Santa - Preetsorge Swanta (Audio)

Santa - Preetsorge swanta

Released by Akash Audio

Shivanna's next movie Santa has got lots of epectations from many. The trailors on TV seem interesting.

Director S Muralimohan has written lyrics for four of the six songs in this album which has music by Gurukiran.

The album kick starts with "Superman" sung by many singers like Chaitra, Gururaj Hoskote, Gurukiran (??), Chetan, M N Lakshmidevi, Baby Hirannayya and Baby Rakshita is a song explaining about the heroics of Shivanna and most of his movies are quoted in the song. Lyrics by S Muralimohan doesnt impress.

"Shiva Shiva" written by Kaviraj and S Muralimohan and sung by Suneeta is a song for the mass with refrences to cricket, machchu, laangu... Wonder where are the melodies.....

"Bhagavanta" written by S Muralimohan and sung by S P Balasubramanyam. It starts off with the famous lines of Bhagavanta Kai Kotta dudiyokanta (famous annavra song). It is a good song with lyrics telling about working hard.

"Naguvirali" written by V Manohar and sung by Nandita is a slow number with hindustani alaaps in between. Song is about wishing good for one's lover.

"Dhava Dhava" written by Hrudaya Shiva and sung by Karthik is a pacy number telling about the effects of love on a person. Good number! I loved Karthik's playback singing in this song! Good lyrics by Hrudaya Shiva.

"Naguvirali" male version is sung by Shrinivas sounded better than the female version! Best song in the album according to me.

Very average album!!

Pallakki - Audio Review

Pallakki - Audio Review

Released by Jhankar Audio. Music by Gurukiran. This movie is the next one for the new heart throb Premkumar.

The album has seven tracks.

Bidu Bidu is the opening track which is a melodious number written by Hrudaya shiva and sung really well by Rajesh Krishnan and Chaitra.

O Priya is a solo number sung by Chitra which tells about the woes of parting from one's lover. Lyrics by Kaviraj is good for this number.

Kannallu Neeneene sung by Gurukiran ( Kannada's Himesh or what???? ) has lyrics by V Manohar is a slow number with good beats. The song is just ok. I didnt like the lyrics much. Felt as if the lyrics were fit into the music.

Avva Kano Kannada sung by the legend SP Balasubramanyam has lyrics by Shivananjegowda tells about various places in Kannada Naadu and what they are famous for. Lyrics are just ok. Nothing great about this song except for SPB.

O Priya written by Kaviraj and sung by Aslam is the male version of the Chitra number. Aslam has got a good and promising voice.

Intha Shaapa penned by Kaviraj and sung by Chetan is a slow number about pleading for a lover to explain the reason for parting.

Goli Maaro written by Kaviraj and sung by Karthik is a nice song telling about fighting back against leg-pullers and never say die attitude.

Overall an OK album!

Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana @ H N Kalakshetra

Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana @ H N Kalakshetra

Politics is not a new phenomenon. It has been existent since the days of Mahabharata. Thats what is depicted in the play 'Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana" staged by Sanchari Theatre troupe. This is told from the point of view of Draupadi who is told to be the main reason for the Kurukshetra war to occur. She is shown to have been a victim of male dominated world and the politics surrounding it. Many instances are shown wherein Draupadi is shown as a woman on the receiving end of the male politics in the viel of following Dharma.

Draupadi is won by Arjuna after hitting the fish in the swayamvara is described as a commodity whom the paandavas have won. Arjuna tells his mother Kunti that they have brought something and Kunti asks them to share it among themselves not knowing the fact that what they have brought is not a commodity or a thing but a bride whom Arjuna has won. After their mother tells this, all the remaining paandavas develop an attraction towards Draupadi and claim that they too should have a share in her. Seeing all this Draupadi's fears rise and she questions why she is being treated this way and Kunti convinces her that it is better that she accepts them all as her husbands despite what the society thinks since she should follow it to safegaurd Dharma.

Next when Arjuna brings Subhadra as his wife, Draupadi questions Kunti why Subhadra was not asked to be shared among the paandavas just like her and also questions if it was because of the fact that Subhadra was from Kunti's family and hence there was favouritism towards her.

During the the game of dice between the paandavas and kauravas, she questions why a wife was used as a bet as if she was nothing but a commodity (again!!) for her husbands. She is very angered after she is disrobed infront of all the elders of the family and curses the kauravas. In an attempt to calm her down, Dhritarashtra offers her three wishes (as a bribe to save themselves??) using two of which she frees her husbands from slavery to protect her dharma as a wife.

During the war, she also visits Karna to tell him that she had liked him to be her husband before Arjuna won her. But he rejects her saying that he has to protect his dharma. She then feels sad for her mother-in-law and her misery after Karna's death. Thats when she also explains to Kunti that even Kunti was a victim of male chauvinism and oppression and hence she had to face this misery of secretly weeping for her lost son.

Finally Draupadi even points fingers at Krishna for not having saved her children after Ashwatthama kills them during their sleep and accuses Krishna of favoring just the paandavas and to save them from Ashwatthama he had sent them away.

Though the story is based in the time of Mahabharata, the theme of the play still holds good in present day society where male domination is still rampant. This play was characterized by the powerful display of emotions by Nirmala who played Draupadi. Her emotions and expressions were top class to make the audience feel for her pain, misery and agony. Even Sandhya who played Kunti was good, but I felt her emotions were too overboard at times. Other actors Raman(Dharmaraya), Vinay Krishnaswamy(Bheema), Nanjunda Murthy Rao of Muktha fame (Arjuna), Shesha Murthy (Nakula) and Malatesh (Sahadeva) played their roles to perfection. But it was fullly Nirmala's act which bowled the audience over. The sets by Arun Sagar were innovative and added to the right feel of the various situations. Light by Jagadish was apt. Music Gajanan T Nayak was just good with a touch of variety all through the play. Finally it was the director Mangala N who should be congratulated for her great effort of bringing about such a topical play and that too with such a great effect. She has truly extracted the best out of all her actors.

Hope to see many such bold attempts by Sanchari Theatre troupe.

My suggestion - dont miss this play when it is staged elsewhere!

Nenapaadalu Shakuntale @ Rangashankara

Nenapaadalu Shakuntale @ Rangashankara

Aneka's adaptation of Mahakavi Kalidasa's Abhijnana Shaakuntalam as 'Nenpaadalu Shakuntale' is the well known love story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

Abhijnana Shakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) tells the story of king Dushyanta who falls in love with a lovely girl Shakuntala who is at sage Kanva's ashrama. The couple get married in gandharva style and things seem to be going smoothly until Fate intervenes. When the king is called back to court by some pressing business, his new bride unintentionally offends the angry sage Doorvasa who puts a curse on her, erasing the young girl entirely from the king's memory. Softening after her friends describe to him her situation,the saint concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala returns to him the ring he gave her. This seems easy enough--that is, until Shakuntala loses the ring while on the boat travelling to meet Dushyanta. And to make matters worse, she soon discovers that she is pregnant with the king's child. Upon reaching Dushyanta's place, he fails to recognize her and humiliates her. She then goes to sage Maareecha's ashrama where she gives birth to Sarvadamana. True love is destined to win the day, and when a fisherman finds the ring, the king's memory returns and he starts to repent for his mistake of not recognizing Shakuntala. He accidentally happens to visit Maareecha's ashrama where he chances upon Sarvadamana who is playing with a lion cub. His mother Shakuntala comes in search of him and thats when Dushyanta recognises her and accepts her.

The story and hence the play is very simple and has all the elements to make it worth watching. The colorful sets and the various shades of lighting used were the highlights of the play. The major highlight was the climax wherein Shakuntala feels sorry that she being recognized by Dushyanta is related to a mere ornament and not love, thus questioning the status of women in present society where material love rules. Nenapaadalu Shakuntale is remarkable not only for its beautiful love poetry, but also for its abundant humor which marks the play from beginning till end. Good effort by Suresh Anagalli of Aneka in directing the play.

Pampa Bharata @ Rangashankara

Pampa Bharata @ Rangashankara

Samudaya's next offering after 'Jugaari Cross' is based on the famous Kannada poet Pampa's adaptation of Mahabharata famously known as 'Pampa Bharata'. Pampa Bharata is also known as Vikramarjuna Vijaya. Adikavi Pampa in his version of Mahabharata chose to personify his king Arikesari (a Rashtrakuta feudatory and a great friend of Pampa) and centred his work around Arjuna. Arjuna is glorified to a large extent in his work and he is given lots of importance. After the war of Kurukshetra,it is Arjuna who is crowned king and his wife Subhadra who becomes the royal queen (unlike Dharmaraya as depicted in Vyasa's Mahabharata).

The play has been adapted and presented in a different format with Karna the other character walking into the limelight. Why Karna is what comes to everyone's mind. The reasons are explained in the play. It is shown that Pampa actually wanted to show king Arikesari as Karna and not as Arjuna in his work. But since Arikesari's attitude and hunger for power was too much to handle for Pampa, he ends up depicting his friend the king as Karna who is a symbol of sacrifice in the Mahabharata.

In a well executed plot, Karna is shown to be questioning Pampa why he was sidelined in the latter's work though Karna's and Pampa's lives are in parallel. The parallelism is drawn with Karna being treated as an outsider due to he being a Sutaputra. Pampa, a born Brahmin who later is converted to Jainism also faces such an outsider status in the society. Due to this Pampa sympathises with Karna since he too had to face situations similar to the ones Karna had faced.

In his reply to Karna, Pampa explains the reasons for not glorifying him but taking to Arjuna due to his closeness towards Arikesari, the king. He explains him the reason why Karna did not get the chance to win Draupadi even though he lifted the Dhanassu and aimed at the fish correctly. The consipiracy behind this was the political plays of Krishna, who wanted Arjuna to win Draupadi. It is also shown that Draupadi falls for Karna when he aims correctly at the fish. Karna has to undergo lots of humiliation because of his non-Kshatriya status-the main one being the chance to head the army against the Pandavas. Also his oath to his mother Kunti that he would not kill any of his brothers except Arjuna puts him in a fix. Just before the war starts it is shown that even Draupadi comes to Karna and she is shown to be angry at him for not marrying her and also wishes to have him as husband even if Arjuna dies in the war.

Quoting his reasons Pampa says he had to glorify king Arikesari and hence Arjuna in his Vikramarjuna Vijaya and apologises to Karna for neglecting him and not doing justice to his character even though he had sympathy towards Karna. The play ends with king Arikesari also confessing that he had Pampa killed due to the brahmin dominated society where he had to rule against his wishes just for the sake of making it big and to hold on to power.

Great performances and innovative sets were the highlights of the play. The format of the play which starts of in the modern times wherein two research scholars go in search of a shila shaasana said to have been written by Arikesari for Pampa, thus triggering the events towards the great climax is wonderful.

Good direction by Pramod Shiggaon added to the grandeur of the play. My wishes again to Samudaya for giving us this play and bringing out the other side of the epic Mahabharata.

Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide - Audio Review

Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide - A New Philosophy

Album covers are very attractive. Have come with different combinations – Sevanti Sevanti, Jote Joteyali, Prem’s Favourite, RP Patnaik’s Hits etc., Music is by R P Patnayak and Prem has penned five songs…. The cover thanks GuruKiran…. God knows why!

First song, the title song “Ee Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide….” Penned and sung by Prem himself is melodious and has got a hummable tune but lacks variety in the lyrics.

“Magalu Doddolaadlu” again written by Prem and sung by C Ashwath, Kalpana and Prem himself sounds like an item number explaining about the Kannada nadu and its people.

Next comes the most melodious song in the album “Neenene” written by Kaviraj and sung by Roopkumar Rathod and Chitra. Beautiful usage of words neenu and naanu which have been woven beautifully to give a romantic feel.

“Baarayya Baarayya” is written by Sudarshan and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Supriya Acharya. It has got the jaanapada feel and reminds of “Ello Jogappa Nin Aramane” from Jogi.

“Chandamaama Kaige Sigade” is written by Prem and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It has got good chorus by children and the lyrics remind us of all the halli games we played.

“Ee Jana Ee Mana” written by Prem and sung by Nihaal and R P Patnayak. It has got the tunes of Vande Mataram and is a patriotic number.

“Chandamama Baa” is written by Kaviraj and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It has good and funny lyrics about feelings of a girl towards chandamama. Music reminds of some Telugu number, but it is nice.

“Kallanivanu” is written by V Nagendra Prasad and sung by Nityashree and Rajesh Krishnan. It is a romantic duet with good chorus. Music oscillates between western and Indian classical at times. Its got nice peppy beats. I loved the usage of Saxophone in this song. I personally feel it is one song wherein Rajesh Krishnan is under-utilized.

“O Huduga” is written by Kaviraj and sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Chitra. Nice lyrics and good singing by Chitra. A girl is complaining about her guy’s carelessness towards love and he trying to justify. Kunal hasn’t got much to sing here.

“Sulle Sullu” is written by Prem and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Kailash Kher. A song about lies and its mahime in this world. Kailash Kher has sung well with good company by Shankar Mahadevan.

Overall it is an album worth listening to… some songs are going to be good hits just because of their variety, melody and good lyrics.

My Suggestion – GRAB IT!!!

ಆವರಣೋಕ್ತಿಗಳು

ಕೃಪೆ : ಎಸ್. ಎಲ್. ಭೈರಪ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಭಂಡಾರ

• ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮರೆಮಾಚುವ ಮಾಯೆಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆವರಣವೆಂದೂ ಅಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಕ್ಷೇಪವೆಂದೂ ಹೆಸರು.

• ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಫಾಲಿಂಗ್ ಇನ್ ಲವ್ ಎಂಬ ಉಕ್ತಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಾದದ್ದು. ಫಾಲ್, ಬೀಳುವುದು. ಪ್ರೇಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೀಳುವಾಗ, ಬಿದ್ದಾಗ ಹಿಂದು ಮುಂದು, ಪೂರ್ವಾಪರದ ಆಲೋಚನೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಹ್ಯಾಗೋ ಆಗತ್ತೆ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾಪೂರ್ವಕ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟತೆಯೇ ಮುನ್ನಡೆಸುತ್ತೆ. ಈ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮುನ್ನಡೆ ಇಲ್ಲ.

• ಈ ಆಲದ ಮರ ಒಂದು ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆಯಾಗಿದೆ ಅಲ್ವಾ? ಮೂಲ ಮರ ಹರಡಿ ಸುತ್ತ ಬಿಳಲುಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಆ ಹಲವಾರು ಬಿಳಲುಗಳೇ ನೆಲದೊಳಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಿದು ಬೇರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಅವುಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಒಂದೊಂದೂ ಬೆಳೆದು ಹರಡಿ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಬಿಳಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಇದೊಂದು ನೂರಾರು ಬೇರುಗಳ ವಿಶಾಲವೃಕ್ಷದಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಲ್ಲವಾ? ಈ ವೃಕ್ಷದ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಯಾವುದು ಹೇಳು ನೋಡೋಣ? ವಾಸ್ತವ ಅಂದರೆ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಸತ್ತು ಹೋಗಿದೆ. ಯಾವ ಬೇರಾದರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಬದುಕಿರುಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ನೆಲಕ್ಕಿಳಿದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬಿಳಲೂ ತಾನೇ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಅಂತ ಉದ್ಛೋಷಿಸಿಕೊತ್ತಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಧರ್ಮವೂ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಅಲ್ಲವಾ?

• ಹಿಂದೂಗಳು ತುಂಬ ಸಂಕುಚಿತರು, ಅನ್ಯಧರ್ಮೀಯರನ್ನು ಕೀಳೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸುವ ವಿಗ್ರಹಾರಕ ಜನಾಂಗದವರು ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯರು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು ಈಗ ನೆನಪಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ

• ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡಿದವನೆಂಬ ಕಾರಣವನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಟಿಪ್ಪುವನ್ನು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರನಾಯಕನೆನ್ನಬಹುದಾದರೆ ಅದೇ ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡಿದ ಮರಾಠರನ್ನೇಕೆ ಈ ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರರು-ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ವ್ಯೆಭವೀಕರಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ?

• ಇರುವ ಊರುಗಳ ಹೆಸರು ಬದಲಿಸುವುದು ಒಬ್ಬ ಜೀವಂತ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಧರ್ಮಾಂತರಿಸುವಷ್ಟೇ ಹೀನ ಕೃತ್ಯ

• ೧೭೯೧ರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರನೆಯ ಮ್ಯೆಸೂರು ಯುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಸೋತು ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರಿಗೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮೊತ್ತದ ಸಂಪತ್ತನ್ನೂ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನೂ ಒಪ್ಪಿಸಿ ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನೂ ಯುದ್ಧಬಂಧಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಮೇಲೆ ಶೃಂಗೇರಿ ಮಠಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಣಿಕೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಹಿಂದೂಗಳ ಅಸಮಾಧಾನವನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿದುದನ್ನು ಇವತ್ತಿನ ಎಳಸು ಹಿಂದೂಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಜಾತ್ಯಾತೀತವಾದಿಗಳು ದೊಡ್ಡದು ಮಾಡಿ ಟಿಪ್ಪುವನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ಧರ್ಮಸಹಿಷ್ಣುವೆಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ

• ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರು ತಮಿಳನ್ನು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಆದರೆ ಮ್ಯೆಸೂರಿನ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಉರ್ದು ಮಾತನಾಡುವುದು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಿ ಬರೆಯದೆ ಇರುವುದು ಟಿಪ್ಪು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ ಫ಼ಾರ್ಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಉರ್ದು ವಿದ್ಯಾಭ್ಯಾಸ ಪದ್ಢತಿಯಿಂದ

• ಪ್ರಾಯಶ್ಚಿತ್ತದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ತಪ್ಪನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನುವ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವೂ ಸೇರಿರುತ್ತಲ್ಲವೆ?

• ವಿಜಯನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಶೈವ ಮತ್ತು ವೈಷ್ಣವರು ಅನಾಗರಿಕ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಡೆದಾಡಿ ರಕ್ತದ ಕಾಲುವೆ ಹರಿಸಿದುದನ್ನು ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಗಳು ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ತಂದಿವೆ. ಈಗ ನಾವು ನೋಡಿ ದುಃಖಿಸುವ ಭಗ್ನಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ವಿಗ್ರಹ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂದಿರಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದವು. ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿನರಸಿಂಹಮೂರ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜಯವಿಠ್ಠಲ ಮಂದಿರಗಳು ಇವಕ್ಕೆ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುವ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಆದರೆ ಶೈವರ ವಿರೂಪಾಕ್ಷ ದೇವಾಲಯವು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ಮುಕ್ಕಾಗದೆ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ರಾರಾಜಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೆ? ನರಸಿಂಹ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜಯವಿಠ್ಠಲಗಳನ್ನು ನಾಶಮಾಡಿದವರು ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಶೈವರು. ತಿರುಪತಿಯ ಅಂದರೆ ವೈಷ್ಣವರ ಅಂದರೆ ಆಂಧ್ರರ ದಬ್ಬಾಳಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸಲಾಗದೆ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಶೈವರೇ ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನ ದೊರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ವಿಜಯನಗರದ ಆಯಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಿದರು. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಸಂಪತ್ತಿನ ಆಶೆಯಿಂದ ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನ ದೊರೆಗಳು ದಂಡೆತ್ತಿ ಬಂದರು. ಇದೇ ಸಮಯವನ್ನು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಶೈವರು ವೈಷ್ಣವ ವಿಗ್ರಹ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂದಿರಗಳನ್ನು ನಾಶ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಇಂದಿನ ಕಲವು ಮತಾಂಧರು ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರರ ಸೋಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೃತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನರ ತಲೆಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ದೇಶದ್ರೋಹವೆಸಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

• ಈ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಬದುಕುವ ಹಕ್ಕಿದೆ. ಅವನ್ನು ಕೊಂದು ತಿನ್ನುವ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಮನುಷ್ಯನಿಗಿಲ್ಲ. ದೇವರು ಇತರ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿರೋದು ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಭೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಈ ದೇಶದ ಧರ್ಮಗಳ ತತ್ತ್ವಧರ್ಮಕೆಲಸ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಒಂದಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನ ತಡೆಯೊಡ್ಡಿದರೂ ಅವರನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೊಲ್ಲುವುದೇ ಧರ್ಮ
  
  ಧರ್ಮಕೆಲಸ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಒಂದಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನ ತಡೆಯೊಡ್ಡಿದರೂ ಅವರನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೊಲ್ಲುವುದೇ ಧರ್ಮ
  
  ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸಾಯುವ ತನಕ ದೈವ ವಿರೋಧಿಯಾಗಿರಬಹುದು. ಸತ್ತ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವನಿಗೂ ಸದ್ಗತಿ ಕೊಡುವುದು ದೇವರ ಗುಣ. ದೇವರು ಯಾರನ್ನೂ ದ್ವೇಷಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?
  
  ದೇವರಿಗಾದರೂ ಛಲ ಬೇಡವೇ? ದೇವರಿಗೇ ಛಲವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಆ ಧರ್ಮದ ಅನುಯಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬರಬೇಕು? ಅದಕ್ಕೇ ಈ ಜನಗಳು ಹೇಡಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆಯೇ?
  
  ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿಯಲಾರದಷ್ಟು ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ತಿಳಿದಂತಾಗುತ್ತದೆಯೆ?
  
  ಹಿಂದೂಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರೆಂಟು ದೇವರುಗಳು. ಇನ್ನು ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಗ್ಗಟ್ಟು ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬರಬೇಕು?
  
  ನಾವು ನೀತಿಯ, ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮದ ಯಾವ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿರುತ್ತೇವೆಯೋ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಗುಣವಾದ ದೇವರನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ
  
  
• ಯಾವುದೋ ಅನಾಗರೀಕ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಅನಾಗರೀಕ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಕೃತ್ಯ, ಬೋಧಿಸಿದ ನಂಬಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇವತ್ತೂ ನಂಬಿ ಅನುಸರಿಸುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಇರುವ ತನಕ ಭಾವೈಕ್ಯ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ?
  
  ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪುನರ್ವಿನ್ಯಾಸಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತಗಳಂತೂ ಇವರ ಬೆನ್ನೆಲುಬಾಗಿವೆ. ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಕಥೆ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ನಾಟಕಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ
  
  ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನರಸುವವರು ಯಾರ ಬಗೆಗೂ ಅಗೌರವ ತೋರಿಸಬಾರದು
  
  ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಕಾಂಕ್ಷೆ ಇದ್ದವರಿಗೆ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಗಳ ನೆರವು ಬೇಕು

I just completed reading this wonderful novel by S L Bhyrappa. Whatever has been put above are just excerpts from the novel and they are quoted at random as is told in the novel. Just by these I think anyone can feel what the novel would be about. It deals about our present view on our history, how it is being manipulated and mis-interpreted in our present day text books. Also many other issues like quasi-secularism, religion and vote bank based politics, Hindu-Muslim relationship, traditions of Hindus and Muslims, inter religion marriages, gender inequality, and so on and so forth. So its a well blended novel which treats all these with great deal of detail and sensitivity. Because of its hard hitting comments and statements about the weaker sections of Indian society, this novel has been of much discussion amongst the intellectuals. Welcome note is that it is already in its third edition just within a month of its first edition. Many blogs and newspapers have already carried views on this "would-be" controversial novel. Somewhere a parallel is drawn with Dan Brown's 'The Da-Vinci Code' because of its religious disclosures and overtones. I highly recommend this novel for all Kannada novel lovers and also for people who feel that they did not study the real history.

Will soon write more on this... Comments are welcome!