Kodagu District Kannada Sahitya Parishat, in association with the V.K. Gokak National Trust, Haveri, is organising a one-day programme on the life and literary achievements of V.K. Gokak, a Jnanpith award winner, on the Patrika Bhavan premises here on June 23.

The programme will be inaugurated by the former president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Bangalore, Chandrashekar Patil (Champa), the president of the parishat, T.P. Ramesh, told presspersons here on Friday.

Many writers and intellectuals did not believe that Gokak would provide justice to Kannada when the Gokak Commission was set up by the State Government during R. Gundu Rao’s regime. However, when the reports came out on according top priority to Kannada as a medium of education everyone was surprised, he said.

The Gokak movement went on successfully in Kodagu for one and half months where Kannada activists staged dharnas in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here, organised a Kodagu bandh and took out torchlight parades, apart from programmes in the taluks, Mr. Ramesh said.

He recalled the incident of Kannada activists courting arrest for waving black flags during the visit of the then Chief Minister, late R. Gundu Rao, demanding the implementation of the Gokak report.

Mr. Ramesh would preside over the inaugural function while Taltaje Vasanth Kumar from Uppinangadi would deliver the main speech.

An elocution competition would be conducted on the Gokak movement in the State involving pre-university students, teachers training college students and ITI students on June 20 at the Patrika Bhavan, Mr. Ramesh said.

On the same day, a folk song competition would be conducted for SSLC students.

Teachers from schools would be involved in an essay competition on the life and literary achievements of Gokak.

They would have to submit the essays to the president of the Kodagu District Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Madikeri, before June 22, Mr. Ramesh said.

M. Ramakrishna, professor from Bharati College, Mandya, would deliver the valedictory address at 3 p.m. the same day.

Writer N. Mahabaleshwar Bhat would preside over the function. The president of the Madikeri unit of the parishat, K.T. Baby Mathew, and the honorary secretary of the district unit, Bharati Ramesh, were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / Staff Correspondent / National / Karnataka / Madikeri / June 19th, 2010