Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)
Mangaluru, Dec 3: "Every religion was designed to transcend itself and be a window to spiritual realisation. But since our religious leaders have closed this window we had to rely on literature to become this window. Literature and art have truly done their job in this regard," said Dr Jayant Kaikini, eminent Kannada poet and writer.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day Vishwa Konkani Literary Festival held at Vishwa Konkani Kendra, Shaktinagar here on Saturday December 3.
"These days religion has taken a different angle altogether. Instead of doing good to mankind it has turned out to be fanaticism for many people. Every day more than ten thousand people come to Bengaluru in search of jobs. Let the preachers of religion go to them and understand their hunger. If they still have the guts, let them speak to a person who cannot afford a meal and then let them preach about religion.
"Every religion was designed to transcend itself. It was designed for the people to explore and grow beyond its own limits and hence become one with God. It is a window to spiritual realisation. Unfortunately most of the religious leaders have closed that window. They have done so just because it closes their money making business. Hence literature has itself opened the spiritual window. Every poem that we write is a spiritual leap," he said.
"Today's literature must work to listen to the problems of the younger generation. If so, the younger generation which follows the virtual reality through social media as the actual reality will respond to the world around," he added.
The programme was inaugurated by vice-chancellor of Mangalore University Prof Dr K Byrappa, before offering a floral tribute to Acharya Dharmananda Kosambi, a Buddhist and Pali scholar of Konkani origin. In his inaugural address he said, "Acharya Dharmendra Kosambi has spread the goodness of Buddhism in the USA and Russia and thus was responsible for the extensive work on it across the globe.
"Konkani as a language is a mixture of several languages through a variety of words. It is a language which unites people of all communities and religion," he said.
Eminent writer and translator Dr Geetha Shenoy, introducing Acharya Kosambi, said, "Acharya was born in Madgoan in a poor family. He wanted to study. After completing grade 10, in spite of many ailments, he went to Kashi to learn Sanskrit at the age of twenty. When asked what benefit he gained from studying Sanskrit, his answer was that he never studied it for monetary benefits but only to aquire knowledge."
President of Kannada Sahitya Academy Malathi Pattana Shetty pointed out the unique culture and mannerism Konkani people have that 'makes them the most special among the people of all communities'. "From Shyam Benegal to Rashtra Kavi Govinda Pai, they have contributed in every field in the country. If eminent writers like Rashtra Kavi Govinda Pai and Dinakar Desai had not contributed to Kannada, the roots of Kannada would not have been so strong," she opined.
The vice-chancellor also released four new books in Konkani on the occasion.
Basti Vaman Shenoy, president of Vishwa Konkani Kendra, Ravikumar, assistant director of Kannada and culture department, Dakshina Kannada, Dr Kiran Budkule, former dean of department of linguistics and culture, Goa University and others were present.