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Sahitya sammelan begins today in 'land of Minars'

Writer-jurist Ko Channabasappa will preside over three-day event
Last Updated 08 February 2013, 19:52 IST

Bijapur, the city of monuments, is all set to host the 79th Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelan from Saturday amid complaints that topics of contemporary significance and local relevance have not been included.

Incidentally, the north Karnataka town bordering Maharashtra will be playing host to the annual Kannada literary event for the second time, almost after nine decades. The ninth All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan was held here in 1923 and was presided over by Sri Siddhanta Shivashankar Shastri.

The one beginning on Saturday will have veteran writer Ko Channabasappa as its president.

The three-day sammelan to be held on the sprawling Sainik School premises on Athani Road will provide a literary feast for the lovers of Kannada language and literature. It will have as many as 15 sessions, seven on the main stage and eight on the parallel one. Besides, an interaction with the sammelan president and an open session will mark the event.

However, the subjects and themes chosen for the convention appear to be run on the mill ones as there is nothing new or innovative in the nature of the topics selected.

There is no session dedicated to research in Kannada literature, culture, history and heritage. A session on research could have been a befitting tribute to Narayana Srinivasa Rajpurohit, a native of Bijapur district, who is credited with conducting pathbreaking and fundamental research work on different aspects of Kannada language.

Rajpurohit is held in high esteem even by eminent research scholars Dr M Chidananda Murthy and Dr M M Kalburgi.

The sessions on Vachana Sahitya, Anubhava Sahitya and folklore among others appear vague and, may not inspire and fascinate people any more. For, they are the topics of most of the literary events held across the State. When it comes to current issues, there is not even a  mention of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region getting the special status through an amendment to  the Constitution.

A session on the history and struggle of the people region for the liberation of Hyderabad-Karnataka would have been timely.

The Sammelan could have deliberated on activities that could have been taken up after Kannada getting classical language privilege, opine literary enthusiasts.

However , there are certain sessions which can be really interesting. A session on gazhals would provide an opportunity to ponder over the influence of Urdu and Hindi on Kannada poetry in gazhal form.

The other important sessions are, “Our elders and our cultural pride,” “Challenges of Kannada in education and as medium,”  “Women’s literature:Towards a new thinking,”  “Current turmoils,” and  “Challenges in the march of Kannada.”

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(Published 08 February 2013, 19:52 IST)

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