Love letters helped Kaikini turn lyricist

The well-known poet and short-story writer speaks about his life and times

A crowd of literary enthusiasts waited outside British Library for award-winning writer and poet Jayant Kaikini's talk.

And the man of the hour was happy to be there, signing books, posing for selfies, and chatting familiarly with people he was just meeting.

"Imagine we are here for a wedding, we can find patterns and connections right here in this room. Attachments can happen easily because as humans we are constantly looking for connections. And that is what love means. Nothing can be loved in isolation," he said in response to the question, 'What does love mean to Jayant Kaikini?'

Simple thoughts such as this dominated his session at the Toto Funds the Arts event last Friday.

Journalist-author C K Meena steered the session in what she described as 'English salted with Kannada.'

The audience was a mix of Jayant's fans who knew his work in Kannada, and new admirers who had read him only in translation. What kept them engrossed were the images he created.

 Like the memories of his early life in Gokarna, where he described the Yakshagana artists who were transformed from their mundane daily life roles to colourful artistes through a small make-up mirror.

"Yakshagana was a big art and one could see tailors, priests come together to perform. I used to spend the whole time in the green room," he said.

 Jayant's father, Gourish Kaikini,  was a renowned Kannada litterateur, teacher and columnist. Jayant described him as 'an atheist in a temple town'. "My father's life was my inspiration even before his literary works made a mark on me," he said.

In Kumta, Jayant's friends would ask him to write poems for the girls they liked. The experience, Kaikini humorously explained, honed a lot of his creativity as each piece had to be different from the other.

That exercise helped him later, when he had to write lyrics for films. "One might be a good writer, but that doesn't mean he will be a good lyricist. There needs to be a right line for the right tune," he explained.

On writing

Several young writers in the house were curious to know how writing came naturally to Jayant.

"In a way, a writer is like a swimmer trying to learn swimming and at the same time cross the river. He is learning the skill and has to survive," he said.

He explained his philosophy by quoting novelist Yeshwant Chittal, whom he described as a 'demigod.'

Chittal would say, 'I don't write what I know, but I write to know.'

 Asked how to become a good writer, Jayant spoke of 'a non-interfering guru.'

"And reading is the only way. For music, you need a guru. But for literature, fortunately, all you need is abundant published material. If you don't like one, jump to the next," he said.

 He counts legendary writers like Yashwant Chittal, U R Ananthamurthy, P Lankesh, Poornachandra Tejaswi and others as his 'non-interfering gurus.'

How did this poet and short story writer become a lyricist for films?

From Chigurida Kanasu to Mungaru Male, it has been an eventful journey, he says. "I ventured in because of Rajkumar. He is the ultimate star who shaped Kannada sensibilities to perfection," he said.

 Kaikini's works are translated into English are gaining in popularity.