200th Birth Anniversary – Moegling’s Fifth Generation to Visit Mangalore

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Oct 24: A get together of the children of the great grand children and relatives of ‘Father of Kannada Journalism’, Rev Dr Hermann Moegling, is being organized at the auditorium of Karnataka Theological College at Balmatta here at 5 pm on Thursday October 27.

The relatives of Rev Ananda Rao Kaundinya, who belonged to the times of Moegling, and who joined Basel Mission after coming under tremendous influence of Moegling, will also be present on the occasion. It is said that Ananda Rao, a Saraswat originally, was the first person from the region to convert into Christianity. Rao had later shifted to Germany and married a citizen of that country.

The new generation of these illustrious persons are eager to visit the city to see the place where their forefathers had done meritorious work that is deeply etched in the annals of history. The programme is being conducted in memory of Rev Moegling, who began to publish the first ever Kannada newspaper, ‘Mangalora Samachara’, from the city in 1843, on the occasion of his 200th birth anniversary.

This information was given by Honey Cabral, principal of Karnataka Theological College, at a press conference held in the city. He added that a team of 17 persons will be here on the occasion.

Rev Moegling (1811-1881), a German missionary from Basel Mission, had, in addition to bringing out the illustrious newspaper as above, also had translated several German works into Kannada and vice versa. He was awarded doctorate for his translated classic, Bibliotheca Carnataca. He was born in 1811 at Brachenheim, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Germany. He studied theology at Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, and joined Basel Mission. He came here in 1836. Rev Moegling was also the founder principal of Basel Evangelical Mission Seminary – Karnataka Theological College.

Former vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dr B M Hegde, will be the chief guest at the above function. He will release the books, ‘Eine Reise In Die Religionen’ in German, and ‘A Journey Into Religions’ in English. Dr Albert Frenz is the author of this work. Dr Honey Cabral, principal, Karnataka Theological College, and secretary, KACES, will preside. Rev Dr D R Sadananda, treasurer, and Rev Sandeep Theophil, PRO of KACES, will be present.

A colourful cultural programme will be presented on this occasion, by school children.

Registrar of Karnataka Theological College, Sydney Salins, and researcher, Prof A V Navada, were present at the press conference.