ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

And here is the concluding edition of that weekend trip: the final leg of Shivamogga and Bhadravathi , continuing on from the last edition of Keladi and Ikkeri:  http://kshanaprabhaa.blogspot.in/2013/12/long-weekend-getaway-part-8-keladi-and.html We left the historical town of Keladi and reached Shivamogga by noon, and had our lunch and set out to visit St. Thomas Church, which was supposedly the second largest Church in India.  But we realized after speaking to the local folks that there was indeed a St. Thomas Church in Shivamogga, and the second largest Church in India was also present in the city, but they were two different churches. The huge Cathedral was in fact the Sacred Heart Church , right at the heart of the city, constructed in early 1990s. The architecture is extremely beautiful for such a new building, and would attract any visitor from a distance. The symmetry and the solitude one gets inside is inexplicable. After this, we made our way to the...

So, here's an attempt to finish off the pending episodes of our Jog-Agumbe trip three months back before the year ends. So, continuing on from part 7 here:  http://kshanaprabhaa.blogspot.in/2013/10/long-weekend-getaway-part-7-jog-falls.html We returned from the Jog Falls that evening and stayed at Sagara , and the next day, before our trip back to Shivamogga, went on a trip to the nearby historical places of Keladi and Ikkeri , both located within 10 km radius of Sagara. First stop was Ikkeri, the one time capital of the Keladi Nayakas . This small town is now identified by the beautiful Aghoreshwara Temple , built in a combination of Vijayanagara, Hoysala and Chalukya styles, almost entirely using granite stones. Light drizzle and a big beautifully carved Nandi statue invited us, and we went around the temple exploring its geometrical perfection. Here are a few pictures from Ikkeri: Up next was Keladi, famous as the first capital of the Nayakas who ...

Here is an attempt to translate Robert Frost's 1915 poem " The Pasture " to Kannada: The Pasture I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; I'll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clear, I may): I shan't be gone long. -- You come too.  I'm going out to fetch the little calf That's standing by the mother. It's so young, It totters when she licks it with her tongue. I shan't be gone long. -- You come too.  - Robert Frost ಬಾ ನೀನೂ ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ ಗೋಮಾಳ ಹಸನಾಗಿಸಲೆಂದು ಹೊರಟಿಹೆನು; ಚೆಲ್ಲಿರುವ ತರಗುಗಳ ಗುಡಿಸೆತ್ತಿ ಮರಳುವೆನು ತಿಳಿ ನೀರ ಚಿಲುಮೆ ಕಂಡರೆಕ್ಷಣವೆ ನಿಂತೇನು ಹೊತ್ತು ಮಾಡದೆ ಬರುವೆ. - ಬಾ ನೀನೂ ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ. ಪುಟ್ಟ ಕರುವನು ಮನೆಗೆ ಕರೆತರಲು ಹೊರಟಿಹೆನು; ಹಸುಳೆಯದು, ತಾಯಿಗೊರಗಿಯೇ ನಿಂತಿಹುದು ಮಮತೆ ವಾತ್ಸಲ್ಯದಿಂ ನೆಕ್ಕಲದು ನಲುಗುವುದು ಹೊತ್ತು ಮಾಡದೆ ಬರುವೆ. - ಬಾ ನೀನೂ ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ. - ವೆಂಕಟೇಶಪ್ರಸನ್ನ

An attempt, again, of about a couple of years ago, to bring out the seriousness of Global Warming through a Teacher's lecture to his little students. A "Shishu Kavya": ನಮ್ಮಯ ಮಾಸ್ತರು ಬಂದರು ಮತ್ತೆ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ತರಗತಿ ಸಮಯದಲಿ ಕೈಯಲಿ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಹೆಗಲಲಿ ನಕ್ಷೆ ಕಾಳಜಿಯಿತ್ತು ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮಗಳೆಲ್ಲರ ಕುರಿತು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳ ಸುರಿಮಳೆಯನ್ನೇ ಸುರಿಸಿಹರು ಇವುಗಳಿಗುತ್ತರ ಗೊತ್ತೇ ನಿಮಗೆ ಎಂದು ಸವಾಲನು ಹಾಕಿಹರು ಉತ್ತರ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಧ್ರುವಗಳ ಮಂಜು ಏಕೋ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಕರಗಿಹುದು? ಸಾಗರದಾಳದ ನೀರಿನ ಮಟ್ಟ ಏಕೋ ಈಚೆಗೆ ಏರಿಹುದು? ಕರಾವಳಿಯಲಿ ಕಡಲ್ಗೊರೆತಕೆ ಮನೆಗಳು ಏಕೆ ಮುಳುಗಿಹವು? ಕಲಬುರ್ಗಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆರೆಗಳು ಏಕೆ ವಸಂತದಲ್ಲೇ ಒಣಗಿಹವು? ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅರ್ಥವಾದರೂ ಉತ್ತರ ಮಾತ್ರ ಹೊಳೆದಿಲ್ಲ ದಿನವೂ ವಿಚಾರ ಕೇಳುತಲಿದ್ದರೂ ಕಾರಣ ಮಾತ್ರ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲ ಉತ್ತರ ನಾನೇ ಹೇಳುವೆನೆಂದು ಮಾಸ್ತರು ನಕ್ಷೆಯ ಬಿಡಿಸಿಹರು ಗಮನವನಿತ್ತ ಹರಿಸಿರಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳೇ, ವಿಷಯ ಗಂಭೀರವೆಂದಿಹರು ಕೇಳಿರಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಾ, ವಾತಾವರಣದ ಚಕ್ರವು ಮತ್ತೆ ಉರುಳಿಹುದು ಶೀತೋಷ್ಣ ಯುಗಗಳ ವಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸವೀಚೆಗೆ ಕಂಡಿಹುದು ಭುವಿಯೊಳಗಿರುತಿಹ ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲವ ಮಾನವನೆಂದೂ ಬಳಸಿಹನು ಈಚೆಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿದ ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಮತ್ತೂ ಹೆ...

My attempt at writing a Kannada Poem / Song from a couple of years ago: ಪುಣ್ಯವಂತರು ನಾವು ಕನ್ನಡಾಂಬೆಯ ಜನರು ಗಣ್ಯರುದಿಸಿದ ನಾಡೊಳಿನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಜನಿಸಿಹೆವು ರನ್ನ ಪಂಪರ ಕಾವ್ಯ ಅಣ್ಣ ಬಸವರ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ಹೊನ್ನ ಹೃದಯವ ಹೊತ್ತ ಅನ್ನದಾತರ ತವರು ಹರಿದಾಸ ರಚನೆಗಳ ಭರವಸೆಯ ವಚನಗಳ ಭರತೇಶ ವೈಭವದ ವರಕವಿಯ ಸಾಲುಗಳ ಬರೆದೋದಿ ನಲಿದಾಡಿ ನಿರುತ ನೆನೆದನುಭವಿಸಿ ಸರಸತಿಯನರ್ಚಿಸುವ ಕರುನಾಡಲಿಹೆವು ಕೊಡಗಲುದಿಸಿರ್ಪ ನದಿ ಪಡುವಣದ ಘಟ್ಟಗಳು ಕಡೆದ ಗೊಮ್ಮಟ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಸಿಡಿದೆದ್ದ ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ ತಡೆವಣೆಯ ಕಟ್ಟೆಗಳ ಬಿಡದೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದ ಶಿಲ್ಪಿ ಹಡೆದಿವರ ತಾಯ್ಗೆ ನಮಿಸುವೊಡಹುಟ್ಟಿದವರು ಅಂದಿನಿಂದಿದ್ದವರು ಇಂದು ಬಂದಿಹ ಜನರ ಬಂಧುಗಳೆಂಬಂತೆಣಿಸಿ ಚಂದನದ ಮಣೆ ಹಾಸಿ ಬೆಂದ ಕಾಳಲಿ ಪಾಲು ಕುಂದಾಗದಂತಿತ್ತು ಅಂಧಕಾರವ ಕಳೆವ ಗಂಧಗುಡಿಯೊಳಗಿಹೆವು ಮಸ್ತಿಷ್ಕದಲಿ ಮುಂದು ಶಿಸ್ತು ಸಂಯಮವುಂಟು ತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ನೆಲೆ ನೀಳ್ಪ ವಿಸ್ತಾರದೆದೆಯುಂಟು ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮ ಹಿಂದು ಕಷ್ಟ ಸುಖಗಳಲೆಂದೂ ಹಸ್ತ ಜೋಡಿಸಿ ನಡೆವ ಕಸ್ತೂರಿನುಡಿಯವರು ಆಳೆನ್ನದರಸೆನದೆ ಬಾಳ ಬೆಳಗುವ ಹಲರು ತಳಿರು ತೋರಣದಂತೆ ನಳನಳಿಸುತಿರಲು ಅಳಿವಿಲ್ಲ ಕನ್ನಡಕೆ ಬೆಳೆಯುವುದು ಕರುನಾಡು ಇಳೆಯಣುಗಿಯೊಡಲಿಗರು ಬೆಳಕಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಿರಲು ಪುಣ್ಯವಂತರು ನಾವು ...

It seems Sindhu Bhairavi is in the soul of India. Indian classical music would be incomplete without this absorbing Raga which has the ability to take you to the innermost tranquility. With the name Bhairavi in Hindustani classical music and Sindhu Bhairavi as its Carnatic counterpart, there seems to be absolutely no language barrier, with all of the Indian languages having embraced the raga as their own. Some of the most devotional compositions in each of the Indian languages have been set to this Raga, and one can never get tired of listening to its soothing and soulful renditions for hours together. Here is an attempt to bring together some of the most well known renditions of the Raga, from across multiple languages (one per language for the time being): 1. The most famous composition ever in the Raga has to be the Sanskrit composition "Venkatachala Nilayam" by Saint Purandara Dasa, known as the Pitamaha of Carnatic Music, sung here by the legendary Smt. M. L. Vas...

Here is an amateurish attempt to write  shleshartha  shlokas   (carrying multiple meanings) in praise of the Cricketing God, newly crowned Bharat Ratna and freshly retired Sachin Tendulkar. There would be incorrectness here and there in these verses as this is one of my early attempts to write in Sanskrit, but want to share it on my blog nonetheless, as a tribute to arguably the best cricketer the country has seen. So here are the verses: वन्देऽहम् जगदाधारम् वल्लभारोहितम् सुरम् । सौरवादिप्रवक्तारम् राहुलाञ्छनविक्रमम् ॥ शतानिलम् पिङ्गलाद्यम् लक्ष्मणार्ककुलाश्रयम् । सञ्चिताघापनेतारम् सचिन्तम् प्रणमाम्यहम् ॥ Meaning: Version 1: These verses carry two meanings, one version obviously praises Sachin, so, here's what I have tried bringing in. Every line below corresponds to the English translation of the corresponding line in the Shlokas: I bow to him, the "God" ( जगदाधार: ) The idol who likes a heavy ( भारः ) bat ( वल्ल ), The one who t...

Continuing on from the 6th part:  http://kshanaprabhaa.blogspot.in/2013/09/long-weekend-getaway-part-6-sringeri.html The main destination of the four day trip was the Jog Falls, which got us thinking about this long weekend getaway in the first place, and with a genius of a plan, we had delayed our Jog trip by a day to avoid the long weekend crowd. Leaving Sringeri after breakfast, we came back to Shivamogga and from there took a bus to Sagara, closest city to Jog Falls. We got a bus right away at Sagara too, to go to Jog Falls, and after a journey of about six and a half hours in broad daylight through roads piercing dense forests and fresh rains, we reached Jog by around 4:30 in the evening. The journey through Koppa, Narasimharajapura, Sagara and Talaguppa was extremely picturesque, green, and filled with fresh pollution free air. But from the moment we stepped down from the bus at Jog, and till we came back to Sagara for the night stay, it was raining cats and dogs, b...

Continuing on from the 5th part:  http://kshanaprabhaa.blogspot.in/2013/09/long-weekend-getaway-part-5-kundadri.html After the Kundadri exploration, it was time to plan the night stay for day 1, and since we had decided not to go back to Agumbe as that would have costed us a lot of time the next day in our travel towards Jog Falls, we had decided to go to Sringeri and stay there. Ashok, the auto driver dropped us at Bidaregudi , a town 15 kilometers away from Sringeri, and guided us about the bus timings to reach Sringeri . By the time we had a hot cup of coffee at Bidaregudi, the bus was there, and we ended up at Sringeri at 7:30 in the evening. We visited the Sharadamba Temple right away, and had the Prasadam at the temple as our dinner and proceeded to take rest at the lodge we had booked on arrival. The next day early in the morning, Karthik and myself payed another visit to this serene place of Bhakti, witnessed the Puja offered to Sharadamba and Vidyashankara and var...

Continuing on from the 4th part:  http://kshanaprabhaa.blogspot.in/2013/09/long-weekend-getaway-part-4-agumbe.html We had the option of going to the other famous waterfalls near Agumbe, the Onake Abbi Falls, but the Dodda Mane folks were quick to let us know that the number of leeches we would encounter there would be ten times of what we saw at Barkana Falls. We thought we had seen enough waterfalls for the day, and decided to have lunch at Dodda Mane, take rest for about an hour and head towards Sringeri where we had planned to stay overnight. The Dodda Mane lunch served by Kasturi Akka was heavenly, and having trekked along in incessant rain and braved the leech attacks, we definitely needed that. But just as we were planning a slow evening after coming back from Barkana, the auto driver Ashok had planted the seed of taking us to the Kundadri Hillock , where we could witness the evening mist, enjoy the ride to the top, visit the 17th century Parshwanatha Tirthankara's t...

Google came out with this doodle on the 97th Birth Anniversary of Carnatic Music Legend M. S. Subbulakshmi: http://www.google.com/doodles/m-s-subbulakshmis-97th-birthday Surely, they could have done better. First thing that turned me off was the Sari in the MSS depiction in letter 'g'. The caricature is nice, but that gray dull Sari is not what you associate MSS with. She was graceful and humble and was personification of great Bhakti in her simple, yet colourful Silk Saris. And the Tabla, as my friend pointed out, was probably a very rare accompaniment in MSS concerts. Tabla is more of a Hindustani percussion accompaniment, but we can consider it as indicative of the Meera Bhajan recitals of MSS. But Tabla is a pair of drums, not one. The two of them would have perfectly fitted the "oo" part of the word Google. Ghatam could have become the final 'e'. By the way, what are those meaningless concentric circles representing 'G' and ...