Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil, while lauding the poet laureate Kuvempu for his immeasurable contribution to Kannada literature, has said that Kuvempu tried to eradicate blind beliefs from the minds of people through his works.
Inaugurating the Vishwamanava Day to commemorate the 112th birth anniversary of Jnanpith award winner Kuvempu organised by the Kannada and Culture Department and the Kalaburagi City Corporation here on Thursday, Dr. Patil said that Kuvempu’s literature was multi-faceted, his literary works condemned superstitious beliefs and helped propagate rational thinking and promote scientific temper among readers.
The Vishwamanava message propounded by Kuvempu is very much relevant to the present generation. Besides being a great writer, Kuvempu was a patriot, a thinker and a nature lover who stood for humanity, Dr. Patil added.
M.G. Biradar, who delivered a special lecture, recalled the contributions of Kuvempu and said that observing the day will help create scientific temper among youngsters; the need of the hour is to make each person a Vishwamanava.
Though Kuvempu and various other litterateurs had accepted and had been influenced by elements of Western literature, Kuvempu’s works stood out in the crowd when compared with the other laureates of his time, Prof. Biradar said.
His first novel Kanooru Heggadithi appeared in 1938 and his second novel Malegalalli Madumagalu was known for its epic narration. Kuvempu’s Ramayana Darshana was the first modern poem of Kannada literature and his ever-lasting contribution to Kannada is the Nada Geethe, Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujaate, he added.
Students from different schools participated in the cultural events.
Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Ujjwalkumar Ghosh and Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Aniruddh Sravan were present.
