A five-day cultural festival will be held in Dharwad and Mansur to mark the 529th birth anniversary of saint poet Kanakadasa.
Basavaraj Devaru of Mansur Revanasiddheshwara Mutt told presspersons that the programme would be held from November 15. He said that programmes would be held at the Revanasiddheshwara Vidyappetha in Mansur.
A State-level symposium on the life and works of Kanakadasa would be held at the Karnataka Vidyavardhak Sangha in Dharwad on November 18 and the next day a procession carrying a portrait of Kanakadasa would be taken out on the thoroughfares of Dharwad.
Scores of folk troupes would participate in the procession and Kanaka Awards would be conferred on the day, Basavaraj Devaru said. He urged the State government to rename either Karnatak University or Karnataka Folklore University after the saint poet or establish a separate university in his name to preserve the art, culture and tradition of Kuruba community.
He also urged Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt to establish a Kanaka Mutt and Yadava (Golla) Peetha to make the ‘Ashta Mutts’ to ‘Dasha Mutts’. The swamiji should also take steps to install a golden statue of Kanakadasa beside the idol of Lord Krishna, he urged.
