BANGALORE: It was a common lingo that unified people 53 years ago. On November 1, 1956, the state of Mysore was joined with the Kannada speaking areas of the Bombay and Madras presidencies and thus was a new solidarity that people discovered through communication.
The language became a bridge for people of this state. On the day our state celebrates Rajyotsava, we spoke to some known faces who have adopted this language as their own and some who are the masters of it, and got some tips on how to get better at it.
Actress Aindrita Ray had never felt the need to converse in Kannada as all her friends and acquaintances spoke to her in English. “Even after having lived here all my life, I did not know anything of the language,” she says candidly. But then Sandalwood happened.
“I started speaking to every single person — assistants, make-up artistes, anyone — in Kannada. It took me about a year and a half, but I learnt it.” She had her share of goof-ups.
“There were times when everyone would laugh at me and I didn’t know why!” Her persistence paid off, and so will others’, she says, “Just speak in it and see how soon you learn.” For Mumbai birdie Jennifer Kotwal, who has acted in about 10 Kannada films, not knowing Kannada fluently has never been a problem. “The city is so welcoming and accepting that I never felt language was a barrier,” she says. No formal training, but the actress understands the language, “Thanks to my co-stars, who always give me Kannada lessons and my friends from the industry like Sharmila (Mandre) and Ramya.” But she wants to master it, “Not just because it will help me dub but because Kannada is a sweet language.” Pooja Gandhi declares on her website, “I am a fast learner and have learnt Kannada very quickly. I owe it to the Kannada audience.” Actor Chetan Kumar, who has been born and brought up in the US, came to India as a Fulbright scholar and now speaks Kannada fluently, with a sweet lilt.
So is the language easy to master? Says Dr Gangadhar B, Reader, Centre for Kannada Studies, JBC, “Living with a Kannada family for a month can work very well.” Dr Hemalatha Vadde, Lecturer, Centre for Kannada Studies, JBC, warns people off the ‘Learn Kannada in 30 Days’ books, saying, “You can’t do it in 30 days, and not with those. You can take some courses.” (With inputs from Poonam Biswakarma)