Words from a forgotten past
BHARATH KUMAR
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Allisaab's Nudi Niganthu, a lexicon that was prepared by a retiring primary school teacher in a remote village of Chitradurga district, took 70 years to be published
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LOVE OF LANGUAGE Nalnudi Nighantu, composed in 1930s unveils a rare academic excellence of lexicography in a school teacher; being felicitated by the people of Mallappanahalli.
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.
Thomas Gray
"Kuritodadeyum kavya prayoga parinitha mathigal...." says the Kaviraja Marga, the ancient guide to poets and supposed to be the first opus found in Kannada, which means that even illiterate people can compose poetry and play around with language with expertise.
H. Allisaab, who was a primary school teacher in the rural areas of Chitradurga district eight decades ago, is a glowing example to what Amoghavarsha observed in the Kavirajamarga, if not wholly at least in parts. Allisaab's Nalnudi Nighantu, composed in the 1930s unveils a rare scholastic excellence of lexicography in a school teacher. The manuscript saw the light of the day recently, when it was published by the Sharada Mandira Prakashana. Also thanks to the efforts of his old time acquaintance Sri Belegere Krishna Shastry — a noted Gandhian and writer.
H. Allisaab's
Nalnudi Nighantu — a dictionary compiled by Allisaab, an ordinary teacher around 75 year back, is not just a dictionary, but also an evidence of the quality of teaching fraternity in the good old days. It contains meanings, synonyms and the various usages of complex words which were used in old and medieval Kannada literature. His work includes compilation of several proverbs, a variety of information right from the names of years to the finer details relating to astrology, logic and philosophy.
Kannada teacher
Allisaab was a dedicated Kannada teacher (1903-76) and his students even now remember his teaching skills and his in depth knowledge of Kannada. Apart from that, this book is rightly identified as a prominent footprint in the sands of Kannada lexicography as there were only two dictionaries — one by Rev. Ferdinand Kittel and another Karnataka Shabda Manjari by Gangadhara Madivaleshwara Turumuri, prior to him.
According to Belagere Krishna Shastry, who is the spirit behind bringing these long lost manuscripts to light, the dictionary is the outcome of his incessant love for the study of ancient and medieval literature. It appears he had made note of the difficult words, which needed explanation and analysis for the better understanding of poetic works.
"Once, probably in the 1930s, I was asked by my headmaster Siddaiah to call on his friend and one time colleague Allisaab. He didn't reveal the reason but asked me to see and believe. So I went there and was surprised to see a notebook filled with pearl like letters. I was astonished to note that it was not copied from any other source but written by Allisaab," he recalls.
It might have been a case of `Necessity is the mother of invention' as there were no libraries to refer or a scholar to consult in that remote rural village. Moreover, printed books were also scarce. But the unsatiated desire to have full understanding of the poetic works drove him to compile the words that mattered most.
with his grandson
Allisaab was almost unknown to the outside world. He had many fascinating sides to his personality, apart from being a fine teacher. He tried his hand in many diverse trades and skills. Buden Sab, his son, who is also a teacher, recalls how his father was a skilled carpenter and mason. Allisaab, who was also an agriculturist, dug wells too. He directed bayalatas, composed lyrics for kolatas and even wrote around 12 plays and several poems, most of which didn't see the light of the day. "My father had great interest in history and mythology, specially the Mahabharatha and Ramayana. He was a splendid storyteller, and at any given time dozens of people used to besiege him every evening to listen to the stories from Mahabharatha or Ramayana," he recalls from the little he remembers of his father.
Publishing problems
"We knew about my father's manuscript. We took care of it with utmost respect like one treats the holy book. We approached Hampi Kannada University for its publication. But they had problems of fund crunch. Finally, Belagere Krishna Shastrigalu noticed it and promised to publish this book," says a grateful Budensab, who was moved when Belagere Krishna Shastri decided to go around with his jolige to raise funds. Budensab plans to publish his father's other unpublished works, Sohrab and Rustum and Noorjahan.
According to Prof. G. Venkatasubbaiah, noted scholar on lexicography, even to this day Nalnudi Nighanthu seems like it is the first manuscript of a dictionary, a significant landmark in the history of Kannada language. Noted scholar Prof. Mallepuram G. Venkatesh has rightly observed in his Foreword, "The dictionary is relevant even now to those interested in the study of ancient and medieval Kannada poetry in spite of its classical mould."
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