You need to speak Kannada, if you want to be a successful journalist in Bangalore, Aravind Adiga had once observed
You need to speak Kannada, if you want to be a successful journalist in Bangalore, Aravind Adiga had once observed. The statement would have been dubbed as xenophobic if people like TA Narayana Gowda and Vatal Nagaraj, who are seen to be fanatic Kannada activists, had said this. You could have snubbed it as a cantankerous utterance of a jealous hack, who is not exposed to the glamour that surrounds the English media.
But, you can't ignore Adiga as he is an English novelist with the Man Booker prize to his credit and he is qualified to make the statement because he was also a journalist.
Although most of the English journalists working in Bangalore have fine skills, the very connect to the city is missing. For instance, the city is celebrating Kannada Literary Convention that has come to the city after a gap of 41 years; the English newspapers look clueless about the event, while vernacular papers are striking a right note to suit the occasion. The English papers may say they are catering to their targeted audience, who are not bothered, but it is an excuse.
The language and the culture of the city are not for only those who speak Kannada. It's been a long time since the migrated population diffused into the local culture. The third or fourth generation of Marwaris, whose forefathers had come from the upcountry, is dotting all major neighbourhoods of the city and they are the perfect Kannadigas. They read English newspapers, but live a life in Kannada.
People like Ajaykumar Singh, who retired as the top cop of the state (director general and inspector general of police), have gone a step ahead to be writers in the local language. Singh, who is from UP, could not follow a word in Kannada when he came to the state as a probationer 35 years ago, and now he is writing poetry in the language.
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During his service as a policeman, he was peck less, he did his doctorate in Kannada literature and he has translated vachanas (Kannada verses by revolutionary Shaivites of twelfth century) into Hindi. Little wonder, he is the most respected police officer in the state.
Like the literary convention, Kadalakayi Parishe (groundnut fair), Karaga (procession of flower bedecked city deity) that define the culture of Bangalore, it won't find significant space in English newspapers, while a fake festival called Bengaluru Habba dazzles so long as it can attract corporate sponsorship. But, the newspapers, no matter what their circulation numbers and revenue figures are, will not be significant unless they mirror the true image of the city. Until then, the poor hacks will continue to look pathetic.
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