Karnataka: Writer’s family clarifies on Savarkar-bulbul row

The Class 8 Kannada textbook chapter, a travelogue titled Kaalavannu Geddavaru had an excerpt that became controversial

Writer KT Gatti’s family has released a statement explaining their position on the controversy over an excerpt from a piece on freedom fighter VD Savarkar he authored, which has been used in the Class 8 Kannada school textbooks.

The Class 8 Kannada textbook chapter, a travelogue titled Kaalavannu Geddavaru (a chapter from Gatti’s 1996 work Nisargakanye Andaman), had the following excerpt that became controversial: “There was not even a key hole in the cell where Savarkar was incarcerated. But, bulbul birds used to visit the room and Savarkar used to sit on their wings and fly out and visit the motherland every day.”

Responding to this, Gatti’s wife Yashoda Ammembala said: “Regarding the controversy over the bulbul imagery, it is self-evident that it is nothing but a metaphor. Much of the confusion appears to have been caused by the absence of context/reference in the passage, which may be due to author’s oversight or an editorial error.”

The bulbul part went viral on social media and got mocked.

“As per informed sources, bulbuls were plentiful in the region and were an integral part of Andaman prison life. Savarkar’s association with bulbuls is part of local folklore, a fact that finds mention in Savarkar’s autobiography and a few other sources,” Yashoda stated.

“We don’t know if the metaphor of Savarkar riding over bulbul was the author's creation or if it is a story he had picked up from any book or local source, but we can say for certain that the bulbul image per se did not spring from the author’s imagination,” she insisted.

She pointed out that the chapter was introduced as an example of travel literature. “Note that it is part of the language curriculum, not history curriculum. Being a travelogue, it is not meant to be considered a source for historic facts,” Yashoda stated.

The statement, however, claims that the family was unaware of the chapter being included in the textbook until the controversy broke out. “Being indisposed, my husband is not in a position to clarify,” she stated.

Gatti’s wife stated that around 30 per cent of the chapter contained quotes from the book "Swatantrya Veera Savarkar” (Mathoor Krishnamurthy, 1966).

"Those familiar with KT Gatti’s literature are unlikely to assume that the metaphor was meant to glorify Savarkar by an admirer of his ideology, and may not need any clarification regarding this," the statement said.