<p>Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Bengaluru Kendra, began its diamond jubilee year on Sunday by honouring Shatavadhani R Ganesh for his recent Padma Bhushan award.</p>.<p>The event also saw the launch of ‘Echoes from Ramayana’, authored by BVB Bengaluru Chairman, KG Raghavan.</p>.<p>The ceremony reflected on the state of contemporary scholarship.</p>.233-year-old Ramayana manuscript gifted to Ayodhya's Ram Katha museum.<p>Justice Krishna S Dixit, Judge of the Odisha High Court, said in his address that in a "climate where true erudition is often met with hostility", a scholar of Ganesh’s stature deserved the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.</p>.<p>"Blessed is the king who goes to the scholar, and cursed is the scholar who goes to the king. Shatavadhani Ganesh has never chased titles, he is a man who could reproduce our entire ancient heritage from memory if it were ever lost," he added.</p>.<p>Former Ambassador to UNESCO Chiranjiv Singh described ‘Echoes from Ramayana’ not as a dry academic text, but as a devotional manthana (churning), praising its contemporary relevance.</p>.<p>"No one reads the Ramayana for the first time; we are always rereading it because it is part of our upbringing," he reflected.</p>.<p>"Raghavan’s book explores forests, the environment and the role of women in the epic, making it a guide for righteous living," Singh said.</p>.<p>He also lauded the aesthetic quality of the publication, saying it deserved national awards for printing excellence. The volume features a foreword by Ganesh and legal titan K Parasaran.</p>.<p>Raghavan said the felicitation is the first of many programmes planned for BVB’s 60th year, including a five-day literary festival and a global music summit, Sangeetavani.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Bengaluru Kendra, began its diamond jubilee year on Sunday by honouring Shatavadhani R Ganesh for his recent Padma Bhushan award.</p>.<p>The event also saw the launch of ‘Echoes from Ramayana’, authored by BVB Bengaluru Chairman, KG Raghavan.</p>.<p>The ceremony reflected on the state of contemporary scholarship.</p>.233-year-old Ramayana manuscript gifted to Ayodhya's Ram Katha museum.<p>Justice Krishna S Dixit, Judge of the Odisha High Court, said in his address that in a "climate where true erudition is often met with hostility", a scholar of Ganesh’s stature deserved the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.</p>.<p>"Blessed is the king who goes to the scholar, and cursed is the scholar who goes to the king. Shatavadhani Ganesh has never chased titles, he is a man who could reproduce our entire ancient heritage from memory if it were ever lost," he added.</p>.<p>Former Ambassador to UNESCO Chiranjiv Singh described ‘Echoes from Ramayana’ not as a dry academic text, but as a devotional manthana (churning), praising its contemporary relevance.</p>.<p>"No one reads the Ramayana for the first time; we are always rereading it because it is part of our upbringing," he reflected.</p>.<p>"Raghavan’s book explores forests, the environment and the role of women in the epic, making it a guide for righteous living," Singh said.</p>.<p>He also lauded the aesthetic quality of the publication, saying it deserved national awards for printing excellence. The volume features a foreword by Ganesh and legal titan K Parasaran.</p>.<p>Raghavan said the felicitation is the first of many programmes planned for BVB’s 60th year, including a five-day literary festival and a global music summit, Sangeetavani.</p>
