Now, you can grab a PhD in Tulu

Interested in doing a PhD in Tulu language? Though it's not possible in Karnataka or Mangalore University, those interested in pursuing their doctoral thesis in the Dravidian language, can do at Dravida University at Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh.

Chandrahas Rai B, registrar, Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, told TOI that students who have completed their Masters in Kannada are eligible as the script followed for Tulu is Kannada.

He said they have come to know that already eight students have registered for PhD, according to Shivakumar, head, Tulu department at the university. The students will have to complete their Tulu diploma after enrolling to the doctoral programme.

Full report here Times of India 

'Book fair will put Sanskrit in a modern context'

The World Sanskrit Book Fair is expected to promote modern Sanskrit Literature and showcase the learning of the language based on new methods and approaches. The fair will be held in the city from January 7-11, 2011. Mallepuram G Venkatesh, vice-chancellor of Karnataka Sanskrit University, gave more details on the fair in an interaction with DNA.

What is the idea behind the World Sanskrit Book Fair?
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Sanskrit book fair will provide the opportunity to understand the traditional cultural systems in India in a modern context. Sanskrit literature provides a link between modern and traditional texts. Modern science and ancient science can be combined to understand many issues and Sanskrit texts facilitate this. Hence, it is once again gaining popularity, because of the spread of Indian knowledge systems. While there are numerous language fairs that are held, why shouldn’t we have a Sanskrit Fair?

What can people expect to see at the World Sanskrit Fair?
Recent publications will be on display. Important cultural texts from Indian languages will be translated into Sanskrit. We have texts from all the states of the country; we will translate them into Sanskrit. Sanskrit universities, academies, Oriental research institutions, NGOs and publishers are taking part in the fair.

Full interview here DNA

Kanakadasa’s literary works hailed

Bhakti movement saint-poet Kanakadasa was a unique personality having a combination of philosophy, economics, sociology and music, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said on Sep 21.

Inaugurating a two-day national seminar ''Saint-poet Kanakadas''s Literary Contribution towards Bhakti Movement in India'', Mr Moily said the 16th century poet was a person who combined "the intellect and the heart" to send across his message.

"Today, Kanakadasa has been launched to the world. Even before Karl Marx came out with a class struggle (theory), I think a seed of the caste struggle was injected by Kanakadasa through his works," Mr Moily said.

Full report here Mangalorean

Konkani Writers’ Forum Karnataka pays tribute to Ravindra Kalekar

Konkani Writers’ Forum, Karnataka organized a condolence meeting on 5th September 2010 to pay tribute to Jnanapeeth award winning Konkani  Writer Ravinda Kelekar who passed away recently, at Dirvem Mini Hall, Mangalore.

H M Pernal, General Secretary of the Forum welcomed the gathering and introduced the speaker Dr. William R Da Silva , Professor of Social Science and Communication and Director of School of Konkani Studies and Research, Mangalore to the audience.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. William R Da Silva said “Though Kelekar was influenced by Gandhian thinking,  he was nourishing an ambition to become an ‘aamdaar’ ( MLA ) one day. Though he was not a strong supporter of  Standardization in Konkani,  he took the first initiative to compile the bibliography of all works published in Konkani spread across Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai and Cochin irrespective of scripts.

Full report here Bellevision

Dharwad Utsav will be revived

The Dharwad Utsav, which had been revived after a gap of seven years in 2006, was a hit with the connoisseurs. The event went on well for the next two years. But the flashfloods in north Karnataka, besides damaging life and property in the region, also forced people elsewhere in the state to forego the celebrations. As a result, Dharwad Utsav could not be held in 2009.

However, the event will be back this year if everything goes according to plan and nature co-operates. DC Darpan Jain, who successfully conducted the event in 2008, is all set to organize the utsav in November this year. He has quietly begun the groundwork.

Jain told ' The Times of India' on Wednesday that cultural festival had to be foregone in 2009 in view of the natural calamity that had struck the region. "As of now, there is no threat of nature fury. Preparations for the three-day festival, aimed at depicting the rich cultural heritage of India, Karnataka and Dharwad district in particular, will start soon," he said.

Full report here Times of India 

Of a lost game!

Victoria Gowramma – The Lost Princess of Coorg digs deep into the past to tell stories of intrigue and desire. The book is an interesting story of Veera Rajendra, the exiled raja of Coorg, and his 11-year-old daughter Gowramma. Belliappa's research reveals that he was the first Indian royal to land in Britain.

If Alice were alive, she would have been jealous of Gowramma, and her wonderland – the royal palace and spaces of Queen Victoria of England – though now she is remembered as the “Lost Princess of Coorg”, in the book that tells her enticing story.

Published by Rupa & Co., the 235 page book, that has just hit the stands, is written by C.P. Belliappa who is considered an authority on Coorg. The book titled Victoria Gowramma – the Lost Princess of Coorg was recently launched at British Council by Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for Law and Justice who belongs to this picturesque coffee town of Karnataka.

The book is an interesting story of Veera Rajendra, the exiled raja of Coorg, and his 11-year-old daughter Gowramma. Belliappa's research reveals that he was the first Indian royal to land in Britain (in 1852). The exiled raja's journey to England is an intense tale of intrigue, scheming and a desire to gain lost attention and wealth.

Full report here Hindu

Mixed response to ‘open library’ proposal

The Karnataka State Knowledge Commission submitted a report to the state government this month, urging it to allow general public to read books at college and university libraries. However, this recommendation has led to mixed responses from various universities in the state.

The commission had recommended that the initiative be funded by the state government under a joint venture with the department of collegiate education, public library department and various universities in the state.

Speaking to Express, M K Sridhar, executive director of the commission said that the initiative was recommended to increase knowledge and also to improve the relationship between the society and the universities.

Full report here New Indian Express

Storytelling through puppet play

It was festive mood at Ranga Shankara. Colourful and bright rangolis were drawn at many places. Fresh flowers and garlands were put up at the entrance.

One could also smell yummy food from the nearby cafe. All this was part of the Ranga Ugadi, a feast of Kannada theatre, literature and traditional food, organised by Ranga Shankara.

The day kickstarted with a puppet play based on a funny episode from Mahabharata, for five year olds and above. The puppet play was known as Ashtavakra and was performed by the Bangalore based team Dhaatu. More than  forty children enjoyed the puppet play. They comfortably settled themselves on the stage and could not stop whispering and murmuring among themselves as they waited for everybody else to settle down before the play started.

The story of Ashatavakra, from the epic Mahabharata, was narrated in the form of a musical puppet play, which was amazing.

Full report here Deccan Herald

'New writers must be encouraged'

The 15th Uttara Kannada district-level Kannada Sahitya Sammelana was inaugurated by Vishweshwar Hegde, district in-charge minister at Kumta on Saturday, March 27. The place where the two-day sammelana is taking place is named after Dr B M Pai and the podium is named after noted poet B R Pandeshwar.

Addressing the gathering V G Nayak, president of the sammelana said that literature is a medium to build relationships among people that goes beyond caste, community and borders. He said literature should create love among different people.

Describing Uttara Kannada district as the birth place of literature of different varieties like Yakshagana, Halakki songs, Suggi songs and many other folk songs, he said new poets like Danker Desai have given a new dimension to the short poems (chutuku padya) in Kannada poetry. Writers like Gourish Kaikini, Yashwantha Chittal who wrote on contemporary issues have given new impetus to Kannada literature, he said. New writers also should be given encouragement, he added.

Full report here Times of India 

Lohia’s literary legacy in Karnataka

Ram Manohar Lohia’s thoughts had a major influence on the social and literary movements in Karnataka. Inspired by Lohia’s ‘Angrezi Hatao’ campaign, Konandur Lingappa founded the Kannada Yuvajana Sabha (KYS) in Mysore in 1957.

In the mid-1960s, the Samajavadi Yuvajana Sabha (SYS), a forum that grew out of the KYS in Mysore under the leadership of Prof M D Nanjundaswamy and writer Poornachandra Tejaswi, tried to popularise Lohiaite ideals. Nanjundaswamy and Tejaswi compiled and translated passages from Lohia’s major works and published them as a short book. In the ’70s, SYS activists organised numerous public discussions on, among others, Lohia’s passionate ideas of ‘jati-vinasha’ (destruction of caste), the importance of rejecting the English language, the need for avoiding extravagant marriage ceremonies, etc.

Lohia was an inspiration to farmers’ organisations, especially the KRRS, which launched a powerful farmers’ movement in the ’80s under the leadership of Nanjundaswamy. The KRRS’ successful demand for farm loan waiver and its activism against the GATT proposals and the agribusiness MNCs embodied Lohia’s socialist ideals.

Two of the three founders of the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), B Krishnappa and Devanur Mahadeva had been active Lohiates. Siddalingaiah, the other DSS founder, observed that the Lohiaite influence helped them temper the hostility towards Gandhi among Dalit activists in the state. Their ideological canvas made space for the oppressed among the non-Dalits and allowed them to interact with progressive upper-caste activists.

Full report here Deccan Herald

Karnataka Konkani Academy bestows awards

Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy bestowed awards on prominent personalities belonging to Konkani community, at a function held at the Gitanjali Mantap of MGM College in Udupi, on Sunday, March 28.

Dr V S Acharya, stae home minister, presented the awards for the year 2009.  V V Shenoy received the honorary award for his overall contribution to Konkani language.  Vally Vagga got the same award for his contribution to Konkani literature, while Richard Castelino was handed over this award for his illustrious contributions to Konkani art and cinema.  The award carries cash component of Rs 10,000, a memento and a certificate.

Awards were also conferred on Cyril G Sequeira and M P Rodrigues  in the ‘Best Konkani Books’ category.  While Sequeira got the award for his book, `Sullsulle', M P Rodrigues got the award for his anthology of poems, `Rumbddi Fulam'.  These awards have a cash component of Rs 5000, a memento and a certificate.

Full report here Daijiworld.com

Tulu now an optional language

The government of Karnataka has cleared the proposal to teach Tulu as an optional third language in Udupi and Mangalore. The government order has been released on 26th March which has been signed by the under secretary of the government Mr. M.N. Somashekar.

The order said Tulu can be taught as the optional third languages in areas where Tulu is spoken. The teaching can take place in Udupi and Mangalore districts from next academic year, schools can hire Tulu scholars for teaching Tulu and they should make arrangements to train the teachers the order stated. Both private and government schools can take it up.

It could be recalled here that Tulu activists and various organizations had been putting pressure on the government for this order. Speaking to Mangalorean.com Mr. Uday Dharmasthala member of the Tulu Academy said the government had okayed the teaching from 2010-2011. "This had been a long standing demand of the Tuluvas in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. The government has cleared to be taught after sixth standard which has come as a boon to the furtherance of the Tulu culture in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts."

Full report here Mangalorean.com

A loving work for posterity

When Mathoor Krishnamurthy launches a set of 18 DVDs on Kumaaravyaasa Bhaaratha, and one on ‘Festivals of India’ at the Raj Bhavan on March 30, it will give an insight into the cultural history of India, and spell a revival of ‘Gamaka’, an ancient performing art exclusive to Karnataka.

Mathoor is not only the most visible face of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore, as its chairman since 1995, but has become a source of sustenance to thousands through his ‘Gamaka Vaachana’ on Kannada television, and discourses on spirituality.

Gamaka is a form of story- telling wherein one person sings the verse, and another explains its meaning.

Full report here New Indian Express

‘Writing is a form of prayer for me’

When one of Karnataka’s great writers, U R Anantha Murthy was a child, his mother fell seriously ill following the delivery of a son.

“We were living in a village where there were no proper facilities,” he says. “I prayed under a tree for her recovery. And she survived. Looking back, I know that God saved her life”.

As a child, Murthy had a favourite temple. It was a Shiva temple located on the banks of the Tunga river in Shimoga district in Karnataka.

Since there was no electricity, a small lamp was lit in the evenings inside the shrine. “When I looked intently at the flame, I was also able to see inside my soul,” says Murthy, a Jnanpith Award winner, who is on a brief visit to Kerala.

Full report here New Indian Express

Gokarn library to script Indo-French ties

Picture this: a library of international standards at Gokarn, with the largest collection of rare books and paintings from around the globe. This is no imagination but a soon-to-be-reality, all thanks to a French organisation, Pandrata Circle, that has taken up a novel project to restore ‘Study Circle’, a private library at Gokarn, which is in dilapidated condition.

In an interview with the Express, Tabet Elias, the founding member of Pandrata Circle on Saturday, said that the association had proposed to develop the library into a Franco-Indian cultural centre.

He said a project christened ‘Study Circle Project’ envisages the construction of a library building in an area of 2000 square metre, in the first phase. He said the new building will have reading and study rooms, Internet corner, office and storage space for books.

Full report here Express Buzz

Intolerant India

Free speech is increasingly under attack in the world's most populous democracy. The distribution of "Crescent Over the World," a book including contributions from Salman Rushdie, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, and a cartoon from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Mr. Narisetti is out on bail now; Mr. Laxmaiah remains in custody.

Indians boast of living in the world's most populous democracy, and rightly so. Regular elections and vigorous public debate are a rebuke to anyone who thinks that liberty can't flourish in a large, largely poor, culturally and linguistically diverse country. But in one area of life officials' concerns for keeping peace between various religious and ethnic groups is threatening a core freedom: speech.

In a little-noticed case on Feb. 26, police in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh arrested Macha Laxmaiah, an author who writes using the pseudonym Krantikar ("revolutionary"), and his distributors, including Innaiah Narisetti, president of the Hyderabad-based nonprofit Center for Inquiry, for "hurting the sentiments of Muslims." Their alleged crime? The distribution of Crescent Over the World, a book including contributions from Salman Rushdie, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, and a cartoon from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Mr. Narisetti is out on bail now; Mr. Laxmaiah remains in custody.

The works of Maqbool Fida Husain have been attacked by Hindu nationalists.

Then there are the continuing attacks on Ms. Nasreen and her supporters. Last week, masked men broke into the offices of Kannada Prabha, a local-language newspaper in the southern state of Karnataka. Its weekly magazine had published a piece allegedly written by Ms. Nasreen that criticized the burqa, the veil that many Muslim women wear. Muslim groups had protested the article—which was three years old and republished by the Kannada newspaper without her permission—and violence in two towns ensued, leading to two deaths and dozens arrested. Ms. Nasreen, who fled Bangladesh in 1994 after Muslim fundamentalists threatened her life, currently divides her time between Sweden and the United States, but says she wants to live in India. The government stands in the way, not permitting her to stay in Kolkata, where she prefers to live, and keeping her at an undisclosed location in New Delhi under security surveillance during her last extended stay in the country ostensibly for her own safety.

The sensitivity doesn't just concern Islam. Last week, India's foremost painter, Maqbool Fida Husain, who is 94, decided to give up Indian nationality and became a Qatari citizen. Mr. Husain is a Muslim, and among the many themes he has painted are a few paintings of Hindu deities in the nude. These works were completed and first displayed decades ago, but since the mid-1990s Hindu nationalists have campaigned against him, saying his work insulted their faith. They attacked galleries exhibiting his works, threatened him with violence, and filed lawsuits against him. The state attached some of his property and police officers issued arrest warrants against him, even as the Delhi High Court (and later the Supreme Court) ruled in his favor and officials publicly praised him. Unwilling to trust the state to protect him, Mr. Husain, who has lived abroad much of the past decade, gave up his nationality.

Full report here The Wall Street Journal

Shobhaa De turns activist!

To protest the recent attacks on women in two of Karnataka's leading cities, Bangalore and Mangalore, author Shobhaa De has formed the Sita Sene.

The group will gather volunteers - men and women - in Mumbai and meet at the Gateway of India on March 8, International Women's Day to protest.

According to information on her blog, a strong action plan is advocated, along with a helpline for women in distress and other measures.

Her blog reads, "I read the reports of fresh attacks on women in Bangalore and felt sickened. `This must stop!' I said to myself. The idea of launching a Sita Sena to counter the Ravanas came to me in a flash. I communicated it to my dear, dear 'blogdost' Aham, who immediately swung into action and created a site. His plan is to congregate at the Gateway of India on March 8, International Women's Day," she wrote on the blog.

She warns against people not taking action. "This is why I want the campaign to be a pan-India initiative. And soon we will have several Kabuls sprouting up all over India. Shame the men. Show your contempt. Speak up!"