The 80th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana will be held in Madikeri in the hope that it would rejuvenate the language in Kodagu district, where the language is losing ground, Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) President Pundalika Halambi said on Thursday.

He was addressing a press conference to unveil the logo for the Sammelana scheduled from January 7 to 9 at Field Marshal Cariappa College Grounds there.

“There is a big concern that Kannada is losing its ground in Kodagu, that Kannada has become a minor language leading to a hostile environment. We decided to take the Sammelana to Madikeri to address this concern and to reiterate that Kodagu is an important part of the State,” Halambi explained.

The logo depicts Talacauvery and other tourist attractions in the backdrop of the Karnataka map.

“It is imperative to rejuvenate the Kannada culture in Kodagu, which has taken a beating because some people have turned it into a recreation centre,” he said.

Public Works and Kodagu District Minister H C Mahadevappa, who unveiled the logo, said accommodation will be arranged for close to 4,000 people for the meet.

“We want people to register (representatives) before December 15. Local hotels and homestays have agreed to give us two rooms each,” Mahadevappa, who heads its Reception Committee, said.

He said the Sammelana is expected to cost around `2.5 crore. “The budget provided for is about `1 crore. We also managed to have the CM give us another crore,” Mahadevappa said.

Madikeri will be playing host to the annual literary meet for the third time after the meets presided over by poet D V Gundappa in 1932 and researcher Shamba Joshi in 1981.

Staff, Centenary Building Sought

Halambi openly pointed fingers at the government for showing little interest to support the iconic institution that will turn 100 next year.

He said the Parishat had made several representations to the government to fill vacant posts. “Our human resource strength was 48 a few years ago. Now, we are down to 13. We will soon be reduced to just three people if the government doesn’t do something,” he said. He also appealed to Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa to urge the government to construct a centenary building for the Parishat.

“We will turn 100 next year, which is a proud feeling for us. I hope the government does its bit to promote the heritage of this institution,” Halambi added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service – Bangalore / October 11th, 2013