The 77th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana got off to a glorious start

City flaunts Kannada pride

The 77th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana got off to a glorious start, with folk artistes and floats encapsulating the cultural diversity of the state. Thousands came, drawn only by their love of the language Kids discover an old language

Bangalore: With the bonus of an unexpected holiday, many children from English medium schools decided to head to the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana. And here, they discovered that they were learning too little of the language in their classrooms.
    For them, it was a discovery of Kannada, for their textbooks just taught them the rudimentary stuff. “I am learning Kannada as a third language, but this visit proves that we are just not exposed to Kannada literature. I am buying an Englishto-Kannada dictionary,” said Kiran Karpur, as Class 9 student. They were many students like him, who realized that their exposure to the classical language of Kannada was limited.
    Born and brought up in Bangalore, Lakshmi Chethana was lost at the Sammelana, as just about everyone around her was speaking Kannada. “Though I can speak the language, I am not yet fluent in reading and writing. I do not know which books to choose, though I want to master reading Kannada,’’ said this Class 7 girl of Vagdevi Vilas School. “I want to buy books, but I know that I cannot read Kannada,” she said, looking clueless in the realm of Kannada books.
    Many children studying in English medium schools did speak functional Kannada, but were poor when it came to reading and writing the language. According to Ravi Sarjapur, a Mathematics teacher of Vagdevi Vilas School, even children whose mother tongue is Kannada were not fluent in reading or writing the language. “They are not too good in reading. They spend just eight hours in school, and our teaching is based on the curriculum. Parents must cultivate reading habits among children. Not all Kannadiga parents speak Kannada at home these days, which impacts children’s learning of Kannada,” said Sarjapur.
    A Geethanjali, Class 9 student of Sri Sajjan Rao Vidya Samsthe, picked up a book on Akbar-Birbal and Tenali Ramakrishna. “I want to begin reading short stories. I have hardly read anything in Kannada,” she said.
    Meenakshi Santhosh was a literature lover, searching for some books for her children. “We, as parents, tend to focus more on the curriculum of the children and their homework and projects. My kids are really overloaded doing their school subjects at home, and I pity them for not spending quality time to read literature. But I make sure that on Sundays, they read short stories of their choice just to inculcate the reading habit,” she said. “I had read these short stories for children when I was in primary school. But my children are reading them in high school.”
COME AND SEE! There were publishers like Murali K S of Vasantha Prakashana, who was inviting the next generation to his book stall. “Children need not buy these books. I am only asking them to have a look at the books and get familiar with the names of Kannada’s legendary authors and their works.” 

Sunitha Rao R | TNN 

IN OUR HANDS: Schoolboys lift the Kannada flag at the sammelana 

source :tamis of india