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Travails of a Lazy Kannada Learner

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"Old Kannada inscription dated 981 CE in Vindyagiri hill at Shravanabelagola"  Based on my efforts to learn Kannada, I have come to realize that there is a disconnect between the resources available and resources required for learning the language. While there is a steady stream of apps to help Kannada learners, they all seem to be based on the same basic pattern which I believe is not useful. When learning Kannada, a speaker of another Indian language is presented with two difficulties. One is the language and other is the script. In the absence of reading, the sole source of language data being absorbed is spoken. With spoken data, the learner can neither control the speed of the incoming data nor can he reliably repeat it. This severely slows down the vocabulary acquisition process. Without knowing the script, he cannot read the newspaper which is a good cheap source of plenty of reading material. Reading the newspaper in a language also provides a good sense of

The Impostor and Impostors

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I am not a registered voter in Bangalore. There. I said it. I am sitting here diddling my thumb as others around me go and elect their government. In the 14 years since I qualified as a voter, I have voted once. As it happens, shortly before I turned 18, I left home and have lived in hostels, other cities, other countries ever since, never remaining in one place for more than 4 years. Being politically aware at the national and state level but mostly feeling as an outsider to the proceedings in immediate vicinity. I voted in the last LS elections because I happened to be in Lucknow on the election day. In 2009, When I looked up the candidates I had to choose between, I was stuck. For me, Lucknow meant Vajpayee, someone I had come to admire. Given that he was a top level leader, his views on variety of issues were well known. But by 2009, he was no longer around. As his nominee, we had Lal ji Tandon from BJP - someone I had never liked. Congress had Rita Bahuguna in fray. Hardl

एक नेता की व्यथा

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पोस्टर छपवाने पड़ते हैं, विज्ञापन देने होते हैं, रैलियां सैकड़ों लगती हैं, गठबंधन करने पड़ते हैं. जनतंत्र के सागर में मित्रों, कुछ लहरें सहसा उठती हैं, बाक़ी उठवानी पड़ती हैं. कुछ बात भूलनी पड़ती हैं, कुछ अजब करिश्मे होते हैं, अपराध मुक्त भारत के लिए, अपराधी चुनने पड़ते हैं. जनतंत्र के मेले में मित्रों, कुछ नाच नचाते बन्दर को, कुछ बन्दर-नाच नचाते हैं. कभी चाय बेचनी पड़ती है, इंटरव्यू देने पड़ते हैं, जब लोग कुर्सियां ना छोड़ें, तो धक्के देने पड़ते हैं. जनतंत्र की होली में मित्रों, कई रंग दिखाने पड़ते हैं, कई रंग बदलने पड़ते हैं.

New & Old

Almost 10 years ago I started this blog. At 273 posts, it amounts to 1 post every 2 weeks. I can't think of any other habit that survived that long with that consistency. Of course, just like all statistics, this hides more than it reveals. For the past 3 years, I have written 7, 7, and 5 posts respectively. I don't know why I am writing this post. Not here to promise another flurry of activity. This is not the last ditch effort to save a dying relationship. It is not meant to be a epithet for something that has been lost. This is me spending some time with an old friend where the friendship has become such a part of you that gaps in time can be bridged at will. Threads can be picked up wherever they were left. And new yarns can be weaved effortlessly. Welcome 2014. Hope we will have a good time.