GSS cremated with state honours

The mortal remains of Rashtrakavi Prof G S Shivarudrappa, who died here on Tuesday, were consigned to flames with full state honours at Kalagrama at the Bangalore University campus, Jnana Bharathi, on Thursday evening.

The 3,000 seating arrangements at the venue made by the City police appeared to be insufficient as people gathered in thousands and vied with each other to have a final glimpse of the veteran poet. “GSS Amaravagali, jathi bidi matha bidi, manavathege jiva kodi (shun caste and religion, give importance to humanity)” chants rent the air as the poet’s elder son, G S Jayadeva lit the pyre in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former chief ministers B S Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree and literary figures including Channaveera Kanavi, S G Siddaramaiah, Baragur Ramachandrappa, M Chidananda Murthy, H S Venkatesh Murthy and Narahalli Balasubramanya.

As per the poet’s wish, religious rituals were not observed at the funeral. Earlier, the body arrived in a procession to the venue at 4 pm, along with thousands of his fans and Kannada activists. 

Singers Shimoga Subbanna, Kikkere Krishnamurthy and others sang lines from the poems penned by ancient Kannada poets Pampa and Kumaravyasa and the vachanas of Basavanna. Verses from Kuvempu, Da Ra Bendre and Shivarudrappa’s poems were also sung.

The police band played the national anthem. The poet was honoured with 21-gun salutes before his mortal remains were consigned to flames by his eldest son at 5 pm.

One-and-a-half tonne of wood - acacia wood, matti and honne, 10 kilos of dry copra, 50 kilos of ghee and two kilos of camphor were used for the funeral. According to a family member, ashes will be immersed in River Cauvery on Friday, as per GSS’s wish.

The poet’s body was placed at the Ravindra Kalakshetra for the public to pay their last respects. 

Former chief minister S M Krishna, KPCC president Dr G Parameshwara, Ministers H K Patil, Ambareesh, H Anjaneya, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament B Jayashree, teleserial director T N Sitaram, playwright Prasanna, were among those who paid their last respects.