What Kannada books are Bengalureans reading?

Kannada is dying because of increasing usage of English language is an oft-repeated refrain. Many activists and Kannada lovers are trying to revive the charm of Kannada in various ways. Gaanchali bidi Kannada maathadi, a Facebook community has taken efforts to revive the language in different ways.

Kannada books. Pic: Anisha Nair

A new bookstore cum cafe and activity centre in Koramangala – Atta Galatta aims at encouraging regional language books. Founders Subodh Sankar and wife Lalitha Lakshmi wanted to promote books written in regional languages. Sankar says they expected only middle-aged or older readers to buy regional books, “But once we started operating, we found out that a lot of youngsters were interested in reading Kannada and other regional language books.”

Lalitha adds, “There are a lot of people who want to read Kannada fiction and novels. We are just providing a platform and trying to make the regional languages a trend.”

K Gopalakrishna of Prism bookstore in Jayanagar says, “People like to read a lot of fiction, comics and crime stories in Kannada.” He adds the most popular Kannada books sold, are of authors S L Bhyrappa for fiction books and Ravi Belegere for crime.

These books are mainly fiction read by those aged 16 to 40. Gopalakrishna adds a large part of Kannada books sold are reprints of old books.

Lakshmi and Subodh in their regional language bookstore Atta Galatta. Pic: Anisha Nair

Aarathi Sudhakar, a management student from Jayanagar says, “My mother reads a lot of Kannada fiction. Once, I picked it up and tried reading. I found it so interesting that I completed the whole book in 4 to 5 days.” She has since got hooked to Kannada books and reads regularly.

Kannada books are available at the following shops:

Atta Galatta: #75, 2nd Main, 1st Block, Koramangala. Ph: 30181626

Sapna Book House: #6, 80 Feet Road, Koramangala 7 Block, Koramangala. Ph: 40839999

Prism Bookstore: #16, 11th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar. Ph: 9844066375

Ankita Pustaka: #53, Sham Singh complex, Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi. Ph: 26617755

The Book Shoppe: #407/1, 1st A Cross, 7th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 41104031

Total Kannada: 638, 31st Cross, 10th B Main Road, Jayanagar. Ph: 9243455672, 9986222402

Book Bazaar: New #199F, Devaram Complex, 27th Main, 3rd Block, Jayanagar.

Book Stop: #485, KHB colony, 5th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 9986831737

Nagashree Books: #33, BDA complex, 4th Block, Jayanagar. Ph: 26630993

Just Books: Puttenahalli Main Road, VI Phase, JP Nagar. Ph: 60015285

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Lung spaces you can drive to

If on a Sunday morning you want to spend your day with your dear ones away from the noisy city, do you have options other than Cubbon Park and Lalbagh?There are quite a few and not far from the city too.Shankaraa foundation on Kanakapura road is one such. It is an ideal get away if arts and culture excites you. Shankaraa foundation promotes intercultural interactions and provides platform and facilitates as a bridge between art and art lovers. It claims to be ‘a greenscape, dotted with timeless sculptures and an open- hearted space that promotes and propagates India's heritage.'There are…

Similar Story

Street food trend: Dosa fusion

For some, it's a nostalgia of their cities and for some others, it's just something new to try. Prerna Soni, a professional who shifted to Bangalore recently, says, "I discovered these dosa stalls providing a wide range of dosas. I like them since the taste and flavours remind me of my hometown." Variety of ingredients used in Dosas. Pic: Anisha Nair Nikhil Banerjee, a software engineer in Koramangala, says, "I love the taste of it. And (I like it) more so, because it is quick, fresh and healthy. It is pocket-friendly and filling at the same time. And most importantly,…