Mysore/Mysuru: Eight achievers in the fields of Sharana Sahitya, Culture and Folklore were conferred with the prestigious Go.Ru.Cha Endowment Award at a programme organised by Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Parishat at JSS Women’s College in Saraswathipuram here on Sunday.

 Go.Ru.Cha Sharana Award was presented to Dr. C. Veeranna of Hanabe in Doddaballapur taluk of Bengaluru Rural district and Dr. Basavaraj Sadara of Kundagol in Dharwad district for the year 2019 and 2020 respectively. Go.Ru.Cha Folk Award was presented to Dr. B.S. Swamy of Madhuvanahalli in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district and Dr. H.T. Pothe of Hanjagi in Indi taluk of Vijayapura district. Go.Ru.Cha Sharana Sahitya Literary Award was presented to Prof. B.R. Police Patil of Herur in Vijayapura district and Dr. Basavaraj Sabarad of Kukanur in Koppal district and Go.Ru.Cha Folk Literary Award was presented to P.D. Walikar of Lakkasakoppa in Badami taluk of Bagalkot district  and Dr. Kuruva Basavaraj of Kuruva village in Honnali Taluk of Davanagere district.

Three awardees — B.S. Swamy, Basavaraj Sadara and Basavaraj Sabarad — were absent due to illness. However, Vinay, grandson of B.S. Swamy received the award on behalf of his grandfather.

The Go.Ru.Cha Sharana and Folklore Awards carry a cash prize of Rs.25,000 each, while Go.Ru.Cha Literary Awards carry a cash prize of Rs.10,000.

Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, who graced the occasion, said that Go.Ru.Channabasappa had done a lot for the growth of Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Parishat. Noting that Channabasappa was actively engaged in social and cultural activities, he said that though Channabasappa’s services was initially limited to Bengaluru, it later expanded to other parts of the State, resulting in the progress of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Janapada Academy and Sharana Sahitya Parishat.

Padma Awards

Referring to Prime Minister’s appeal to citizens for recommending names of achievers for the prestigious Padma (Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan) awards, the Seer said that innumerable number of recommendations would come from all parts of the country and wondered how all these will be classified and scrutinised in detail before selecting the awardees.

Senior Writer Prof. Maleyuru Guruswamy, who delivered the felicitation address, said that the number of prizes right from the local level to the national level is increasing by the year. He observed that the increasing number of prizes will lead to formation of two groups — one is those who ‘take’ and the other who are ‘accorded’— meaning that those who take, will use their influence to get the prize, while those who are accorded will get the prize for their outstanding achievement.

Highlighting the achievements of awardees, Guruswamy said that Dr. B.S. Swamy had written more than 350 books and he is the first person to get a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D) on Male Mahadeshwara Swamy. Dr. C. Veeranna has written many books on ‘Vachana Chaluvali,’ while Prof. B.R. Police Patil, though an English M.A. Degree holder, has contributed a lot for Kannada literature, P.D. Walikar, a nature lover, has written a popular book titled ‘Male-Bele,’ Dr. H.T. Pothe, a Kannada Professor at Gulbarga University has written many books on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and more than 12 books on Sharana Sahitya and Dr. Kuruva Basavaraj has scripted many books on Folklore, including his popular  work titled ‘Janapada Samvedane.’ 

‘Basavarajs galore’

Dr. Thontada Siddarama Swamiji in a lighter vein said that persons having the name Basavaraj have bagged more prizes this time. Pointing out that even our new Chief Minister is Basavaraj Bommai, he said that perhaps, it is a good time currently for all persons who bear the name Basavaraj. Even the name of Legislative Council Chairman is Basavaraj Horatti, he added.

Recalling the efforts of late Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Swamiji in the establishment of Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Parishat, he said it was established with the objective of promoting more books on Sharana and Vachana Sahitya.

Veteran scholar Go.Ru. Channabasappa (Go.Ru.Cha) said that the awards presentation was pending for two years due to COVID and now they have been presented at Mysuru the Cultural Capital of the State.

Asserting that all the awardees were closely known to him, he said that the pandemic has made lives of people miserable across the globe. He was happy that the awards were successfully presented to the achievers braving all odds in the times of deadly pandemic, he added.