JOIN US'Classical' works to take off soon
Applications have been called for various posts for the Study Centre, since the approval from the centre came only a month ago. Briefing this to media persons here on Wednesday, Dr B Mallikarjun of CIIL said the activities were awaiting formal inauguration by the dignitaries and ministers from both centre and state along with Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda. The briefing was held following Member of Parliament Adaguru H Vishwanath’s visit to CIIL to get a lowdown on works relating to classical Kannada.
The Centre which is dedicated for the promotion and propagation of the history of language, it will cater to scholars and laypersons, since ‘interactivity’ will be the key of this centre. The centre will host some niche research works that will disseminate information regarding classical texts, the authors etc, and by way of collating details regarding places which are relevant in the context of study of classical Kannada.
This apart, the centre will also concentrate on creating digital versions of more than 150 classical Kannada texts in unicode.
The centre which was supposed to receive Rs two crore for the ongoing five year plan, had to be content only with Rs 51 lakh for non-usage of funds and in the absence of detailed planning, budgeting and appointment of team members. Of the allotted amount, Rs 31 lakh has already been released, Dr Mallikarjun said.
The centre will be headed by a project director, and plans to carry out works through 37 persons who will also be research scholars, fellows and support staff. Five eminent persons of repute in the language to the planning-cum-monitoring board.
In a bid to encourage research and documentation in India and abroad, the centre will also publish books related to classical Kannada. And, among other activities, the centre will institute lifetime achievement awards and other honours for scholars both in India and abroad. Even young scholars in the agegroup of 30 - 40 years will be identified and awarded by the centre.
Epistemological research which links cultural repository of the classical language with those of world’s ancient civilisations. Classical texts will also be translated into other Indian languages.
A knowledge bank will also be built to answer questions about civilisation and culture of ancient Dravidian times. The centre will also work to create classical language chairs in other Indian Universities. Coordination to provide linkages and dissemination of the information will be another key activity of the centre.
MP Adaguru H Vishwanath, linguists Muddukrishna and Giridhar were present on the occasion.
MP assures help from centre
Member of Parliament Adaguru H Vishwanath, who visited CIIL to know about works progressing with regard to classical Kannada studies, said CIIL had done considerably well and kept the project on. “Soon, a dedicated team will be in place for this work and Central government will extend it’s full support,” he said.