Mysuru: The 70th Kannada Rajyotsava was celebrated by the district administration with great enthusiasm and fervour at University of Mysore Athletic Grounds (Oval Grounds) here yesterday.

District In-charge Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, who led the celebrations, hoisted the Kannada Flag and offered floral tributes to the portrait of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mahadevappa recalled Karnataka’s journey from unification in 1956 to becoming a culturally vibrant and progressive state and  said that the State was built on the sacrifices of great leaders, scholars, Kannada writers, activists and people from various walks of life, whose struggle resulted in the reunification of Karnataka, that was  formed by the merging of different areas of the then Mysore State and areas under the British Rule, including  Bombay-Karnataka, Hyderabad-Karnataka, Madras Presidency and Kodagu.

“Different Kannada speaking regions were merged into one State (Mysore State) in 1956, which was renamed as Karnataka in 1973 by the then Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs. It was a historic moment in the history of the State as it fulfilled the long pending desire and demands of Kannadigas. It was Alur Venkata Rao who launched the struggle for the unification of Kannada speaking regions which were parcelled out among different kingdoms and regimes. Over centuries, the State has given birth to a good number of poets, litterateurs, artists and the like and they have enshrined the essence of Kannada culture and identity in their works”, Dr. Mahadevappa pointed out.

Noting that Kannada had produced eight Jnanpith awardees- Kuvempu, Da.Ra. Bendre, Shivaram Karanth, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, V.K. Gokak, U.R. Ananthamurthy, Girish Karnad and Chandrashekar Kambar- the Minister said that they had enriched the language through their literary works.

Referring to the growth of Kannada in the digital era, Dr. Mahadevappa said the State Government has taken many initiatives for the promotion of Kannada and its use at all levels of administration. As a result of such initiatives, the usage of Kannada had increased on digital platforms, which augurs well for the future of the language, he added.

Maintaining that it is imperative to promote Kannada along with Science and Technology, he said the Government was working in this direction. Kannada is not merely a language, but an identity for the people of the State and it was the duty of all to uphold their regional culture and strengthen it, he said.

Dr. Mahadevappa also presented the ‘District Kannada Rajyotsava’ award to 95 achievers from different fields of Mysuru district and honoured students who had scored highest marks studying in Kannada medium, on the occasion.

Earlier, Dr. Mahadevappa, who hoisted the Kannada flag, received the Guard of Honour from various contingents, comprising the Police, Fire and Emergency personnel, Home Guards, NCC, NSS and students from different schools, who took part in the march past.

Prior to the event, a grand and colourful procession of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, accompanied by a host of folk and cultural troupes, was taken out from the Palace premises to oval grounds, which was flagged off by the District Minister.

MLAs K. Harish Gowda, Tanveer Sait and G.T. Devegowda, MLCs C.N. Manjegowda and K.Shivakumar, KEA Chairman Ayub Khan, Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, DIGP (Southern Range) Dr. M.B. Boralingaiah, ZP CEO S. Ukesh Kumar, MCC Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif, SP N. Vishnuvardhan, DCP R.N. Bindu Mani, Additional DC P. Shivaraj and a host of other officials were present.

At Kalamandira

As part of Kannada Rajyotsava, the Department of Kannada and Culture had organised ‘Haadire, Raagagala – Toogire, Deepagala’, a musical and folklore event, at Kalamandira on Hunsur Road yesterday.

The event featured performances by various singers and artistes, which included sugama sangeetha by singer Amma Ramachandra and team, Folk songs by Padma and team, Bhavageethe by Sinchana and team, Beesu Kamsale folk presentation by G.S. Mohan and troupe, Bhakti Sangeetha by Putta Mahadevappa and team, Sobaane Pada by Thayamma  and Chikkathyamma team and Dollu Kunitha by Puneeth Kumar and team.

Kannada and Culture Department Assistant Director Dr. M.D. Sudarshan distributed certificates to all the participant artists, singers and honoured them.