Mangalore: Dasa Sahitya Sees Revival Through State-level Sammelana

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jul 14: A two-day state-level Dasa Sahitya Sammelana was inaugurated at Town Hall here on Thursday July 14. The event was inaugurated by former president of state Kannada Sahitya Parishat Harikrishna Punaroor.

In his inaugural address, Punaroor lamented the advent of television and other media that had led to the decline of literature and Dasa Sahita in particular. He also highlighted the aims and objectives of the Sammelana and said that it was part of an effort to revive Dasa Sahitya.

Delivering the keynote address, veteran Kannada poet H S Venkatesh Murthy said that Dasa Sahitya had influenced the works of poets like Da Ra Bendre and others, and added that the reformist nature of Dasa Sahitya had made it immortal.

The vaules inherent in such literature were relevant to this day, he said, and gave examples of poets like Kanakadasa and Purandaradasa who tried to expose the evils in society through their works.

He noted that Dasa Sahitya was not as popular as some of the other forms basically because for a long time musicians had considered it a form of literature while litterateurs considered it a form of music. Eventually, neither paid it the attention it deserved.

He urged the Parishat to set up a research unit to study and popularise Dasa literature.

Nallur Prasad, president of state Kannada Sahithya Parishat presided over the programme. Addressing the gathering, he said that Dasa Sahitya was a panacea for all ills.

Vidyaprasanna Theertha of Subrahmanya mutt graced the programme and released 'Katha Keerthana' newspaper on the occasion.

Dakshina Kannada district president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, MCC commissioner Dr K N Vijayaprakash and others were present.