Media Release
Udupi, Feb 25: Matribhasha Diwas 2023 festivities at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education concluded on a high note on February 23 with a special lecture at the department of languages by eminent scholar prof B A Viveka Rai on the Kannada epic Pampa Bharata.
Guest of honour pro vice- chancellor Dr Madhu Veeraraghavan visited ongoing exhibitions featuring photographs by acclaimed lensman Astro Mohan and Kaavi Kale art by Janardhan Rao Havanje.
Dr Madhu Veeraraghavan lauded the department of languages and the centre for Kannada and Regional Languages for giving fillip to innovatory practices in multilingual pedagogy embedded in the verbal and visual arts. The pro vice-chancellor with a storied career in finance emphasized MAHE’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary synergies in education. Prof Rahul Putty, head of the department of languages, spoke about curriculum development as a means to steer research on variegated linguistic legacies in global contexts, and enable transferences through translation projects, language courses, and creation of public digital repositories.
Co-ordinator of the centre for Kannada and regional languages Dr Prithviraj Kavatar introduced illustrious scholar prof B A Viveka Rai to the audience, and spoke about the centre’s role as a nodal point for the diffusion of Kannada and regional languages through an intercultural 'Ka-Space'.
Prof B A Viveka Rai delivered a special lecture on ‘The Concept of 'this Worldliness' (Laukika) in Pampa Bharata , the Kannada Epic of the 10th Century’. Prof Rai illustrated the relevance of a text in old Kannada for our times, radical in its interrogation of power and caste hierarchies. During his interaction with audience members, Prof Rai spoke about research and translation initiatives in European contexts, and advised learners on reading between the lines.
Prof Neeta Inamdar, head of Manipal Centre for European Studies, Prof Srinivasa Acharya, head of the department of Philosophy and faculty member Amrutha Yathish felicitated the guests. Faculty member Aditya Divya Singh delivered a vote of thanks to the honoured guests, staff and students at the event. On February 22, the second day of festivities, students had tried their hand at Kaavi Kale, an exquisite architectural ornamentation art from the Konkan region, in a workshop by researcher and art practitioner Janardhan Havanje.
The exhibitions Kannada Shale and Kaavi Kale, specially curated for this occasion by staff and students of the department of languages and centre for Kannada and regional languages, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, are open to the public until Saturday.