Mysuru: One of the major highlights of this year’s Dasara Book Exhibition is the ‘Karnataka Grama Charithra Kosha’ brought out by Karnataka Folklore University, Haveri district. It is an ambitious project of the Folklore University to bring out 30 volumes on 36,000 villages across the State.

The volumes are on sale and display at Dasara Book Exhibition organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture, Kannada Book Authority and Dasara Executive Committee at CADA Office premises in the heart of the city.

The Folklore Varsity has brought out this book for people and researchers to know the history, specialties of each and every village in Karnataka.

The Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj funded Rs. 8 crore for this project and subject experts of the University have recorded historical, economical, industrial, geographical, spiritual and religious significance along with other productive aspects of every village.

The University took up this project a few years back as one or the other village has its own importance in various aspects. Moreover, studying history of every village paves way for economic and social development of that particular village or the region. It can be a ready-reference book for researchers involved in rural development and Panchayat Raj as more than 65 per cent of the population are still living in villages.     

Grama Charithra Kosha of 12 districts ready: Speaking to Star of Mysore, Dr. Hanumappa S. Ghanti, Project Assistant of Publications Wing of Karnataka Folklore University, said that the Varsity had already recorded the history pertaining to 12 districts of Karnataka and released to market across Karnataka and the country.

The districts that have been covered are: Haveri, Bagalkot, Chitradurga, Belagavi, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Dharwad, Bidar, Gadag, Raichur, Tumakuru and Davanagere. The books on Mysuru and Mandya districts are in final stages and likely to be released in a month or two.

The project of releasing books for the remaining districts will be completed in the next two years. The books are a treasure trove of knowledge for people to study the minutest details of the village and the text has been written after extensive research of historical references and field visits, he said.

Dr. Hanumappa said that experts have recorded details of population, caste, community, religion, reasons for backwardness and other factors, contributions of that particular village to the field of arts, literature, folklore, traditional medicine, village fairs and festivals and other important happenings.

The Grama Charithra Kosha of Mysuru district will be kept for sale during the next Dasara celebrations, he added.

At the book exhibition, as many as 47 stalls have been set up and apart from Kannada Book Authority and Department of Kannada Culture, Kuvempu Bhasha Bharathi, Karnataka Bayalata, Yakshagana and Nataka Academy, several private book publishers like Chethana Book House, National Book Trust, Sapna Book House and other private publishers from Shivamogga, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Dharwad have kept their books for public viewing and sale.

Each publisher is exhibiting a minimum of 500 to 2,000 titles and are offering 10 to 50 per cent discount depending upon the book as part of Navaratri festival offer. Books for people of all ages are available here.

On the first and second day, some publishers did good business and are expecting decent profit by the end of Dasara festivities. They said though there are good footfalls, it is not converting into business. Parents are visiting in large numbers along with their children and buying children’s books.

Books of all famous Kannada writers, philosophy, travelogue, literature, art and translated books, novels and competitive exam guides, books on cracking entrance exams, quiz, puzzle, fun and all kinds of books are on display.

A sore point, however, is that publishers are not happy as the District Administration has not given much publicity to Dasara Book Festival. Publishers have said that the CADA Office itself is less frequented by tourists. “A better venue with some open space could have made a vast difference,” a few Publishers told Star of Mysore.

Charithra Kosha in a nutshell

• Charithra Kosha has details such as meaning of the name of a village.
• Its historical, geographical, social, economic, and cultural aspects
• References about the village in mythology
• All info on a village’s distinct characters have been highlighted
• Though Karnataka Gazetteer has references to villages, details are not comprehensive
• Over 25 guidelines had been framed to collect data about villages and record them authentically
• Folk culture, rustic flavour, traditional practices despite liberalisation and globalisation have been documented
• A ready-reckoner for historians; an attempt to reconstruct the histories of villages
• A valuable asset for the future generation

By Ramesh Kebbehundi