Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)
Pic by: Dayanand Kukkaje 
 
Mangalore, March 2: The 'Prof S V P Memorial Award' for the year 2008 was conferred on play director and litterateur prof. Siddalinga Pattanashetty and his wife Dr Hema Pattanashetty at the Canara college here on Saturday, March 1. The award was presented to the Pattanashetty couple from Dharwad, for the seventh consecutive year in a row.
 
The Shetty's have received several awards notable amongst which are the Nataka Academy Award and Sahitya Academy Award. This particular award was constituted in the year 2002, and is presented for noteworthy translation, publications made and contributions towards nurturing literature.
In his acceptance speech Pattanashetty making a plea said that the entire work of Sringeri Vidyaranyapura Parameshwar (SVP) Bhat must be published and for this financial assistance may be availed from the Kannada and Culture department. Until now, only select poems of the poet have been published, he added.

According to Pattanashetty, "Parameshwar must be introduced to the next generation by reading them out in workshops. One need not despair that a stalwart like Parameshwar is not popular among students, as more workshops and criticisms on his works will bring the poet alive again. The coastal district not only held his hand when he left Mysore, but gave him due recognition and respect," he pointed out.

Speaking on the occasion publisher and litterateur Dr Hema Pattanashetty declared a person automatically becomes a student of litterateur, if the person reads a book on literature. Praising Parameshwar as a human being, she said he had a profound personality, who always kept his sorrows to himself but distributed his smiles to all and added that she considered herself as his student.

Another speaker who spoke on the contributions of S V P to Kannada literature was litterateur Erya Laxminarayan Alva, who spoke at length about the impact of SVP's work at a time when the whole region was under Madras province.

The Pattanashetty couple were felicitated by Parameshwar’s son Ramachandra and daughter-in-law Usha Ramachandra on the occasion. PU Education Board joint director (retd) and student of Parameshwar Sheelavathi Kolambe also spoke. Also present were writer Na Damodar Shetty and college principal N R Javali.