Pics: Anush Pandith

Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Apr 19: A three-day training camp on Konkani Vachana singing held at World Konkani Center (WKC) came to end with a grand valedictory ceremony on Wednesday, April 18.

Dr Narasimha Moorthi R, retired teacher from Mangaluru was the chief guest. Basti Vaman Shenoy, president, WKC, Shakunthala Kini, secretary, WKC, Malathi Kamath and B Prabhakar Prabhu were present on the dais.

Kumble Lakshmana Prabhu presided over the programme.

In his welcome speech, Basti Vaman Shenoy said, "The Vachanas of great social reformer, thinker and poet Basavanna is translated in 17 languages by Basava Samithi, Bengaluru. It is available in Konkani language also. Basavanna's Vachanas are the great treasure of our nation. But by knowing one or two Vachanas, we cannot understand Basavanna's teachings and richness of his writings. We should do a detailed study on this. It is difficult to study Vachanas in one sitting. So we have planned to teach the same to interested people. All like the method of teaching with singing. So with the help of Malathi Kamath, we organised this training session of Vachana singing. I congratulate all the participants who participated in the training. In the coming days, we will conduct more programes on this."

In his speech, Dr Narasimha Moorthi R, chief guest of the function, said, "In the 12th and 13th century, Basavanna started a revolutionary transformation in society through his writings. He changed the mindset of the society that literature belongs to only one section of people and that too with the influence of Sanskrit. He wrote a type of literature which includes both poetry and prose. He used simple language to convey his message to the people. Because of this the Vachanas became popular and reached to all sections of people. Some other contemporary writers also followed same style of Basavanna and this paved a way for social reformation. Because of this reformation, the Vachana literature becomes a treasure of Karnataka.

"Now it is our duty to pass the Vachana literature to our next generation. It should not limit to one or two poems like the ones in the school text books. I appreciate WKC for the great initiative which they have taken to teach the singing of Vachanas. It will help retain the Vachanas in the minds of people,” he said.

In his presidential speech Kumble Lakshmana Prabhu said, "By organizing the Vachana singing training programme, WKC has provided a great opportunity to students. Basava Vachanas always taught a better way of life which is filled with humanity. The Vachanas of Basavanna are against all types of discrimination and inequalities in society. Many others who have written Vachanas tried to pass the peaceful society through spirituality. All Vachanas are applicable for today's society also. So the requirement of learning Vachanas is worth in the present times also."

Malathi Kamath was felicitated by the dignitaries for rendering the tunes for Konkani Vachanas. Certificates and mementos were distributed to the participants of the training programme.