
Bengaluru bookstores see surge in demand for ‘Heart Lamp', Kannada original after Banu Mushtaq's Booker win
Dhananjay of Beetle Book Shop, Vijayanagar, started receiving calls with inquiries about the book's availability from 6.30 am on Wednesday. With a majority of their customers being Kannada readers, the demand for the Kannada version is higher.

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Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
Let go of arrogance, speak Kannada, respect local community: Pai
New Delhi: Joining the ongoing language row, tech investor Mohandas Pai said professionals working in a state like Karnataka must learn the local language and use it, especially in public dealings. Terming the refusal of certain public-dealing officials to learn Kannada as 'arrogance', he said it causes unnecessary tensions, which are easily avoidable. The Kannada language issue in Bengaluru has become a flashpoint in recent months. With the rise of workers to Bengaluru from various states over the years, there have been growing concerns among locals about the perceived erosion of the language in public life. 'Bengaluru is the most welcoming place. The local population speaking Kannada is only 33 per cent. Lot of people have come, they've benefitted, they're doing very well... 'Now, we have small problems because the people who come from outside, many of them become arrogant and refuse to speak a few words of Kannada. Speak a few words of Kannada, show respect to the local community. We must show respect to any community,' Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, said in an interview to PTI. Pai said this approach applies everywhere. Whether one is moving to Bengal or Maharashtra, learning a few words of the local language would help outsiders connect with the community. Referring to the recent SBI dispute, wherein a bank manager reportedly refused to speak Kannada with a customer -- a stance that sparked public outrage, protests by pro-Kannada groups, and eventually an official apology from the bank -- Pai said the situation could have been avoided. 'What she could have done is, because she's in a service job, say, sir, I'm sorry, I can't speak the language, I'm learning. I'll ask my colleague to help me out and be respectful. That's all that is required. Nothing else,' he said. Pai stressed that customer service professionals, especially in rural areas, must prioritise the customer's language and cultural context: 'If you happen to be in a rural area, the customer cannot speak Hindi or English. You must speak the local language.'


Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Historian Sampath, technologist Chauhan build AI tool for faster book translations
Representative Image BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based Naav AI, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by historian Vikram Sampath and technologist Sandeep Singh Chauhan, has spent the past few months in stealth. But the problem they're chasing is hiding in plain sight: India has too much English and too little access. 'A book like Savarkar's took nearly two years to appear in Marathi,' Sampath, whose experience with delayed translations across languages like Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada directly shaped Naav's mission. "Only 5-6% of India reads in English. Yet English dominates everything, books, media, even AI training data." Naav's first product, TransLit, targets this imbalance. It blends multiple large language models (LLMs) and a proprietary workflow to rapidly translate long-form text across six Indian languages – Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. An average 300-page book, Sampath claims, can now be translated to first draft in under an hour. Human editors then step in through a custom dashboard, refining output line-by-line and feeding their changes back into the engine. Chauhan, a former senior tech executive who led digital transformation at the Technicolor Group, said Naav isn't trying to build a foundational LLM. Instead, the team is building agentic workflows that orchestrate multiple public and private models depending on language and context. "We've seen models like Claude work well for Hindi. But for southern languages, accuracy drops to around 50%. That's where our orchestration and feedback loops come in," he said. The system currently achieves around 60-65% base accuracy, with ambitions to push toward 80%. The founders are quick to clarify that Naav is not about replacing human translators. "This is not a zero-touch translation," said Sampath. "The goal is speed and scale, not displacement." Naav AI has raised early backing from Bhavish Aggarwal and Silicon Valley investor Asha Jadeja Motwani. Its initial client is publishing house BlueOne Ink, which has committed a pipeline of 30 books. Of these, 18 are already in production. Beyond text, Naav is eyeing audio. Its second product, ZuNaav FM, is being built to generate immersive, multilingual audiobooks and thematic content using voice synthesis and background engineering. "Imagine listening to Tipu Sultan's biography narrated in my voice, with war scenes playing in the background," Sampath said. The startup's next step is scale. For now, Naav runs a service model with in-house and contract language experts. Eventually, the plan is to offer it as a software-as-a-service platform to publishers and enterprises. "We're not just translating text," Chauhan said. "We're translating access." Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now


News18
3 days ago
- News18
'Arrogance': Mohandas Pai On Bengaluru Migrant Population Who Refuse To Speak Kannada
Last Updated: T.V. Mohandas Pai reignited the debate on non-natives not using Kannada in Karnataka, stressing its importance for public roles and condemning the refusal to learn it. Amid the ongoing debate over use of Kannada by non-natives in Karnataka, tech investor and former Infosys executive T.V. Mohandas Pai has reignited the fiery row, saying that working professionals in Karnataka must learn and use the local language—Kannada—especially while dealing with public. Chairman at Aarin Capital, Pai condemned the rising trend of 'arrogance" among non-natives working in Bengaluru over refusing to learn even basic Kannada. While speaking to news agency PTI, Pai cautioned such attitude leads to avoidable tensions with the local population. 'Bengaluru is one of the most inclusive cities in India. The native Kannada-speaking population here is around 33%. People from across the country have made the city their home, have prospered here, and continue to do well. But some of them, instead of integrating, develop a sense of superiority and outright reject the local language. That's not acceptable," news agency PTI quoted Pai as saying. Calling it as a mark of respect for the state people relocate to for work, Pai added the principle applies nationwide. 'Whether someone moves to Bengal, Maharashtra or Karnataka, it helps to learn a few words of the local language. It's not just about communication—it's about respecting the culture of the place you've chosen to live in," the tech investor further said. Citing a recent controversy that involved an SBI bank manager in Karnataka who allegedly refused to speak Kannada with a customer, he said, 'This entire episode could have been avoided with just a little humility." 'All she needed to say was, 'I'm still learning Kannada, let me ask a colleague to help.' That would've shown basic respect." The incident had spurred strong response from pro-Kannada groups and drew flak, prompting the bank to issue an official apology. Underlining the role of language for professionals who deliver public service, especially in rural Karnataka, Pai said, 'If you are posted in a village or small town, your customers may not understand Hindi or English. In such cases, it is your responsibility to adapt and speak the local language," he said. The debate over language use has become a central issue in Karnataka's politics and public discourse in recent months, particularly in Bengaluru. The city's rapidly growing migrant population has sparked concerns among locals about the declining use of Kannada in day-to-day interactions. First Published: June 06, 2025, 21:20 IST