P V Sudarshan is a middle-aged chartered accountant from Tamil Nadu who moved to Bengaluru just four months ago. But going by his proficiency in Kannada, one could easily mistake him for a local.
At an event organised by the online Kannada language tutorial, kannadagottilla.com, at the Rangoli Metro Art Center here on Sunday, Sudarshan sat in the front seat and was confidently conversing in Kannada.
“I started learning Kannada just 15 days ago and have picked up 100 words. I love the city and the people and the food. I think by the end of the year, I can speak the language fluently,” said Sudarshan who also speaks Tamil, Marathi and Hindi besides English.
According to him, he regularly tries to use the local language to speak to auto-rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers and others. “The reception and reaction one gets when one speaks the local language without being a local is heartening,” he said. “Like when I use ‘dayavittu’ (please) or ‘swalpa’ (little), it is reciprocated with a smile.”
‘Anybody can teach Kannada. Namma Bhashe’ was the theme of the event. A number of students tutored by the portal were present on the occasion.
The event was also a curtain-raiser for the ‘Anybody can Teach Kannada’ campaign which aims to encourage Kannadigas to teach the language to non-locals.
Speaking about the campaign, Anup B, founder, kannadagottilla.com, said, “As part of the campaign, we asked Kannadigas to upload short videos using Kannada words and sentences. As many as 100 videos have been uploaded on our Facebook page,” he said. Sunday’s event marked the inauguration of the campaign. It saw songs and an improve comedy display being used to teach the local language.
DH News Service
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