My ‘Kannada’ perspicacity!

My ‘Kannada’ perspicacity!

Karnataka…....or to be exact, I am a part of the ‘Kannadigan’ population now... My linguistic journey with Kannada can be traced back to one year, it was actually not when I started to learn the language but when I started wanting to learn! (Actually at Bangalore, one can easily survive by speaking English and Hindi, so earlier I found no point in learning any other language)

To explore both, others and myself, to have new and challenging experiences etc. were some of the feelings that drove me towards this language. Since, cultures define themselves through languages so, learning a new language for me became a mode of getting into a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Owing to my love and passion for music…. singing, learning songs etc., I find this phase of learning pretty much interesting, and rewarding in the way that now I can explore some more variety of songs! Neither have I considered this language as a mere tool of conversation or translation from one language to another nor even as a way that can be used to help me integrate with the local community or demonstrating my interest in and commitment to their place. I would rather relate my endeavors with the special learning experiences which are quite fulfilling, surprising, and challenging. Discovering a language is just like getting some nice new surprise and a whole new level of understanding and is much more than making myself able to communicate with others. I can’t express the amount of joy I feel while having a conversation with the 60 year ‘young’ ‘Thata’ (gatekeeper of my hostel) …and he have no idea that this broken conversation with him has now become an inseparable part of my  day!

Since, I try to avoid learning grammatical rules and dealing with complexities of some alien language! Hence, In the process of learning, I get a bit dishonest and unsystematic by skipping the rules and sticking to ‘what sounds right’ (which is obviously a very stupid learning method).  I specially enjoy the part when my ‘kannadiga’ friends toil very hard to make me learn in the most simplified manner… (Hats off! for the patience they show by tolerating me, my blunders and unending queries!)

Initially when I began learning the language, I felt like a child. But now, I can actually understand the language, can speak up to some considerable extent and also enjoy movies with a ‘Tollywoodia’ flavor. I am not that much intellectually competent to understand the amount of philosophical association between a language and any culture but, what I perceive now is that a language is much more than a mere symbolic and verbal representations of thoughts. Some say learning a language helps you to understand how other people think but for me it helps me to understand how I think!

These days, my most frequent and favorite Kannada dialogue goes like– “Kannada kaltkottaidini, nidhhanavaagi mathanaadu” (Please speak slowly, I am still on the learning phase!).

Hopefully I will learn more and would have stories to share!