Beauty Lies In Variety, Mankutimma 

It is hard, perhaps impossible, to describe D.V. Gundappa (DVG) in one word. A prodigious polymath, his field of activity comprised journalism, literature, poetry, philosophy, art criticism, political commentary, social work, and much more. The word “sage” is used many times in his honour. And it may well be the most appropriate; the closest one can get to describing who he was in real life in literal terms.

In India, sages are associated with works of revelation. And so is D.V. Gundappa.

The Mankutimmana Kagga

DVG is perhaps best remembered today as the poet of Mankutimmana Kagga, in his own words – “A Foggy Fool’s Farrago,”. Not many people would know that this work was first published with his name as the editor because DVG ascribed it to Timma-guru, an unassuming schoolteacher from an unknown village. He never imagined the kind of the phenomenal response the book received upon publication.

Some friends persuaded him to put his name as the author in subsequent editions, and, fortunately, he agreed. This work, which talks of life’s joys and sorrows in a philosophical vein, has risen to the status of a Kannada Bhagavad-Gita.

Perhaps the most popular work of 20th century Kannada literature, the Kagga has touched the lives of millions of Kannadigas. A bouquet of 945 verses, it deals with various themes that DVG often contemplated upon. Light-hearted and profound, humble and illuminating, the Kagga expresses myriad emotions. Renowned philosopher Prof. M. Hiriyanna famously called it a classic of popular Vedanta.

The great poet Kuvempu wrote a verse praising the Kagga in a style akin to the original:

Holding the book in my hands, I laughed

As I read it, I kept it to my head, and meditated

The pinnacle of such an expansive philosophy!

I bow down to your book, Mankutimma

The Kagga was recently translated into English by Malathi Rangaswamy and Hari Ravikumar asFoggy Fool’s Farrago. With a detailed introduction by Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh and copious additional notes provided by the translators, this modern English translation will take DVG’s wit and wisdom to the world.

Given below are selected excerpts from the translation:

O scholars and priests!

Are you certain

that you build a bridge

from falsehood to truth?

Have you seen

the depth,

the flow,

the harshness

of the human heart?

Without that,

your words will be wasted

(Verse 49)

Where does truth reside?

Only in Vedas and in logic?

Isn’t it also in our experiences?

Inner voices arising from

the depths of the human heart

often mock logic

(Verse 50)

Poetry of Greece is read in Delhi

and śāstras of Varanasi in Oxford

The mind’s kingdom has no distinctions of time and place

It is the breath of brahman

(Verse 60)

The government is like a boat,

with whirlpools and waves here and there

A few drunkards control the oars

Fierce winds are blowing, people are jumping

It’s a surprise that the boat is not toppled!

(Verse 308)

The star specks are beautiful

because of the expanse of the blue sky

The speed of the river is beautiful

because of the stillness of the mountain

An organized home gives comfort

to a life that is like an open field

Beauty lies in variety

(Verse 451)

Flavors of past memories are the first rulers of the mind

They change strategies to align with their biases

They find their own arguments to be right

Hidden in this is hypocrisy

(Verse 541)

When you eat your food, ask yourself

if the water used for cooking

is the sweat of your toil or the tears of another

Consume only as much as you give the world

The balance is a debt you cannot digest

(Verse 748)

Let the mind grow,

learning from hundreds of experiences

Let a hundred streams of experience

swell the ocean of life

Let bodily bindings break and let life join

the dance of eternal consciousness

(Verse 794)

If an exhausted man is

fast asleep on the ground

and you shake him awake,

asking him to look for a bed –

is that of any help?

Don’t eat up others’ peace,

assuming that you’re

offering a great service

It’s not easy to do good

(Verse 873)

Pepper, mulberry, ginger, cumin – all are suitable,

but each one for a particular ailment

Similarly, while there are a hundred doctrines,

to recognize the suitable one is the way of the wise

(Verse 935)

You can buy your copy of Foggy Fool’s Farrago here.