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A gentle and tolerant people, the people of
Karnataka value simplicity and hospitality in keeping with the
friendly nature of their land. Perhaps the land has assisted its
people to develop its love for the arts, literature, music, poetry
and dance. Yet, everywhere can be seen the rewards of physical
effort and intellectual striving.
The great Karnataka poet,
B.M. Srikantia, whose verses were taught by parents to their young
children to foster a sense of pride and belonging, praises her with
these words: “A land of gold is this Mysore, A shrine of
sandalwood is this Mysore…”
In its original Kannada,
the lines are more musical still. They refer to the Alladin’s
cave of the Kolar gold mines – amongst the riches in India –
and the scented sandalwood forests for which Mysore (the old name for
Karnataka State) is renowned. The fabulous silk fabrics, which the
names Mysore, Bangalore, Chamunda evoke are as radiant as the
beautiful rivers which flow through the land, the Kaveri, the Krishna
and its tributary, the Tungabhadra, and as textured and shimmering as
the great Jog Waterfalls near the coast. The rain forests in the
South are home to that symbol of strength and bravery, the tiveer.
Tales of tigers and shikar (hunting) abound in children’s
stories and even in contemporary fiction such as the Malgudi Days
of R.K. Narayan. The fast receding population of elephants,
residents of the forests till today, have been granted a special
status in recent times. Statues of elephants are hand-carved by
thousands of craftsmen in rosewood, sandalwood and ivory and travel
to distant lands, only to find a new home on display shelves. Grace,
quiet charm and above all a sense of equilibrium pervade the
atmosphere especially in smaller towns and in the countryside, for
modern city life, as everywhere, follows a frenzied rhythm, given the
race it must run against time and space.
Indeed, we are told that
those who move to Karnataka never wish to leave it. What is the
magic appeal, even today, of Karnataka? Is it the people, the food,
the atmosphere or the art and culture?
The cuisine has a certain
affinity with the sister States of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Andhra, and yet retains its individuality, making more use of
coconut, cashewnut and the locally-grown spices such as cardamom,
cumin seed and black pepper and less of chilli powder and tamarind.
On the coast, fish and rice specialities abound, while in the north,
wheat is the main cereal. Rice and lentils form the staple fare,
although variations such as jowar and ragi, the latter
a cereal which resembles mustard seeds, are nourishing and are often
used as substitutes. Huli a lentil and vegetable dish and
saaru a thin soup form part of a daily menu, together with
polyas or seasonal vegetables cooked in such a way that their
flavour and colour and retained. To clear the palate at the end of a
meal, one could be served Chitraanna – rice flavoured
with green chilli and lime juice, fragrant coriander leaves and fried
groundnuts. A favourite desert is Mysore paak made from the
flour of masur dal, (lentil). An ever-faithful standby to be
prepared hot for visitors or unexpected callers, to be packed in
tiffin boxes or eaten as a snack or used in place of rice in a main
meal is the ubiquitous uppittu, known outside Karnataka as
upma. Being made of semolina, a wheat product, lit is
reasonably quickly prepared. Indeed, part of the secret of the
Kanadigas’s peaceful nature must be conceded to the regional
fare, and the women who toil for hours preparing it for the
contentment and satisfaction of their families. Since Karnataka
accounts for half of India’s total coffee production, a glass of
filtered coffee, served in a small, shining stainless steel glass
with a bowl underneath for cooling it, served with thick cow’s
milk is the one beverage to taste while on a visit. If you prefer,
though, chilled butter milk could quench you thirst, but the aroma of
the former will stay with you long after the meal is over.
In a typical Karnataka
home, another scent that is easy to notice is that of the
sweet-smelling Jasmine. Fresh flowers are a must for the morning
worship at the family altar. The goddess Lakshmi is placed in a
little metal or rosewood shrine on a shelf in the kitchen, and
together with the housewife, oversees the day’s cooking. The
ladies themselves adorn garlands of fresh flowers in their hair,
every single day of the year. Hence any market place in Karnataka,
whether in a small town or a big city, has stalls selling flowers and
garlands, for worship as well as adornment. The abundance of scented
flowers could be one reason for preferring one’s native land –
a subtle persuasion not to leave for pastures only apparently
greener.
A great binding force
here is language, which was the government’s chief consideration
while forming the boundary lines of Karnataka and other States in
1965. After Sanskrit, and Tamil, Kannada is the oldest Indian
language, and is the State’s official language. It is musical
sounding, and has a number of words borrowed from Sanskrit as well as
Persian and Urdu, and has in turn loaned certain words to Urdu and
Marathi. Urdu is spoken in Bijapur and Bidar in the north. In fact,
it originated there during the period when it was part of the old
state of Hyderabad, under the Nizam. Kannada is more logical than
Sanskrit and Hindi, to the extent that gender is not an arbitrary
matter. Objects which are inanimate belong to the neuter gender.
Tulu and Konkani are spoken languages only, used by the people living
on the coast. Konkani is a full-fledged and expressive system. For
written purposes, it handily borrows a script, such as the roman
script in Goa, just north of the border of Karnataka, where Konkani
is prevalent. Elsewhere, the Marathi or Kannada scripts are used.
The small and distinctive
region of Coorg in Mangalore has its own language, Coorgi, which has
resemblances to Tulu and kannada. The Koudavas or Coorgis, are a
distinct ethnic group with their own customs, cuisine and culture.
Said to be descended from the ancient Scythians, they believe in
ancestor worship and also revere a mother goddess. This affinity
with Hinduism took place possibly by assimilation. A warlike people,
they gave independent India some of its first generals, such as
General Cariappa and General Thimayya. One should not miss the
opportunity to be a guest at a Coorgi wedding or the feast which
follows, as it is a fascinating experience, different from any other.
The fascination for the
old and the new, the respect for tradition accompanying the search
for modernity are most evident in the world of entertainment. Cinema
going is a much loved pastime, especially in Bangalore, and some of
the most artistic film makers come from Karnataka, like M.S. Sathyu
and Girish Karnad. At the New Year festival of Yugadi, on the
first day of the month of Chaitra, poetry reading festivals in
Kannada and classical music conferences hold audiences enthralled.
Love for poetry and music run deep here and its inclusion in daily
life is a soothing, balancing influence in our mad world.
In Karnataka too, as
everywhere in India, the wise past is ever-present, nourishing,
cautioning and occasionally simply witnessing the youthful play of
the present.
THE OIL BATH
In most Indian
communities, a bath or snan is de rigueur, a vital part
of most cultural traditions. There re ways and ways of bathing but
the oil bath prevalent in South India is a sure winner.
For the Kannadiga, an oil
bath is both a link with the past and a way to ensure longevity, good
skin and hair. In most traditional Kannada households, huge copper
cauldrons for heating water are a permanent fixture and bespeak of a
deep commitment to the fine art of an oil bath.
The ritual of an oil bath
is definitely an art form. Contrary to its name, an oil bath is not
about bathing in oil – you need a few ounces of gingelly or
castor oil and gallons of hot water. It is not an idiosyncrasy on
the part of the Kannadiga to have an oil bath but is a practise based
on scientific principles. It is believed that regular oil baths help
to banish ushna, the inner heat of the body, thereby
preventing many ailments. The oil bath keeps the mind calm and
ensures a healthy, glowing body.
An oil bath begins with
liberal amounts of oil applied on the head and hair. The scalp is
rubbed vigorously for it to absorb the oil. After some time, it is
the body’s turn to be massaged well. A few minutes later,
buckets of hot water are poured over the head and shoulders to wash
off the excess oil not absorbed by the hair and body. The water must
be as hot as possible to bear by the person. Then a natural soap
solution, extracted from the soapnut is applied to the hair to get
rid of the oil. The body is scrubbed with herbal powders and special
mixes to wash off the oil. Hot water is poured repeatedly over the
body and the result of this endeavour – a clean body and a
relaxed mind. For adults, oil baths are a pleasure, an effective way
of washing off stress but for children, oil baths are a punishment.
Not only do they have to ensure sitting still for hours, but if the
soapnut solution seeps into the eyes, the burning sensation persists
for hours and is very painful.
The time taken over an
oil bath is a matter of pride and varies from region to region in
Karnataka. In Malnad, an oil bath stretches over a couple of hours
unlike Mysore where it takes less than an hour. Second only to the
Malayalis in the oil bath tradition, Kannadigas use at least ten to
twelve buckets of water per person.
Haircare receives a
fillip from the oil bath tradition, a fact verified by the long and
lustrous hair most Kannadiga women have. Often after an oil bath,
hair is not rubbed dry with a towel. Instead fragrant herbal powders
are sprinkled onto charcoal embers over which a large loosely woven
basket is upturned. The woman lies down with her hair spread over
the basket and soon her hair dries in the fragrant smoke, absorbing
much of the fragrance. In fact, there is a special ritual, the
mogina jade to celebrate a maiden’s long, thick,
beautiful back hair. In summer when the jasmines are in full bloom,
young girls decorate their long plaits with jasmines and the family
hair ornaments. They are then presented in all their finery to
neighbours, friends and close relatives, almost akin to a debutante’s
coming out ball in Western societies.
Photographs of this
special day are sure to find a place in family albums and every girl
has sweet memories of her mongina jade when she was the focus of
everyone’s attention.
In today’s world,
with its frantic pace of life, the oil bath is increasingly becoming
an old fashioned luxury. Not many have the time or the means to
indulge in regular oil baths. However, traditional Kannadigas still
swear by the efficacy of the oil bath and this you can tell from
their smiling faces.
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