What is Kannada identity in cosmopolitan Bengaluru?

Kannada is a beautiful language and the people of Karnataka are wonderful people — soft-natured and welcoming, says Arundathi Nag

“I came from Mumbai and learned Kannada”

— Arundathi Nag, theatre personality

Kannada is a beautiful language and the people of Karnataka are wonderful people — soft-natured and welcoming. In the tradition of old Karnataka, I hope we continue to welcome people, and the newcomers also respect and maintain the core essence of what it means to belong to a particular land, climate and culture. Respecting, accommodating and making space for each other will make everything easier. It’s too beautiful a city, to be obliterated or to change, because of modernisation and overpopulation. I came here from Mumbai and learned Kannada, and people gave me enough time to learn. I speak from that point of view. 

“Everyone in Karnataka is a Kannadiga”

— Vasudhendra, writer

As Indians, we have the right to go live in any part of the country. I consider everyone who comes to live in this state a Kannadiga. But it is important to mingle with the local community. By that, I mean, showing love and respect to the culture and the language. That is Kannada identity. And as people born and raised here, our Kannada identity is to be welcoming and inclusive of newcomers. If these two principles are followed, everything else will fall into place. 

“We must accept the city as it is”

— Kishore, actor

The way we are trying to define Kannada today, the scope for conflict and politics is high. Kannada has a broader meaning. As important as it is to retain our Kannada identity, it is also important for us to respect the dissolving boundaries. Bengaluru has many non-Kannadigas as well and we must accept the city as it is, with all its challenges. Poornachandra Tejaswi would say, ‘One can best express themselves in their mother tongue’. But if our children think they express themselves better in English, we must accept it. 

“Need better planning to improve quality for all”

— Bindumalini Narayanaswamy, musician

If there is better planning to accommodate and improve the quality of lives of everyone then conflicts arising around identity will not be there. The pressure of saturation and poor quality of lives and the imbalance of resource distribution surely causes concern for who is benefiting at whose cost, who is taking care, and who is exploiting. Better management I feel is the key.

“I don’t want my language to be lost”

— Vasuki Vaibhav, singer, music composer

I grew up reading Tejaswi, Da Ra Bendre and Girish Karnad and I have been working in Kannada theatre for about 27 years now. Today in my own city, I feel my language is being sidelined. At the same time, the city is also growing and I’m curious about how it will pan out. In this city of mixed cultures, I do not want my language to be lost.

The younger generation thinks speaking in Kannada or listening to Kannada music is not fashionable. Today, the primary language is English and kids are exposed to world literature and music. I hope they learn to appreciate Kannada.