Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (NR)

Udupi, Aug 7: The selection of Prof L S Sheshagiri Rao, as the president of the Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana came in for a great deal of appreciation from well-known poet, writer, educationist and politician M Veerappa Moily who also happens to be the chairperson of the Central Administrative Reforms Commission (CARC). The Sammelana is scheduled to be held at Udupi towards the end of 2007.

Moily highlighting the achievements of Prof Sheshagiri Rao stated that Rao had given our country English-Kannada dictionary, which has introduced Kannada not only to the different parts of the country but also to the entire world.

Moily made a special mention about Rao’s work on the history of English literature and the documentation work on Shakespeare and other poets and writers of English in 20th century in Kannada. The latter work is a path-breaking one, and has won wide acclaim all over the English speaking world, he added admiringly. 

By translating Mahabharata, the ancient epic into Kannada and thereby introducing the same to almost all Kannada poets and writers to the world of English literature, Prof Rao's has greatly helped in building a bridge between Kannada and English writers, said Moily.

Moily also proudly declared “under his (Rao’s) leadership the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana at Udupi will become a land mark event in Kannada literary movement”.

Moily further recounting the yeoman literary service rendered by Prof Rao said that he had carried on the work of Kannada ceaselessly and with a great conviction for the past 6 decades. He was a pioneer in leading Kannada literature into the arms of the new generation with his guidance and research.

Moreover in Moily’s opinion Rao was deeply influenced by the classical culture of Kannada literature given to Karnataka by 'Yugapurushas' of Kannada like B M Shrikantaiah,  R Krishna Shastry, Kuvempu, A N Krishnarao and Masti Venkatesh Iyengar .