Mysuru/Mysore: The Fifth Edition of Mysuru Literary Fest-2024, organised by Mysore Literary Association (MLA), will be inaugurated by Dr. B. Nanjamma Chinappa, Statistician, Translator and Author, tomorrow (Jan. 21) at Maharaja’s College Centenary Hall in city at 10.30 am.  Prof. K.C. Belliappa, Association President, will preside.

The formal inauguration will be followed by various sessions: Dr. R. Indira, Distinguished Sociologist, will speak on the topic ‘Ecotourism in Western Ghats – Who Gains and Who Loses?’ at 11.30 am and  Prof. N. Manu Chakravarthy, Film and Cultural Critic, on ‘Reading Literature : Encountering the Spirit of the Times’ at 12.30 pm

In the afternoon session, Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash, Poet and Playwright, will make a presentation on the topic ‘Translation

as Creativity in Indian Literary Cultures’ at 2.30 pm and Anuradha Nalapat, Visual Artist, Poet and Short Story writer on ‘Homunculus (Little Man) and the Art of Yo-Yo ing’ at 3.30 pm.

Mysore Literary Association, founded in 2016, aims to promote literary activities and conduct festivals to enrich English studies in the royal city. It has so far held numerous literary events including four Mysuru Literary Fests in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023 under the Chairmanship of its Founder-President Prof. K.C. Belliappa, who is also the former Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh.

Here we publish the profiles of chief guest Dr. B. Nanjamma Chinappa and four guest speakers — Dr. R. Indira, Prof. N. Manu Chakravarthy, Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash and Anuradha Nalapat.

Dr. Boverianda Nanjamma Chinappa

Dr. Boverianda Nanjamma Chinappa, presently residing in Mysuru, is a Statistician who has worked in India and Canada for national and international agencies.

She and her husband have documented the culture of the Kodavas. Their English translation of the ‘Pattole Palame’, written by Nadikerianda Chinappa in 1924, was published in 2003. Their bilingual edition of the book in Kodava and   English was published in 2022.

‘Ainmanes of Kodagu’, their study of the traditional ancestral homes in Kodagu, was published in 2014. Their website that complements the book contains information and photographs of each of the nearly 800 ainmanes that they covered during their field-work.

Prof.  R. Indira

Topic: ‘Ecotourism in Western Ghats – Who Gains and Who Loses?’

Prof. (Dr.) R. Indira, hailing from Mysuru, is Professor of Eminence in the School of Social Sciences, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru. Formerly, she was Professor of Sociology and Director of the International Programmes at the University of Mysore. Now she holds the Visiting Professorship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Chair at the University. She is the former President of Indian Sociological Society (ISS) and has received from ISS, the Lifetime Achievement Award conferred on distinguished sociologists for their outstanding contribution to the discipline of Sociology in the country.

She has received Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Mooknayak Award from Karnataka Media Academy, Triveni & Shashwati  Awards and  H.S. Parvathi Endowment Prize for her works on social issues, with a special focus on women.

A two-time Fulbright Scholar, four-time Shastri Fellow and an ICSSR Senior Fellow, she has written extensively both in Kannada and English in journals, theme-based books, newspaper columns and edited volumes on issues of social concern. Her research work with forest dependent communities in the Joida taluk of Uttara Kannada district, with a special focus on women paved the way for several reforms in a region that had been sidelined by development initiatives for several decades.

Prof. N. Manu Chakravarthy

Topic: ‘Reading Literature : Encountering the Spirit of the Times.’

Prof. N. Manu Chakra- varthy of Bengaluru taught English literature at the Under-Graduate and  Post-Graduate levels for four decades. He now teaches Cultural Theory, Feminist Theory and Film Theory at several institutions as a  Visiting Professor.

He is  a recipient of Swarna Kamal, the President’s Gold Medal, for Film Criticism.

His book on Cultural Theory, “Madhyama Marga,” has received the Karnataka Sahitya Academy award and V.M. Inamdar award. He is a member of the International Association of Film Critics and regularly functions as a member of the Jury at various Film festivals. Prof. N. Manu Chakravarthy has several works on  Literature and Cinema to his credit.

Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash

Topic: ‘Translation as Creativity in Indian Literary Cultures’

Prof. Hulkuntemath Shivamurthy Sastri Shivaprakash (Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash) of Bengaluru is a leading poet and playwright writing in Kannada. He is Professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He heads the Cultural Centre at Berlin, known as the Tagore Centre, as Director run by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He has seven anthologies of poems, twelve plays and several other books to his credit. His works have been widely translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.

His plays have been performed in Kannada, Hindi, Meitei, Rabha, Assamese, Bodo, Tamil and Malayalam. Prof. Shivaprakash is also a well-known authority on Vachana literature, Bhakti movements of India, Sufi and other mystic traditions.

Anuradha Nalapat

Topic: ‘Homunculus (Little Man) and the Art of Yo-Yo ing’

Anuradha Nalapat of Bengaluru, a Visual Artist, Poet, Short Story writer and current member of the Lalitha Kala Akademi, Kerala, has participated in 71 art exhibitions — 23 solo and 48 groups exhibitions —  more recently at the ‘Lokame Tharavadu’ show by the Kochi Biennale Foundation along with the Kerala Government in 2021.

She has participated in three international exhibitions — Jamar Art Gallery, Cincinnati, USA -1993; The Eternal Embrace – Art in Craft, Dubai – 2000 and Interventions at the Exploratory Museum, San Francisco with the 3rd Space Lab Collective in 2014. She also works with children and conducts Art and Science based workshops through projects like ‘Stillnessandme’ and ‘Anointing the Unseen.’ The ‘Cell and I’ was an interactive therapeutic installation using projection mapping and performance art.

Born in Calicut, Kerala, in 1967, her poetry and short stories have been published by Sahitya Akademi, in South Asian review, Unisun Publication anthologies, Poetry Chain and other magazines and journals. She has chosen the visual medium and written word to explore and delve into the mind for an understanding of the self. She considers herself a chronicler of the mind, plumbing depths, pricing out and erasing structured memory capsules.

Previous Mysuru Literary Fests

The first Mysuru Literary Fest held in June 2017 was inaugurated by renowned novelist and Saraswathi Samman awardee Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa while the second edition was inaugurated by internationally-acclaimed Sarod Maestro Pt. Rajiv Taranath in August 2018; third edition was inaugurated by Poet and Short Story Writer Keki N. Daruwalla in October 2019 and the fourth by Capt. G.R. Gopinath, author, columnist and entrepreneur in January 2023.