All India Radio (AIR) has taken a leaf out of Doordarshan’s book. Since the lockdown, Doorsharshan has been airing its iconic shows like the Ramayana and Mahabharath and has seen a massive jump in viewership. “We have taken a different route with Akashavani,” says N Raghu, Assistant Director of Programmes, Bengaluru.
“Over the last fortnight, we have uploaded 24 interviews of luminaries of Kannada art and culture under the Akashavaniya Amoolya Dhwani Bhandara label. These interviews were recorded at the Akashavani studios over the last six decades. This content will be accessible on hand-held devices and will be a good way for new listeners to connect with their literary and cultural roots.”
The exercise will be a continuous one for Akashavani as they have hundreds of interviews in their archives. “We have a treasure trove of iconic personalities sharing their thoughts on their work. Poet DR Bendre’s interview had 8,000 views on the day of release. The interview was done in 1973 when the Jnanapeet Award was announced for his poetry collection, Naaku Tanti (1964). The response has been overwhelming. We realised that people of all age groups were genuinely interested in literature, poetry, music and films.”
Literary figures, classical musicians, and film personalities were well-received. “Following some feedback, we have also included details of the recording and the name of the interviewer.”
Specials uploaded
Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, born in 1896, was popularly known as Da Ra Bendre.
Karnataka: Bengaluru: 04/11/2014:Still from Kannada film Kasturi Nivasa actor Rajkumar
From the Navodaya period, he was given the honorific of Varakavi (gifted poet-seer). The poet read some of his work in the AIR interview by M Nagaraj Rao. Bendre speaks of how his work was deemed ‘untranslatable’ underlining the importance of Kannada.
Speaking of his poems, many of which have a personality of its own, Bendre says they take form from the Kannada poetic tradition through the idioms of folklore, vachanas and kirtans . “I love employing native imagery, folklore and mythology,” Bendre says in the interview.
With respect to film personalities, it was a treat to watch Dr Rajkumar being interviewed by S Ramaswamy in April 1971. The veteran actor was part of several religious epics including Kumbara, Harishchandra and Kasturi Nivasa . “From childhood, I was fond of watching action movies. I would manage to get money to watch them,” says Rajkumar, who started his acting career with Gubbi Veeranna’s theatre group. “Later on I became interested in devotional characters. Acting as Sant Tukaram and Kanakadasa had a bearing on my persona. I wondered how directors told stories on screen; I was only interested in acting.”
Chennai: 06/10/2016: The Hindu: Cinema Plus: Blast from the Past Column: Title: Irulum Oliyum, Cast: AVM Rajan, Vanishree, Puttanna Kanagal and others.
The interview with maverick movie maker Puttanna Kanagal is illuminating. He describes his movie-making as a pursuit of excellence. Puttanna says he observed every director’s work closely, “to study the various ways of taking a story forward.” Puttanna started his filmmaking career with folk tales and historicals. Triveni’s novel, Belli Moda caught his eye.
“Although I adapted the novel’s storyline for screen, I set it in picturesque surroundings to celebrate Karnataka. That became Puttanna shaili (signature style),” he says in a 1973 interview with Alanahalli Krishna.
Who’s who
The interviews uploaded by Akashavani on YouTube include DR Bendre, KuVemPu, M Govinda Pai, K Shivram Karanth, SK Karim Khan, DV Gundappa, RK Laxman, Dr Rajkumar, P Lankesh, KV Subbanna, MV Seetharamaiah, Chandarshekara Kambara, KM Nagaraj, Bharati Vishnuvardhan, Mallikarjun Mansur, Dr M Gopalakrishna Adiga, Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, Master Hirannayya, KS Narasimha Swamy, UR Anathamurthy, S Nijalingappa and Puttanna Kanagal.
Karnataka : Bengaluru : 28/12/2018 . Jnanapith awardee , Chandrashekhara Kambara , Poet, Playwright, Folklorist, film director in Kannada language , Founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi and President of the Sahitya Akademi in Bengaluru on 28th , December 2018 . Photo : Bhagya Prakash K / The Hindu
Raghy then adds, “Apart from interviews, we have also uploaded our radio plays including Gokula Nirgamana (an opera penned by Pu Ti Narasimhachar, directed by BV Karanth), Maha Shilpi, Gowdara Malli and Kakana Kote. ”
