WhatsApp group for Kannada writers turns six

Started to promote short stories, the group has 48 members and organises interesting writing activities

Kannada literary WhatsApp group ‘Kathe Koota’ is set to celebrate its sixth anniversary this month.

The group, which began with seven people on June 25 in 2016, currently has 48 participating members. “The idea behind the group was to promote short stories. I wanted to hold a meetup of sorts and do a workshop. But since I had just moved out of Bengaluru, I decided a WhatsApp group would be the perfect avenue,” says Gopalakrishna Kuntini, the group’s admin. The group has no age or location limit.

Stalwart Subraya Chokkadi is a part of the group and younger writers Sachin Thirthahalli and Rajesh Shetty are also on it. “In the past, many stalwarts like T N Seetharam, H Dundiraj and B R Lakshman Rao have been a part of the group,” he adds. The group focuses on encouraging newcomers to write short stories. They discuss the works of both national and international authors.

“We discuss approximately seven to ten stories in a month. We talk about the storyline, character development, and plotholes,” says Jogi aka Girish Rao Hatwar, founding member. He is also an editor at a popular Kannada daily. The members also partake in routine tasks and writing challenges.

“Usually, we post a prompt and the members have to write a short story structured around it. For instance, when a new season takes over, the writers are asked to write about the seasonal change and their take on it,” he explains.

A collection of short stories from one such task was published last year. Titled ‘Maleyalli Neneda Kathegalu’ (Stories Drenched in Rain), the 23-short story anthology is on the theme of monsoon. The group plans to bring out the second volume of the book this year. Guest editors are often invited to share their perspectives and learnings with the members. The group has also helped get eight members to publish their works.

Role of social media

“Today, social media has become a source of so much hatred and false news. Especially WhatsApp. In light of the current atmosphere, ‘Kathe Koota’ is a small attempt at regaining this space and using it for something good,” says Bharath Kumar, one of the members. The group members have met only thrice. “We couldn’t meet during the pandemic. We are meeting soon to celebrate our sixth anniversary,” says Kuntini. “Though we couldn’t meet, we were very active on WhatsApp and Clubhouse,” adds Jogi.

The group will celebrate its sixth anniversary with six seminars on June 26. It will be livestreamed by Book Brahma on its YouTube and Facebook accounts.

To become a part of the group, contact Kuntini on Facebook.