Nisar felt the trend very much unfortunate. But not all sponsored programmes have met with success and keeping that in mind the self effort of the Rasika Kelo group’s youngsters was applauded by all.

Dawn of a new literary genre

The beginning of the late 20th century witnessed the emergence of new genres which were hitherto unknown in the english literary sphere. When Joseph Conrad penned ‘Heart of Darkness’ which was neither a novel nor a short story, it triggered off the birth of a new genre, Novella. Though, the form had its beginning in the 14 Century Italian Literature through Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’, it was unknown to english until it was unveiled by Conrad. Even the 21 Century is not an exception to experiment with new genres and the present new form of literature is Small short stories!
“When I awoke, it was still there …!,” “When the last person of the world sitting inside a room somebody knocked on the door.” Do not mistake these lines for those scanty and dubiety SMS’s, but these are some of the small short stories which are considered as a new genre in these days. Like it was discussed earlier, the practise of writing small short stories is not new to we the Indians. There are quite a few small short stories in ‘Panchatantra’ and ‘Kathasarithsagara’. But the form was left abrupt, and the same has resurfaced today initiating debate over its form and content.
The genre of small short stories made news at the global level when Urwing Ho, renowned US critic and writer came out with small short story collection ‘Short Shorts’. Ho defined for the first time, the structure, narrative, characterisation and features of small short stories in his forward. As far as Kannada literature is considered, the form of small short story writing was practised since many days. ‘Hanigathe’, ‘Cardkathe’, ‘Laghukathe’ were some of the names under which they were written. Srinivas Havanur was the first person in Kannada to flash light upon this subversive genre and he sighted G P Rajarathnam, the first to write ’small short stories’ in Kannada.
Commenting on the form and content of these small short stories, noted writer and translator S Diwakar says, ” there is no doubt that small short stories are smaller than short stories and adopts a special kind of narrative strategy to describe the entire experience and thus donning the role of a fable.” Ho in his forward wrote,” Short small stories can be within 2,500 words narrating the entire event or life of a character.” However he restrains his idea as suggestion. Some of the short stories that we discussed above, had less than 50 words.
These small short stories differ from novel or short stories in the dimension that Aristotle called ‘magnitude’. Generally a short story lack complex plot and instead involves simple plot. But it is not mandatory for small short stories to have neither of them. Instead, the form relies on any established anecdotes or myths for its success. Through its special narrative, the writer explains only the reflections of one important life incident rather than portraying life’s experience as a whole. And the stress is given to the present crisis of the character. In doing so, these stories take up the role of emotional tranquillity and resembles a small lamp brightening a vast dark room .
Owing to its features, certainly it is difficult to write all the times. Hence very few have written in this form in Kannada. “Litterateurs such as T N Srikanthaiah, Da Ra Bendre,Devudu, Shanthinatha Desai and Yeshwantha chittala wrote few such stories. But people are unaware of them,” explains Diwakar who translated such stories from different languages into Kannada. Some of the newspapers and periodicals such as ‘Sankramana’ published these stories. Few publications also published collection of translated stories like ‘Jagattina Ati Sanna Kathegalu’ edited by S Diwakar. Efforts are underway to bring out all the kannada small short stories under the title ‘Kannadada Ati Sanna Kathegalu.’

Bidding adieu to man of principles & ideologies

Resignation! Was that a sudden decision for this man of ideals? He himself had no answer but replied that he could have quit probably tomorrow but he has done it today. A great chapter perhaps the best of all in the history of Vijay Times came to an end with its much talked about and celebrated editor Krishna Prasad’s resignation. Honouring his ideologies which he has nurtured and lived all through his career, tendered his resignation on Tuesday afternoon.
At an informal valedictory arranged by the staffers, Mr Krishna prasad thanked everybody and applauded the efforts of all the editorial and technical staff in bringing out some of the best news items. Stressing on the letter ‘J’ in Journalism (Of course not for jealous) which is a key factor for any journo to have a successful career. Quoting from one of the old masters that Journalism is nothing but afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted, Mr KP implied at the true meaning of Journalism.
Mr Krishna Prasad was known for his joyous work culture at the newsroom marked with fun and open interaction through blogs and cricket. His blogs were indeed a forum for any interested person to have healthy interaction on wide range of topics. Having been driven by a set of principles, KP had an eye to the future, an ear to the ground and an affinity to change according to the trends and needs of the reader.

When the Godot arrived all by himself!

Unlike the regular Mondays marked with seraphic jovialness, this Monday was more like blunting and benumbing as many of us were on leave and in no mood to attend the meeting with the boss/editor. Usually, meeting with the boss on every Monday was more like refuelling ourselves. Issues ranging from health to advanced issues of science and research coupled with realty, tradition and some whacky ideas were pooled in to woo as well as inform readers through our supplements.
But the rumours and gossips that were born in his absence last week did frighten us to a certain extent and even the ambience was pretty conducive to it. Adding to our apprehension, the number of calls and messages from bureau friends and colleagues kept on increasing and many efforts to convince them were also conquered with nearly believable circulating SMSs. We were all waiting for an opportunity to discuss them with the man who is the centre of all affairs, if not from his side at least from ourside.
The meeting, though it was late for half an hour, began with a serious discussion about the impending rumours. We were all flummoxed to see the person concerned responding to them in a candid manner. The assurance was as same as the assurance that we got few months back about our section soon after the departure of our erstwhile editor. Starting from the origin of those rumours to till the meeting point he explained us from his angle about the flag of the publication and its figure. The detailed explanation and his study of the industry were all meticulous and apt. In fact his clarifications from the seat of boss did sooth us to a certain extent and relieved us from the mental hardships which was boggling our daily journo life.
I remember reading the French-translated play ‘En attendant Godot‘ by Beckett. Both the characters Vladimir and Estragon awaiting the entry of Godot who is hitherto unknown to both of them. The play spread over two acts never unfolds the character Godot. Unlike the play and much to the amusement the Godot (Boss) himself arrived with the message and that was something verisimilitude for all of us. If anybody question, is that trustworthy? then the answer is believe in hierarchy (Confucianism) and the message is out from the person who venerates good journalism that we all eager to practice at some time of our carrier.

Beautifully crafted tale

Continuing the tradition of making novel based films, Girish Kasaravalli has once again achieved an immaculate success with his new venture Naayi Neralu. But unlike his previous cinemas running in parallel with the novel, Girish sets off Naayi Neralu with a refreshed outlook and woman centric insight into the story pitching around the theory of rebirth, Karma and penance. Deviating from the original story and plot slenderly, Girish Kasaravalli conceptualises the entire story on matriarchal characters which is again contradictory to original but a unique feature of Kasaravalli films indeed. Naayi Neralu, being the simplest of all Kasaravalli movie is not an exclusion to portrayal of women as lead character.
Hence Venkatalaxmi, Rajalaxmi and Nagalaxmi, the three chief characters plays a pivotal role throughout the cinema. Division of entire film into four different parts under the name of each character mentioned above lends freshness to the Kasaravalli’s morphed story telling. In fact the three different characterisation of varying age and mentality, has helped the director to look at the idea of rebirth from three different angles. Thus, for a viewer who has already read the work, it clearly admonishes the fact that more than the original work, how one perceives and interprets a particular situation is more crucial to a movie which is based on novel.
From the outset Naayi Neralu is the story of Achchannaiah (Sringeri Ramanna) and his wife Nagalaxmi (Rameshwari Varma) living with their widowed daughter-in-law Venkatalaxmi (Pavitra Lokesh) and granddaughter Rajalaxmi (Ananya Kasaravalli) in the traditional Havyaka set up. Of late, Achchannaiah discovers the rebirth of his son Ramanna as Vishwa (Ashwin Bolar) who died 20 years ago and eventually brings him home altering the lives of all people. Nagalaxmi, to whom faith is crucial not only accepts him but also coaxes Venku to accept him and so as the case with other villagers. But Rajalaxmi, the only rational regards it as foul and hatched conspiracy to grab property. And, further the movie circumvents around the socio-cultural conflicts arising out of misjudged opportunities.

His efforts to re-interpret the entire text, befitting his feministic stand in terms of characterisation and the division of movie into chapters, have all added to his efforts of beautifully crafting unusual philosophic tale in an assertive way. The abodes of bhootaradhane and temples of conservative malnad, the vexing silence deep inside the lush evergreen forests and shrouded mysteries appear as metaphors and reflects the mood of each character. Having chosen a serene ambience for his crafted tale, Girish directly gets into the core of the story without any beating around the bush unnecessarily.
The second part of the movie named Nagalaxmi personifies the theme of love through the character Nagalaxmi. Having been recovered from her prolonged dispensed condition, Nagalaxmi trusts Vishwa completely and douses him in the warmth of maternal love and affection. Not satisfied with this, she compels Venku to accept him as her ‘husband’ by donning the coloured saree and ornaments. The tussle of willingness and unwillingness between two sections of people faithfully represented by Nagu and Venku, finally ends with Venku’s union with Vishwa which is incidental as well as conscious.
The third part ‘Rajalaxmi’ seemed to be the embodiment of prejudiced believes of people about rebirth as Venku’s daughter Raji dons more rational outlook. Vishwa, even though accepted by all, is not acceptable as the husband of Venku. Contradictory to this, Venku is portrayed as a scapegoat of others’ belief and having no firm opinion of her own. Even her daughter Raji is not void of this as she too criticises venku’s relation with Vishwa. By conducting ‘Shraadda’, hitherto not done by her, Raji sends across a strong signal that the dead father is dead for ever and another relationship in his name is unlawful. Her staunchness in protecting her mother and challenging Vishwa legally, unfoldness vivid alternatives in dealing with the absurdities of life.

The last part ‘Venkatalaxmi’, contravening with earlier logical debates about believes and their impact on lives, abruptly goes beyond the purview of logical issues. The part goes successful in constructing an independent personality of Venkatalxmi. The last conversation with her daughter when she says “Ma, didn’t you ever doubt him?”, Venku replies “Doubts stems from believing!” stuns Raji and thus Venku affirms that she never believed in rebirth but only acted according to the wishes of elders. Re-interpretation of the story by making use of the same original characters within the original frame, is something unique to Girish Kasaravalli.
The two characters such as Malnad signifying the stagnant and conservative mindset is contrasted with the broad and encompassing backwaters of sea which is more refreshing and soothing as suggested in the fourth part. Acting wise Pavitra Lokesh looks splendid in the role of a widow. Her meticulous mannerisms, delivery of dialogues in unknown Havyaka Kannada, stands as testimony to her potential talents. Sringeri Ramanna and Rajeshwari Varma score very well and their theatre background is etched and visible in every frame. Ashwin Bolar basks comfortably in the role of Vishwa with articulating facial diktats. Ananya’s acting, though sometimes goes artificial, is promising as well. S. Ramachandra’s photography has indeed become a character in itself with stunning silent shots speaking themselves when actors pause.
Naayi Neralu has come at a period when everybody categorise Kasaravalli as complex director and story teller. Being the simplest of all his movies, mirrors his talent as well as craftsmanship.

Inside the laboratory of Socialism

The ongoing situation in South America is nothing but an accessible point of hope to those who criticise the imperialistic hegemony of US over others. If anybody dreaming of a splendid future of their country by joining hands with the US, South America is a model, which has built on its own from rags to riches.
Over the centuries, the Southern American continent has become prey to the atrocities of colonial powers. The continent, brimming with the natural resources, mineral resources, was exploited to the maximum until the beginning of 20th century. But the popular and palpable peasants and people movement interspersed with revolutionary ideas, across the continent at different intervals of time, have instilled a seed of hope for the long awaited democratic aspirations of the people.
As a result, the political scenario, economic policy and foreign relations with other countries have subdued the hard efforts of consumeristic first world countries. The sudden upsurge of left backed socialistic political ideas have tailored the administration framework to suit the country’s specific needs to soothe the psyche of latin american people who are primarily into farming and allied activities.

Bolivia
The land which was once part of ancient Inca empire, Bolivia became independent in 1825 from the clutches of spain. At the time of Independence the native indigenous people who constituted more than half of the population remained deplorable. Great loss of life and territory in the Chaco War, took away the powers from the ruling feudal lords. The national army with its constant workforce, stirred up political awareness among the natives.The military junta soon took up the nationalization of oil companies to boost the country’s economic growth. Despite the sporadic changes there were no signs of improvement in the living condition of the people until the 1952 revolution which marked the emergence of contending ideologies and the demands of new groups which convulsed Bolivian politics.
After the 1952 revolution, which was lead by Nationalist Revolutionary Movement under Victor Paz, it introduced universal adult suffrage, sweeping land reforms, rural education. But the successive coups there after and general elections of 78 marked with fraud retarded the country’s progress. The recent election of native leader Eva Morales and his successful political policies have promised the people a new change.

Chile
Chile which became independent in 1818 has been witnessing many political upheavals instigated by US to safeguard its mineral companies interest to dominate the Chilean copper reserves have caused major setbacks to the countries development. The system of presidential power that was expected to address the people’s grievances eventually predominated, but wealthy landowners continued to control Chile.
Salvador Allen de assuming the office of the president in 1970 marked the upward growth in all spheres. His program included the nationalization of most remaining private industries and banks, massive land expropriation, and collectivisation along with the nationalization of US interests in Chile’s major copper mines. The socialistic aspirations received the wrath of US and Allen de succumbed to the CIA lead bomb attack by the chilean military on the presidential palace and the country once again reverted to the era of military regime which devastated the country’s prosperity in many spheres. The US directed political developments continued to ruin the country in many ways. The defeat of Pinochet in 1988 once again signalled the onset of democracy which promised all round development of chile.
In the past elections, Michele Blanchet becoming the first ever women president of chile has promised new changes to safeguard the country’s economic and social growth.

Cuba
The land which was home to many revolutionary movements and personalities has borne the brunt of Batista’s brutal atrocities which was triggered by US which considered Cuba as a neighbour threat with sound and advanced military force among the latin american countries.But the great cuban revolution led by the legendary revolutionaries such as fidel castro, ernesto che Guevara and others succeeded in ousting Batista. Within months of taking control, Castro moved to consolidate power by marginalising other resistance groups and figures and imprisoning or executing opponents and former supporters.
But the castro’s inclination towards the then USSR and obtaining rights to filter oil for Russia and successive procurement of nuclear missiles from Russia deteriorated the relationship with US. But after the disintegration of Soviet Union, Cuba suffered a major setback in terms of economy followed by imposition of sanctions from US. but castro’s administrative policies and proportionate distribution of resources during the crisis time won the hearts of people.

Venezuela
With its rich oil reserves, Venezuela has witnessed many periods of authoritarianism — including dictatorships by Gen.Juan Vicente Gomez. But the growing energy crisis in US made American policy makers to intervene in the politics of Venezuela Which had then become a partner of OPEC. But the opposition by the natives following the severe exploitation of wealth by the american companies, crippled the US diplomatic relationship with Venezuela.
But the election of Hugo Chavez, a former para troop lieutenant-colonel who led an unsuccessful coup in 1992 on a platform that called for the creation of a “Fifth Republic”, a new constitution, a new name (”the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”), and a new set of social relations between socio-economic classes. In 1999, voters approved a referendum on a new constitution, and in 2000, re-elected Chavez democratically. In spite of strong opposition to his policies especially in the media, oil industry and middle class from many quarters of global politics, Chavez continued to enjoy people’s support for his anti US and socialistic liberal policies.
Apart from these major level players among the latin american countries, politically, the bigger geographical countries such as Argentina, Brazil have also witnessed unprecedented growth of socialism. Having witnessed series of military coups supported by oligarchical heads of the native land with an intention to gain global position with the other top countries, Brazil and Argentina are now taking constant measures to stabilize the growth and establish political sovereignty. Brazil having elected Lula de Silva as president, hailing from the society of native inhabitants has assured the people a better future. So as the case with Argentina which recorded the growth of 8 to 9 per cent after the 2001 crisis stabilising the economy and fulfilling the aspirations of people in a more democratic way.
Since long ago, latin american countries considered to be the bastion of US supported right wing dictators, military juntas and always followed the pro-US economic, political policies has now been undergoing dramatic change by injecting a new meaning to the form and content of democracy and thus segregating itself as a major player apart from the global power US.