ವಿಚಿತ್ರಾನ್ನ ‘ಫೋಕಸ್‌’ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ! (ಯೇ?)

(ಇದು ಓದುಗರೊಬ್ಬರ ಅಹವಾಲು. ಅವರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವನ್ನು ಅನುಮೋದಿಸುವವರು ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೆಲವರು ಇರಬಹುದೆಂಬ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರೆಲ್ಲರ ಅವಗಾಹನೆಗೂ ಈ ತಾತ್ಪರ್ಯ ಸಿಗುತ್ತದೆಯೆಂಬ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಈಮೈಲ್‌ ವಿನಿಮಯವನ್ನು ಯಥಾವತ್ತಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. - ಶ್ರೀವತ್ಸ ಜೋಶಿ.)

----- Original Message -----
From: Sandhya Kulkarni
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 11:10 PM
Subject: About Your Articles

Dear Mr Joshi,

I have been reading all your vichitranna articles over last more then a year. I really wonder your capacity to write about all the things. But, over few months, I have been noticing that you have lost the focus on the column. As I understood, it was supposed to give us some good feeling, fun filled articles, But, over period you are just writing about some thing, about shopping cart, about tie, about static current.

Agreed, it gives a great amount of information about different aspects, but what that Vichitranna column was supposed to be focused on was, about fun filled articles. To my opinion, which is completely missing now a days. Probably, these articles can be published at different column, but not at Vichitranna. You can write some good articles, provided if you focus on the original concept of Vichitranna, fun filled, light articles which would bring laughter.

So, I hope you will re-focus on writing fun filled articles again. Hope you will take this in a sportive way, I dont have any intention to hurt you, but I believe in constructive criticism would bring best out of a writer.

- Sandhya Kulkarni
USA

* * *

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 Srivathsa Joshi wrote :

Sandhya Kulkarniyavarige namaskaaragaLu.

I truly appreciate your honest and frank feedback. I take it sportive, no getting hurt and all.

However, I would have respected your feedback little more if You were also to write to me during the initial period of the column where you thought the column provided very good fun for you (if it did, of course). You never preferred to write a single line of plain comment, appreciation or whatever. Now after 71 weeks when you write first time saying, "I have been reading this column from the beginning and of late youve lost focus.", I see you more as a "cry baby" than anything else. Come on, you could have written at least one-word comment to any of the episodes you liked, you could have participated in different quiz contests that appeared in the column from time to time. Instead you just kept quiet. How do I know that you liked or disliked a particular article? Hope you have seen scores of readers feedback posted on the portal.

Now, lets focus on the "focus" part of it. You are absolutely right in saying that I have lost focus in Vichitranna column. You are also "obsolete"ly right, because its not yesterday or today that I lost focus, the very second week of the column its focus shifted. So did on 3rd week and then week after week. I think you expected Vichitranna to be a column of "haasya lekhanagaLu" like those of say M.S.Narasimha Murthy, a raa mitra, kepha, Sunanda Belgaonkar, Dhundiraj, Soori HaardaLLi and so on. You are grossly mistaken. Actually I am a big zero in "fiction" writing (even fiction of humor form). Ive hardly read any fiction either. My capability is only to write about facts, my compilations, the small and beautiful things of our day-to-day life and so on. I call it contents of "jeevana preeti". My single objective is providing "infotainment" (information + entertainment) and it has worked very well with umpteen readers of the column worldwide.

Let me give an analogy here. Have you read the "biruku biTTa maDike" episode in Vichitranna? (You must not have liked it because it hardly had any FUN for you). I urge you to read it now. My vichitranna column also is a "biruku biTTa maDike". It doesnt fully serve the purpose of "providing fun" but since it doesnt and cant, I have used its drawback to blossom so many information snippets just like the water-carrier used his broken-pot to water plants alongside his route. I am doing the same thing. If my Vichitranna were to be just haasyalekkhanagaLu (as you would have preferred) it would have been like the other pot (unbroken) just meant for carrying water. Whereas since its a broken-pot, it has been able to not just carry water (to limited capacity) but also to grow some flowers enroute.

Which are those flowers?

See an example in coming Tuesdays (Feb 24th) Vichitranna! And I will continue to show to you more...

Lastly, to bring a hearty laughter to you and me, see this cartoon and my note about the cartoon.

================================

Proverb says - variety is the spice of life;
Look at this cartoon of husband and wife.
If TV programs cant offer you variety fair
Get some by sitting upside-down in your chair !

================================

Replace the third line with "If Vichitranna cant offer you variety fair"

:-))

Have a nice weekend!

- Srivathsa Joshi

* * *

----- Original Message -----
From: Sandhya Kulkarni
To: Srivathsa Joshi
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 8:12 PM
Subject: Re: Detail Response Re: Articles in Vichitranna...

Hello Mr Joshi,

Thanks very much for your prompt reply.

You have complained, I have not written a single word of appreciation and now I am writing, so you have labeled me as "Cry Baby". Fine. It indicates, only those who appreciate have the right to do criticism, which is to me, looks like has no meaning. There are many a times we like some thing and miss to compliment, I bet, you personally might have liked so many articles and might have missed to compliment them. Which is very very common. Yes, I have been reading all appreciation’s of your account at thatskannada, people might not have bothered to write back to you the way in which I have written.

I am not expecting some articles like Dhundiraj etc, which is not correct. Every writer is unique in his/her own way. As I am also working as consultant, I understand the time pressure you experience, but since you have the potential to write good thing, just thought of letting you know what is missing.

If you are thinking, I dont like serious reading, sorry, I like serious reading, all sorts of reading. Also, I did not understand your analogy of "broken pot". If you are still thinking, what you are focusing at Vichitranna is correct, that is perfectly fine with me. Let me add a final word, I have no intention to "cry", if I had that, I could have written directly to thatskannada.com. Just wanted to let you know what is missing. An English proverb goes like this, "A best friend is one, who tells my faults in a private room".

Dhanyavadgalondige,

- Sandhya Kulkarni

* * *

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 Srivathsa Joshi wrote :

Sandhya Kulakarniyavarige namaskaara.

No, I havent complained. All I am saying is, you not telling even once which is good for you, which one you liked, its difficult for me to understand what specifically you are conveying by saying, "focus is lost, fun is missing..." etc.

At least, tell me from the list of 71 episodes of Vichitranna till now, which one really enticed you at least a bit.

The list is available at

That way I can assess, "Oh, this is the type of contents in Vichitranna which readers like Sandhya Kulkarni like".

Or, since you mentioned in your orginal (first) mail that Tie, Shopping Cart and Static Electricity episodes made you sic, can I assume that remaining 68 episodes were "ok" for you?

Please understand, I dont want your compliments. I dont get upset if you criticize. I have been telling readers, right from episode-1 that please please do write your frank opinion about Vichitranna. I will gladly welcome your writing published in thatskannada.com

Unless you convey good or bad how do I know? Thats why I said, "okay I will agree that Vichitranna has lost focus. But please guide me by saying till what time it stayed focused...?"

And for your information, many (or lets say most) of the recent Vichitranna episodes were based on readers inputs. So a forthcoming one, let it be based on Sandhya Kulkarnis inputs. Who says not worth giving a try?

Finally, as I said, read tomorrows Vichitranna. There may not be FUN of your liking, but definitely you will love reading it.

Warm regards and best wishes,

- Srivathsa Joshi

* * *

----- Original Message -----
From: Sandhya Kulkarni
To: Srivathsa Joshi
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 10:27 PM
Subject: Re: Thats fine, but till which point focus was maintained?

Hello Mr Joshi,

Thanks for your mail again.

I believe, giving guidance or inputs is work of elders, I am a simple reader and I would like to be like that. I dont want to give guidance/inputs to any body else, I wrote what I felt. It is completely up to a writer to write his/her article, articles should reflect his/her views, I believe, articles should not be tailored according to readers views. This is what I feel, might be wrong. At least this was the understanding what I have by reading most of the columns in Kannada. But never knew, each week (Or some of the weeks), you take inputs from readers.

By your cartoon it is evident that, you are suggesting me to read your articles with some other angle(??) I dont understand this (!!). I understood from your reaction that you have not taken this in sportive way, well, being the writer of the column, you decide on its contents. Any column should not be based on my inputs or any body elses inputs.

There is no end to this, as by exchanging emails we never come to conclusion on any topic. We would go on defending our own stands. So, I will stop this at this point and I would like to re-iterate, you have the complete freedom to write any thing in your column, it has to be in that way, I believe.

Nimma yella email galige, tumba dhanyavadgalu,

- Sandhya

* * *

Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 05:38:19 -0500 (EST)
From: Srivathsa Joshi
Subject: Conclusions...
To: Sandhya Kulkarni

Sandhya Kulakarniyavarige namaskaaragaLu.

Okay, lets close the debate with following conclusions:

1. Srivathsa Joshi has lost focus in Vichitranna.

2. Sandhya Kulkarni has noticed this focus-loss.

3. Lets hope one day (sooner or later or laaaaaater) Srivathsa Joshi will regain focus and that day Sandhya Kulkarni will convey to Srivathsa Joshi "well, this is what I meant focus..."

No offences, no defenses.

Warm regards and best wishes,

:-)

- Srivathsa Joshi

* * *

‘ಕಸ’ಕ್ಕೆ ಪೋ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿ, ಫೋಕಸನ್ನು ಮರಳಿ ಪಡೆಯುವ ಪರಿ ಎಂತು?

ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಲಹೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಾಗತ! [email protected] ವಿಳಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೆಯಿರಿ.

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