Windsor Manor, Bengaluru: the Next Target of Terrorists?

While the English media (both print and electronic) is singularly focused on covering the counteroffensive operations against terrorists in Mumbai, a Kannada daily - Vijaykarnataka - reports a horrifying story on the Windsor Manor hotel, Bengaluru being the next possible target of terrorists.

We offer an English translation of the Vijaykarnataka article below. We urge readers of KARNATIQUE to spread word, and immediately call the police, local MPs and MLAs and enquire about what measures have been planned to avert a possible attack.

Bengaluru is the next target, be careful

Bengaluru: It is now coming to light that the Deccan Mujahideen, which has claimed responsibility of the carnage at Mumbai has made Bengaluru its next target.

The state police have information that the terrorists have devised a plan to attack 5-star hotels and IT companies within 37 days of the Mumbai attacks in the same way as was done in Mumbai.

Three terrorists arrested

Three individuals, Haji, Khader and another person allegedly belonging to the Deccan Mujahideen have been arrested on the Kerala border near Virajapet.

The costal guards have captured a motor-boat used by the terrorists near Bekalakote, Kasaragod. The terrorists might have entered the state using this boat. A link between these terrorists and the Mumbai blasts is suspected.

The Deccan Mujahideen might have spread itself in Karnataka. According to highly placed sources, the state police are carrying out investigations in this regard from two days, and many have been interrogated in Belagavi (Belgaum), Hubballi (Hubli) and Udupi.

The terrorist organizations have a link with a software company in Bengaluru, and the attacks have been planned with the help of engineers in the company.

Main target: 'Bridge hotel'

According to information available to this newspaper, the Windsor Manor hotel has been identified as the main target. The terrorists are using the word 'Bridge Hotel' as a codeword for the hotel, likely because one has to cross a bridge to enter the Windsor Manor.

Central intelligence has issued alerts

The central intelligence department has issued an alert that the Deccan Mujahideen is planning attacks all over Karnataka, including Bengaluru.

Home minister V. S. Acharya has said that security has been tightened in important places, sensitive areas and 5-star hotels.

Read on ENGURU: ಉಗ್ರರ ಮುಂದಿನ ಗುರಿ: ವಿಂಡ್ಸರ್ ಮ್ಯಾನರ್, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು?

State-level NSG is the Need of the Hour: Deshmukh

It was Bengaluru in July and now it's Mumbai which is burning. With nearly every Indian state being targeted by dastardly acts of terrorism and the Centre failing in one of its most important duties - defense - state governments are now forced to do their part in protecting their respective states. In a move to prevent frequent terror attacks on Maharashtra, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh sees the need for more power to the states in combating terrorism:

MUMBAI: A day after the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday said his government has decided to set up a "state-level NSG-like organisation'' to tackle terrorism.

"Mumbai has always been on the top of the terrorists' hit list. After Wednesday's terror attacks, I feel we should have an NSG-like organisation to deal with terrorists,'' Deshmukh said after a special cabinet meeting to review the law and order situation.

Deshmukh said he would ask the home department to draft a proposal for the same once the situation in the metropolis is back to normal. "We will set up the state-level NSG in a time-bound manner,'' said Deshmukh.

[...]

Another IPS officer said setting up a special agency for Mumbai on the lines of NSG was the need of the hour. "The local police are unable to retaliate, as such we should have NSG like organisation,'' he said.

All this raises very important questions: Has the Centre completely failed in defending India? Should defense - a federal subject the world over - also move to the states? Is terrorism so widespread within Indian states that the army stationed in border areas can't do anything to prevent it?

And yeah, Yeddy, are you listening?

For the full news story, read: CM roots for state-level NSG unit

Also read on KARNATIQUE:
Blasts: why do they keep happening?
Good move by Orissa. Yeddy, are you listening?
Good move by Maharashtra. Yeddy, are you listening?

Read on ENGURU:
ಮುಂಬೈ: ಬಿದ್ದುದನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಪುದೆ ನರನ ಮೃತ್ಯುಂಜಯತೆ

Good move by Orissa. Yeddy, are you listening?

It's the turn of Orissa now. Orissa Chief minister Naveen Patnaik too has finally realized that the state cannot give up internal employment opportunities to non-Oriya people. This is again a right move by an Indian state. Orissa is the second state, after Maharashtra, to announce this. We'd like to see similar declarations by every Indian state:

Following the footsteps of Maharashtra, the Orissa government on Tuesday decided to reserve jobs for locals in the upcoming industries in the state.

In the semi-skilled and unskilled category, the reservation will be 90 per cent. In the jobs requiring skilled man power, at least 60 per cent vacancies will be filled up by the locals. Maharashtra last week had announced reservation of 80 per cent jobs for locals in the industries operating in that state.

Similarly, a minimum 30 percent of the supervisor and managerial posts will be filled up from locals, though the appointment of senior executives will be on the basis of merit.

The question now is - would the BIMARU states have the guts to make similar moves? Do they have anything to secure for their citizens? Or would they continue to play the "we're Indians of a greater God because we're Hindians, so we've got the right to snatch jobs from lesser Indians all over India" card? No marks for guessing this.

What about you, Mr. Yeddyurappa? Two of your peers have realized why they've been voted to power. Don't you think it's time you do equally well in the class? Or do you want to wait until you have orders from the Advanis and Vajpayees in New Delhi? Do you realize that it's all the more dangerous if states around Karnataka keep enacting laws protecting employment for their citizens while the bulb doesn't glow in your cabinet? Do you realize that nobody is talking about preventing their citizens from migrating to Karnataka? It's only Kannadigas who are being prevented from going to their states. Get the point? No? Repeat this lesson.

Also read: Good move by Maharashtra. Yeddy, are you listening?

And Now, Ladies, Hampi Silk

Talking about refurbishing the ruins of Hampi, the KSIC has gone one step further in bringing the wonderful Hampi architecture to silk. Reports the Times of India yesterday:

The breathtaking beauty of the stones of Hampi, and the magic of the sculptures at Belur and Halebedu -- brought alive on the drapes of a traditional Mysore silk saree. The latest collection unveiled by Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation on Tuesday showcased designs of city-based Deepika Govind in the 'colour threads from Hampi and Belur' line.

Govind derived her inspiration from the architecture at Hampi, Belur and Halebedu. She designed the collection without tampering with the purity of the silk fabric. The ornaments from sculptures at all the three places translated into beautiful borders and exquisite pallu designs. The colours are largely monotone -- yellows, flaming reds -- with embroidery and interesting combinations.

In a rare display of "more Hampi", we hear minister Shobha Karandalaje making the following welcome remark:

Rural development minister Shobha Karandalaje said the challenge ahead was to take the sarees to an international market. Karnataka supplies 70 per cent of the country's silk requirements. She promised 25 per cent subsidy for power looms for the silk industry.

Indeed, our sarees should go global. Why not? But just as going global does not mean printing the Statue of Liberty instead of architecture from the Virupaksha Devasthana or Mahanavami Dibba, going global does not necessitate hiding Kannada from ad campaigns and websites (as if it's an embarassment to display our language), by doing which the KSIC has earned much of the wrath of Kannadigas.

Photo courtesy: mangalorean.com. For the full TOI report visit: Weaving Hampi, Belur magic onto sarees.

Sanskrit Univ: BJP's facade of righteousness?

What do you do if you have Rs. 200 crores in your hands? Well, the govt. of Karnataka has earmarked that sum to refurbish Hampi and build a Sanskrit University. Reports the DNA today:

The BJP Government of Karnataka has ticked two of its top poll promises with the sanctioning of Rs.200 Crore for refurbishing the historic ruins at Hampi and initiating steps for establishing a Sanskrit University.

It was the Tourism Minister G Janardhan Reddy who announced the government decision for Hampi's development while Minister for Higher Education Arvind Limbavali revealed on Thursday the government's intention to set up the state's first Sanskrit University. The proposed Sanskrit University will undertake research on topics related to spiritual, religious and cultural fields besides inculcating moral values among the youth, the Minister said.

While the move to refurbish the historic ruins at Hampi is a welcome one, we humbly ask: why the Sanskrit University? What topics related to "spiritual, religious and cultural fields" still exist in Sanskrit which haven't been researched till now? Really, there is nothing of any consequence which still remains un-researched in Sanskrit, and which can magically turn Karnataka into a Raama Raajya! We therefore argue that that money is better utilized if the government were to recognize the need to "refurbish the ruins" of the Hampi Kannada University which is badly in need of funds. The Hampi Kannada University must be vested with more responsibilities - such as research on science and technology in Kannada (as opposed to just research of Kannada).

The government has obviously forgotten that Purandara Dasaru who lived in Hampi (and in whose name we have the Purandara Mantapa in Hampi even today) taught spiritual truths in Kannada and not Sanskrit. While the great saint realized in as early as the 16th century that any spiritual, religious or cultural work needs to be done in the Kannada language here in Kannada Nadu, the government of Karnataka obviously lacks this basic commonsense.

One even questions whether the governement has any clue as to what the granting of Classical Language status to Kannada means, even after the cheap drama of Mr. Yeddyurappa claiming that it all happened because he threatened to stage one single demonstration in Delhi! Mr. Yeddyurappa, the declaration of Kannada as a Classical Language means, first of all, that Kannada has a literary tradition which has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Sanskrit. Yes, n-o-t-h-i-n-g to do with Sanskrit.

Then why this Sanskrit University? Is it BJP's facade of righteousness and spiritual cleanliness in exploitation of the fact that Karnataka has forgotten the difference between Sanskrit and spirituality? What do we have upcoming next, a Pali University to put up a facade of care for underprivileged converts to Buddhism? That crap is not what Karnataka needs. What Karnataka needs today is real universities which take up education and research in Kannada as seriously as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem does in Hebrew.

Good move by Maharashtra. Yeddy, are you listening?

The Maharashtra government has made a move in the right direction: 80 per cent of jobs will now be reserved for locals in state industries and it's mandatory for the recruiting officer (note very carefully: not the candidates seeking recruitment) to know the Marathi language. Reports CNN-IBN:

"Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had been following up the issue for a long time. The Industries, Energy and Labour department took a decision for setting aside 80 percent jobs to the locals", an official statement said.

Anyone who has been residing for over 15 years in the state would be considered as local, the statement said.

The Government has also decided to set up a committee at state and district level to ensure implementation of the decision, it said.

The panel would meet at least three times a year and would review status of the decision. It would also suggest measures to provide maximum jobs to locals.

A procedure has been fixed to ensure that the officer making the recruitment, should be one knowing Marathi language, the statement said.

Although there are a couple of catches there, this is in the right direction. Maharashtra still does not realize that it's not how many years a migrant has breathed the air of Maharashtra which matters, but whether he/she has become one with the language and land of Maharashtra. In Europe, they employ a very simple technique to make sure you've "become one with the language and land": written and oral tests. Is that too far-fetched in India?

In any case, Mr Yeddyurappa, are you listening? Do you get the point behind what Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh is doing? Do you realize that your government is expected to protect the interest of the people of Karnataka and not Bihar or UP or Tamil Nadu or other states although "they are all states of India"? Do you get the point that you have not been voted to power by the Nagas in Nagaland? Do you get the point that Kannadigas can't care less for the fact that migrants from Bihar and UP "are also Indians" when they're snatching away jobs?

Expectations are rising, Mr Yeddyurappa, and delivering results is what matters. Not tears, not elephants, not prayers, not speeches.

'Language is not just the material phonetic means'

In his seminal french-language work Cours de linguistique generale, Ferdinand de Saussure, the universally acclaimed father of modern linguistics, explains the role of language in relation to thought as follows:

The characteristic role of a language in relation to thought is not to supply the material phonetic means by which ideas may be expressed. It is to act as intermediary between thought and sound, in such a way that the combination of both necessarily produces a mutually complementary delimitation of units.

The above insight into the role of language was seen for the first time in the history of modern linguistics in the lectures of Ferdinand de Saussure at the University of Geneva during the period 1906-1911. However, we believe some Upanishads (like the Bruhadaranyaka) and the Vedas have mantra-s which anticipate the very core of de Saussure's thesis, and given de Saussure's interest in Sanskrit may well have been his inspiration. Closer study of references to naama (name) and roopa (form) in the Upanishads, the various Bhashyas (commentaries) and the hymns of creation in the Vedas, we believe, can throw more light on that "mystic" (to use de Saussure's word) interplay between thought and sound. But we digress.

The point we'd like to make here is - language is not "just a means of communication" as is often misunderstood by many. We've argued elsewhere that it is equally if not more importantly a "means of cooperation" as well. But de Saussure tells us that it's a lot more. It is language which works in tandem with the mass of thoughts in the human mind to "delimit" units. It's not that ideas and objects exist before words for them are coined. Ideas and objects do not obtain the status of separate entities without the help of language. It's language which helps distinguish between say feelings of "happiness" and "excitement". For one who does not know the two words (in any language), the two feelings are also unseperable; in him/her there is no line drawn between happiness and excitement either in the realm of thoughts or in the realm of language. It is language which helps the experiencer of those feelings distinguish between them, give them two different names, and "sort them out" in the mind.

This fact has immense implications. It nearly completely explains the status of different languages in the world today including, of course, Kannada. It explains why some linguistic registers such as science and technology are nearly unpopulated in Kannada. It explains why we are materially unadvanced. It explains why we have a shortage of nouns in Kannada. It explains what is lacking in our society because of which Kannada is not in the state in which say Japanese or Hebrew are today. And of course, it also clarifies what has to be done in order to get over all these shortcomings. All these insights are difficult to capture in one blogpost, so look forward to more articles on this topic as we move on.

We urge readers to purchase a copy of the English translation of Ferdinand de Saussure's book: Course in General Linguistics, Open Court Classics, Chicago and La Salle, Illinois, USA.

A sneak peek of the book is available on Google Books, too.

Picture courtesy: Wikipedia

Americans Turn Torchbearers of Kannada?

So it's the Americans who 'light the torch of Kannada' this time? Reports SOM:

AMERICAN STUDENTS PERFORM BHARATHANATYA

Mysore, Nov. 16 (DV)- American students performed Bhara-thanatya as per Indian style of rhythm. With Indian traditional dresses like saree and kachche, the students both boys and girls performed like Indians and received applause.

The Bharathanatya formed part of the progremme "Study away, teach away" by the students of Connecticut College of America and was performed at the valedictory function organised by JSS Educational Institutions at Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) here on Saturday.

Bharathanatya was performed by a troupe of 12 students for 30 minutes. Initially they performed for 15 minutes to the tune of devotional song on Goddess Chamundeshwari. This was followed by a 10-minute performance to the tune of music followed by stepping for 5 minutes to the tune of Kannada song Hachchevu Kannadada Deepa.

Nruthyagiri Director Krupa Phadke had trained them.

If only Kannadigas understand the message in Hachchevu Kannadada Deepa unlike the Americans who only danced to a good song...

Is Kannada Literature Ageing?

The Indian Express yesterday reported how Kannada steals the limelight in the "Bangalore Book Festival". Excerpts below.

If you believe that in this era of technology and shortcuts, Bangaloreans have lost the love for printed words, you need to check out the sixth Bangalore Book Festival at Palace Grounds. It drew many visitors, including children on Saturday, after doing encouraging business on Friday. The fair is on till November 23...

Kannada literature has found a prominent place in the fair, with 55 stalls of the total 288 stalls being dedicated to books in the language.

While literature (as in novels, drama, poetry, etc) has kept Kannada alive in the written world, and made Kannadigas proud recipients of more than half-a-dozen Jnanapitha awards, the question is - can the language survive only the basis of juttige mallige hoo?

Should we take it for granted that Kannada can be used only for expressing our deep sentiments, study of Kannada itself and studies in "local" humanities? Is there no serious academic output possible in Kannada except by ageing professors in dusty Kannada departments in our universities? Can't Kannadiga youth take Kannada more seriously than that? Can't Kannadiga youth take Kannada as seriously as German youth take German, Israeli youth take Hebrew and Japanese youth take Japanese?

On the positive side, do you think we're seeing the entry of Kannada into hottege hittu business in "self-help" books like translations of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People"?

High Tech to Compensate for Lack of Market Understanding?

Airtel recently introduced its "voice SMS" facility in Karnataka. The motivation? Clarifies Venkatesh V, CEO, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Karnataka:

Airtel Voice SMS lends to the freedom of expression, a whole new dimension as it cuts across language and knowledge barriers. This would go a long way in making it a powerful tool of expression for users, who are not as well versed with the English alphabet. We are confident that this service will make a positive difference to the way our customers engage with near and dear ones on the mobile.

While the service is a welcome move and definitely fills a gap, who said that those "who are well versed with the English alphabet" prefer to use English SMS instead of Kannada SMS in Karnataka? Did anybody do a market survey on this? Or was it taken for granted that anybody who is savvy enough to own a mobile phone will prefer English by default (just like the FM stations took it for granted that anyone listening to music in Bengaluru prefers Hindi music to Kannada music)? If only Airtel had asked itself this question, instead of moving away from text as an interface, it could have pressurized the Nokias, the LGs, the Samsungs of the world to come up with decent (not buggy, not incompatible) Kannada user interfaces ans SMS technology.

There's still a vibrant market for Kannada SMS (the text version) in both urban and rural areas. Only, these companies are not realizing this basic fact because of the guesses of a few gone wrong. We told the FM companies that, and we're telling the phone companies now: do some decent market research. High tech won't replace lack of understanding of the market.

Kannada Web Portals: Unicode or Die

Anybody who has ever explored Google's features must have stumbled upon it's language features. Now, there's Google News in Indian languages, reports the DNA:

...Indians who till now couldn’t find an interface for news in their mother-tongue, are discovering a way to read that news online.

The recent launch of Google News in four regional languages — Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi — has helped make that possible. And the search engine giant is also launching features that will empower non-English speaking internet users to use web beyond reading just news.

Yes, there's no Kannada in there. The blame of course is not Google's. The blame, we believe, falls on Kannada news websites who haven't switched to Unicode yet. Having their own encoding schemes makes it impossible for search engines to make sense out of their websites. Google itself is goddamn serious about making sure they don't loose any hits because of the language barrier. Says Prasad Ram, Kannadiga and Google's India R&D chief:

Only 7% of Indians are proficient in English. So, if Google’s power has to be experienced by the rest, we have to add languages.

Kannada which is now (ahem!) a Classical Language, must not miss out on all the cool tech stuff. Otherwise, it won't be long before the world thinks Kannada died along with Latin and that it's been awarded the Classical Language tag posthumously! It's high time Kannada news portals as well as all other commercial and government websites are Unicoded.

For the full DNA story, read: Google takes on the language barrier

Time to Revisit the Official Languages Act?

IBNLive reported on Saturday that Maharashtra will press for Marathi language tests for recruitment to Central Govt. offices:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh says he has appealed to the Centre requesting permission for Maharashtrian students to take examination for their recruitment to the Central services in Marathi.

“When IAS exams can be conducted in Marathi, why not other exams? We will write to the Centre and make all efforts for this,” he said.

With all these efforts happening around India to end Hindi domination, will the Central Govt display its flexibility and consider all the scheduled languages as Official Languages of India? Is it time to revisit the Official Languages Act? Will the Central Govt really realize the mistake it has made in promoting Hindi as the unofficial, extra-constitutional 'National Language' of India?

Why Do All Railroads Lead To Chennai?

Last friday, the Times of India covered a story about the Railways planning to operate 100 long-distance special trains, mostly within Tamil Nadu:

CHENNAI: Southern Railway is planning to operate 100 long-distance special trains, mostly to southern states of Tamil Nadu, and 372 short-distance special trains as these routes have seen an increase in passenger traffic.

The special trains will be operated to Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Kollam, Bangalore, Tiruchi and Thoothukudi. This include special services from Coimbatore to Tirupati and Eranakulam to Bangalore, said Southern Railway chief public relations officer Neenu Ittyerah. Of these, as many as 28 trains would be operated between Chennai and Nagercoil.

While the Indian Railways makes every possible attempt to create more and more railway infrastructure within Tamil Nadu, Karnataka is royally sidelined. KARNATIQUE invites readers to ponder over the questions below and express their opinions:

• Why are most of the new projects sanctioned for the State in the last couple of years are limited in scope ? On the other hand, why do our neighbouring States not only get new projects but also a big share in the budget to complete those projects ? Is it because these neighbouring states have a regional party which supports the govt at the center and we don't have one?
• Why are some of the railway projects in Karnataka dragging on for decades? Why were demands for better passenger and freight connectivity for Kannadigas not addressed adequately?
  
• The Hubballi-Ankola rail line could give a fillip to industrial development and also tourism in Uttara Kannada. Why does this century old demand still look like a distant dream?
  
• Why did the Indian Railways take a whopping 11 years to resume passenger service between our capital city Bengaluru and the port city of Mangalore ?
• 70% of the new trains introduced in the last 2 years in Karnataka are interstate ones. Why are there no new routes introduced within Karnataka with the same enthausiasm? Is it not an attempt to push more and more migration of people from other parts of the country to Karnataka?
  
• From Bengaluru, it takes nearly 18 hours to reach northern cities like Bijapur by train, while a bus takes 12 hours! Why hasn't the Railways hardly bothered about the pathetic railway infrastructure within Karnataka?
• Why has guage-conversion work on Solapur-Gadag and Mangalore-Sakleshpur-Bengaluru routes remained unattended?
• Why has not Karnataka received adequate allocation in the Railway budget year after year? Why such discrimination against Karnataka year after year?
• The creation of smaller zones was done only to create better opportunity for the local people. But why has it not served the purpose in Hubballi-centered South Western Railway zone?

Why? Why us? Can we stop this discrimination being meted out to Kannadigas? Can we do anything at all? Yes, we can.

'We Tried to Impose Hindi as National Language'

In an exclusive interview to The Nation, a Sri Lanka daily, Ravni Thakur, Joint Secretary, Foreign Affairs Committee of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling coalition, admits how New Delhi tried to impose Hindi as India's National Language:

In the 1950s, when we tried to impose that Hindi would become the national language, Tamil, Kannada and other language speakers protested. For them, language was very much part of their life. Nehru and his wisdom have given India much and India learnt from this to create a linguistic State. At that point, it was seen as the beginning of the end of Indian unity. In retrospect, we know that, this was a very wise decision and it is this, that was precisely allowing communities the right to their micro identities of language and ethnicities that have allowed India’s macro identity to remain intact. So, while within the country we may say we are Kannada or we are Tamils, at every other level we are proud to say we are Indians.

It's a welcome statement no doubt, but are Kannada and Kannadigas' rights fully safeguarded in India? Is there no Hindi Imposition any more in India? Why do we still hear people talking about Hindi being India's National Language? Why do we still have priority for Hindi in offices of the Govt. of India, banks, etc? Why do we still find people thinking that those who don't speak Hindi are not Indian enough?

Photo courtesy The Nation. For the full article on The Nation, read: “Terrorism cannot be negotiated with”

'Centre of Excellence for Classical Kannada'

Here's a welcome move from the Govt. of India post the declaration of Kannada as a Classical Language:

Learning Kannada has just got easier, thanks to the central government's decision to confer "classical" status on the language, meaning that an online course will be developed.

The Union Minstry of Culture is to establish a Centre of Excellence for Classical Kannada (CECK), and will prepare an online course, a senior official in the ministry told the Deccan Herald.

People hoping for places in engineering or medical colleges under the government quota are expected to benefit, especially students from Karnataka who are staying outside the state. Other CECK activities will include promoting quality research and academic activities on different aspects of Kannada, such as translating ancient Kannada works into English, Hindi and other major European and Indian languages.

It will also provide material on Kannada literature and architecture, establish a digital library, promote multidisciplinary research into poetic theory, grammatical tradition and aesthetics and provide a knowledge base.

Article on ITExaminer: Kannada to be taught on the web

Anjadiru, it's the girl from next door

No, she's not a Latino singer. Nope, she's not a Hollywood actress. Meet Suman Ranganathan, a Kannadiga actress all set to sizzle audiences in the upcoming "Anjadiru". Did someone say there's a dearth of sexy Kannadiga actresses? Reports Sify:

The tall and beautiful Suman Ranganath is back with her third item number, after her come back Kannada film 'Bindhaas'

She was last seen in a Puneeth Rajakumar film, later in Chitranna,.. song in Budhivantha with Upendra which created a rage today and now she is shaking her leg and twisting her well built physique to an item number in Anjadiru.

Suman Ranganath is dancing under the choreography of Sampathraj for Thangali Nagaraj's raunchy song.

Kannalle sketch Haaki, Kolbeda Nee Nanna, Naduvalle nice aagi thalbyadave Nee Nanna….. was shot by director Janardhan for item song at a specially erected set at dilapidated Mysore Lamps factory in Malleswaram Bangalore.

Here's part of her resume on Smashits.com:

Suman Ranganathan is an Indian model and actress who has starred in many Hindi and Kannada films. Infact she is a kannadiga and initially her name was "Ranganath" but later she changed her name as Ranganathan.

We don't know if that's numerology or whatever which made her change the name, but the fact remains that she has a bright future in Kannada movies - if only she realizes that, gets entrepreneurial and takes on Kannadiga and non-Kannadiga audiences around the world.

Maharashtra: The Un-asked Questions

A few questions come to mind after watching the happenings in Maharashtra and Bihar for the past couple of weeks. There has been no dearth of analyses about these happenings in the print & electronic media. But somehow, the questions we have listed below are not to be seen in general discourse. KARNATIQUE requests readers to ponder over the questions below and express their opinions. After all, these are questions which matter not just to Maharashtra, but to every state in India:

1. What is wrong if Marathi speaking people demand their share of employment opportunites in Maharashtra?
2. Why should the Marathi speaking people not expect migrants who reside in Maharshtra to learn Marathi?
3. What is wrong if Marathi speaking people insist on having Marathi signboards in Maharashtra?
4. Why is no Maharshtra politician talking about the need to bring in a law to control inter-state migration?
5. Why do politicians from Maharashtra speak to media in Hindi and not in Marathi?
6. Why do the MNS and Shiv Sena politicians who claim to represent the Marathi speaking people use the RTI to get information on the number of Biharis who have been appointed for the past 10-15 years in the railway zone that covers Maharshtra?
7. What are UP and Bihar governments doing to generate employment for their people?
8. What has been the track record of the governments of UP and Bihar in maintaining law & order in their states?
9. Why are citizens of UP and Bihar not demanding their political leaders to improve governance in their respective states, thereby resulting in increased employment opportunities for them?
10. Why does Lalu not talk about stopping trains to Bihar after crores of rupees worth railway property is damaged by miscreants & hooligans in Bihar?

'fuck you all man..., kannada sucks'

We don't publish comments which have bad language or swearwords, but this one is a rare exception, especially on Kannada Rajyothsava. We thought it apt to elevate this comment from 'Anonymous' on our breaking news item about Kannada getting the classical status to the level of a new post:

fuck you all man..., kannada sucks.... hindi has ancient status from the time of ramayan and mahabharat... do you morons even know anything about hindi language you MFs..... F you all and F your kannada

Why does Kannada suck? What does the commenter know about Kannada, or for that matter Hindi? Why does the commenter use the f-word for Kannada or Kannadigas? Was there any Hindi during the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata?

What does this speak of the way Kannadigas are seen? What does this speak of the false height to which Hindi has been elevated in India? What does this speak of the way Kannada is treated? Why do some people have the mindset which makes them talk about Kannada and Kannadigas so lightly? What do Kannadigas lack because of which we get such compliments on Kannada Rajyothsava day?

Let's see some replies.