Belgaum is my favourite place says Atul Kulkarni

Today the Times of India has published a story about Atul Kulkarni and his love for Belgaum. 

The story quotes Atul, “I was born in Belgaum and though we speak Marathi at home, I also know Kannada.” In fact this national award-winning actor started his career in Kannada flick, ‘Bhoomi Geetha’. Talking about Belgaum, Atul says, “It remains my favourite place till date. It has a certain charm to it, whether it is the weather, culture or history.” Atul says, “There are too many childhood memories attached to this place like learning how to cycle.”

Belgaum, which is a cultural hub, is also known to be home to many learned people. “Many learned people and artists stay here whether musicians or literature writers. In fact, a lot of Marathi writers have studied in Belgaum who have written some big plays,” informs Atul and adds, “We should welcome the multicultural milieu instead of fighting it. Unfortunately a lot of times politics takes precedence and these things are over looked but the truth is that enriches our culture. We should preserve and nurture it.”

Atul makes sure to visit Belgaum at least twice or thrice a year. He says, “I have lots of extended family and relatives there, at least 30 to 40 of them. Half the city is either filled with friends, family or acquaintances. My grandfather was the first chartered accountant of that area and now my cousins are looking after his firm. Ours is a prominent family from Belgaum. And whenever I go there for functions, I can see the pride of the people there.”

We couldn’t let Atul go without sharing something about the food from Belgaum. “Kunda and Mandagi are very famous in Belgaum, in fact there are just two families left there now who can make Mandagis which is like a sweet roomali roti. It’s a delicacy,” says Atul and adds, “Some few Diwalis back I even distributed Mandagis to a few Bollywood acquaintances and got many calls appreciating them.”

Read the entire story here.