How music band Alva Kuuto gives Tulu a new-age twist
The Hindu
How music band Alva Kuuto gives Tulu a new-age twist
Sometimes the English language just isn’t enough when describing emotions that go with memories. The new green of rain-washed earth, the wait for your favourite dish as it simmers on the stove...the list could be as endless as the nostalgia it evokes. This is what had Praveen Alva stumped whenever he found himself trying to compose in Hindi or English, but he could express himself effortlessly in Tulu, his mother tongue.
The singer-songwriter and frontman of the Alva Kuuto band, Praveen is a practising architect who found music late in life. “Even as a schoolboy, I loved going onstage, but that was for theatre and other performances, never music,” says Praveen. “Growing up in Belgaum, my cultural exposure was different. I was thoroughly fascinated by bhut kola, yakshagana and the like, purely for their performative nature.”
Recognising his bent of mind, a professor suggested he take up architecture to harness his potential. “I took to it immediately; I had not realised how challenging and creatively driven this field was.”
Along with architecture came the need to read. “Till then, it was only my textbooks. But now, I had to be aware of world views on architecture. And with the books came music and a chance to read up on musicians.”
Praveen says until then, his only exposure to music was from television or radio which would play old Kannada film songs and regional music. “Then, in college, I heard Metallica, Linkin Park and Pink Floyd for the first time and I was floored by the intense melodies and deep lyrical meanings,” says Praveen, a sense of wonder still apparent in his voice. “You could get lost in those lyrics.”
He recalls how a senior told him not to skip parts of those songs but to listen to them in their entirety as they conveyed various concepts; the fact that a few Pink Floyd members were architecture students cemented his quest.
Praveen was already working as an architect when his wife, Seema Pai,gifted him a guitar. “Learning music was never an option when I was growing up; now I had a chance to make up for lost time.”
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”