Plays & Short Story

1. Bidi Hoovu : (Single Flower):- ಬಿಡಿ ಹೂವು

Bidi Hoo is a symbolic story. Leelu is a very Pretty girl of ten years old. She loved flowers. She liked to just watch the flowers on the plants but did not want to pluck them. Parvatamma was her mother. She was fond of seeing her pretty daughter adorning these flowers on her hair. Leelu was an intelligent girl and very much devoted to God. Her mother used to get worried to hear her saying, “she did not want to get married”. When the flowers were plucked by force to adorn her hair, Leelu used to throw the loose petals in the air which made her very happy. When her marriage was fixed, she was running a high fever.

She did not want to get married. Mother was in the celebrative mood to do this marriage. The marriage was fixed with her maternal uncle. After Leelu got recovered from her illness, went to the Shiva temple on a Monday, got engrossed in Shiva Pooje, gave her life to Lord Shiva. As she was like a flower, she reached Lord Shiva. The story starting with an incident with flowers, ended with the explanation of a flower like Leela’s soul surrendering to Lord Shiva.

This story has taken a new path in writing. It has the influence of devotional stories. The feeling of when you go against the wishes of your children, how this could impact the child’s mind with unavoidable danger is imprinted in this story.

2. Kaadu Mallige [1937] (ಕಾಡು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ) - Wild Jasmine :

This book was published in 1937 during Deepavali time. There are five stories in this book. The titles are: Kaadu Mallige (Forest Jasmine), Innelliya Repayree (What is there to repair?), Bidi Hoovu (Single flower), Andhinindha(From that day) and Kaaranakartharaaru? (Who is responsible?)

Sri. C.K. Venkataramaiah, a famous writer, in his foreword had written: “some of the descriptions are captivating. The style is simple. Even in some parts, the dialogues are so good, it would reverberate your heart”. Like this he praised CKN.

1n 1930’s, there was an increase in the creation of these kind of stories. When the pain, unhappiness, sorrow, discrimination were rampant in the society and when these were seen by the writer, it would cut deep into his heart which would transform into a story and Kaadumallige is a witness to that kind of an act. It is not a wonder for an unmarried young adult to manifest the idealistic imagination. Even though the story is delightful, it is noticeable that the story’s intention is attractive. This is also a main story in this collection.

This is a simple story but a deeply touching one. The main character is Muniya, an untouchable, who has profound interest in music. While walking, Muniya was singing a song “what should I ask you when I come to see you’’ by Purandaradasa, a famous Kannada composer of devotional songs. While getting closer to a nearby building called Shankarayya Hall, he heard a song singing by Sri Krishna Bhagavathar in Thodi Raga. He came near the building and stood there. People who paid money were sitting inside and they were engrossed in listening to the music.

Other people who did not have money, were sitting outside and listening. Muniya was one amongst them. He had put his face close to the window and engrossed in listening to the music and enjoying it. Bhagavatar was very happy to see Muniya’s face. A police officer spotted Muniya standing close to the window without the ticket. When the police officer asked Muniya to move away while he was engrossed in the music, they subjected him to their beating for not obeying their commands to move away. His painful cry was heard by the Bhagavatar also and Muniya was asked by Bhagavatar to go inside appreciating him for his love for music and Bhagavatar sang the song requested by Muniya. Since Muniya felt blessed, he prostrated before the Bhagavatar and went away.

Four years later, there was a concert by the Bhagavatar at the same place. That day Muniya was not to be seen. When he enquired about him, he came to know that Muniya had died from Plague. Bhagavatar was extremely sad. He did not have the mind to give the concert where the person whom he would see enjoy the music was not present there. Bhagaavatar leaves the place saying, “ only God has the right to adorn the Mallige flower grown in the forest and not the human beings”.

“Kaadu Mallige” is a highly emotional story. It is not a love story, but a story of a music lover. Without showing off and without using tricky words, the story has been created. In the society, due to many reasons, painful incidents happen. One should seek a right direction to prevent it from happening. Otherwise, the talented mind would shrivel up. These kind of feelings troubled author’s mind in creating this story.

3. KaaraNakarthanaaru (Who is responsible? - ಕಾರಣಕರ್ತನಾರು) :

This story touches the heart. When Suleman was leaving for a battle, he lovingly look at his beautiful wife, Noor and his handsome son Rasool and tells them that he would come back. Suleman’s friend was a relative of the family. Noor learns from the friend that Suleman would never return and she tells her son who was crying for his father that this friend himself was his father. The friend succeeded for his own selfish reasons by telling a lie to convince her.

After a few days, Suleman returns. He was disgusted to see his wife being with another man. Noor, who was trapped to believe her husband would not be returning, after seeing her husband commits suicide with haunting grief. The story ends with a question, Who is responsible?

4. Andhininda (From that day) - ಅಂದಿನಿಂದ :

Andininda' story is about a person who is proficient in music, literature and painting. After losing his wife and child, he spends his time wandering like a lunatic.

Ramashastry who is an artist and also a professional one in performing Harikathe, takes a young person by forcibly persuading to his home as he had received praise for performimg Harikathe wonderfully in Ramashastry’s absence. This young person disappears without telling about his life’s secret.

Gadiyaara Ramashastry (as he was known as) and this young man meet again in Ramapura when he was painting a rare picture. But again he disappears. Whenever Ramashastry was doing Harikathe, he used to narrate this story as a side story. He used to keep the painting ‘From That Day’ done by that young person for inspiration.

This is a painful life story of an artist. This is a rare description of praising another artist’s worthiness by an artist.

5. Innelliya Repairee (What is there to repair?) - ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿಯ ರಿಪೇರಿ :

This is a tragic story of an young adult who was frightened by the unemployment as well as trampled by loans.

Lalita and Srinatha are newly married couple. Even though he was a graduate, he was unemployed. He was carrying a big burden on loans. He was wandering all over looking for jobs and telling tales to the lenders to buy some time to repay the loans. Theirs was a starving life. His wife equally shared her husband’s sorrow. They were living in an old rented house which never had been repaired.

Once, there was a ray of hope for Srinatha of getting a job. But it got vanished. Srinatha took the poison and died not knowing how to go on living like that. When Lalita was tormented in the sorrow of her husband’s death and had collapsed and sitting on the floor, the house was hit by the typhoon collapsing the house and she also dies. The life of the newly married couple ended tragically.

In this story the blind faith and the nature’s rage have been used appropriately. The ending of the story is dreadful. In Nagaraja Rao’s stories, the description of the nature is less but this has been unproven in this story. It is impossible to repair an old house and the horrible life. The title of the story amplifies that.