Ending 2009 on a sad note

The last week of 2009 (and of this decade) is proving to be an extremely painful week for Kannadigas.

First, we lost C. Ashwath, a great singer and music composer who made "Sugama Sangeetha" a household name. Ashwath ensured that hundreds of poems written by various poets reaches the common man which otherwise would have remained only in books. C. Ashwath is most famous for composing music for Santha Shishunala Sharif's poems. Ashwath's high energy singing was very very contagious. My wife, who was lucky to have attended one of his concerts, remembered that when Ashwath sang, everyone had goosebumps. Some of his best ever compositions include - "Subba bhattara magale", "Badavanaadarenu Priye", "Kodagana Koli Nungitha", "Gupthagaamini", "Bangaara Teera kadalaache", "Shravana banthu naadige" and many, many more. Ashwath's versatile singing was evident in the song "Kechalo Machalo" from the movie Kariya which is one of the most youthful songs in Kannada.

I am sure that C. Ashwath's amazing rendition of "Taravalla Tegi Ninna Tamboori Swara" will remain with us forever. May the great soul rest in peace.

Just when we were all recovering from one big jolt, Kannadigas were hit by a lightening -- Sahasa Simha Dr Vishnuvardhan's untimely and tragic demise. Vishnuvardhan stormed the kannada film industry with a stunning performance as the protagonist in "Nagara Haavu". He won the best actor award for that movie. After this, Vishnu never looked back. Delivering hit after hit, Vishnu reached a stature next only to Dr. Rajkumar. In fact, Dr. Raj and Vishnu were regarded as the two shining stars of the Kannada film industry. It is unfortunate that the two acted together in just one movie - "Gandada Gudi".

Some of the star's hits were "Nagara Haavu", "Bhoothayana Maga Ayyu", "Guru Sishyaru", "Sahasa Simha", "Jayasimha", "Hombisilu", "Malaya Marutha", "Mathe Hadithu Kogile", "Veerappa Nayaka" and many more. In fact, the two biggest hits came pretty late in his sparkling career of over 3 decades. Both "Yajamaana" and "Aptha Mitra" smashed all records for collection prevailing during that time.

Can anyone forget "Bandhana" where Vishnu portrays a heart broken lover? Or "Muthina Haara" where he excelled as an army major? Or the action flick "Kotigobba" where he is a don in disguise? Or the thriller "Nishkarsha" where he leads an operation against deadly terrorists who have held a bank hostage? Or his heart rending performance in "Karna" where the hero donates his kidney in order to raise money for his sister's marriage? Or the freedom fighter's role in "Veerappa Nayaka"? Or "Maathaad Maathaad Mallige" in which Dr. Vishnu fights the bad forces through Gandhian style satyagraha?

These performances ensure that Dr. Vishnu will live with us forever. His last released movie was "Bellary Naaga". Everyone was keenly anticipating his next film "Aptha Rakshaka" which is dubbed to be the sequel of the super hit "Aptha Mithra". Vishnuvardhan was also keenly hoping that "Aaptha Rakshaka" would provide him the commercial success which had eluded him of late.

Even though Dr. Vishnuvardhan reached super stardom, he remained an extremely humble and a very friendly person. He always had a smile on his face. He had keen interest in philosophy and spirituality.

One of his songs instantly comes to my mind - "Ee Bhoomi Bannada buguri, aa shivane chaati kano; ee baalu sundara nagari, neenidara meti kano; ninthaaga buguriya aata, ellaru onde ota; kaala kshanika kano". The song is from the not so successful movie "Maha Kshatriya". It translates into something like this - "This world is a coloured top and the lord is the spinner; This life is a beautiful town, you are the architect; when the top stops spinning, its just one race..."

Truely, Dr. Vishnuvardhan is a "Kotigobba" (One in a million). May his soul rest in peace.