Sanskrit Scholar Dr. Pierre Sylvain Filliozat – Epigraphist Dr. Vasundhara Filliozat and Founders of Sneha Foundation T. Ramanjaneya – K.P. Jaya

Shree Vana-mali Charitable Trust,  Mysuru, established by Dr. Mathoor Krishnamurti in the year 2009, has organised its Annual Awards Ceremony for the year 2022-23 on Sunday (Nov. 5) at 10.30 am at Ganabharathi’s Veene Seshanna Bhavan in Kuvempunagar.

Art Historian and Epigraphist Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat and Sanskrit Scholar Dr. Pierre Sylvain Filliozat couple will be conferred with ‘Shree Vanamali Samskruti Seva Prashasthi’ while T. Ramanjaneya and K.P. Jaya, Founder-couple of Sneha Foundation in Kudligi, Ballari District, which works for rehabilitation of girls rescued from Devadasi system, will be conferred with ‘Padma Shri Dr. Mathoor Krishnamurti Samaja Seva Prashasthi.’

Well-known Sanskrit Scholar of Mysuru Dr. H.V. Nagaraja Rao will deliver the felicitation address.

Both the awards carry a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 each, Lord Sri Krishna Statuette, a citation along with other congratulatory bouquets.  Renowned senior scholar Nadoja Dr. T.V. Venkatachala Sastry will preside over the function.

About the Awardees 

Born in 1940 at Haveri in Karnataka, Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat is the daughter of Chennabasavappa Kavali and youngest sister of renowned artist Dr. Vasant Kavali. Brought up in an environment soaked in Sanskrit and Kannada culture, she is a Historian of Art and an Epigraphist.

She works alternatively in India to explore the archaeological and literary past of her country and in France to encourage knowledge and appreciation of culture and civilisation of India in general and Karnataka in particular.

In 2002-2003, Rotary Mysore presented her a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of her work for the betterment of country in the field of Archaeological Research on Temples and Epigraphy of Karnataka (Vijayanagar) Empire. Her works have been acknowledged in 2003 and honoured with the Award of the Government of Karnataka.

She was elected as President of the 22nd Congress of the Karnataka History Academy in 2008. The couple was honoured with ‘Vidyaranya Prashasthi’ by Himalaya Trust, Mysuru. She is the recipient of the title ‘Itihasa Sanskritishri’ by the Karnataka Itihasa Academy and ‘Karnataka Kala Pravartaka’ by the Namah Association, Chicago, USA. She has to her credit more than thirty books and numerous articles in Kannada, English and French.

Dr. Pierre Sylvain Filliozat, born in 1936 in France, is the son of Dr. Jean Filliozat, Founder of French Institute on Indian Culture at Pondicherry. Filliozat studied classical languages in Paris and Vyakarana and Saivagama in Pondicherry. He has a Ph.D in Alankara Sastra.

Prof. Filliozat teaches Sanskrit in Paris and conducts researches in several fields of Indology, Sanskrit Grammar, Poetry and Poetics, History of Indian Mathematics, Tantra, especially the Sanskrit Saivagama literature and history of Indian Architecture. He has published many books and articles in French, English and Sanskrit on the Grammar of Panini, Sanskrit poetry, Saivagama, Temple Architecture in Karnataka etc.

He was conferred ‘Maha-mahopadhyaya’ honour by Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in 2013. He is the recipient of the ‘Certificate of Honour for Sanskrit’ from the President of India in 2014.

Every year, in the month of June, since 2012 they conduct ‘Sanskrit Day’ in Paris, France successfully. Their contribution through dedicated work also is the main reason to announce Hampi as a ‘World Heritage Centre’ by UNESCO. Till today they are working on Karnataka temples and especially on those incredible edifices in North Karnataka. Apart from these they have interest in other forms of art and culture like Hindustani Music, Dance and Drama.

T. Ramanjaneya comes from a small village by name Gajjuganahalli of Challakere Taluk in Chitradurga District. He is the eldest of four children of a family whose parents were dwelling on daily wages.

A brilliant student, he had his primary education in his own village and went to study High School and College at Hirehalli in Challakere Taluk.

Though he had qualified for MBBS and BDS courses, he joined National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, to study Civil Engineering due to financial constraints.

He worked as a Tutor and an Accountant in the evening hours at a Mysuru-based NGO, ENEDSA for self support and completed his Civil Engineering with a distinction and University topper.

While continuing to work for the NGO, his concern for the socially suppressed and the downtrodden made him establish “Sneha,”  a self-help organisation. He was selected for the Fellowship of “Gandhi Shanthi Pratishtana” as he was naturally attracted to the Gandhian principles in his life.

In the initial 8-10 years, he actively worked for the development of establishing child development centres, night schools for education, rehabilitation schools for child labourers and also started health check up camps, self-help groups for women, awareness campaign for women development and conducted training on human rights.

He married K.P. Jaya after they worked together at a workshop in Chikkamagalur. Though it was an inter-caste marriage, they did not pay heed to the families objecting their marital accord as they both were engrossed in their public service.

The villagers fondly remember these couple for all the work they undertook, even walking 8-10 kms on a daily basis in the initial 5-6 years in their mission to educate and empower the socially oppressed class.

“Free-Devadasis” campaign

While travelling to different places like Kudligi, Hosapete in lorries, he witnessed the pain of young girls and ladies who were pushed into prostitution due to the prevalent “Devadasi” tradition followed in those parts of Karnataka. He delved deep to study this practice and understood their plight. He then thought about as to how to bring an end to this practice and in the year 2003 he began to organise programmes to educate the women and girls involved in the unfortunate loop of prostitution, in the fields of education, economic development etc.

Similarly in a “Free-Devadasis” campaign which he organised at Taluk, District and State-levels yielded results in stages with the Devadasi women getting a monthly livelihood amount of  Rs. 1,500 (which was just Rs.400 then) per month from the State Government.

To date, due to his continuous struggle, brides and bridegrooms from Devadasi clan get an incentive of Rs.5,00,000 and Rs.3,00,000 towards their marriage from the Government of Karnataka.

In a gigantic effort, Ramanjaneya brought more than 11,000 teenage girls in the age group of 12-20 years under more than 450 “Kishori Sanghas” (Girls Group) from the districts of Ballari, Koppala, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Belagavi, Raichur, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Davanagere and Gadag of North Karnataka. These youngsters are educated on matters such as prevention from sexual harassment, oppression, child labour, child marriage and of becoming a Devadasi.

Not to get sidelined from getting proper education, more than 500 children from the Devadasi background are supported in their education. Currently, 52 children are doing MBBS, B.VSc, Nursing course and many other professional courses with the help of Ramanjaneya and Jaya couple.

More than 150 girl children are supported for their education in learning Fashion Designing, Tailoring and various office management courses in computers and in learning good communication skills.

Financial assistance is provided to 100-150 women annually to take up an economic activity of their choice every year and this programme is supervised and run by K.P. Jaya.

All the women from Devadasi clan wholeheartedly recall the help received during the toughest COVID-19 period.

Doordarshan “Chandana” TV Channel has bestowed T. Ramanjaneya with “Door-darshana  Chandana Prashasti” in 2017, by recognising the couple’s unflinching efforts towards the upliftment of Devadasi women and children.

Ramanjaneya and Jaya are fondly called as “Sneha Samsthe Ramanna” amongst the socially oppressed Devadasi women and their children.