MoU signed between Department of Kannada and Culture and the University of Mysore
Mysore/Mysuru: After acrimonious scenes at the recent meeting regarding the establishment of the Office of ‘Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada’ (CESCK) inside the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, Manasagangothri where MP Pratap Simha expressed his displeasure over the delay, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday between the Department of Kannada and Culture and the University of Mysore to establish CESCK in Manasagangothri campus.
The MoU clears all hurdles to establish the CESCK Office inside the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion that already houses a Folklore Museum. The MoU was signed in the presence of in-charge Vice-Chancellor of University of Mysore Prof. Muzaffar H. Assadi, Registrar V.R. Shylaja, Assistant Director of the Department of Kannada and Culture Dr. M.D. Sudarshan, University of Mysore Estate Officer Dr. S.C. Jayaramu and Folklore Museum Director Prof. Vijayakumari Karikkal.
CESCK will be moved to Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion from its current location at National Centre for History of Science (NCHS) (behind Gandhi Bhavan) of University of Mysore, which is housed in the old Tahsildar Office building in Manasagangothri campus opposite Premier Studio on Hunsur Road.
CESCK was cleared by the Union Government in 2011, three years after Kannada was accorded the ‘Classical Language’ status in 2008. CESCK functioned from CIIL on Hunsur Road for 9 years, before it was moved to NCHS of UoM in November 2020, where currently only a few staff are working and little activities are going on for making the Centre a fully operational one.
The MoU has been signed for 30 years from the date of signing (Feb. 21, 2023) and as per the agreement, Rs. 1,000 has to be paid to the University per month. “We will inform the State Government accordingly through the Department Director and take steps to activate the CESCK with future plans in the interest of Kannada language and culture,” Assistant Director of Department of Kannada and Culture Dr. Sudarshan told Star of Mysore.
Pointing out that the over century old Mansion, a heritage structure built by the erstwhile Mysore Maharajas has turned dilapidated with the passage of time, he said that the priority will be to restore the dilapidated structure.
“The shifting of the CESCK will be done after the renovation works only and all measures will be taken to restore the Mansion without altering the finer heritage aspects of the structure. The Folklore Museum inside the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion will be run and maintained by the University of Mysore and the Department of Kannada and Culture is responsible for the rest of the building,” he added.
This post was published on February 22, 2023 7:59 pm