Miscellany
Seventy-five and going strong
Dharwad district holds a special place in the cultural and literary map of the state. It has enriched creative fields like music, art and literature by producing some memorable names. If Dharwad has come to be known as the cultural capital, it is because of publishing houses that have shaped and nurtured people’s tastes and cultivated the reading habit among people. Take the 75-year-old Samaja Pustakalaya situated in the busy Dharwad market lane, for instance.
The Pustakalaya has published many titles including those written by celebrated Kannada writers Da Ra Bendre, Krishnamurthi Puranik, Ha Ma Nayak, Chandrashekar Kambar, Sham Ba Joshi and Beechi.
Founded by Balchandra Ghanekar in 1936, the Samaja Pustakalaya has come out with 1800 titles. But what makes the book stall special is that the works it has published have won many national and state awards.
The Jnanapith award-winning work of Da Ra Bendre, Naaku Thanthi, was published by this book stall, Shamba Joshi’s, Karnataka Sanskritiya Poorva Pithike, Da Ra Bendre’s Aralu-Maralu, won the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award. Sanadi’s Tajmahal, Padmanabh Somayaji’s Panditraj Jagannath, Masali’s Mane Tumbida Belaku, K Krishna Bhat’s Kautilyana Arthashastra, P V Acharya’s Vakradrishti, B P Bayari’s books have all won the Rajya Sahitya Academy Awards.
It was also recognised as the best publisher by the Kannada Book Authority and ‘Distinguished Book sellers’ Award’ in 1997.
“The number of readers of serious literature, non-fiction and translation of classics has come down because of the influence of television,” says Manohar Ganekar, the elder son of Balchandra who has been shouldering the responsibilities of the book stall.
Manjunath Goudar
Unwind in the lap of nature
Located 250 km away from the noise and chaotic traffic of Bangalore city and spread across nine acres of mango and coconut groves at the foothills of Western Ghats in Chikmagalur, is ‘Winter Greens,’ a resort.
At a time when unwinding oneself at a resort seems to be the fad, what is the USP of Winter Greens?
Wooden cottages nestled in the mango grove without disturbing natural surroundings, suspension bridges, absence of television sets at cottages except for one TV at the common dining hall, a man-made island fed by a nearby lake, absence of mobile network connectivity and waking up to the chirping of varied species of birds seems the best way to lose oneself!
“Winter Greens is a new concept in business adventure and offers a fine blend of eco-tourism and adventure holidays. Apart from providing a beautiful backdrop wherein individuals can soak themselves in resplendent nature, we also facilitate visits to nearby scenic places like Mullaiyanagiri, the highest mountain peak in Karnataka, Bababudangiri, Belur and Halebeedu, Kemmangundi etc,” explains Capt Ramesh, CEO of Winter Greens Eco-resort.
Winter Greens is located on Chikmagalur-Kadur Road at a distance of 10 km from the City.
For more details log on to www.wintergreens.in
R S Ranjeetha Urs
