Kodava Academy to celebrate silver jubilee

Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy will celebrate its silver jubilee this year and several programmes are planned in this regard.

The academy established by the state government has completed 25 years of its existence.

The special occasion will be celebrated with pomp, said the present chairman of the academy, Pemmanda K Ponnappa.

A series of programmes will be held in May in this regard.

During an interaction programme held on Wednesday, Ponnappa said that there are plans to conduct ‘Aatt Patt Madipu’ for children, publication of books and the release of CD comprising Kodava songs.

“Cultural programmes will also be held in other districts including Mysuru and Bengaluru,” he said.

He further said that currently, the government has been providing an annual grant of Rs 60 lakh and there is a demand to increase the grant to Rs 70 lakh. The government grant is being provided in three instalments during a year.

Academy registrar B Chandrahas Rai said that all the five linguistic academies functioning under the Department of Kannada and Culture, Government of Karnataka, will jointly organise ‘Sahitya Sangama’, a programme reflecting the essence of all academies.

The programme is to be held in Madikeri or Mangaluru tentatively.

District Working Journalists’ Association president Savitha Rai, academy members Bollajira B Ayyappa, Appattira Tatu Monnappa, Sullimada Bhavani Kaveriyamma, Ajjamada P Kushalappa and Kudiyara Sharada were present among others.