Out of all those literary gaints out there, eveyone has favorites...some authors tell stories in such a wonderful manner, touch our hearts that we want to remember them forever. Even today, I do not laugh when I see someone crazily talking about the next harry potter and JK Rowling. I understand when that auto-driver stops for a small sip of coffee in a run down hotel, trying to read Mr. Ravi Belagare's Hi Bangalore newspaper. Everyone has favorite writers. and everyone worships some author or the other. In Kannda' writers, I think nobody is as fond to my heart as Mr. Purnachandratejasvi, who died recently. I was his biggest fan. I still am.... He is not my favorite because his kannada vocabulary is excepsionally good, or that he is the world's greatest writer. No, I like him because of his simple way of implying things and making me understand. I like his charecter, his life is interesting. He is an enviornamentalist, a writer, and a photographer. I think I share myself with him. We have similar interests, similar perspective about life. He has always done everything I have dreamed of doing. I have thought about leaving the city life, and moving to Malanad regoin in the future, surrounded by nature, birds, coffee plantations...I have thoght about exploring forests, dealing with animals, and ofcourse, I have thought about travelling and meeting interesting people. I have aways wanted to photograph birds. I remember when we had Mr. Purnachandratejasvi's book named Parisarada Kathe as our eight standard kannada text book. The moment the teacher started talking about the book, of Mr. Purnachandratejasvi's achivements in a drab, cold voice, someone quipped, "Is this guy still alive? You talk of him as if he is dead,"
After I finished with the Parisarada Kathe, I have moved on to read his other novel, Karvalo Kadambari, and immediately, I loved the book. You see, whoever is a nature-lover will share a bond with Mr. Purnachandratejsavi, because he is the direct representation of what lies in the heart of every nature lover. Even though I have thought, many a times, about this person, of seeing him in person, he was always that hidden picture...I had not seen even his photograph. I knew he was special, and that I respected him, and that I would like to meet him, but I had no clue how he looked like. I had to depend on my imagination to visualize my favorite author. When his photographs were on exhibition in chitrakala parishanth in Bang'lore, I nagged my mother to take me there, but it was exam time, so I could'nt go. His picture always remained incomplete...but I was convinced that Mr. PCT had a mysore connection, and if he came this way, perhaps, my grandpa could introduce us, and that I could get a nice photo of him. Mr. Purncchandratejasvi's face was incomplete in my memory...but now, it is finally complete. I saw his photo on TV, and understood how he looked like...it is complete, but a bit too late. I can never get that photograph with him now, but I can remember. I will remember him forever, not as a bearded old man, but a faceless freind who has supported me and revealed a new path for a life connected with nature. I want to follow the path he has laid out for me, and connect with nature.
No, Mr. Tejasvi, you have not left me, yet...you are alive through your books.
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9 comments:
A tribute one could die for. Written so touchingly, in such depth, in a relatively so few words, by someone so young.
Very well written, lakshmi. Shri Tejaswi was a man of so many passions- a writer, cartoonist,environmentalist,rationalist and like a Rishi rejected various awards that came his way and lived away from the city as a farmer furrowing his own intellectual field as well.A Titan indeed.
Your heartfelt tribute,your thoughts will always guide you in your own future...
I was invited by my friend and erstwhile colleague Chidananda Gowda
(who later on became part of the 'great and good' )for his marriage ceremony with Kuvempu's daughter and Tejaswi's sister. On arriving at the gates of the wedding building with many other friends, we were greeted with extreme politeness by Tejaswi who knowing our close association with the bridegroom seated us near the front of the dais. After the ceremony, we had to leave as we had work to do that date, and again we were sent off with warmth by Tejaswi himself. I was aware of his strong comments some of which I thought was unfair particularly those related to caste, but after that brief encounter, my respect to him grew.
Only young innocence could inspire such a spontaneous and heart-felt tribute. The bitter caste rivalry among Kannada writers may have prevented Tejaswi from getting his due as a writer, though he belonged to a powerful caste. Leaving aside caste, Tejaswi arguably had the best prose among the modern Kannada writers. His writing was simple, lucid, unpretentious and racy. Somebody said this evening that he matched RK Narayan in English in simplicity.
Dear Lakshmi
I read your blog too. You write very well indeed. You have the sensitive soul of an artist. I liked your tribute to Purnachandratejasvi. Like Lincoln's Gettysburg address, its sincerity more than makes up for its lack of big words and grand phrases. I can't speak or read Kannada, unfortunately, since I was born and brought up in Bombay, but it is probably the richest Indian language in terms of literary works (according to my mother, who reads and speaks Kannada fluently). Maybe someday I'll get down to learning it and read Purnachandratejsavi's works in their original form.
Thanks and have a great day
Regards
Narendra Shenoy
Hello Lakshmi,
This is simply one of the best tributes to Shri Pornachandra Tejaswi, a great soul who never aspired for any recognition or reward. At a time when I was feeling bad that not many in the print and electronic media remembered Shri Puchanthe on his 1st death anniversary I accidentally came across this blog which was a perfect tribute from a young fan.
Cheers
Karthik
came across by accident and was going through what all had said..just one point about MSVR..guess he had changed a lot by the 90's..i was a student then at NCB and guess most of us knew by then that MSVR was involved with a lady faculty of another department!!telling this as it was pretty obvious to even those who were in the Arts section!!
also,by our time,he would hardly do justice to the subject..it would have been a miracle if he solved more than 2/3 problems in the class..that too it would mostly be a worked example from the text!!reason was most of the time would go in him "policing" the class and also that he knew everyone would be going for tutions..
sorry for letting the "cat out of the bag"..though i belong to the ear when there were some of the best teachers at NCB,felt like bringing to light about an exception called MSVR..
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