Mysuru: There are many astounding works in Kannada literature and ‘Kavirajamarga’ is one of the best examples. It is not very easy to do research about Kannada but everyone should learn it; otherwise, it will not survive, said Linguist Prof. R.V.S. Sundaram.

He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Kannada Sahitya: Adhyayanada Savaalugalu haagu Saadyategalu’ (Kannada Literature: Challenges and Opportunities in Study) organised by the Centre for Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) at the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) premises, Manasagangothri here on Wednesday.

There are different types of literature in Kannada and there is beauty in it. It has more than1,000 years history. The research scholars should understand the breath and significance of the Kannada language and the formation of the words first, he said.

Kannada is one among the few languages in the country where creativity is constantly going on since the last 1,000 years. There is no need to talk about the richness of the Kannada language as at every stage every litterateur’s work is something special. When one speaks about the language it is based on certain parameters. We can still identify a few Kannada works of 1,500 years ago, he said.

In the ancient Kannada texts each word had its own characteristics. Only if one learns about this will one understand ‘Hale Kannada’ (Old Kannada). Till now an analysis has not been done on Kannada words in Prakrit language, he said expressing his disappointment.

Kannada is a bigger language than Sanskrit and whatever is there in Sanskrit, Kannada also has it. Even though Sanskrit has a lot of variety, Kannada outscores it. A Sanskrit scholar does not know Kannada whereas a Kannada scholar knows Sanskrit and this is something unique. Kannada research scholars should know Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil. If we have knowledge of a lot of languages then the hold over Kannada becomes that much easier, said Prof. Sundaram.

He expressed his happiness over the interest in Kannada growing in the world and said that once ‘Kavirajamarga’ came in English everyone’s attention was drawn to it. This has helped in creating an atmosphere for the development of Kannada, he felt. CIIL Director Prof. D.G.Rao inaugurating the workshop said that the institute is planning to extend financial support to young researchers involved in studies in Classical Kannada.   He said that CESCK will get its own building soon.

CIIL Planning Director Prof. K.R. Durgadas presided. Reader and Research Officer Dr. L. Ramamurthy, workshop convenor Dr. Sannapapaiah and others were present.