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GVK

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Churmuri makes a splash
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Churmuri, a talked-about blog in town, has made a splash in the media again, this time playing the RKN card. No cribbing; mere envy.  I wish we had milked some mileage as well, for MYMysore was the first dot com that floated the idea for an annualized festival in celebration of our native writer with a global reputation. Our point is such a festival could have a spin-off on Mysore tourism promotion. The idea generated a lively online interaction. I recall Maj. Gen. S G Vombatkere (retired.) suggesting that Kevumpu would be better candidate for us to make a start in building a tradition of celebrating our literary sons of soil. Good thought.


More recently, Churmuri  ran a campaign calling Mysoreans to do something - name a road after RKN, christen a passenger train ‘Malguid Express’, do a seminar, raise a memorial etc. All this is old hat, if I may say, in comparison to our two-in-one suggestion (celebrating RKN plus tourism plug) for an annual RKN or Kevempu fest on the lines of the Danville O’Neill festival.


We must, however, give credit to Mr Krishna Prasad of Churmuri for being pro-active, in taking his campaign beyond blog posts. He apparently persuaded our friend Mr T S Satyan (who had a personal connection with RKN) and historian Mr Ramchandra Guha to lead a delegation to the governor to press their case for an RKN memorial.


That the Churmuri initiative has caused ripples , as far away as New Delhi, is reflected in a glowing report in India e-News.com. It reads:


New Delhi: A spirited campaign by a blog site has forced Karnataka governor T N Chaturvedi to intercede on behalf of hundreds of bloggers to seek recognition for celebrated author R K Narayan on his birth centenary this year….Churmuri.wordpress.com, one of the fastest growing weblogs. ran a weeklong campaign to secure the master story-teller his place in Mysore, where he spent much of his writing life….For More click on Blog campaign for recognition to Malgudi man’


 


See other R K Narayan related items : Lazy Geek on R K Narayan


R K Narayan of Purasawalkam.


 


The man who invented Malgudi


 


 



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Krishna Prasad

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Your readers will be delighted to learn that 'Star of Mysore' first campaigned for recognition for R.K. Narayan long before any dotcom was even a twinkle in the eyes of its promoters, contributors or advisors.


With a Kuvempunagar in every City, with a Kuvempu University, with a Kuvempu chair, with a Kuvempu museum, with a Kuvempu trust, Kuvempu would definitely be a "better candidate for us to make a start in building a tradition of celebrating our literary sons of soil".


Amen. 



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GVK

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I would be equally delighted, Mr Prasad, if you or someone with long enough memory could wisen us on some specifics of the Star of Mysore campaign. This would add to the data base that can only help the drive you have spearheaded. One wouldn't want to rob anyone of the credit of having been the first. After all, it takes many people. and many years, to embellish an idea or concretise a proposal. I suspect, had dot com been invented before SoM, Curumuri could have been the first with this campaign.


Incidentally, there are three 'U's in Churumuri. I stand corrected. It goes to show how careless could one get when it comes to spelling proper names.


As for Mr Prasad's point of Kevempu having been a much celebrated son of the soil it I would like to place Gen.Vombatkere's thoughts in perspective, by citing his post (in response to our item, 'O'Neill of Danville' : This is an excellent idea that will highlight a famous son of Mysore, but more importantly, will serve to focus attention on Mysore. However, perhaps Kuvempu would be a better candidate for the first "attempt" because the people would by and large be more interested in his name than in R.K.Narayan.

      



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Gouri Satya

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It is indeed a very good idea to celebrate RKN fest on the Danville pattern. I agree with Maj.Gen. Vombatkere. We should have a Mysore Foundation. In fact, a decade ago some 4-5 of
us had started the Mysore Heritage Trust with a similar intention to protect and nourish the Mysore culture. But unfortunately with the death of D.Jayadevaraje Urs, who was the main pillar of that Trust, it has become defunct today, though I am one of its General Secretaries!


RKN stands out among the Mysore (or Indian) English writers for his writings. A similar writer is Dr. Hassan Rajarao of 'Kanthapura' fame. But most of the time he lived in France. In other fields also we have similar great men, for example Prof. M.H.Gopal, who was an internationally recognised economist, but little known in Mysore. A portrait gallery, collection of books written by these personalities, enactment of plays, reading of their works all these and more activities which can build a Mysore brand would be an excellent idea. In that direction, we can make a beginning with RKN fest and gradually develop into a big foundation.


May be I am over ambitious!

Gouri Satya



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Capt. Anup Murthy

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Not over ambitious Mr. Gauri Satya, you make a lot of sense. I sincerely hope that what you propose is taken up. Begining with RKN and including other Mysoreans of repute in all other fields would make it more interesting. Without meaning any disrespect, I think all other mentioned, including RKN, have been given a "second hand" treatment compared to Kuvempu. Time to make it all inclusive. RKN may have written in English but that does not make him any less important to the hostory of Mysore and we should move beyond language alone and recognize those Mysoreans who may have settled from elsewhere or used a different language to write in or were luminaries in their fields.

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Gouri Satya

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Thanks dear Capt Anup. Not just R.K.Narayan, Mysoreans are giving many others a second hand treatment. I can quote any number of them. See the roads, circles and junctions in Mysore being named after so many little known persons, who did very little for Mysore, while we are not remembering contributions made by several distinguished personalities. We had a humble Registrar in Mysore University a couple of decades ago. A great scholar, he guided some of the Ramakrishna Mission Swamijis on difficult Sanskrt texts of Vedantha! Writers have no barriers of language or boundary. Their contribution is more important. We should honour ourselves by recognising them and their contribution.  

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