More Kannada literary works go digital

BANGALORE: In keeping with tech-savvy times, several Kannada writers are turning to the audio book format to promote their works in an innovative way.
Keli Katheya Ondalla Aaru, a collection of six stories in this digital avatar, promises to keep readers plugged in. The collection has been complied by a group of youngsters, including Mukund Setlur, Kiran, Nitesh Kuntady, Sateesh Gowda, Roopa Lakshmi, Harish Mallya, Pramod Patagar and Manasa Bharadhwaj.
"What if the world of Kannada stories comes wherever you are? What if the stories reach you as an audio CD? With rapid urbanization, travel time in Bangalore has stretched manifold, especially during peak hours. A Kannada audio book is sure to keep you engaged intimately with literature, offering you a rare experience,'' says Setlur.
The team has selected six stories __ Dare Devil Mustafa (Poornachandra Tejaswi), Dagadu Parabana Ashwamedha (Jayant Kaikini), Maseedi Bidda Moorane Dina (Ravi Belagaere), Yeradu Makkala Kathegalu (Na D'Souza), Kempu Gini (Vasudhendra) and Kaayakave Kailasa (Vikram Hatwar). The music is minimal to make the stories more engaging.
Popular film and cultural personalities like Suchendra Prasad, Prakash Rai, TS Nagabharana, MD Pallavi, Kishore and Rakshith Shetty have read the stories.
The concept of audio books isn't new to Kannada literature. Writer Vasudhendra had introduced his collection, Namma Mane Namage Ishta, in an audio format as early as 2007. Last year, the Sunanda Art Foundation brought out an audio book of K Satyanarayana, Katha Chandrike.
In 2010, Ritwick Simha, son of C R Simha, had taken initiative to bring out audio CDs (for BookTALKS) of Samskara (U R Ananthamurthy), Dharmashri (S L Bhyrappa), Singaravva mathu Aramane (Chandrashekara Kambara), Subbanna mathu sanna kathegalu (Masti Venkatesha Iyengar) and Manada Maathu (a travelogue by Sudha Murty).
V Lakshmikanth of Total Kannada, a book shop in Jayanagar, says audio books are popular, especially with those in the 25-45 age group. "Most of them are commuters who'd like to tune in to Kannada stories while driving. There is a great demand for audio books like Samskara, Subbanna and Sandhyaraga.''
POSITIVE TREND
It's a positive development. The listening habit could gradually turn into a reading habit. Audio books are for the future generation. However, there shouldn't be any compromise in selection of works for this format. The essence and structure of pure Kannada literary works should remain intact.
M S Ashadevi | Kannada critic