'Intense living makes a litterateur'

Jayant Kaikini feels penning lyrics  a journey worth in Sandalwood

Jayant Kaikini, who shot to fame as a lyricist from his maiden movie ‘Mungaru Male’, had apprehensions before penning the hit song ‘Anisutide yaako indu...’ However, it was due to persistence of another writer and director of the movie Yograj Bhat, he decided to make a foray.

Baring his heart at a workshop on arts organised by Folk Arts Association of Maharani’s Women’s Science College here on Sunday, Kaikini said, had he not agreed to pen lyrics, he would have deprived himself of a colourful journey. When it comes to coining words for a song, it’s indeed a difficult task.

He takes nearly 10 days for a song, to give it life in sync with the tune. Said Kaikini: “All it needs is, a sense of music and passion and I enjoy it a lot”.

Interacting with students, his advice was to read literature irrespective of writers. Literature liberates one from bad for the good. Similar is the quality of art and spirituality, where people can experience a lively life. For a writer, intense living is the source of inspiration. If he or she experiences a particular moment, one will not be in a tearing hurry to fill life into it. The incidents flow in the form of words, only when the subject demands.

However, he was against media — especially newspapers — restricting the words of stories. According to him, ‘newspapers require 36 stories per week’.

To a question, he said he was touched by his father Gowrish Kaikini’s simple lifestyle. “A teacher by profession, he was also a writer in Gokarna. When he had an opportunity to hog limelight with Kannada Sahitya Parishat planning a felicitation ceremony in his honour, he preferred to attend a programme organised by his student. The programme was the launch of a new boat of his student. I am revisiting my father as a person”, said Kaikini.

On innocence, he narrated the examples of Kuvempu and Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar. Though giants in their own realm, they epitomised child’s innocence.