Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Udupi dist Kannada Sahitya Sammelan from Dec 30...Deccan Herald Report

Udupi dist Kannada Sahitya Sammelan from Dec 30
DH News Service, Udupi:
The 5th Udupi District Kannada Sahithya Sammelan will be held on December 30 and 31 at Justice K S Hegde Podium, Kavi Muddanna Auditorium, Nitte, informed President of Udupi District Kannada Sahithya Parishath Ambathanaya Mudradi.Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, he informed that renowned littérateur Na Mogasale will preside over the two-day Sammelan. Home Minister Dr V S Acharya will be inaugurating the sammelan. Chancellor of Nitte University N Vinaya Hegde will be the chief guest, he added.Prior to the inauguration of the Sammelan, the procession of Kannada Bhuvaneshwari would be held and President of Nitte Grama Panchayath Jyothi Poojary will inaugurate the procession, he said.
As many as five sessions will be organised during the two-day meet. First session will be on “Udupi district ancient poets,” while the second session will be dais for an interaction with the President of the Sammelan. The interaction will be followed by a poets’ meet in which litterateurs Dundiraj, Jayaram Karanth, Prof Vasanth Bannadi, Gururaj Banandi and others will take part. The fourth session will be based on pro-society literature and the fifth session will be held on “Women and contemporary challenges.”About 15 book stalls will be set up at the Sammelan and as many as 7 books by noted writers will be released on the occasion. Former President of Kannada Sahithya Parishath Harikrishna Punarur will release the books on the occasion and President of Dakshina Kannada District Kannada Sahithya Parishath Pradeep Kumar Kalkura will inaugurate the book stalls.Veteran Litterateur Go Ru Chennabasappa will deliver the valedictory address and Udupi DC P Hemalatha will be the chief guest on the occasion. Litterateur Veerappa Moily will bestow the awards on the celebrity contributors chosen from various fields like politics, social work, Yakshagana, agriculture, literature, and so on, Mr Mudradi informed.Honourary Secretary of Udupi district Kannada Sahithya Parishath Dr Padmanabha Kekunnaya, President of Udupi taluk unit Dr Gananath Yekkaru and others were present.

The Fifth Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan a colourful The Hindu Report

itte (Udupi District): The Fifth Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan got off to a colourful start here on Tuesday. The sammelan started with a procession, which was followed by the hoisting of the National Flag by Chancellor of Nitte University N. Vinay Hegde, the flag of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat by president of the Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Parishat Ambatanaya Mudrady, and the Kannada Flag by Ganesh Karnik, MLC.
Typical of any literary meet, book stalls were also set up. Eager schoolchildren were seen browsing through books for quite some time.
Home Minister V.S. Acharya, who was scheduled to inaugurate the sammelan, did not turn up. He had to rush to Bangalore to attend to urgent work. Of the five MLAs in the district, only one turned up for the inaugural function – Lalaji Mendon. Of the three MLCs (excluding V.S. Acharya), only one turned up – Mr. Ganesh Karnik.
The president of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat, Raju Poojary, too was absent.
Inaugurating the two-day sammelan, Chancellor of Nitte University N. Vinay Hegde said that while people could converse in English or any other language for purposes of business, they should feel a certain bond for Kannada and promote the language. Scholars should write books in simple Kannada as a large majority of readers were neither erudite nor academicians, he said. Role of youth
On the occasion, president of the sammelan Na. Mogasale said it was necessary to encourage the youth to promote the Kannada language.
At the inaugural function, the students of NSAM School staged a dance performance synchronous with the recital of the poem “Hachevu Kannadada Deepa” by D.S. Karki.
President of the Udupi District Kannada Sahitya Parishat Ambatanaya Mudrady, former president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat Harikrishna Punaroor, president of the Dakshina Kannada District Kannada Sahitya Parishat Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, Registrar of Nitte University Yogish Hegde and Principal of NMAM Institute of Technology S.Y. Kulkarni were present.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Moodbidri — woods of yore

Moodbidri — woods of yore
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
A two-hour drive from Manipal, Moodbidri offers one a glimpse of Jain culture.GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
"I'M going to see the Jain basadis tomorrow," said the participant at a heritage seminar at Manipal. The light in his eyes came not from a conservationist's curiosity, but a pilgrim's devotion. It inspired you to undertake a similar, shorter trip to see the monuments of a creed that some scholars trace back to Harappa and Mohenjadaro.
With asceticism and ahimsa as its ideals (inspiring the Buddha?), Jainism is identified with metaphysical reflexivity and uncompromising ethics. Reduced to a minority through centuries of religious persecution, Jains are best known today for their business acumen and practice of charity. The national anthem names them, but this country knows little about Jain culture past and present.
The two-hour drive from Manipal (35 km from Mangalore) offers ample time to recall that Jainism sees God as Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Consciousness and Joy. The universe has no beginning, no end. As the yugas roll on, the 24 tirthankaras (Fjord Makers) teach humanity to reach moksha by burning up the karma of innumerable birth cycles, Parshvanatha (877-777 B.C.) and Mahavira (599-527 B.C.) being such archetypal guides in the present age. The five-fold mantra offers obeisance not to God, but to perfected beings (Arahanta), liberated souls (Siddha), masters (Acharya), teachers (Upadhyaya), virtue seekers (Sadhus). Individuals must find release through their own efforts, not through divine intervention.
Unrelenting austerity? But did it not spark awesome creativity in architecture, sculpture, painting and poetry? Ancient tongues Tamil and Prakrit are rich with literary contributions from the Jain monks. Shravanabelagola (Karnataka), Palitana (Gujarat), Bawangaja (Madhya Pradesh), Shikharjin Madhuban (Bihar) stun the eye with their magnificence.
Shrine cluster
Moodbidri, our destination, known as Kshemavenupura and Jain Kashi, has a cluster of 18 shrines. Enter the 1,000-pillared Tribhuvanatilaka chudamani (crest jewel of the three worlds) basadi, and you see the realisation of a vision as vast as it is intricate. Known also as Chandranath basadi honouring the eight-foot tall figure of Bhagwan Chandranath, and Hosa basadi to signify its ageless beauty, the temple's many mantapas are supported by pillars. No two are alike. Each has its own design, some achieving incredibly delicate results on granite.
Built in 1430 by local chieftain Devaraya Wodeyar, with additions made in 1962, this shrine has a 60 feet tall monolith manasthambha (erected by Queen Nagala Devi) that rivets your gaze. Circle the shrine and you see Chinese dragons and African giraffes jostling with local elephants and mythical yalis, testifying to prosperous trade and protean imagination. The sloping roof is propped by carved posts, and ruddy wooden bars bloodshot under the noon sun.
Playtime after prayers; a pilgrim party is engaged in word games, spraying some northern dialect redolent with desert airs.
Jaya Mahavir prabho
Kundalpur avatari, trishalananda
vibho
A Gujarati family stands in the sanctum, clapping beats to off key songs, the lamps throw shadows on the three huge idols — all cast in the same mould to ignorant eyes. A woman comes up to the threshold with camphor light. You spread your hands over the blaze and touch your eyes. She is the priest's wife. "Pilgrims come, but there is no money for worship, I have to get the oil from my home for the lamps here," she says in Kannada. Isn't there a temple management committee? "Yes," she replies, "but we have to make do with whatever is placed on this thali by visitors." She turns away to sweep the floor.
`No' for everything
We stop at the entrance again before the table manned by officials. Any written material on the temple? "No." Can anyone tell us something about it? One of them barks, "I'm tired. Can't talk." You retreat in a hurry. Stepping out of the wooden portals, your nostrils are assailed by the pungent smell of leaf-wrapped dosai.
Walk past them into a 650-year-old math, which boasts a library of precious texts in palm leaves. It caters to the religious needs of 160 families, descendants of a huge populace of long ago. A saffron monk stilled in meditation in the inner chamber ... women singing in the outer hall ... a chorus of fidgetty boys ... The walls are covered with paintings from an age innocent of calendar art,16th Century they say.
Any book in English about Moodbidri? The official's "No" is no surprise, flung between dinner arrangements before sundown for visitors in the yard. "Give me your address, and we will post it," he says finally, knowing as you do that he will not. Ask for oral information and he waves towards shrines known barely by names — Hire, Kere, Kallu, Padu, Shettara, Leppada...
Among them, the oldest Eighth Century Guru basadi moves you by the universality of the lion-and-lamb myth. Here they are a cow and a tiger drinking from the same pool, triggering a search in the bamboo thicket by a Digambara Jain renunciate. An idol of Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara, is found; a temple raised. The romance of Moodbidri (eastern bamboo forest) hits you with renewed force — especially as there is neither bamboo nor forest to green the concrete-hot town of 18 Jain and 18 Hindu temples. But the woods of yore had offered shelter to the persecuted Jains who had wandered south. They too could drink from the pool and survive. Many of the Ganga, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, Hoysala and Alupa rulers of the region supported the faith.
During Mughal assaults, the old Jain texts were shifted from Shravanabelagola to the safer Moodbidri. Rediscovered in the 1800s, these Moodbidri Manuscripts — Prakrit texts copied in old Hale-kannada script, with pinpricks on palm leaves — are revered as the oldest (scribed circa 1,060 A.D.) written materials of the tradition going back to Arihant.
The westering sun speeds us home, but not before we spot Jain monks meditating in eternal silence on the heat-cracked, scrub-bearded red earth beyond the town. The samadhis loom under brushwood shrouds. Their shadows hush you. Birds spin free, joyous melodies. A kite dances in the coppery sky. A pit yawns close by, strung with spidery twigs. An Archaeological Survey of India signpost announces with definitive clarity: "Ancient Pond. National Monument
Courtesy: The Hindu magazine

Monday, December 1, 2008

Daijiworld reports on nudisiri velidictory

Moodbidri: Eleven Distinguished Personalities Conferred Alva's Nudisiri Report by: Shekar Ajekar Pics: Dayanand KukkajeDaijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (TU)
Moodbidri, Nov 30: Eleven eminent achievers from the state who have made significant contribution to different fields were presented with 'Alva's Nudisiri, at the valedictory of Alva's Nudisiri 2008, a three-day national-level Kannada literary meet here on Sunday November 30. Nadoja Daroji Iramma, journalist Ishwaraiah, poet N S Laxminarayan Bhat, film-maker Nagathihalli Chandrashekar, theatre activist Sadanand Suvarna, yakshagana artiste Hosthota Manjunath Bhagavat, Y K Muddukrishna, writer Sa Shi Marulaiah and litterateur Go Ru Channabasappa and Bahrain Kannada Sangha (Austin Santhosh) and folklore singer Siri Ajji were presented with the prestigious award. Addressing the gathering after felicitating the achievers, Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr Virendra Heggade said that a language cannot be saved through struggles or movements. But it can be promoted, nurtured and preserved by conducting creative programmes such as Nudisiri. People from Tulunadu have been contributing to the enrichment of Kannada language in various ways. Alva's Nudisiri is one such platform which has constantly adhered to the task of enhancing Kannada culture and tradition, he added. Chief guest MLC Mukyamanthri Chandru, who is also the president of Kannada Development Authority said that government has decided to make it compulsory to write every sign boards in Kannada language effective from January 1. He also stressed that Kannada medium students should get priority in recruitments. Principal Padekallu Vishnu Bhatta spoke about the three-day cultural fest under new concept of the event 'Himmahithi Parikalpane'. Enthralling, Enriching Experience Cultural programmes performed on four different stages in Nudisiri, began on Friday November 28 have enthralled the audience from various parts of the state. Solo Yakshagana by Mantapa Prabhakara Upadhyaya, Puja Kunitha, Bhavaragha Maalike by the winners of TV channel singing competition, DV Gundappa's Aanthapuragithe-based ballet by Hejje Gejje group from Manipal, 'Chithradurga Vaibhava' by Nrthya Nikethana Challakere took art lovers to the world of folklore on the first day.
'Makkala Mayaloka' drama directed Jeevan Ram Sullia stole the show on the second day of the event. The Rathnakaravarni Vedike, the main venue of the event, greeted the visitors with folksingers presenting songs with tamboora and taala in their hands.Cartoonist Parakash Shetty drew the caricature of the interested visitors within two minutes at trhe entrance with the caption: 'Nimma Bhava Vyangya Chithra'. A 70-year old Shivarama Bhatta, sitting on a chair with a caption: 'Sabha nimmadu padhya nammadu', writes four-line poem witin minutes after asking visitors to tell Kannada word. At about 5.30 am on the final day Dr Mohan Alva, the man behind the literary event performed the dance. The book stalls wore busy look all the three days.

'2009 to be observed as year of Kannada implementation'

Alva's Nudisiri concludes; Award for 11 persons
'2009 to be observed as year of Kannada implementation'

DH News Service, Mangalore:
“Kannada Development Authority is determined to see to it that complete implementation of Kannada is achieved by January 1, 2009. Karnataka is the only state where we are fighting for the sake of the identity for the language. This kind of struggle is certainly not happening in any other state in the country. Though several circular were issued to see to it that the banners and display boards in all commercials centres across the state are in Kannada, it is not yet implemented,” said Kannada Development Authority Chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru.Delivering the valedictory address at ‘Alvas’ Nudisiri-08’ on Sunday, Mr Chandru said that year 2009 will be observed as ‘Kannada implementation year’ and efforts will be made to see to it that Kannada is implemented in a big way across the state. Further he said the centre will be demanded to provide jobs on the basis of the population of the state. He said that 68 per cent of Bangalore’s population comprises of people from other states who do not even acknowledge that they are staying in Karnataka and totally disagree to use the official language in day to day life. He said that the main reason for such an attitude is due to lack of political will and negligence of the authorities concerned.
“In other states we see that milestone, banners and every display is in the local language itself without any other language juxtaposed. In Karnataka we are not being so fanatic. We want all banners and displays in Kannada first followed by other language,” he added and said that Kannadigas need not be ‘Durabhimani’ (fanatics) like the people from Maharashtra. It is enough if we become ‘swabhimani’.FelicitationEarlier 11 achiever from various fields were felicitated and conferred with ‘Nudisiri award’ which carried a cash of Rs 10,000 each, a memento and a citation.Nadoji Daroji Eeramma, Go Ru Channabasappa, Dr Sa Shi Marulaiah, Hosthota Manjunath Bhagawath, N S Lakshminarayana Bhat, Sadashiva Suvarna, A Ishwaraiah, Y K Muddukrishna, Nagathihalli Chandrashekar, Bahrain Kannada Sangha (award accepted by the incumbent President Austine Santhosh) and Nadoja Siriajji accepted the award from Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade.'NUDISIRI PROVIDES MODEL'Struggle to save Kannadathana is a must, says Heggade “A struggle to save ‘Kannadathana’ (sense of being a Kannadiga) is a must as Karnataka state stands for peace, harmony and integrity,” said Shree Kshethra Dharmasthala Dharmadikari Dr Veerendra Heggade. Addressing the gathering at the valedictory programme of ‘Alvas Nudisiri’ on Sunday, Dr Heggade said that literature is one thing that can cause enthusiasm as well as monotony and hence response to literary programme of this kind cannot be predicted.However since the general public as well as the litterateur await for Nudisiri, itself shows its success.“A environment to taste the richness of our literature must be provided to the people in general and the youngsters in particular so that they develop love for our culture and literature. In this regard programmes like Nudisiri are of great help,” he added and said that people from Dakshina Kannada district who were once alleged as people with little pride on Kannada language have proved everyone wrong through the resplendent programme like Alvas Nudisiri.“The magnitude in which Nudisiri is organised and the zeal with which people participate in it have changed the way people look at Dakshina Kannada. In many other places, the organisers have to invite film stars to gather audience but in Dakshina Kannada district the people gather out of interest and enthusiasm,” he added.Senior litterateur Channaveera Kanavi presided over the programme.

ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨, ೩ ಹಾಗೂ ೪ರಂದು ಆರ್‌ಜಿಯುಹೆಚ್‌ಎಸ್ ಯುವಜನೋತ್ಸವ

ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨, ೩ ಹಾಗೂ ೪ರಂದು ಆರ್‌ಜಿಯುಹೆಚ್‌ಎಸ್ ಯುವಜನೋತ್ಸವ

ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಈ ವರ್ಷದ ವಿ.ವಿ. ಮಟ್ಟದ ಯುವಜನೋತ್ಸವ ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨, ೩ ಹಾಗೂ ೪ನೇ ತಾರೀಖಿನಂದು ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆಯ ಆಳ್ವಾಸ್ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನದ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ. ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾಗಿರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯಲಿರುವ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಮೂರನೇ ಬಾರಿ ಆಳ್ವಾಸ್ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನದ ಆಯೋಜನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಸುಮಾರು ೧೨೮ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳು ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಹೆಸರು ನೊಂದಾಯಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು ೩,೨೦೦ ರಿಂದ ೪,೦೦೦ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ವಿವಿಧ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ೯ ವೇದಿಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುವ ವಿವಿಧ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೇಗಳು ಹಗಲು ಹಾಗೂ ರಾತ್ರಿಯೂ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ೨೨೫ ಉಪನ್ಯಾಸಕರು ಹಾಗೂ ೪೦೦ ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವಕರ ಸಹಕಾರದೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿರುವ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳಿಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಹೆಸರಾಂತ ಕಲಾವಿದರು, ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ತೀರ್ಪುಗಾರರಾಗಿ ಸಹಕರಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ ವಿ.ವಿ.ಯ ಉಪಕುಲಪತಿಗಳಾದ ಡಾ. ಎಸ್. ರಮಾನಂದ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಲಿದ್ದು, ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಉಪಕುಲಪತಿಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ ಡಾ.ಎಸ್.ಕಾಂತ, ಡಾ.ಎಸ್.ಚಂದ್ರಶೇಖರ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ, ತಾಲ್ಲೂಕಿನ ಶಾಸಕರಾದ ಅಭಯ್ ಚಂದ್ರ ಜೈನ್, ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನದ ಟ್ರಷ್ಠಿ ಅಮರನಾಥ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಥಿತಿಗಳಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಸಂಗೀತ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳನ್ನೊಳಗೊಂಡ ನಾದಲಹರಿ, ನೃತ್ಯ ವೈವಿಧ್ಯಗಳಿರುವ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಗೆಜ್ಜೆ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಪೂರಕವಾದ ಸ್ಮೃತಿ-ಕೃತಿ, ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿ ರಂಗಲೀಲೆ, ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟಂತೆ ರೂಪ-ಸ್ವರೂಪ -ಇವು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳ ಹೆಸರುಗಳು. ನಾದ ಲಹರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ೧೦, ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ-ಗೆಜ್ಜೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ೩, ಸ್ಮೃತಿ-ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ೪, ರಂಗಲೀಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ೪, ರೂಪ-ಸ್ವರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ೫ ನಮೂನೆಯ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಗಳು ನಡೆಯಲಿದ್ದು ಮೂರು ದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಆಳ್ವಾಸ್ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನದ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಡಾ.ಎಂ.ಮೋಹನ್ ಆಳ್ವ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಬೆಹರೈನ್ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಘಕ್ಕೆ ನುಡಿಸಿರಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ-ಆಸ್ಟಿನ್ ಸಂತೋಷ್ ಅವರಿಂದ ಸ್ವೀಕಾರ


ಡಾ. ವೀರೇಂದ್ರ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಅವರು ಆಸ್ಟಿನ್ ಸಂತೋಷ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ನುಡಿಸಿರಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ನೀಡಿದರು. ಚೆನ್ನ ವೀರ ಕಣವಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮೋಹನ್ ಅಲ್ವ ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು.