August 15 is indeed a red letter day in the history of Dharwad, the cultural capital of North Karnataka. It is on this day 75 years ago, Manohara Grantha Mala, a premier Kannada publication house, came into being to cater to the needs of lakhs of readers of Dharwad and surrounding areas.
Manohara Grantha Mala was, in fact, one of the popular publishing houses in Dharwad to print the titles of noted Kannada litterateurs of all times.
Naturally, people thronged the place whenever new books were marketed. However, in the recent times, with the invasion of electronic media, people hardly read, making publication houses strive hard to survive.
About 75 years ago, when the winds of nationalism swept the country hard, a few like-minded people including poet laureate late Da Ra Bendre, formed ‘Geleyara  Gumpu’ or ‘The Friends’ Circle’, marking an important milestone in the history of Dharwad. Though shortlived, The Friends' Circle provided a platform for Kannada activities to be launched.
A few of this forum’s major publications were the periodicals 'Swadharma' and 'Jaya Karnataka’. Though as an institution it could not hold together for long, the idealism it generated was longlasting and Manohara Grantha Mala is an offshoot of the same.
When the Jaya Karnataka series of publications broke up, young members of the group like Prahlad Naregal, Govind Chulaki and Krishnasharma Betgeri tried to revive it under the guidance of Sham Bha Joshi. Mr Betgeri’s first novel 'Sudarshana' was their first publication, brought out on August 15, 1933, under the series Manohara Grantha Mala.
Mr G B Joshi, another member of the Geleyara Gumpu, was their associate and worker. The principal working capital of the publication house was nothing but idealism. The rest of the requirements was obtained on loan. While paper was loaned from Jayantilal Gandhi & Co., a Bombay firm, printing on deferred payment was done by late K G Rayadurg at his Mohan Press, while books were written free of royalty by friends trained in Geleyara Gumpu. Such is the origin of Manohara Grantha Mala.
However, six books were printed in the very first year. It was soon clear that Manohara Grantha Mala could not carry on for long without good finances. Neither did the people behind the publication wish to close it down.
Naturally, only one person was left to look after it and that was Mr G B Joshi (Jadabharata), who took over the burden a little nervously. He was ably assisted on literary matters by Da Ra Bendre, Prof V K Gokak and Prof R S Mugali who constituted the advisory trio. Subsequently, Prof Kirtinath Kurtakoti joined the Grantha Mala as the adviser just before its Silver Jubilee Volumes were to be out and contributed critical articles on the history of Kannada literature.
The Grantha Mala has an unbroken record of service since 1933 and has published many valuable works of Kannada literature including novels, shortstory collections, plays, biographies, poems, critical pieces, diaries and miscellaneous works.
Manohara Grantha Mala also has to its credit the organisation of various festivals like the Sahityotsava under the presidentship of Masti Venkatesh Iyengar in May 1942, Sharadotsava under the presidentship of D R Bendre in October 1946, and Sahiti-Sahitya-Samparka in August 1988.
To  commemorate its Golden Jubilee, Grantha Mala has brought out five volumes called ‘Puta Bangara’, comprising select works from their published books. These volumes stand for the best in Kannada literature ever published in the last five decades.
The main purpose of the Grantha Mala is to publish original Kannada works and to promote Kannada literature. In order to reach books directly to the readers, Grantha Mala has introduced the annual subscription system.
Many old renowned writers shouldered the responsibility of creating good literature and publishing them through the Grantha Mala. In fact, Mr G B Joshi became a link between the writer and the reader.
Mr Joshi He visited a few select towns and cities in Karnataka to distribute books and know the response of readers. Grantha Mala has a definite membership of 1,000, while it has about 150 life-time subscribers.