<p>Dharwad: If everything progressed as per the plan, selected plays of Jnanpith awardee Dattatreya Ramchandra Bendre (Da Ra Bendre) would have been showcased on the international platform at the Shakespeare Auditorium in London of United Kingdom. But this ambitious initiative of Da Ra Bendre National Memorial Trust is gathering dust in Kannada and Culture Department for the last four years. The Trust located in Dharwad has been facing challenges in materialising its key projects due to lack of funding.</p><p>The state government formed Dr Da Ra Bendre National Memorial Trust for keeping alive the legacy of the celebrated poet through his portraits, poetry and writings. </p><p>Trust chairman D M Hiremath said in 2021, the Trust submitted a proposal to the government demanding Rs 25 lakh to organise Bendre theatre festival. The then government in principle approved the project but did not sanction funds. Since then, it has become an 'annual tradition' for the Trust to resend the proposal. Neither the then BJP government nor the present Congress government showed interest in sanctioning funds, he explained.</p><p>As the Trust recently celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Bendre, the literary lovers impressed upon the Trust to stage plays of Bendre not only in state and metropolitan cities but also in London. Thus, as a last resort, talks are underway with Non-resident Kannadigas in England and they have agreed to help in staging the play. But, The trust solely cannot depend on the assurance of NRIs as the amount required to train artistes and take them to England is huge. Therefore, the Trust has submitted a fresh proposal to the government, Hiremath informed.</p><p>He said the Trust has received raw deal by the successive governments and cut in annual grants has crippled its activities. The Bendre Trust gets an annual grant of Rs 9 lakh and of this, Rs one lakh is reserved for the ‘Ambikatanayadatta’ award. The remaining amount is required for the payment of salaries of the staff.</p><p>Thus, the Trust is depending on the earnings from renting out the Bendre Bhavan hall and selling Bendre’s books. The government should treat Bendre Trust on par with the Kuvempu Memorial Trust and provide adequate funds to conduct the programmes,” said Trust chairman D M Hiremath.</p>
<p>Dharwad: If everything progressed as per the plan, selected plays of Jnanpith awardee Dattatreya Ramchandra Bendre (Da Ra Bendre) would have been showcased on the international platform at the Shakespeare Auditorium in London of United Kingdom. But this ambitious initiative of Da Ra Bendre National Memorial Trust is gathering dust in Kannada and Culture Department for the last four years. The Trust located in Dharwad has been facing challenges in materialising its key projects due to lack of funding.</p><p>The state government formed Dr Da Ra Bendre National Memorial Trust for keeping alive the legacy of the celebrated poet through his portraits, poetry and writings. </p><p>Trust chairman D M Hiremath said in 2021, the Trust submitted a proposal to the government demanding Rs 25 lakh to organise Bendre theatre festival. The then government in principle approved the project but did not sanction funds. Since then, it has become an 'annual tradition' for the Trust to resend the proposal. Neither the then BJP government nor the present Congress government showed interest in sanctioning funds, he explained.</p><p>As the Trust recently celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Bendre, the literary lovers impressed upon the Trust to stage plays of Bendre not only in state and metropolitan cities but also in London. Thus, as a last resort, talks are underway with Non-resident Kannadigas in England and they have agreed to help in staging the play. But, The trust solely cannot depend on the assurance of NRIs as the amount required to train artistes and take them to England is huge. Therefore, the Trust has submitted a fresh proposal to the government, Hiremath informed.</p><p>He said the Trust has received raw deal by the successive governments and cut in annual grants has crippled its activities. The Bendre Trust gets an annual grant of Rs 9 lakh and of this, Rs one lakh is reserved for the ‘Ambikatanayadatta’ award. The remaining amount is required for the payment of salaries of the staff.</p><p>Thus, the Trust is depending on the earnings from renting out the Bendre Bhavan hall and selling Bendre’s books. The government should treat Bendre Trust on par with the Kuvempu Memorial Trust and provide adequate funds to conduct the programmes,” said Trust chairman D M Hiremath.</p>