Four books by four different authors but all with a common thread running through them? Apart from the fact that they were all published by Nava Karnataka Prakashana, a popular publishing house and released on Gandhi Jayanti, all the books have fittingly laid emphasis on non-violence. 

Be it the indepth analysis of the aftermath of Gandhiji's assassination done by Ko Chennabasappa in his Gandhi  Kaggole, Karana- Parinama or in the human side brought out effectively by writer K S Parthasarathy in his historical perspective of the first war of independence or the horrors of holocaust penned by popular writer Nemichandra in her first ever novel, Yad Vashim- the message is - peace is the only way.

The book by Sheshanarayana recounts the publisher/ writer's close associations with many of the giants of Kannada literature some of who were also involved in the freedom struggle. 

The books were released by noted freedom fighter and writer H S Doreswamy. The octogenarian gave out the gist of each book and called out for greater tolerance among religions. He recalled many interesting incidents from his life including his days in jail. All the four authors then spoke briefly about the genesis of their literary creations. Ko Chennabasappa spoke about dangers of fascism and how twisting of historical facts can lead to horrors. Writer K S Parthasarathy mentioned the significance of the year 2007-150 years since the Sepoy mutiny (now increasingly being seen as the first war of independence) and the centenary of Bhagat Singh.

Sheshanarayana wanted an objective view of the event in Kannada and thus came about his book. 
Mudrakana Sahithya Nantu's writer Sheshanarayana recalled with affection, Masthi's confidence in his proof reading abilities and brought home the struggles of publishing in the pre-DTP era. 

And if you think that Bangalore was in no way connected to Holocaust think again! Sir C V Raman invited Jewish scientists fleeing Hitler's Nazi Germany to come and settle down in Bangalore and work at our own Indian Institute of Science. A chance discovery of a cemetery in Bangalore with Hebrew inscription led Nemichandra to discover this historic link and it took her not only to the Holocaust museum in the US but also to Israel.

Recounting how this discovery planted the seeds of a novel in her mind she stressed that only the protagonists of her novel are fictitious and that the events, settings and horror are all real. Prof G K Govinda Rao presided over the function held at Nayana, Kannada Bhavana.