Director of Bendre Research Centre K.S. Sharma inaugurated Sahitya Sahavasa, a video lecture series by U.R. Ananthamurthy, in Dharwad on Sunday.
The series is presented by Bengaluru-based Azim Premji University. Centred around the personality and work of poet Da Ra Bendre, the series sheds light on the contributions of major Kannada writers and major literary movements of the 20th Century.
The event was held at the Karnataka Kulapurohita Aluru Venkatarao Samskrutika Bhavan in Malmaddi.
Prof. Sharma said that the works of Bendre are eternally relevant as they are the products of his deep and wide-ranging knowledge of science, statistics and other subjects.
Bendre had fascination for numbers and mathematics. He believed and advocated that numbers have more poetic value, Prof. Sharma said.
He was well versed with the periodic table of elements. His personal library had over 16,000 books. His poetry and prose were produced only after a deep study of the subject concerned. He wrote about issues that were relevant to the present, Prof. Sharma said.
He noted that the works were published in 16 volumes (10 in prose form and six in poetry form).
Bendre spoke against social evils such as poverty, caste and gender discrimination. The present generation should read his works to establish a just and peaceful society, he said.
Writer Vivek Shanbhag said that a healthy creative competition among greats such as Girish Karnad, Ananthamurthy, Poornachandra Tejasvi, P. Lankesh and others has enriched Kannada literature.
“Unlike then, the competition today is driven by market. It seems that the focus now is on publishing a large number of books rather than publishing good content,” he said.
Chief Communications Officer, Azim Premji Foundation, Sudheesh Venkatesh said that the university will hold similar programmes in coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions.
In the ensuing session, linguist O.L. Nagabhushan Swami and writer Abdul Rasheed spoke on the possibilities and challenges in Kannada language and literature.
Professor from Tumkur University N.S. Gundur moderated the session.
In the various videos, Prof. Ananthamurthy analyses and discusses various poems by Bendre and dwells on the richness of Kannada language.
He speaks about the deep connect of the poet with the ordinary happenings around him, folklore and the philosophical thought propounded by saints like Sri Aurobindo. He also discusses works by other major writers, the professor said.
Children of Bala Balaga School sang Bendre’s songs.
Bendre scholar Suresh Kulkarni spoke about the poet’s life. Discussions, recitation and singing of Bendre’s poems, sharing of memories by his friends, associates and admirers and an exhibition of art works of prominent literary figures were organized.
Bendre’s children, writers and students were present.
