JOIN USSenior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Veerappa Moily on Monday received the 24th Saraswati Sammaan for his contribution to literature.
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the award on Moily for his Kannada epic ‘Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam’.
“...Valmiki’s Ramayana and Vyasa’s Mahabharata have had a major role in moulding the samskaras and sentiments of most Indians. There is hardly any Indian, regardless of his religion, caste or creed, who is not familiar with these grand epics,” Mukherjee said while speaking on the occasion.
In his magnificent 43,000 lines composition inspired by the original epic, Moily has shared his “unique insight” into contemporary situations. He has then addressed them through the prism of the eternal principles of good governance, high morality and righteousness, the President noted
“If the Mahabharata instilled in us the values of forbearance, generosity and familial virtues, the Ramayana gave us images of filial, conjugal, and fraternal love in a world that treasured the welfare of all human beings. It is a rare combination of political philosophy and spiritual discourse bringing high morality to practical situations of daily life,” Mukherjee said.
Moily said the present day India has a lot to learn from the great epics. “our nation-building” effort must be based on the strong foundation of tolerance, pluralism and inclusiveness,” he said.
“His epic brings to us such ageless values as compassion, self correction and discipline in thought and deed. I find, in his message, an echo of my own perceptions that our democracy can only flourish if there is an active Parliament, if the representatives of the people have a clear vision, if their efforts are supported and supplemented by a diligent Government and an independent judiciary,” the President added.