Mysooru Mallige

Mysooru Mallige (1942) is a literary work of Kannada poet, K. S. Narasimhaswamy. The collection of poems inspired a movie made by T.S. Nagabharana and also a musical play by Kalagangothri. The book was first released in 1942 at Maharaja College. Due to its popularity, the book was often presented in marriages and it has been re-printed several times.

It is the narration style, centered on the observations of a theater director, B.V. Rajaram. By according flexibility to the character of "Balegaara Channayya" (fictitious character of a bangle seller in rural parts, who converses with the granddaughter of the poet and looks critically at the socio-economic changes in the post-Independence era), he succeeds in communicating effectively.

While T.S. Nagabharana directed "Mysooru Mallige" based on the poems of Narasimhaswamy and portrayed rural life and the pre-Independence movement, Rajaram dared to explore various stages in the poet's life, beginning from adolescence to old age in a vivid manner and unveil life in its entirety to the viewers.

Rajendra Karanth aptly adopted the poetry to the theatre and made it more contemporary. He adopted songs by P. Kalinga Rao, Mysore Ananthaswamy and C. Ashwath, who have popularised poems of Narasimhaswamy. However, by composing popular tunes, S.R. Ramakrishna lost a golden opportunity to experiment with the (Ranga-Geethegalu) songs meant specifically for theatre production. But poems such as "Balegara Channayya, Bagilige Bandihanu", "Hattu Varshada Hinde" and "Nee Baruva Dariyali" enthralled theatre lovers.

The unique aspect of the cassette is the narration before the commencement of the songs by Kannada poet, Dr.N.S.Lakshmi Narayana Bhatta. The narration makes some of the rare revelations like the one about the Kannada poet Da Ra Bendre`s acknowledgement about K. S. Narasimhaswamy`s prowess. Dr.N.S.Lakshmi Narayana Bhatta in his narration compares Mysore Mallige songs to the "beauty of Apsara".

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