JOIN USOh, pity thy Kanarese of this city!
Swanky interiors, flashy lights, soothing music and AC blowing in full force. Everything was in its place. The gleamy articles, the fresh fruits and vegetables and groceries. Why, even the children had fun using the car attached trolley that was kept for the ‘convinience’ of customers who would shell out a tidy sum for all this.
Despite all the facilities created for ‘easy shopping experience’ at best prices, some shoppers do find it difficult to understand the names of items.
Arhar Dal, for instance, makes no sense to a Mysorean, or anyone who speaks Kannada at home. Shopping at the new malls is quite an experience. Everything here screams of a monoculture, away from the nativity, with least respect for the local language.
“Aren’t the companies here to make us part with the hard earned money for something they are selling us?” asks Aditi, exasperated to find out Arhar Dal, after all, was the ‘togari bele’ she was looking for. “Why don’t they simplicise it and display names in Kannada?
After all, they are running business here, and not in Delhi. When I asked them why they wouldn’t display names in Kannada, they said it was against their policy since the company was headquartered in Delhi. Would a Bangalore company have the nerve to impose Kannada names just because it started in South? No way!” she says, with a lot of resentment and hurt lacing her voice.
This is not the only onslaught of monoculture on the city and its people, including the language -- Kannada. Last week, few Kannada activists protested in front of an upcoming, and only Mall so far in the city, for not accommodating Kannada name boards on their premises.
The Manager told them the business house was here to do ‘service’ and hence activists should be proud that the city was chosen. Well, hello! The city has been seat of royalty since ages and need not await the grace of any business establishment to come of age. And, what was Mall doing in a place which needed ‘service’? giving away goods for free?
Citizens in Mysore are most cultured and also highly tolerant of many things, owing to their cultural conditioning. But, it is for the business houses to decide how far would they want to go, by antagonising the general public who take pride in the language they speak.