http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/13/stories/2003031300620400.htmThe Hindu, March 13, 2003Words set the pace KALYAN ASHOK
Watching cricket on TV is one thing. Listening to a radio commentary and creating a picture of the field in the mind's eye is another. Many old-world romantics prefer the latter to the former. Here is a tribute to all those who bring the game alive through their words, what's more, in our own Kannada.
NOT SO long ago, it was radio commentary that ruled the airwaves. Millions around the country intently listened to the running commentary of Test matches and other big sports events on their pocket transistors, which became ubiquitous during the match days. There were some top flight cricket commentators such as John Arlott, Alan McGilvary, and our own Bobby Talyarkhan, Anand Setalavad, Pearson Surita, and Chakrapani, who brought the sight live with their colourful descriptions and incisive knowledge of the game.
But in a nation, where a very small percentage of the population understand English, it became imperative that commentaries are done in regional languages also. The Hindi commentators came on the scene and soon, Tamil Nadu had its own Tamil commentators. Karnataka introduced Kannada commentary in the late 1960s, thanks to pioneering efforts of eminent sports scribes such as Suryanarayana.
The All India Radio, Bangalore, then took a serious initiative to air regular Kannada commentaries, in the aftermath of the Asian Games in Delhi 1982. AIR officials such as N. Purushotham, who then headed the sports cell of AIR, Bangalore, gave a tremendous impetus to Kannada commentary.
Even after the advent of satellite TV, radio commentators, at least regional language ones, seem to hold on and they do their jobs as passionately as they had done in the past.
One in that dedicated band is the 47-year-old bank professional, Chandramouli Kanavi, who is also a former State junior cricketer. Mr. Kanavi takes time off from busy schedule at State Bank of Mysore, Vyalikaval branch, to get behind the mike, whenever there is a Ranji match or any other major sports events takes place in City. "I sincerely feel that there is still a good appeal for running commentary in Kannada, especially in moffusil areas and villages, where very few possess a television sets. English is still an alien language for them.''
Mr. Kanavi says that the main requirements for doing commentary in a regional language is a good grasp of the sport and as well as fluency in the language. "Running commentary leaves you very little time for long pauses and there should be a smooth flow and a commentator should be in a position to create the visual effect on the listener's mind. People should not switch off the radio after hearing the scores, commentators should keep the listeners hooked with their description, and therein comes the main challenge,'' says Mr. Kanavi, who has done major assignments as a commentator in Kannada.
There is no dearth of good commentators in Kannada, who bring alive action on the field as well as any of their English counterparts. The late Suryanarayana, known as Suri, a former sports editor of Prajavani, is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of Kannada commentary. The honourable list includes Dr. Krishnamurthy, Bheemacharya, Dr. Satyamurthy, and Seshachala Hawaldar. Hailing from a small town, Talikote in Bijapur District, Mr. Hawaldar used to keep the listeners spell bound with his flow of language — an amazing show for someone who never had a proper initiation in the field.
Do the sportsmen co-operate with radio commentators, when called for an interview? Mr. Kanavi says there was no problem in getting even the stars on the air. "All our boys — Rahul Dravid, Kumble, Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, and Sunil Joshi — always came to the box when we request them to do so and aired their views."
The biggest challenge to the Kannada commentators is, translating English technical sports terms into Kannada. To describe a sweep as "gudusidaru", boundary as "seema rekhe", a spin as "tiruvu", or the wicket keeper as "gutarakshaka" does sound odd. Mr. Kanavi feels that as far as possible, the commentaries should stick to original English terms without attempting to translate them to Kannada. "It is difficult, leave alone cricket, how can one translate tennis terms like "love all" or "deuce"?" he asks. Mr. Purushotham concurs with that view. "One shouldn't change for the sake of changing."
In those early days, when there were none to train commentators, it was Mr. Purushotham who offered useful tips to budding Kannada commentators. "The commentator is not an expert, who should be airing his views, but a reporter, who should be describing the action,'' he says.
Lack of funds and live TV coverage have affected the radio commentary to a large extent, but Mr. Purushotham feels that efforts should be made to sustain Kannada commentary. "There are many aspiring youngsters who can be moulded as good professionals," he says.
