Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai

Dubai, Aug 26: UAE Tulu Koota-Dubai is gearing up to celebrate its silver jubilee in October this year with a grand 'Tulu Parba 2015'. Padma Vibhushan Dr D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, will preside as the chief guest for the event.

Tulu Parba, the event every Tuluva in the UAE is eagerly waiting for, will be held on October 9 this year at Al Nasr Leisureland Ice Rink.

UAE Tulu Koota-Dubai, founded by C R Shetty and the late Umesh Nantoor, has already started preparations to celebrate the silver jubilee on a grand scale and make it a memorable event such as UAE has never seen before.

Speaking to daijiworld, chief convener and founder C R Shetty said, "UAE Tulu Koota is delighted to announce that Dr Veerendra Heggade has accepted the invitation to be the chief guest for Tulu Parba. This event will be filled with entertainment showcasing the richnesss of our Tulunadu. UAE Tulu Koota is one of the oldest associations in the UAE and we are here just to promote our Tulu culture without any barriers of religion, caste or creed. We request all community leaders and Tulunadu people to attend the programme and participate to make this programme successfull."

He also mentioned that prominent personalites like Dr B R Shetty, Janaki Brahmavar, president of Karnataka Tulu Academy and also other community leaders from Dakshina Kannada and Mumbai will be attending the event as guests.

Daijiworld is the official media partner for the event.

Dr Veerendra Heggade - A brief profile

Dr Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, is a well-known visionary of our times. Born on November 25, 1948 as the eldest son of the then Heggade of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, he took the mantle as Dharmasthala Heggade in the year 1968 at a tender age of twenty.

Ever since, Dr Veerendra Heggade has been guiding the multitude of devotees visiting Dharmasthala and seeking solace with his wisdom and helping them face the world.

Dr Heggade is the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour conferred by the government of India and also the Padma Bhushan award. He was honoured with the Karnataka Ratna award in 2009 by the then Karnataka government.

Dr Veerendra Heggade is married to Hemavathi, who is also engaged in social service, especially women empowerment. The couple has a daughter named Shradha Amith, who is married to a Amith, a businessman from Bengaluru. At the age of 67, Dr Veerendra Heggade still works like a young man, keeping himself active for almost eighteen hours in a day. People from all walks of life including planners, politicians, academia, administrators, the privileged and the unprivileged seek guidance from Dr Heggade for bettering their works.

Dr Veerendra Heggade has dexterously blended spiritualism with the materialistic world. He is a multifaceted personality excelling in service to God as the head of the temple, in administration as the chief of many programmes promoted by him. He is the architect of modern Dharmasthala. As the chief of Manjunatha Swamy temple he has implemented several unique programmes for spiritual upliftment.

Dr Veerendra Heggade regularly meets common people to hear their greviences and guide them. He gives direct charity as per the need. He also provides charity to community activities. He has organized many a public programme like the Kannada Sahithya Sammelana, Tulu Sammelana (literary festivals), Kissan Mela (farmers fare) with aplomb. The SDM education society promoted for quality education of which Dr Heggade is the president has forty education institutions under its management including Ayurveda colleges, naturopathy, dental, engineering, medical, law, business management colleges.

Dr Heggade, initiated mass marriage programme in 1971 where in eligible couples come to Dharmasthala for marriage in a group. The marriage ceremony is conducted for all the participants in the mass marriage by the temple free of cost.

The Rural Development Self Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI) conceived and promoted by Dr Veerendra Heggade is a unique experiment in public, private partnership for social service. Started in the year 1982, the RUDSET concept has become a national programme with government of India advising all the banks to open one RUDSET in each district of the country. The Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), another well known experiment of Dr Heggade started in 1982 is engaged in organising the small farmers, the poor women into Self Help Groups (SHG) for accessing various services at their doorsteps. Dr Heggade is deeply interested in sustainable energy programmes. All the guest houses in Dharmasthala have solar water heater installations which produce 100,000 liters of hot water every day. The streets of Dharmasthala are lit by solar lamps. The giant biogas plants in Dharmasthala supply cooking gas to the kitchen of Dharmasthala.

He has received three doctorates from Mangalore University, Dharwad University and Rajiv Gandhi Health University, honorary fellowship of Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of the University of Glasgow, UK, and Rajarshi citation from Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, the former President of India. Many coveted institutions have honoured Dr Veerendra Heggade. He has participated in several conferences in different parts of the world as a member of the world conference of religion and peace.