Proud owner of 1956 Rajyotsava DH edition

Bengaluru: A Kudlu Gate resident has in his possession a copy of Deccan Herald’s coverage of the first Kannada Rajyotsava, dated November 1, 1956. The newspaper had published a 32-page ‘New Mysore Supplement’.

Kannada Rajyotsava marked the merger of all Kannada-speaking regions to form the new state of Mysore on November 1, 1956. Seventeen years later, in 1973, the Mysore state was renamed as Karnataka. Retired banker Sivaram G keeps the sepia-toned, slightly “torn at the edges” supplement safely in his briefcase. But since November 1, 2023 marked 50 years of the state’s renaming, he decided to take it out and share a photo with his friends on Wednesday. “They were all astonished,” he shared.

The front page had an illustration of then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He is seen greeting the map of ‘Mother India’ with folded hands in a setting similar to the Sri Chamundeshwari Temple of Mysuru, says Sivaram.

On Page 2, historian S Srikanta Sastri offered a panoramic history of Karnataka, saying it emerged united despite many trials and tribulations. On Page 3, the Maharaja of Mysore congratulated DH for compiling a special edition, which summarised the state’s history, music and poetry prowess, tourist spots, scientific temper and economic potential. K M Cariappa, first Indian commander-in-chief of the Indian Army, Kannada singer and composer P Kalinga Rao, and then-governor of Bihar R R Diwakar also extended messages for the new state.

The supplement was also packed with half- to quarter-page advertisements from banks, and telephone, electronics and sugar industries.

Father’s collection

It was not Sivaram but his late father who saved this copy. “I wasn’t born then. I am the youngest of eight siblings. I was born in 1958,” says Sivaram, who is in his mid-60s. His father V Ganesan, he informs, was the first employee in the press unit of DH. He had joined as a line operator. His father had also saved an invite card to the launch party of the newspaper on June 16, 1948.