Rare exhibits give a glimpse of Karnataka's history

A walk through the corridor of Mahalakshmi College of Arts on Friday gave a glimpse of Karnataka's history. Hundreds of official documents and letters on display at the college spoke volumes for the administration of the state and its history.

In 1935, Kannada writer D V Gundappa had sought a loan of Rs 6,000 from the government for the establishment of his printing press. In 1914, a letter was written making the use of Kannada mandatory for official purposes. These are just a few examples of the collection that the Department of Archives had on display.

The exhibition made it open for the enthusiasts to get a glimpse of letters that the British had written to the then Mysore Maharaja as well. In a notification, the Mysore State had announced that Sir M Visveswaraya would also get a special pension of Rs 1,250 as a mark of appreciation for the exemplary services he had rendered. The archives department had a photograph on display about this announcement that took place in 1919. Hundreds of such notifications and letters drew the attention of enthusiasts at the one-day exhibition.

Speaking after the inaugurating the exhibition, minister for Kannada and Culture, Umashree said that when the Department puts on display such documents of importance, students could benefit from it.

She added that the Department is making efforts to make 25 books that were compiled under the guidance of M M Kalburgi and 50 books of historical importance be made accessible to all.

“We are also in the process of digitising several books. In the next six months, we aim to set up a digital library which will have all the data about Mysore State administration,” she added.