The Kannada Rajyotsava was celebrated with pomp and gaiety by several organisations and government departments here on Saturday.
A renovated Kempegowda Community Hall, Dr Rajkumar Glass House and a building housing Swami Vivekananda Shishu Vihar Kendra at Rajajinagar were inaugurated by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar. Officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) were present on the occasion.
Mayor N Shanthakumari hoisted the Kannada flag at the Palike head office premises.
Litterateurs from across the State were honoured in several programmes organised to mark the day. The Sapna Book House felicitated 58 litterateurs for their outstanding contributions to Kannada literature. Prominent among them were K S Nissar Ahmed, Hampa Nagarajaiah, K Chidananda Gowda, Dr Chandrashekhar Patil and Dr Banjagere Jayaprakash among others.
Similarly, DX Max Sahitya Shree Literature award was presented to five poets, S Raghunath, R G Halli Nagaraj, Samatha Deshamane, H Girijamma and Satish Kulkarni. Litterateur Baraguru Ramachandrappa was honoured with a ‘Special Recognition’ award on the occasion.
Kannada Book Publishers’ Association launched their nine-day book mela at Adi Chunchanagiri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji playgrounds in Vijayanagar. The exhibition was swarmed with a large number of Kannada book lovers.
Members of the various Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) held cultural programmes, including folk dances and orchestras, to mark the occasion.
Rajgarh Sadulpur Nagrik Parishad, in association with Marwari Yuva Manch Stars, Bangalore, launched Kannada online classes.
Kannada protagonist Vatal Nagaraj performed puja to the portrait of Bhuvaneshwari at the Mysore Bank Circle. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce also celebrated the day.
A 40-foot-wide and 350-foot-long Kannada flag was hoisted and a procession was carried out on the Nagawara Ring Road. Kannada Chalavali Kendra flagged off the ‘Kannada Jagruthi’ year.
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