TaRaSu & The Chitradurga Saga

I've hardly read any Kannada novels. And before you gather up all the swear-words you want to use against me ... i'm sure most of you would have read very very few Kannada stories, if at all you have read any. Of course, there are exceptions.

The first one i read, and is perhaps my present favorite is 'Grihabhanga' of S.L. Bhairappa. Recently though, I came across a set of 3 books authored by T.R. Subbarao, and they were pretty neat I must say. There's a continuity between the 3 stories, and they are titled:

• Kambaniya Kuyilu (Saga of sorrow)
• Raktha Raathri (Night of blood)
• Thirugu Baana (The revenge)

TaRaSu, as he is popularly known as, is from Chitradurga, as a result of which, most of his historical works are based on Chitradurga. Few people know that TaRaSu dropped out from college, took to smoking and consuming alcohol and was infamously known as Poli Subba. He considered AaNaKru (A.N. Krishna Rao) as his mentor.

These stories I read starts from the political coup of the army chief Dalavaayi Muddanna and his brothers in which they de-throne a palegaara, and ends with a launch of a reposte against Muddanna and his fall.

I don't exactly call these novels as page-turners, as i can identify lots of sections which were way too boring, or spoilt the fun of reading by over-dramatization of both characters and situations. But on a broader note, the story introduces us to the blood-thirsty Muddanna, who charges like a rampaging elephant killing everyone in his path. His power is such that the whole of Chitradurga were left as mute spectators to his gruesome acts. With every sinful act, the reader curses Muddanna, and with every move he makes, the plot gets scarier. There are occasions, such as the end of the first book, where I was hurt, scared, and angry, all at the same time. Such is the characterization ... so realistic, you tend to forget that its just a story. Most of these characters did exist, but the stories told are mostly fictional ... very little history of Chitradurga is known.

TaRaSu scores in readability. But his overwhelming use of similes and metaphors jars the modern reader who is accustomed to reading to-the-point writing styles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.R._Subba_Rao