Bahuroopi seminar debates slave mentality and how Indic civilisation was destroyed

Mysore/Mysuru: The concept of Indianness if followed rigidly will help us come out of the slave mentality and there is a desperate need to have pride in every Indian language. Self-consciousness stemmed from the mindset of slavery still resided deep down in our hearts and we need to shun the mentality, opined noted thinker and nationalist Su. Ramanna.

He was speaking at the valedictory of a National Seminar organised as part of Bahuroopi National Theatre Festival last evening. “We are not too sure when India, Indian and Indianness took birth but these are very familiar and remembering these always will help us come out of slave mentality,” he said.

“The only way towards the establishment of a cultured and civilised society is when we along with respecting our county, its tradition, culture, history, moral values, literature, dance, music, food, clothes and attires, we must also respect our language. No other language in India has deep roots as Indian languages and their richness is unmatched,” he noted.

All Indians must develop respect for their mother tongue. “If we are able to realise the worth of our language, it will stay with us till the end. We know that our language is not just a source to express our thoughts. Rather it is our identity and our pride,” Ramanna added. 

 “There are ample reasons why we should love our language. But the most important one being we love our language because it is ours and original and we cannot substitute it as it will look artificial and odd. The only way you can express and explain yourself better is in your language,” he said.

Noted littérateur Babu Krishnamurthy, speaking on ancient theatre and Indianness, said that children in India are wrongly and incorrectly taught about the benevolence of those who looted and plundered our land than those who defended this land.

“Those who don’t remember history are bound to repeat it. Going by what we were taught, the plunderers and looters became heroes where those who destroyed temples are considered as heroes even now. Indic culture and history are just passing references in history books and if anyone speaks about Indic culture, its ethos and values now, they are branded communal,” he regretted.

 “For most people in India today, the country’s existence started only after independence when it became a nation. India’s civilisational foundation is lost as we are taught that we were a disparate and uncivilised bunch of people who were civilised by these invaders. The past culture has been destroyed to create a new civilisation that has  no respect for Indianness. They are systematically taught to  hate Indianness,” Babu Krishnamurthy said.

The British created a conspiracy to control Indian mindset by creating hatred for their own culture among them. “The British knew that Indians would never be slaves until they were associated with their ancient culture. For this, they destroyed the Gurukula system and emphasised the western values instead of Indian morals. The Macaulay system of education was introduced to destroy India’s culture,” he added.

Rangayana Director Addanda C. Cariappa, Deputy Director Nirmala Mathapati were present on the dais.

Debate winners

A debate competition was organised in ‘Unity in Indianness’ where over 122 students from 14 districts participated. The first prize of Rs. 15,000 was bagged by Pruthvi Bhat of Vidyavardhaka Law College, Mysuru, the second prize of Rs. 10,000 was bagged by N. Lakshmi of JSS Women’s College, Mysuru and the third prize of Rs. 5,000 was secured by Gayathri Hegde of NMKRV College, Bengaluru.  

Grass handicrafts from Gadag a huge hit

Thanks to the huge demand for handicraft items made of wild and sturdy grass, artisans in villages of Gadag today are leading a decent life. This age-old craft, passed on from the elders, is a blessing for the people of these areas as it requires very little capital and provides a steady source of income.  A wild grass stall at Bahuroopi venue of Rangayana set up by Davalappa Thammanna Sathaputhe from Gadag is swarming with visitors who are purchasing the items on display.