ಮಾರ್ಚ್‌ 01, 2001

1) Why do you surf for kannada on the web?

Namaskaara!

Kannada is very dearer to me. It may look a little odd, it may seem like an exaggeration - but it is true; Kannada is my second love. Right from my childhood, I have been attracted towards, attached to and feeling as a part of all that is Kannada. Both my wife Nagalakshmi and I had developed immense interst in Kannada when we were in India, before we moved out. Afterwards, even though I and my wife have been abroad (living out side India) since 1975, we two have been immersed in Kannada activities all throughout these twenty five years. We speak Kannada at home, talk to our friends in Kannada, read a lot and write whenever get an opportunity - in Kannada. I buy Kannada books, cassettes, magazines, articles etc and present them to friends on various occasions, so that they have some thing to read in Kannada when they think of looking at something in Kannada. We are proud that we did and have been doing our humble service to the breath I and my wife are breathing - that is Kannada. She is practical, but I am a little impractical - but she tolerates my craziness towards Kannada.

With this in Background, it is but natural that I was thrilled that Kannada made its grand appearance, at long last, on the Cyberspace too. Now my day starts with looking at, and quenching my thirst to read in Kannada itself what is happening in the land we were born and were brought up - Karnataka. I surf the web, whenever I find time and browse wherever I can find things interesting in Kannada, at least a little. Oflate the number of sites are growing and it is impossible to catch up with all and it is good sign that I can be choosey!
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2) Why do you make it a point to visit kannada.oneindia.com?

In continuation of the answer above, when I want to be choosey, I turn towards the portals/websites that give variety of information - News, Entertainment, Literary articles etc. The way in which the news is presented is also important. Dry things could be made readable with a little wit, a subtle humor, intelligent choice of words that speak volumes in and out of context etc.

I see these good things - right from its inception - in Kannada.. Not that I like all articles, some of them were really not generous to the person about whom it is written (for example, one about Dr Haa maa Nayak in Upperi for example)- but on the whole they are very informative. The editors are doing a good job in keeping up the quality of articles, new features are being added frequently, and are very receptive to the needs of the browsing cyber community. I am aware that we are catering this Kannada portal to a wide cross section of Kannada readership all over the world and a good blend of literary and colloquial Kannada is the appropriate solution. Kannada.Indiainfo.com is doing that. I know that there are areas for improvement, but it has all the features for growth and success.

I wish Kannada.iundiainfo.com all the best.
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snEhadhalli nimma,
-Harihareswara
Stockton, California