Many know Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar as a freedom fighter, And many others know him as a writer of his famous book "Amerikadalli Goruru" but he holds a special place in my heart for his book "Namma Oorina Rasikaru".
When my friend suggested that we go to his native Gorur, Although the name ringed a bell somewhere in the corner of my mind, My conception was still of a laid back village in the outskirts of Hassan. Even when the Name of Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar came up in the conversations when I was there or when this house was pointed out to me, it did not strike me even once of the connection. It only strikeed me in my sleep today :) (Even after years Indians remember the Name of hero's and heroines of popular films but not the name of the directors)
I was introduced to this book, "Namma Oorina Rasikaru". almost a Decade ago thanks to our Education System (I had very limited exposure to Kannada book / literature in the Educational framework in which I studied),Only a handful, 3 to be exact choose to study this book. With my command over the language not being good, any book would have been ideally forgotten
and buried for good but this book was still holds a place in my rack and my memory. Me being brought up mostly in the city this book gave me a glimpse if the tranquility of Village life, giving each individuals in the story a different and interesting characters, and even giving Non living characters life (You feel that the Bus is actually playing a character in the book, Where the bus even plays the part of a Clock, How conductors and postmans in gorus / villages wre treated at the time.....). The book easily transforms us into this interesting village. Although my exposure to Kannada Books is not even a handful, I could easily consider Gorur's story telling strengths in Kannada to be as good a Jeffery archer in English.
