A woman for all seasons Dr Vijaya has pioneered numerous literary, social cultural movements in Kannada. And she’s shunned all efforts to honour her
During
the ’70s and ’80s, if one got into an auto and said: “Chamrajpete,
Amma’s house,” he/she would be driven straight to Dr Vijaya’s house.
‘Amma’ to all.
She is Vijayamma the undisputed iconic Kannada
woman. She is a poster woman for talent, intellect, bravery, honesty,
feminism, friendship…. She is the spirit behind several important
literary, cultural and social movements in Kannada. For example: Actor
Rajkumar joined Gokak Chaluvali and united Kannadigas, making the
movement a success because Vijayamma asked him to.
Vijayamma is a
legend in her own right. She was the first woman journalist in Kannada
who acquired star status. She was referred to as the ‘Devi of Kannada’
(remember Eve’s Weekly?). She changed the very style of writing about
cinema. Many a star craved to be called her friend and ran to her when
in distress. She is witness to and an integral part of the cultural
history of the city. Suchitra Film Society was her brain child. She
brought the International Film Festival to Bangalore. She established a
printing press, Ila Printers, way back in the 1970s through she which
published women writers. She brought out a unique magazine on arts
titled Sankula. She was also instrumental in launching Namma Manasa, an
intellectual magazine for women. She was the first woman to write and
direct street plays in Kannada. She wrote her doctoral thesis on
Sriranga, the playwright. Her penchant for picking up budding talents
and nurturing them has resulted in scores of writers, journalists,
actors and singers.
STYLE OF SUBSTANCE
Her trademark
exquisite, starched cotton sarees, big bindi, glass bangles and a ready
smile became a rage among the younger writers and journalists. Even
today it is called the ‘Amma look’.
At a time when divorce was
unheard of she took one and was a single mother to two sons. She wrote
her SSLC exam along with her son. She went on to secure a degree, double
post-graduate degrees and then a doctorate. She worked 24x7 and still
had time to attend to cultural and social causes. She never asked for
help. Refused strongly even when offered. Every time various governments
offered to confer the Rajyotsava award on her, she refused. She
declared she would never accept any award instituted by the government,
nor did she accept any support from the state. Every chief minister
respected her and even feared her because she was incorruptible to an extreme. Whenever she felt uncomfortable, she just removed herself from the scene and moved on.
Her
son B Suresh got the national award for best regional film for
Puttakkana Highway. Her grandson Advaitha Gurumurthy got the Panasonic
Dimensions award, with his team, for 3D filmmaking.
BLESSINGS NOT AWARDS
When
I heard of her being conferred with Anupama Niranjana Award by the
Karnataka Women Writers’ Association and the Masti Award, with immense
joy and surprise, I went to meet her. “Masti was a father figure to me.
For all his traditional upbringing, he was a great support to me when I
took the decision to become single. Earlier, I had criticised his title
Raja Sevasakta, but after I came to know him I realised he was genuine.
By the age of 82, he had stopped writing. So when I asked him to pen a
short story for the Deepavali special edition, he said he had not
written for 12 or 13 years. After I insisted, in 10 days time, he was
asking me to choose from the 12 stories he had written. We printed Tanga
Sabi, which eventually became very popular. Later on, he would always
say that I was the one who made him write
again. Now how can I refuse an award instituted in his name? Refusing
it would be like refusing the blessings of a father,” she said.
Anupama
Niranjana and Niranajana were close friends of Vijayamma’s. “Anupama
once said that she had thought me to be arrogant, but after knowing me
she realised how friendly I am. Being a single woman, I needed to have a
safety wall to protect myself and my ‘arrogance’ perhaps was my fort.
Later on C N Mangala, Anupama and I became good friends. I remember when
for the first time people wanted to hold a separate session on women’s
writings, we three had sat on dharna protesting against such separatists
attitude.’
Vijayamma does not accept any remuneration and
donates award monies, if at all she accepts, to various causes. The
Harnalli Ramaswamy Award of Rs one lakh she donated for publication of
four books, the Anupama award of Rs 10,000 she gave to a book on Dalit
women being produced by Dalit poet Saraswathi, the Masti cash prize she
gave to a group of garment factory workers who are making an independent
attempt to establish themselves beyond NGO support.
Amma, thanks for accepting these two awards. It’s a token of our love.  ARTICLE BY : PRATHIBHA NANDAKUMAR Poet, writer, playwright and documentary filmmaker
SOURCE: BANGALORE MIRROR dated 28.05.2011
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