B V Raghavan's Kannada class.
Special Arrangement.
B V Raghavan holds degrees in commerce and law, and diplomas in journalism and computer engineering. Yet the 68-year-old from Bengaluru is best known for teaching Kannada to non-Kannadigas. He has been at it since he was 15.
He started teaching Kannada at Bangalore Tamil Sangam in Shivajinagar as a volunteer in 1973. After the classes were discontinued, he founded Kannada Prasaara Parishat (KPP) in 1990. His non-profit teaches how to speak, read and write in Kannada. Since Covid-19, he and his army of part-time teachers have moved these paid classes online (see box).
The native Kannada speaker wanted to share his knowledge of the language with others. Later, he underwent formal training in teaching and even trained others. “Language learning can’t be imposed. The interest has to come from within,” he says.
Parents enrol their children in KPP’s spoken Kannada classes so the latter can communicate with Kannada-speaking kids. Working professionals sign up in order to get along with their Kannada colleagues. People married into Kannadiga families and NRIs who plan to move to Bengaluru also take these classes.
Senior citizens hope with basic Kannada, they can make more friends and beat their loneliness. KPP’s students include IPS and IAS officers, doctors, journalism students, and the Singaporean-Indian playback singer Priyadarshini who has gone on to sing in Kannada films.
The course on reading and writing in Kannada attracts parents who want to help school-going kids with their Kannada homework, college students who aim to write state exams, and Kannadigas who want to read local newspapers. Some hope Kannada classes will better their interactions with government agencies. “Others want to read signboards,” he remarks.
Raghavan notes that people today are not as “fascinated” with learning the language as they were before. “Half of them drop out, citing a busy work schedule or travel,” he says.
How to join
Offers two courses — spoken - Kannada, and written Kannada.
New batch every three months. Next in January.
Classes twice a week depending on the availability of participants and teachers.
Contact 94488 78569 or kannada.parishat@gmail.com