Cultural establishments play a essential function in fostering the language and literature of a land. They harness the aspirations of individuals and provide a platform to share concepts and artwork, particularly among the many young. One establishment which has finished this relentlessly for the previous 50 years is the Christ University Kannada Sangha.
Following the uncertainties left behind by the Karnataka Unification Movement, there was a rising must unite the State on the premise of its linguistic and cultural identities. Contemporary values and challenges needed to discover literary expression to create a trendy, progressive Kannada consciousness. To obtain this, the voice of a new technology of Kannadigas needed to be heard.
Thus, was born CUKS – the brainchild of famous Kannada litterateur after which Head of the Department of Kannada within the faculty, the late Professor Chi. Srinivasaraju.
Okay V Puttappa , ( Kuvempu ) poet, playwright, novelist and critic with T Sreenivasa raju
A cultural motion
The Kannada Sangha was fashioned on December 21, 1972, with the intention of nurturing young writers. Its first initiative was an essay competitors within the identify of novelist A.N. Krishna Rao (popularly generally known as Anakru). Ten years later, in 1982, the Sangha started a poetry competitors within the identify of Dr. Da.Ra. Bendre, one of many biggest Kannada poets of the 20th century.
“The Kannada Sangha’s primary focus, and biggest achievement, has been recognising, platforming and publishing student writers. Year after year, hundreds of students from across Karnataka have participated in the two competitions,” says Dr. Rathi M.T., coordinator of the Sangha and Associate Professor of Kannada at Christ University in Bengaluru.
Kannada author and professor Chi. Srinivasaraju
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Special Arrangement
By the early 2000s, the standard of essays being submitted had dipped. In 2009, the essay competitors was scrapped to make manner for a brief story competitors, once more within the identify of Anakru. The Sangha’s competitions have since reworked the literary panorama, introducing to Kannada readers a complete new technology of achieved writers, poets, critics, novelists, journalists and essayists.
“Many prominent names in the field of Kannada literature and journalism today, including Chintamani Kodlakere, H.S. Shivaprakash, Vikram Visaji, Kavita Rai, Muktayaka S.S., Cha Ha Raghunath, owe their first break to the essay and poetry competitions of the Kannada Sangha,” Dr. Rathi provides.
US-based poet Kavya P. Kadame has revealed seven poetry collections within the final 10 years. One of her books, Dhyanakke Thaarikina Hangilla, was awarded the 2014 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. The basis for all this, nevertheless, was laid at CUKS.
“When I was in college, CUKS was among the four competitions that prioritised student writers. It was our first introduction to the world of big Kannada writers. Hearing them speak at the annual event was very encouraging and opened the doors to a wealth of literary influences. So were the bagful of books we would take home as the prize,” says Kavya, who received the Bendre poetry competitors six years in a row (2006-11).
Okay V Puttappa , ( Kuvempu ) poet, playwright, novelist and critic with T Sreenivasa raju
As a writer
It’s not simply the competitions, however the Kannada Sangha’s work as a writer that distinguishes it from different college-level Kannada Sanghas. In the 50 years since its inception, the Sangha has revealed a whole of 256 books throughout genres.
Over 85 of those titles are the annual collections of prize-winning entries by college students. “We believe that publishing these selected works makes aspiring writers more confident about pursuing writing as a career and also imparts legitimacy to their work,” Dr. Rathi says.
The annual Kannada Sangha felicitation occasion in progress at Christ University in Bengaluru.
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Special Arrangement
In the 50 years since its inception, the Sangha has revealed a whole of 256 books throughout genres.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
But the majority of Sangha’s publications comprise books authored by established authors, together with literary giants like Gopalkrishna Adiga, Pu.Thi. Narasimhachar, G.S. Shivarudrappa and many others. Translations into Kannada from Hindi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam and English . Its publications have received prestigious awards, together with two Central Sahitya Academy Awards and 10 State Sahitya Academy Awards.
Shivaram Karanth novelist , playwright and T Sreenivasa Raju.
Stamp of high quality, credibility
Publications by the Kannada Sangha include a hallmark of high quality, and for college kids, particularly, this implies a stamp of approval and a nod of appreciation from one of the best minds in Kannada literature.
“We would wait for the competition every year as it motivated us to write. Had it not been for the Sangha, I may not have delved deep into poetry and written as much as I did back then. Being published by the Kannada Sangha lent credibility to my words,” says Kavya.
Every yr, 20 pupil submissions are shortlisted and compiled within the type of a ebook, launched on January 31 in honour of Dr. Bendre’s beginning anniversary. Apart from being felicitated on the occasion, the winners additionally get to work together with the famous poets, critics and writers of Kannada as a part of a day-long workshop.
Girish Kasaravalli addresses the Kannada Sangha public lecture collection.
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Special Arrangement
“We sponsor their travel and accommodation to ensure no student is left out because of financial hardship. At the workshop, renowned writers and jury members engage with the youngsters, teaching them how to write a poem or short story, how to hone their craft, and critically analyse their own reading process,” Dr. Rathi says.
“Meeting new people at the Sangha’s event also helped widen my literary network and circle of friends, many of whom are today well-known poets and writers. It was a friendship forged out of our love for literature,” Kavya provides.
Spreading its attain
Dr. Rathi acknowledges the contributions of the Christ University administration, which has not solely been encouraging of the Sangha’s work but additionally funds it solely. To broaden its attain, the Sangha started a public lecture collection this yr. “We invited experts from allied fields of literature, such as linguistics, criticism, translation, philosophy, among others. We hope to continue it.”
Another initiative the place the Sangha has tried to propagate Kannada is Wikipedia writing. Every semester, college students from throughout Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce and Management departments, who’re additionally fluent in writing in Kannada, select subjects from their respective streams that don’t have a Wikipedia entry and create a web page for it. This voluntary exercise has thus far seen 2,000 Kannada articles being added to the web encyclopedia.
