Mysuru: “The credit for establishing the Kannada Sahitya Parishat goes to Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, who also contributed immensely to the development of the city and the state,” said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 83rd Kannada Sahitya Sammelana at the Maharaja Ground here on Friday, he said, “This is one of the moments in my life that fills me with pride, as I am inaugurating the Kannasa Sahitya Sammelana in my hometown. Kannada is not all about letters or ‘varnamale’. Kannada includes the people, the land, the rivers, life, literature, culture, art, and music of Karnataka. This is what Kannada is for all the Kannadigas. I have never indulged in politics when it came to Kannada, nor have I ever compromised with any aspect regarding Kannada.”
Speaking about making Kannada mandatory in schools, he said that his government has always supported Kannada and that his government has always supported Kannada medium education. He also said that he has written letters to the central government in this regard. “In the coming days I will convene a meeting with the Chief Ministers of other states and press for a new amendment in the Constitution to make Kannada compulsory as a medium of instruction,” he said.
In his presidential address to the gathering, Chandrashekar Patil said, “The biggest challenge we are facing today is with respect to languages and its zones. Even today we are discussing more about Sanskrit, English and Hindi languages. We are on the cusp of another election in the state and it is high-time for us to vote for a secular party which respects the constitutional values and secures and protects the welfare of our state.”
Lovers of Kannada from all over the country flocked to the city of Mysuru to take part in the Sammelana which is being held in the city after a gap of 27 years.
Primary Education Minister Tanveer Sait should be removed
Writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa and Chandrashekar Patil criticized the Primary Education Minister Tanveer Sait, accusing him of failing to promote Kannada and asked the CM to drop Sait from the cabinet.
Patil refuses to wear Mysuru Peta
Chandrashekhar Patil refused to visit the Bhuvaneshwari temple at the Mysuru Palace premises before sitting inside the chariot. Patil also refused to wear the traditional ‘Mysuru Peta’ which sent the various Kannada groups, who presented the headgear to him, into a tizzy.
Meanwhile, with much pomp and gaiety the procession of the 83rd Kannada Sahitya Sammelana that marked the commencement of the literary meet, witnessed the participation about 20,000 Kannada lovers which included over 9,000 students from various schools and colleges of the city who cheered ‘Namma taayi Kannada, Namma baashe Kannada’ and ‘Kannada Ulisi Kannada Belesi’. District Minister H C Mahadevappa and other authorities visited the temple before flagging off the procession.
Hendrik, who has been living in Mysuru for the last five years (he has been in Karnataka for the last 16 years), has opened his book stall at the sammelana. He has kept his three books for sale. All his books are related to puzzles and sudoku.
Civic workers upset
The cleaning work at the food counters set up to serve the participants of the Kannada Literary Festival, was affected as the workers hired to clean the mess stopped work after a few hours and accused the authorities of exploitation. The Mysuru City Corporation officials went into a tizzy, when a bunch of workers stopped removing the leftover food at the venue even as the announcement was being made to empty the overflowing bins.
