Swara's

  Give me over-the-top action, loud punchlines, and logic-defying plots, and I’ll probably still have a good time. What I can’t stand is when a film tries to act all deep and meaningful but ends up being blind. Here’s the thing; I might whistle at an awkwardly rhymed ‘build up’ dialogue of a regional hero but can’t stand a sentimental monologue, with a ‘social message’ which mistakes oversimplification for insight. The films that use assault or gendered violence merely as plot devices (Lazy tropes!), often with graphic visuals, only to glorify the male lead as a savior, take the crown. These narratives show little to no intention of empathizing with victims or treating their trauma with humanity. They are nothing but exploitative. Even when the screenplay is gripping and the story telling extraordinary, overlooking this exploitation is irrational. I would rather watch thrillers with zero logic and exaggerated acting. They are a safer bet for my sanity. I would be fine watch...

Around two years ago, on a Thursday morning, I woke up feeling insanely blue. The thought of going to college felt unbearable. After minutes of reflection and thorough calculations about my attendance percentages, I decided to bunk. However, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I felt weirdly restless. I hopped out of bed and decided to take a walk. Staying in Basavanagudi had its perks (a lot of them), Gandhi Bazar was just a couple of lanes away. I got dressed, grabbed my camera and headed straight to the flower market. It was quarter to eight, and the market was just coming to life. Vendors were settling into their usual spots, prepping for the day ahead. Fresh loads of flowers had arrived, flooding the morning air with rich scents. The Sun shone shyly, giving the colorful flowers a tinge of contouring.              The following day was Vara Mahalakshmi Vrata and thus, it was busier than usual. People bustled through the market looking at what every vendor...

  Karnataka witnessed one of its most defining movements in the 1980s, a landmark in post-independence India’s language-centric struggles. It all began when the then Chief Minister, D. Devaraj Urs, made a bold decision to move Sanskrit from the first-language category to the third-language group. This move elevated Kannada and all languages of the land, including minority languages to the first- and second-language categories. Urs aimed to correct a trend where Kannada, the state’s official language, was being sidelined, especially in English-medium schools, where it often ended up as the least preferred option. The roots of this issue were traced back to Sanskrit being offered as the first language in Karnataka’s high schools. This arrangement meant many Kannadiga students could complete high school without ever studying their native tongue. Urs's policy was a step towards addressing this imbalance. However, in 1980, after Urs lost power, the new Chief Minister, R. Gundu Rao, reve...

Every year, numerous Ganesha pendals set up across the state herald the arrival of September. They are set up with great effort, incorporating various aspects of ritual tradition and regional culture, often competing with each other. Pop culture invariably makes its way to these pendals; largely influencing the decorations, idol designs and the most evident of all, the pendal soundtracks. Over the decade, pop music has emerged as a celebrated part of Ganesha Habba. From orchestra performances to playing DJ remixes during visarjane, pop music has found its way into what is largely perceived as devotional gathering.   It is so prevalent that it almost seems organic.   Songs like ‘Deva Shree Ganesha’ from Agneepath and ‘Shambu Sutaya’ from ABCD have emerged to become synonymous with the festival across the country. While ‘Gajamukhane Ganapathiye’ is indispensable; people grooving to ‘Kenchalo Manchalo’ is also long standing in Karnataka. Any regional song with a catchy tun...

History; a discipline that gives room to oodles of analysis and interpretations. History extensively studies the evolution of humans and of human-made phenomena. Be it the evolution of primitive societies or the formation of the U.N; be it the evolution of Indus Valley Civilisation or the French revolution of 1789. All that we studied in our history classes focused on humans and their activities as social beings. Thus, some interpretations and understanding of human behaviour is natural to come through our own analysis of various phenomena. History as a discipline was introduced to me for the first time in grade 6. When I opened my text book, the first thing that caught my attention was a picture of four human like figures. The first two looked almost like monkeys; the first one standing on all its four limbs and the second one standing only on its hind limbs but with its fore limbs hanging from its body, just a little above the ground without an upright posture. Me and my friends decl...

Mountains To the mountains; tiny parts of them,  that I felt like I had conquered To the mountains; mighty and huge, that I saw from a distance To the mountains; full of stories,  full of hope To the mountains; that I hadn't dreamt of,  but felt like a dream To the mountains; cold yet so warm, miles away from home yet homely To the mountains; unpredictable and beautiful To the mountains; to parts of them, that moved me, I shall be grateful...