Mookajjiya KanasugaLu - Dr.Shivarama Karanth

When I first looked at "mookajjiya kanasugaLu" written by Dr.Shivrama karanth, I was wondering how this 280 page small book written in simple kannada could have won the gnanapeeTa award!!. Somehow the simplicity of the book was making it hard for me to believe that it could be such a highly recognized book in kannada literature. Once the book was finished, i had not doubts about everything that I had heard about this book and felt that it truly deserved the recognition it had received at the highest level.

Mookajjiya kanasugaLu narrates the interactions of the narrator subbaraaya with his grandmother on various subjects and situations. Through the incidents happening in a remote village, the author makes subbaraaya ask queries about various societal norms, God, culture, belief, evolution etc. Through mookajji's responses, the author conveys his ideas about these topics to the readers in a simple and understandable way. The author's thoughts are very sensible, sounds logical and makes you think again about what you have believed so far about these topics.

This book speaks a lot of sense in an easily understandable language by a lay man. It gets you so engrossed in the conversations, that you eagerly wait for subraaya to speak to his ajji agian and again. Though the book has few more characters, it mainly deals with only subbaraaya and his ajji. Subbaraaya turns out to be a lazy guy who is educated, but satisfied to be looking after his land in the village. But his degree in histroy, keeps him looking out for some historical left outs in and around the village as he assumes that his village is 100s of years old. His thoughs, actions and reasons bring a smile on the reader's face and will make u recollect atleast one person u seen like him around you.

Mookajji is potrayed as a 80+ year old lady who is widowed at the age of 10 and henceforth stays in her brother's house. Subraaya is the grandson of her borther. The story happens at a time when Subraaya is already a father of 2 school going kids. Each and every thought put accross by ajji strikes a chord with your heart and makes sure you relate to what she says. Rather than just giving her opinion, ajji also gives a logical explanation for it. The best explanations are given for ajji's thoughts about God. Its a treat reading those lines :) :)

Going by the content and the simplicity with which it is presented, I suggest that each of us who is interested in reading kannada books should read this one. It has lot of food for thought and will make sure that the time you spend on the book would not go waste. GnanapeeTa award for this book proves that even complex thoughts can be told in a simple way, and still be recognized at the highest level.

Please make some time to read this book.