Mostly non-tech Musings. Travel, Music, Life, Philosophy et al

Rantlog

The Veena maker of Gandhi Bazaar

Sometime through the late 2000s, I worked on a consulting engagement for a friend's company in Basavanagudi. Amongst the multitude of places I've hated making work visits to, this was a grand exception for an unlikely reason. Firstly - the generous choice of junk and non junk food (there I digress), and then - just across street on HB Samaja road - Veena works, a cottage workshop filled with beautiful musical instruments.

Chitradurga - The Fort, Madakari Nayaka and TaRaSu's Durgaastmana

[ VeryLongPostAlert. Skip to the following relevant parts for quick reading ]

Prelude

As a chronic Hampe visitor, I've passed by and stopped over at Chitradurga multiple times, but in all these years, I somehow never got around to exploring it at all, which really was a bit of a shame.

As a native of Karnataka, the legends of Chitradurga - it's impregnable stone fort, the heroics of Onake Obavva and it's valiant chieftain - Madakari Nayaka, have become part of not just Chitradurga's folklore, but also the living history of this country.

A few morbid memories.

About 3 years back now,

A very good (?) friend, partner (in various crimes and businesses) and co-trekker passed away in a horrific water accident in Belagavi, during a trek. I was supposed to have gone along on that particular ne, but had pulled out at the last minute on some premise of work.

DV Gundappa's memoirs on Bangalore Nagaratnamma

[Above: bengaḷūru nāgaratnamma's picture at tyāgarajā's house, tiruvayyāru]

Bengaḷūr Nāgaratnamma actually hailed from the maisūr province

It is important to distinguish her from Kolār ṇāgaratnamma, whose mother Nanjundāsāni was an exponent of Karnātak Music and Bharatanāṭya during her times. Kolāra Nāgaratnamma was herself a gifted singer. Her sibling was the piṭīlu puṬaswāmayya, who was a violinist of fame, but short-lived.

Back on Bengaḷur ṇagaratnamma, I already mentioned that she hailed from maisūr, or rather nanjanagūḍu to be specific. A lawyer Subbarao of nanjanagūḍ was her mother's patron. In the course of time, her mother would move to maisūr for the sake of Nāgaratnamma's education.

Birds of a flock

Three videos, for a severe case of #youprefer.

Specimen[0]: Dr Rajkumar, "Aradhisuve Madanari" from "Babruvahana"

Utterly puntastic song, from the movie Babruvahana (1977).

grahaṇa