ALTER IDEM

'What?! Have you forgotten Bangalore?!' - this was my dad's neighbour, Mr.Sheshadri, greeting me one evening, with that familiar, teasing tone! Laughing 'No, uncle', I spent some time talking to the Sheshadris by their gate. Some time later, it rained heavily. To top it, we had a power cut at 10 in the night. The weather hadn't cooled down and I found it difficult to go to sleep. After some tossing and turning, I went through my day and remembered Shesh uncle's words. Suddenly, it struck me that, actually, I hadn't forgotten Bangalore at all! For starters, I remembered the Bangalore, where, the fan was not used at all. Even during the peaks of summer, the nights would be so airy and cool. Then, I remembered, - the Bangalore, where travelling around was not a nightmarish experience. - the Bangalore, where walking, be it on Commercial Street or our own I Block, was such a pleasure. One didn't have to watch one's step, or, purse. - the Bangalor...

'Naayi - Neralu' - the first time I came across this term, about 3-4 years ago, I was in Puttur, a town near Mangalore. Everyone I met was talking about this film unit that was shooting for a Kannada movie of the same name in a heritage house nearby.The movie went on to win awards for the director, Girish Kasaravalli. I don't know if the movie did well at the box office, but, it was shown on TV, more than a year ago. My dad, who seldom watches movies, had just finished watching it when I had called him. Dad had liked the movie and even recommended it to me - unlike my husband's friends. They had watched it in the theatre with their kid when it was released. Turned out to be an embarassing experience for them - the kid insisted on yelling 'What a boring movie!' every now and then :D Sri.S.L.Bhairappa, now in his seventies, is a Kannada novelist who enjoys enormous readership. All his books, including 'Naayi- Neralu', have seen several re-prints and trans...