So here is the latest dispute.

Udupi has eight mathas, whose seers take turn every two years of managing the Udupi Krishna temple and performing worship. This ancient Paryaya (alternate) arrangement changes hands every other year, on January 18th. This year, seven seers, led by the Pejawara seer, opposed the ascension of Puttige seer Sri Sugunendra Theertha, on the grounds that the latter visited America. I suspect more Madhvas are in California than in Mangalore/Bangalore, but rules of Dharmashastras are divine injunctions, if you ask the faithful.

So we have seen the entire spectrum of public protestation and private negotiation deployed: fasts, public demonstrations, law suits, eminent public figures including politicians negotiating behind the scenes. It has been fascinating to watch the different solutions proposed. Madhva scholars of Dharmasastra contended that Dharmashastras are superior to Judiciary and urged the Puttige seer not to ascend the Peetha (seat). Some others were prepared to cede the administrative responsibilities, if the Puttige seer agreed not to ascend the Peetha formally, perform worship and touch the Krishna image. Others pointed out to a precedent when the Admaru seer Vibhudeshatheertha Swami had renounced his Paryaya rights and had designated his junior to perform worship.

I usually don’t to use the word feudal but in this instance, I am forced to break my own rule. Even as they have modernized some aspects of their functioning (especially, by becoming social entrepreneurs on behalf of their community), the mathas of Karnataka hold on to feudal rituals and practices such as wearing a crown, riding in a palanquin or chariot. Even those who profess an egalitarian outlook are not immune to it. This unseemly public sparring aside, if the Udupi seers and Dharamshastrins choose to be literal in interpreting tradition and scripture, then we will continue to be medieval in our outlook. The Udupi temple itself hasn’t become an egalitarian setting and continues to discriminate against women and lower castes. Nothing will change regardless of who assumes Paryaya responsibilities.  Udupi will continue to be the same.

Kaavya V’s plagiarism charges stuck because people identified the passages she has imitated or copied and pointed out the source texts. People actually read some books, compared notes and took the trouble of proving their case. In our Kannada instance, I have heard talk of Hebrew novels (and Eastern European novels too) from which URA is supposed to have stolen stories, themes and passages. But until today, I have never seen anyone naming a novel or pointing out a passage. To say ‘plagiarism … forms the platform of that author’s oeuvre’ for any writer (not just URA) is just to make an empty statement.

So, let me make a concrete suggestion. Being the ‘uncommon elitist intellectual type’ that I am, I have access to virtually any published work. So if anyone were to name the book(s) from which URA is even suspected to have plagiarized his novels, then we could find it and READ the damn book together and come to some conclusion. Also if a school of thought like existentialism and an author like Kamu are supposed to have inspired URA, then make the case for how it constitutes plagiarism!

Let me also state that I think both PUTINA and Adiga (who is my favorite modern Kannada poet) are great poets and if they haven’t received the recognition or the awards they deserve, then that doesn’t lessen their greatness as writers. Nor do awards make URA a better writer. In my book, if we spend all our time focusing on awards and worldly recognition that authors and artists have not received or debate about roads and circles that aren’t named after them, then we lose sight of why we should value a cultural figure.

So how about an open discussion on what we like in a writer and why is (s)he culturally significant? While we are at it, how about some parameters for such a conversation and not mythical stories of stolen awards and plagiarized novels! Believe me, I also have an inexhuastible supply of stories on every single Kannada writer and we could spend a lifetime trading such stories. That would be fun but doesn’t add to the quality and standard of our public discourse.

The fans too were caught in a bind. As he repeatedly said, Rajkumar himself was a creation of abhimani devaru (god like fans) but they were being shut out yesterday, from even paying their last respects to their hero.

Today’s newspapers report numerous violent incidents and police shooting resulting in eight deaths and over 150 injuries. Police lathicarged the crowd and in turn, the crowd hit back and mercilessly beat up policemen, even killing a 24 year old constable. The Chief Minister couldn’t reach the funeral site and returned to his office on the advice of police. His Deputy was injured in the melee at the funeral site. Rajkumar’s daughters couldn’t attend the funeral. Most of the rituals weren’t performed, much to the regret of Parvatamma Rajkumar, who with her three sons at least managed to be present.

The blogosphere has been very quick to condemn the ‘Bangalore behavoir’. Rightly so, I suppose. Many have expressed their dismay at both the outbreak of violence and at the city coming to a standstill. We all thought the perpetrators, especially if they are fans of Rajkumar’s, did disservice to his memory.

But I am not very sympathetic to two other sentiments that were expressed. First, some people found this entire Rajkumar phenomenon incomprehensible. To them, I can only say Rajkumar meant a great deal to some of us; if you want to understand that, then you could read several neat tributes written in the last couple of days. Or better, watch a few Rajkumar films. Just don’t roll your eyes and feign surprise! But slightly more problematic is a second argument made by many: that the image of the city as a business center is somehow harmed by work stoppage and violence. Bangalore based bloggers, Kannadigas elsewhere and many outsiders have expressed their displeasure on this count. But then there was this somewhat offensive piece. I didn’t want to leave a comment on that page; rather, I wanted the author to visit the Land of Lime, to get our response. The blogger, who was to get .Net code from an ‘extremely hardworking engineer’ in Bangalore, complained ‘how an Indian actor ruined his day’!

Okay, I cannot let go of civility especially on this day and not be civil to someone who does business in Karnataka. Our friend should realize the ‘actor’ didn’t ruin his day. Some lumpens did, with not an inconsiderable amount of help from our friend himself. Every now and then, Bangalore goes nuts. Every now and then, stuff happens, as Rumsfeld would have said. If he didn’t know that before he outsourced his work, then he should have asked me, who is an expert on all matters Karnataka. For a fat consulting fee, I would have offered him good advice on doing business in Bangalore. Or he could have gotten the same work done by an American programmer and paid ten times what he pays in Bangalore.

While I might say this to our friend here, I wouldn’t use that argument as a justification for voilence in Bangalore. Let us not make these wishy-washy arguments about what the world might think. Instead, let us call the perpetrators lumpens and their acts as morally reprehensible behavior. Let us not make any excuses.

While we are at it, let us also take to task the state authorities for not anticipating what any child would have expected: that a large number of people would want to pay their respects to Rajkumar and it is incumbent upon the police to make proper arrangements both for the viewing of the body as well as for the funeral procession. That didn’t happen and the police will have to take a lot of blame for that.

As it must be clear, I have no problems calling disgraceful behavior disgraceful. Be it by an American entrepreneur or Bangalore police or a lumpen or even by a Rajkumar fan. But yesterday was a day to stop whatever we (at least those of us for whom Rajkumar meant something) were doing, be quiet and reflective for a day. If the ‘How an Indian Actor ruined my day’ guy and his other blogger friends don’t get it, then I have to politely say they don’t get Bengaluru and Bangalore too.

Perhaps, they have no business being or doing business in Bangalore. Believe me, this isn’t about being intolerant. We also have to be true to ourselves, care about issues that matter to us and demand that the world too acknowledge it. We just don’t need to resort to violence to make that case. Well, I have this sneaking suspicion that Rajkumar would have agreed with that.

Lumpens in Bangalore obviously don’t know much about Socrates. But they also are demonstrating they are no fans of Rajkumar either. Their disgraceful behavior in the streets of Bangalore reveals zero commitment to civility, let alone any interest in philosophy.

We have many modes of expressing our grief but throwing stones at buses and hurting random strangers cannot be, ought not to be one of them.

Let the memory of Rajkumar not be tainted by these memories of disgraceful and violent behavior.

Let this be time for reflection, solitude and peace. Not stone throwing and beating up strangers on the streets of Bangalore.

Here is what happened. On October 27th, Belgaum Coroporation passed a resolution demanding that Belgaum be united with Maharashtra. Funny, Novermber 1st was the 50th anniversary of the formation of Karnataka, of Belgaum and other Kannada speaking regions brought together to form the new state. Now, the fifty-year old boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra is STILL being resolved by the Supreme Court. The historian in me wants to do a series of postings on the many absurd tales of inter-state border and river water disputes but that’s for the future. Kannada activists, who were about to celebrate the 50th year of the formation of Karnataka state on November 1st, went ballistic, literally. Even as press statements were released, demonstrations held and demands for the supercession of the Belgaum Corporation were being made, fifty members of Kannada Rakshana Vedike (KVR, Kannada Protection platform) decided to take matters into their own hands and on 11th evening attacked physically Mayor of Belgaum, Vijay P More and his associates, at the Legislative Home in Bangalore, a stone’s throw away from Vidhana Saudha, the seat of government. The KVR members doused More with black paint and blackened his face. The attackers were swiftly arrested, booked under Dacoity act and criminal proceedings were launched against them. All hell broke loose as political parties, including the state unit of Shiv Sena (which we all know is a Marathi party), defended the attackers and demanded that they be released unconditionally. Even the Governor T N Chaturvedi came out openly against the Belgaum Corporation, for interfering in a matter that is sub-judice and for overstepping its authority, while not attending to the developmental activities of the city.

The die was cast. The Government superceded the Corporation on November 21st and appointed the Belgaum District Commissioner as the administrator.

Did the attackers deserve the widespread support that the political parties offered? Should they be described as brave warriors, who are fighting for the self respect of Karnataka?
Well known writers U R Anantamurthy and M Chidanandamurthy were ridiculed when they condemned the attack on More. Should More’s face have been applied with Fair and lovely, asked rhetorically author Purnachandra Tejaswi. Kannada writers condemning the attack on More are fit to eat only Masaladose, mocked Chandrashekar Patil, the president of Kannada Sahitya Parishad. What fair and lovely and masaladose, even black paint have to do with defending Kannada, I am still trying to figure out.

A politics centered in anxiety, it seems to me, is the driving force behind the acts of the attackers and the defence offered by their supporters. The border dispute itself is likely to go on for another fifty years, at least, while status quo will continue to reign. Why overreact to apparently an immature - and illegal act - by the MES Corporators? Shouldn’t fifty million Kannada speakers show a little bit more confidence in their capacity to preserve their language and culture? Moreover, why this knee-jerk reaction, rushing to defend against an MES resolution that can only be called as nuisance at best? What are the Kannada warriors protecting and how?

It is ridiculous to think that the language of Pampa and Kuvempu requires the protection of heroes, who specialize in blackening the faces of other people.

My fear is that this anxiety-centric activism (as well as the professional Kannada warriors it has produced) takes our attention away from the real challenges that we should be facing up to. If faltu (useless) issues and struggles continue to occupy us, then we might as well kiss goodbye to any constructive Kannada work (Kannada kattuva kelasa).

It is time to return to B.M. Srikantaia again and ask ourselves: what does the agenda of improvement of Kannada involve? I will be back with my reading of his lecture to the Mysore Economic Conference entitled: The Improvement of Kanarese.