A Poet Departs

The news read: Well known poet and intellectual, Vijay Nambisan, passed away yesterday after prolonged illness.

I am no poet with my feet, I think, firmly on the ground. But muse, however weak, occasionally strikes

This Body That Confines

Sad that the spirit eternally seeking freedom is finally free

We can no longer listen to its voice

The words of beauty about integrity and privacy

Sad that ultimate privacy is beyond the body

Does one need to get beyond the body

To find oneself as Gurus and Seers

Keep telling us? Or does the body

Sustain the inseparable spirit?

The Yogi tries to train his mind

To master the body and search

For that real ‘You’ and attain

Eternal bliss, or so they say

Why does a poet feel compelled to find

Ways to succumb to all the temptations

Abusing his body in his search

For that inner, illusory spirit?

Mangalore in Monsoon

When I wanted some background material about Bhootaradhane and Tulu culture for the book I am writing, it was my friend Byndoor who gave me contacts of a few persons who could help me. And artist Chandranath gave me a few more. Both said it would be best to visit Dakshina Kannada and have personal discussions rather than have telephonic or e-mail interactions. So, I decided to visit Mangalore & Udupi overlooking the fact that it was monsoon and in coastal areas it rains and rains and rains during monsoon.

When the train reached Mangalore Central, it was pouring. Somehow made a wet trip to the pre-paid auto stand and left for Hotel Highland Residency. I had done the booking online through Cleartrip and the website showed an attractive hotel with very reasonable tariff. When the auto stopped, it was in front of a commercial building with numerous shops and I couldn’t spot Highland Residency. When I asked the driver, he looked at me contemptuously and said, ‘So, you want to see the board also? There it is’ showing a small board with the name of the hotel amidst a plethora of boards. Hotel Highland Residency turned out to be a glorified lodge on the third floor leaving me wondering how it looked so alluring on the website. Even though it was 9 in the morning the desk clerk appeared brushing his teeth and proceeded with registration. Since I had already made the payment online, I had little choice but to stay on. Fortunately, even though the facilities were basic, it was a clean place and I said to myself OK and decided to stay on.

Topography of Mangalore is very similar to that of Western Maharastra, Goa and Kerala with lots of ups and downs and plenty of greenery and streams. Mangalore is much bigger than Mysore and looks very prosperous with quite a few high-rise buildings and fancy shops and malls. My first engagement was with Dr.K.Chinnappa Gowda who is an authority on Bhootaradhane with quite a few acclaimed books on the subject and related issues to his name. He has done Post-Doctoral research on Oral Epics and was associated with the Oral Epics project with Prof.Lauri Honko of Finland. He served for a brief period as the Vice Chancellor of the Janapada University, Haveri.

I booked an Ola taxi to meet him at his residence near the University of Mangalore. It was very evident that I was in Tulu land when I heard the FM broadcast in the taxi in Tulu. When the driver spoke to Dr.Gowda to get directions, it was in Tulu. All around I could hear Tulu being spoken. Tulunadu is the area south of Kundapur including Kasargod in Kerala. Tuluvas, as they are called, have a hoary tradition dating quite a few centuries back. I met Dr.Gowda and his wife Dr.Shanti at their residence in Asaigoli in Konaje. Dr.Gowda gave me a lot of information on Tulunadu, Tulu culture and Bhootaradhane which is a traditional form of worship of spirits. Tuluvas do not believe in reincarnation and believe that spirits of departed souls live with them. A person who does the Bhootakola in elaborate costumes becomes a medium and suggests solutions to problems concerning individuals and the community. Each community has its own Daiva or Bhoota who is worshipped. Dr.Gowda was kind enough to give me three of his books for further information.

We visited the Yakshagana Museum which he helped establish at the University of Mangalore and saw the elaborate models of Yakshagana roles. It was a very satisfying visit where I could get a lot of information and enjoy the hospitality of Dr and Mrs.Gowda.

I was free in the afternoon and wanted to do some sight-seeing. Sight-seeing in Monsoon? Madness, you would say. The same taxi driver took me in pouring rain to Kadri Manjunatha temple and Tanneerbhavi beach. I was forced to buy an umbrella but believe me, incessant rain is no companion to have on a visit to a beach. A visit to a cosy Bar-restaurant was certainly the saving point of the evening.

My next stop was Udupi to meet Bannanje Babu Amin fairly early in the morning. Mr.Babu Amin is almost a living encyclopedia of Bhootaradhane and Tulu traditions. Being from the Idiga community, he has the insider’s view of everything. Just a matriculate in education, the 74 year old veteran has written over 20 books on the subject and is regularly invited to talk at various events. We spent over two hours talking about the culture of Tululand with, of course, most of the talking done by him. He also presented three of his books for further information.

A visit to the famous Krishna temple and return to Mangalore ended a very rewarding trip to Dakshina Kannada in monsoon thanks to Dr.Chinnappa Gowda and Mr.Babu Amin.