500th Anniversary of Krishnadevaraya’s Coronation at Hampi on Jan 27-29
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Jan 8: The 500th anniversary of the coronation of Sri Krishnadevaraya, who ruled the Vijayanagara empire, will be celebrated in a grand manner with all the pomp and grandeur at Hampi in Bellary district from January 27 to 29.
The world-famous Hampi, the capital city of the Vijayanagara empire, will be gifted with a theme park to depict the past glory of the kingdom by the state government to mark the event.
A 25-ft tall bronze statue of Sri Krishnadevaraya, the erstwhile emperor of Vijayanagar who is considered on par with Ashoka Samudra Gupta and Harsha Vardhana, is being planned as part of the theme park.
The park would be established on the lines of Akshardham temple complex on the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi, according to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who presided a celebration committee meeting, held in Bangalore on Friday.
A commemorative stamp and coin would be released on the occasion, though it is yet to be approved by the Central departments of philately and finance.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh would be invited to the inaugural function and efforts would be made to invite chief ministers of other states, Yeddyurappa said.
The state government has set apart Rs 15 crore for the grand celebrations.
A programme would also be organised at Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on January 12. Competitions would be organised for college and school students to create awareness about glorious history of the Vijayanagara Empire.
The chief minister said a website had been launched to provide information on Hampi, the Vijayanagara Empire and Sri Krishnadevaraya, which would help those planning a visit to Hampi during the celebrations.
For details visit: www.krishnadevaraya.in
Going by historic records, sage Vidyaranya along with his brother Sayana are believed to have inspired Harihara-Bukka brothers leading to the formation of Vijayanagara empire in the year 1336, which was deemed to be land of prosperity, peace and wealth. Krishnadevaraya was coronated in the year 1509 and ruled for 21 years till 1530.
The empire extended from Nellore to Udayagiri and from Kanyakumari in the South to Kalinga in the East and stretched upto Goa in the West. The 100-pillared Hampi Vittalaya temple was built during Krishnadevaraya’s reign. Scholars like Tenali Ramakrishna. Allasani, Rudra Bhatta are among the many stalwarts who adorned the court of Krishnadevaraya, who himself was a renowned poet and scholar.
NRUPATHUNGA AWARD CONFERRED ON DR G S SHIVARUDRAPPA:
Noted Kannada poet and writer Dr G S Shivarudrappa was conferred the prestigious Nrupathunga Literary Award, named after the eighth century king, instituted by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in association with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa conferred the award while Transport Minister R Ashok was the chief guest at the award presentation function, for which BMTC has deposited Rs 1.5 crore in a nationalised bank and entrusted the responsibility of selecting the literary person and presenting the award with a cash prize of Rs 5.01 lakh from the interest the deposit accrued to the parishat annually.
Dr Shivarudrappa, in his speech, advocated the idea of ``Akhanda Karnataka’’ as outlined in the eighth century work ``Kaviraja Maarga’’ and felt that English had become a ``stumbling block’’ in the overall development of Kannada in the state.
He lamented that the new generation of writers in Kannada had not been giving due importance to the deep rooted tradition of Kannada literature.
Leading Kannada poet H S Venkatesha Murthy said it was desirable that culture and politics should go hand in hand in the overall interest of the people and society.
"The historical Kaviraja Maarga, which speaks of the geographical and social status of Kannada then in the mighty presence of Sanskrit, was the product of the insightful relationship between king Nrupatunga and poet Sri Vijaya,’’ Dr Murthy said pointing out that like Kaviraja Maarga, Dr Shivarudrappa’s acclaimed work Kaavyartha Chintana too deliberates on the Kannada related issues with concern.
The Chief Minister’s suggestion, while lighting the lamp, that let us light the lamp together was an endearing one, Dr Murthy said.
Yeddyurappa said that his Government had been giving a special emphasis for the overall development of Kannada. He reiterated the programmes launched by the Government to the cause of Kannada.
Transport Minister R Ashok reiterated the government’s resolve to celebrate the 500th birth anniversary of the founder of Bangalore Nada Prabhu Kempe Gowda as ``Nada Habba’’ (State Festival). The Cabinet would discuss the issue in detail shortly, he added.
Seven budding literary talents, Lakkur Anand (in absentia), Sachhidananda Hegde, Cha. Ha. Raghnath, B M Giriraja, S Umesh, Sanketh P Bharatish and Ha. Ma. Nagarjuna, were honoured with a cash prize of Rs 10,000, a citation, memento and shawl each on the occasion.
The Kannada Sahitya Parishat President R K Nallor Prasad presided. The Director Kannada and Culture Manu Baligar and the BMTC Managing Director Syed Jameer Pasha were present.
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