Shodhan Prasad
Daijiworld Media Network - Sharjah
Sharjah, Nov 18: Karnataka Sangha Sharjah and Hrudayavahini Karnataka are all set to host an extravagant celebration of the 12th Vishwa Kannada Samskruthi Sammelana and the 13th Annual Day as well as the presentation of Sharjah Karnataka Sangha's 'Mayura Award' here on November Thursday November 19 and Friday November 20. The venue for the event is Al Boom Tourist Village, near Wanderer’s Club Playground, Sharjah.
The mega event is expecting a footfall of thousands of Kannadigas. Various poets, musicians, writers, leaders and dignitaries will arrive all the way from Karnataka and other parts of the Gulf along with the president of the Vishwa Kannada Samskruthi Sammelana committee K P Manjunath Sagar.
The inaugural ceremony will take place on November 19 at 7.30 pm at Fortune Grand Hotel, Al Ghusais, Dubai, as per president of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah, Satheesh Venkataramana.
The main programme will be held on November 20 at Al Boom Tourist Village near Wanderer's Stadium, Sharjah with a whole day of variety cultural shows starting from 10 am.
Prof S G Sidhramayya, who was the president of Karnataka Government Books Committee for the year 2005-08 and who served as principal of Shri Sidhaganga College, Tumakuru and some other colleges in Karnataka, has agreed to grace the occasion as president of the 12th Vishwa Kannada Sanskrithi Sammelana at Sharjah. Prof Sidharamayya, a writer, poet, dramatist all these years has been bestowed with 'PuThiNa' Kavya Prashasthi, 'Rashtrakavi G S Shivarudrappa' Kavya Prashasthi, 'Maasti' Kavya Prashasthi, Karnataka Sahithya Academy Awards and Karnataka Rajyotsava Award for his great works in Kannada.
'Mayura Award' for Praveen Kumar Shetty
Karnataka Sangha Sharjah every year identifies an outstanding Kannadiga in the UAE and felicitates the person with the prestigious 'Mayura Award' during its annual day celebration. This year Karnataka Sangha Sharjah has announced that the 2015 - 2016 Mayura Award will be bestowed on Praveen Kumar Shetty, director, Fortune Group of Hotels for his contribution to the society.
Other Programmes
On the literary front there will be Kavi Goshti, Hasya Goshti, Madhyama Goshti, Meet for Kanandigas residing abroad, as planned. On the cultural front there will be Bharathanatyam, folk dances, Yakshagana, mimicry and dance dramas. Further, there will be exhibition, book fair and stalls arranged outside the venue.
Under the presidentship of Manjunath Sagar, Vishwa Kannada Sanskrithi Sammelan Samiti 'Hridayavahini' Karnataka has been hosting these programmes in different parts of the world for over 12 years in association with various Kannada Sanghas in those places, mostly in the months of November/December every year. This started from Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha and then moved to Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Kenya, Canada and now it is back in Sharjah for the 12th annual celebrations.
Prestigious Awards
Kannadigas who have contributed vastly to Kannada will be honoured with 'Vishwa Manava Prashashti', 'Vishwa Kannada Sammelana Prashashti' (World Kannada Convention Award) and 'Karnataka Hirimey Prashashti' (Pride of Karnataka Award) at the venue during the convention.
Literary meets
There will be various symposiums during the convention comprising 'Hanigavana Goshti', headed by B R Lakshman, who along with the invited poets from India and the UAE will conduct the symposium.
The participants include Irshad Moodabidri from Dubai, Arati Ghatikar from Dubai, Bindiganavile Bhagwan from Bengaluru, Priya Harish from Mangaluru and Yaqub Khader from Gulwadi.
The 'Kavi Goshti' will be presided by Prof M B Kudari Gokak from Belagavi with the participation of Prabha Suvarna from Mumbai, Prakash Rao Payyar from Dubai, Gopinath Rao from UAE, Eranna Moolimane from Dubai and Manohar Melmane from Sirsi.
The 'Anivasi Kannadigaru and Madhyama Goshti' will be presided by Sarvotham Shetty from Abu Dhabi, with the participation of Raj Kumar from Bahrain, B V Nagaraj from Canada, Dr C K Anchan from Muscat and Veerendra Babu from Dubai.
Entertainment
TV9 artistes will present 'Halli Katte' comedy skit while group dancers from various places of Karnataka will arrive and present group dances, dance dramas, music, mimicry, comedy skits etc during the convention.
The formal stage programme will be in the evening in the presence of all the guests, and will include honours and felicitations.
Free entry and free lunch for all Kannadigas
President of Sharjah Karnataka Sangha and president of Vishwa Kannada Sammelana have announced free entry and lunch for all Kannadigas of UAE and invited them to come in large numbers along with their families and friends to make this event a memorable one.