"Kannada Barutha?? "
Aaaah! I am sure most of you in Bangalore would have heard this, but
why this "kannada barutha?".Here it goes. Bangalore the IT capital of
India , the silicon city and now a Metro city opened its gates to almost
all kinds of people. Very evidently the recent poll census proved that
there are only 47% of original inhabitants in Bangalore/bengaluru. The
life style of the city has seen a gradual change with Pizza Corners
replacing MTR's, classy eat outs replacing "Vidyarthi Bhavans" and
flashy pubs replacing all our "Mahalakshmi wine shops".
"Change is inevitable" from the days of IISc,ISRO,BEML, HAL and BHEL to INFOSYS and
WIPRO; Bangalore has a new look now on the world map. Gone are the days
where a typical Sunday for any bengalooriga was a nice romantic walk on
the pavements of "LALBAGH...", "rave idli and coffee.." at the nearest
yet old looking MTR and a wonderful 'Annavra' film either at Santosh or
Central 'talkies'. Today's Bangalore is deluged in traffic, stress and
pressure, saturday nights without beer is desolate and a Sunday without
a visit to either a nearby spa or health clinic is schlocky!!
Gandhi Bazaar now has AC super markets, majestic is now replaced
by ultra modern and diversified Brigade road, Sri Cauvery Coffee joint
is now Coffee day.. and "Bhagyalakshmi coffee adda".. is now 'Barista'.
With globalisation and more retail market the city will definitely see
more forceful changes.
Have all these changed our language? Kannada - the local language of
Bangalore is supposed to be one of the most meaningful and advanced languages, it also
has an unique script as compared to its other counterparts;It has 8 “Jnaanpeeth” awards, The most by any regional language(Second only to 9 for Hindi where in 2009 two hindi literary masters shared the award, pushing the count to 9 from 7), but how many
percentage of people really use Kannada in Bangalore now? The figures
are staggering and shocking, only 37% of people speak kannada in the state's capital and
for the rest it is only "Kannada barutha?"
Any normal guy starts with this sentence "Kannada barutha?" while
talking to other person, people confirm before they speak the language.
You want to ask an address in Bangalore or reply to a question then
English is the most preferred language other than Hindi. It's a famous
fact that two kannidagas in an IT company always talk in a neutral
language!! Even the vendors and shopkeepers are channeled with this new
wave, the moment you step into any shop in Bangalore , you are always
asked "Kannada barutha?" or the entire conversation takes place in non
kannada languages. People have lost the confidence of speaking in the
local language and more over speaking Kannada on the streets of "M.G
road "or "kormangala" is substandard.
Shopping malls in the city have been completely banned from using
Kannada, not a forced one but definitely an adapted one. One has to
confirm that the other person knows the language before he starts using
any language. "Ondu glass beer" is a insult when it comes to any
decorous pub in Bangalore . "thinnakke yen yen ide...??" has been
replaced by "Can I have the menu card please...?"
Just to hit some facts, marathi is still the largest and common speaking
language in mumbai even though mumbai has the highest no of immigrant inhabitants in India.
Telugu is a practised ritual in yet another IT HUB Hyderabad . When it
comes to Tamil Nadu, beware you can't be alive either if you are not a fan of
rajnikanth or you don't know Tamil; but when it comes to kannada it is
always "kannada barutha?" and next is "namaskara."
I am neither a Kannada activist nor do I run any Kannada supporting
organisation, I am just a plebeian who just loves the language.
Globalization is the trend and modernisation is the mantra but at the
cost of the language? Sounds illogical.. Is speaking kannada down-market?
The answer has to be found within oneself. Next time when you hear
"kannada barutha?" you just remember that "Kannada runs in your blood."
This is not a tantrum at other languages but a shout out to all the people living in Bangalore and knowing kannada. Do wear it with PRIDE.
