Frenchman stuck in DK village improves his Kannada during lockdown

Mangaluru: A 26-year-old Frenchman, on a one-year tourist visa to India sought out a small hamlet in Dakshina Kannada district where he had been staying when the world was gripped by the pandemic. Consequently, this compelled Baptiste Mariotte to extend his sojourn in Mundaje, a village 5km from Charmadi in Belthangdy taluk. Although Mariotte was scheduled to return home at the end of March, the lockdown prevented him from doing so, but far from being bogged down by the unexpected turn of events, he decided to use the time to enhance his knowledge of Kannada.
Mariotte, an artist himself, is an alumnus of the Florence Academy of Art and teaches at an art school in Spain, learnt about Mundaje from Michel, a veteran artist of France who had been a roving resident of the village. “I came to India for the first time in 2017, and had learnt Hindi, assuming that most Indians spoke the language. It was when I reached this village that I realised I needed to learn Kannada. Sachin Bhide, my neighbour, helped teach the language. When I first heard about the lockdown, I was concerned about when I would be able to return home, but then it turned into a book, a period I could use to finetune my skills in Kannada,” said Mariotte, speaking in Kannada all the while.
Expressing his gratitude to Bhide, who also helped him get food since Mariotte was reluctant to step out, the young Frenchman added, “Dhanush Rajendra, a friend of the Bhide’s, I taught him drums, while he also helped me improve my Kannada.”
Mariotte is an artist in the classical mould, someone who specialises in portraits and landscapes. Bhide said that the Frenchman loved the landscape of the Western Ghats, and was not too disappointed with the frequent power outages either. “He is enjoying the monsoon,” added Bhide, a farmer and member of Sahyadri Sanchaya.
In addition to Kannada, English and French, Mariotte is fluent in Italian and Spanish, and also knows a smattering of Hindi. Hailing from a family of musicians, Mariotte teaches drums to local youngsters.