Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)
Pics – Dayanand Kukkaje

Mangalore Oct 11: The first Kalavikasa Sahitya Sammelan organized by Dakshina Kannada district unit of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat opened on a unique note here at the Shivram Karanth Vedike of Government PU College, at Car Street on Wednesday, October 10.  Besides lighting the lamp, the guests beat ‘chendes’ and ‘dolu’ to mark the start of the programme.

N Yogish Bhat, Mangalore MLA, welcomed the gathering and in his address gave a brief description about all the key people who organized the event.

Speaking on the occasion poet and artiste Gururaj Marpalli declared that to make life colourful people must give importance to art and this art is very much inherent in the Indian lifestyle. According to him foreigners may have achieved a lot in various fields such as scientific and technical but these were not of much importance as they lagged behind Indians in understanding the self, which is a part of Indian culture, he averred.

He further stated that religious revolution has taken place only in India through which ‘Indian-ness’ has expanded. Therefore inculcating creativity and leading an artistic life is important, he advised.
Ham Pa Nagarajaiah, poet and writer who inaugurated the meet, stated that Indian culture was like a rainbow which assimilated many cultures and this quality should be used today with the country facing a threat from Western culture.

In the introductory speech DK chapter of Kannada Sahitya Parishad president, Pradeep Kumar Kalkura made a poignant statement that the uniqueness of India, its history and culture can be taught only at home. He however, rued the fact that it is not happening anymore in Indian homes.
Keeping in tune with uniqueness of the event, instead of heavy flower garlands and sandalwood garlands, simple rose bouquets were given to the guests on the occasion. All the guests received a book containing short stories as a memento.

Another unique feature of the meet was the organizers presenting “mundas”, a traditional headgear, to Gururaj Marpalli, writer, who presided over the sammelan. Janardhan Hande, one of the organizers, helped tie a “basinga” on the “mundas”.