“Without any thinking and contemplation, a literary work cannot be produced. Literature requires a group and organisation. And without any ideological background literature cannot grow” writer Gurulinga Kapase said here on Saturday.
Inaugurating the 14th ‘Zilla Kannada Sahitya Sammelana’ in Dharwad on Saturday, Gurulilnga Kapase said that Kannada writers were study oriented and believed in contemplation and that was the reason why Kannada literature was held in high esteem among the Indian literary works. “That is the reason why Kannada writers have received so many Jnanpith awards,” he said.
Emphasising the need for contemplation based on ideological base, Mr. Kapase said that such literary conferences gave birth to new writers and production of more quality literary works.
Expressing concerns over the war between Ukraine and Russia, he said that as civilisations progressed more bombs were falling from the skies. “The lack of love and harmony is the basic reason for such wars, World peace can be achieved only through peace and harmony. There is a dire need for all the countries to think in this regard,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address, writer Siddalinga Pattanashetti said that only when Kannadigas went closer to Kannada, the language would survive and progress. All should involve themselves in the task of building Kannada, he said.
Prof. Pattanashetti felt that along with religious texts, a book of the Constitution should be kept at home and commoners should know it.
He also stressed the need for imparting science and commerce education in Kannada and universities should work in this regard so that they could shed the tag of inefficiency. “Kannada need not become a golden language, but it should be ‘annada bhashe’ (language that gives you livelihood)“.
Prof. Pattanashetti also stressed the need for compiling a dictionary of words of different dialects of Kannada as each district had its own set of vocabulary in Kannada.
Presiding over the inaugural session, Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti promised to get grants for an auditorium for the sahitya parishat in Dharwad. He said that compared to other districts, Dharwad, Gadag, and Haveri districts still had pure Kannada language.
District-in-charge Minister Halappa Achar, Minister for Handloom, Textiles and Sugar Shankar Patil Munenakoppa, MLC Prof. S.V. Sankanur spoke on contribution of Dharwad to the literary world and various pro-Kannada movements.
Parents’ role crucial
‘Sammelanaadhyaksha’ Ramakanth Joshi emphasised the role of parents in preserving and developing Kannada. “The parents’ attraction towards English, has limited Kannada to the spoken world. The survival of Kannada is in the hands of parents,” he said.
He categorically stated that English could never be the ‘language of life’ in Karnataka and because of wrong decisions and policies educated youths were neither well versed in English nor proficient in Kannada. “However Kannada has been preserved in Kannada schools of the villages, but there also the fascination for English was growing nowadays which is alarming,” he said.
Emphasising the need for realising that only education in one’s mothertongue would make understand concepts thoroughly, Mr. Ramakanth Joshi said giving education in mothertongue was the only solution to saving Kannada.
Chairman of Karnataka Bal Vikas Academy Iranna Jadi, president of Dharwad Zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat Lingaraj Angadi, president of Karnatak Vidyavardhaka Sangha Chandrakanth Bellad, former chairman of Legislative Council Veeranna Mattikatti, Sharanappa Kotagi, and others were present.
Earlier ‘Sammelanaadhyaksha’ of the previous literary meet Basavaraj Sadar symbolically handed over the Kannada flag to Mr. Joshi. A colourful procession preceded the inaugural session. Mr. Joshi and his wife Sridevi were brought to the venue in an embellished chariot.
