Amid emotionally charged Kannada activists and cheering Kannada cultural performers, the 18th District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, a Kannada literary festival, was flagged off at Kamalapur in Kalaburagi district on Wednesday.
A colourful cultural procession displaying traditional folklore forms carried president of the literary event Subhashchandra Kashetty through the major streets of the town. Local performers, including the traditional drum players and Lambani dancers, continued to attract the people throughout the procession.
District president of Sahitya Parishat Vijayakumar Patil Tegalatippi, honorary secretary Yeshwantraya Ashtagi, office-bearer Shivaraj Andagi and Gulbarga Rural MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu along with the Lambani girls danced to the tunes of the traditional drums being played in the procession that continued for more than an hour. A large number of schoolchildren and teachers also participated in the event along with the general public.
Addressing the huge gathering of literary enthusiasts, Mr. Kashetty expressed concerns about the lack of literary research in Kalyana Karnataka region.
“Kalyana Karnataka region has a rich literary tradition. Unfortunately, we have little research work to show to the outside world. Kalyana Karnataka is a region that contributed the first available Kannada work, Kavirajamarga, to Kannada literary treasure. It is the land that produced Mitakshara authored by Vijnanesvara. These important works should inspire researchers to dig and unearth the contributions of Kalyana Karnataka to the State’s literary and cultural traditions,” Mr. Kashetty said.
Pointing to the socio-cultural revolution of the 12th century, which is popularly known as the Vachana Movement and the Kalyana Revolution, Mr. Kashetty stressed the need for undertaking a deep research into the Sharana (reformers) revolution of that time and its aftermath to unearth the hidden treasures of knowledge.
“Kalyana Karnataka was the land of Basaveshwara who led the Sharana movement in the 12th Century for equal rights for all social sections. There are many things that remained hidden about the socio-cultural revolution that shook the social order in the 12th century. There is a dire need for more research on the subject,” he said.
Pointing to the socio-economic backwardness of the Kalyana Karnataka region and the Special Status accorded to it under Article 371(J) of the Constitution for its development, Mr. Kashetty demanded that the State Government establish a Ministry for the implementation of the provisions under Article 371(J).
