INADEQUATE RESPONSE?: Visitors browsing through books at the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan in Udupi on Friday.

Udupi: Poor sales of books in the last thee days has disappointed some supervisors of the bookstalls at the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan here, while others have been more philosophical in their outlook about the sales.

Sales executive of Navakarnataka Publications Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, S. Ramachandra, told The Hindu here on Friday that his company had brought books worth Rs. 10 lakh for sale at the sammelan. However, he doubted if they could sell books worth Rs. 1 lakh here. He said that the wrong placement of stalls had resulted in low sales. The organisers had given preference to commercial stalls.

“In the 73rd All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, we sold books worth Rs. 5 lakh. However, in the past three days here, we have just sold books worth Rs. 45,000 per day. In Shimoga, we did not have any time to rest, such was the rush. Sales were good at the 71st Sammelan in Moodbidri in 2003. However, in Udupi, it is not a sahitya sammelan but a ‘vanijya sammelan’ (commercial sammelan),” Mr. Ramachandra said.

Prakash, in-charge of Pustaka from Bangalore, which has a book stall, said that commercial stalls had been placed at the entrance of the venue of the sammelan. This was a wrong step. Instead, bookstalls should have been placed there. The haphazard placement had taken its toll on book sales. “When compared to the previous sammelan in Shimoga, the sales are dismal. In Shimoga we sold books worth Rs. 60,000 per day. In the last three days here, we have sold books worth Rs. 60,000. That should tell you how bad the situation is,” he said.

However, Chaudhuri, in-charge of Chethana Book House from Mysore, was philosophical while agreeing that the sale of books in Udupi was less than that at Shimoga. He said that in Shimoga, besides local people, there were visitors from other places to the sammelan. In Udupi, it was mostly the local people who were visiting the sammelan. “Since we had come here with low expectations, the sales have been in tune with our expectations,” he said.

Udupi: The former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts, V.S. Malimath, said on Friday that the Government should take steps to use Kannada in courts in the State in the next five years.

He was speaking at a seminar on legal literature (“Kanoonu Sahitya”) at the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan here.

Mr. Malimath said that in a democracy, people were the sovereign. The voice of people should become the voice of governance.

People have the right to get judgments from courts in the language of the State, he added.

The Government and the judiciary should work to provide judgment in the languages of the States concerned, he said.

Scholars such as Shobha Patil, N.S. Sangolli and M.M. Huli presented their papers.

Sammelan president L.S. Seshagiri Rao, Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Chandrashekhar Patil, and MLC V.S. Acharya, were present.

Udupi: Executive Director of the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) L.H. Manjunath said on Thursday that the implementation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) at Baikampady, near Mangalore, Padubidri in Udupi district and Tadari in Uttara Kannada district would have disastrous consequences on the people and the environment.

He was presenting a paper on “Industrial development in the coastal districts” at the “goshti” (discussion) on “Recent changes in coastal region” at the 74th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelan here.

Mr. Manjunath said the U.S., which mooted the idea of SEZ, gave it up. In China, there were only five SEZs. But the Union Government was planning to set up 200 SEZs in the country. People residing in the areas where the SEZs are planned were being shown rosy dreams of good jobs and a better price for selling their lands.

But the facts about the SEZs proved otherwise, he said. The SEZ implemented at Kandla in Gujarat showed that only 0.01 per cent of people of that area were given employment there. The people who sold their lands later suffered a lot. Mr. Manjunath alleged that SEZs were the agenda of the land mafia, who got land in the name of economic development and later sold it at exorbitant prices. Industries such as IT, education, healthcare and tourism should be encouraged in coastal districts, Mr. Manjunath said.

Speaking on the topic of social changes in coastal districts, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader B. Madhav said casteism was still prevalent in the coastal region. Communalism was on the increase. Mafia activities were increasing here. Naxalites were cashing in on the fear of the tribal people being evicted from the Western Ghats. Some educated people and intellectuals were also supporting the naxalites, he said. But no change could be brought through violence. The Government should solve the problems leading to the rise and sustenance of naxal forces, he said.

Presenting a paper on topic of changes in educational sector, Principal of TMA Pai College of Education, Udupi, Mahabaleshwar Rao said that schools in the primary and secondary education sector had got segregated. Children from the upper classes attended elite schools while those from the poorer strata depended on Government schools, he said.

Convener of Udupi Consumers’ Forum Damodar Aithal presided over the discussion. Scholar Krishna Kothai was present.

Udupi: A media centre has been set up behind the main stage of the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan to cater to the needs of presspersons coming from different parts of the State.

As many as 35 computers with BSNL broadband connections, five fax machines and a photocopying machine have been provided at the centre. Every newspaper has been allocated a separate computer. — Staff Correspondent

Udupi: The Udupi District Police has made elaborate vehicle parking arrangements for the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan being held here from December 12 to 15.

A press release from the Police Department on Tuesday stated that tempos and buses coming for the sammelan should be parked behind Rajangana (behind Krishna temple) and cars and jeeps at MGM Pre-University College grounds (near MGM Ladies Hostel Cross). Two-wheelers should be parked at the V.B. Law College grounds. Vehicles, by which people arrive to participate in the procession on Wednesday, should be parked on the inner roads of Ajjarkad and empty space near Ajjarkad Grounds. Some changes would be made in vehicular traffic during sammelan procession.

All set: The entrance to the Shivarama Karanth Mahamantapa being decorated with a cut-out.

Udupi: The stage is set for the four-day 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, which will begin on Wednesday. There is a festive atmosphere in Udupi, which is dominated by banners heralding the event. There are Kannada flags and buntings along all the streets, especially on Kavi Muddanna Road, the main street. Many autorickshaws and buses are also sporting flags.

The main venue of the sammelan is the A.L.N. Rao Grounds, where the Shivarama Karanth Mahamantapa has been erected. Another mantapa called the Madhava Mantapa has been erected on the Dr. T.M.A. Pai College of Education grounds.

The entrance to the Shivarama Karanth Mahamantapa has been decorated with a cut-out of two fishermen rowing two boats, reflecting one of the chief occupations of the people of Udupi district. Final touches are being given to the “pradhana vedike”, the main stage, which is named after the poet M. Gopalakrishna Adiga.

Twenty-one “goshtis” (discussions) on various topics related to literature will be held at the Shivarama Karanth Mahamantapa and at the Madhava Mantapa. These “goshtis” will also include a “Kavi goshti”, and a “Hanigavana goshti”.

Some of the important “goshtis” will be on topics such as “Latest changes in coastal districts”, “Globalisation and Karnataka”, “Current problems of Karnataka”, “Legal literature”, “Literature and social relevance”, “Usage of Kannada language”, “Kannada movement – past, present and future”, “Mass media” and “Kannada and computers”. They will be presided over by eminent persons such as M. Veerappa Moily, V.S. Malimath, B.V. Nayak, H.K. Patil, K.V. Narayan and M.M. Kalburgi.

Nearly 70 cultural programmes will be held during the sammelan.

The reception committee has made arrangements to serve breakfast and dinner to 25,000 people and serve lunch to 50,000 people. Udupi-style vegetarian food will be served. In order to avoid a rush to the dinning hall, three separate sections have been provided.

According to the general secretary of the reception committee, U.C. Holla, this sammelan will give top priority to promoting books. Five hundred stalls have been reserved for books, while there will be 100 commercial stalls.

Even before it has begun, the sammelan has been marred by charges by various progressive groups that it is “dominated by the Sangh Parivar”. The choice of writer L.S. Seshagiri Rao over writer Vyasaraya Ballal as president of the sammelan has not got down well with these groups, who point to Prof. Rao’s “saffron leanings”.

However, the people of Udupi are looking forward to the sammelan.

The 42nd All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan was held 47 years ago in Manipal. The late writer A.N. Krishnarao was the president of that sammelan.

Udupi: Nearly 70 cultural programmes will be held at the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan here from December 12 to 15. They will be held at ‘Shivarama Karanth Mahamantapa’ at the ALN Rao Grounds and at the ‘Madhava Vedike’ at the nearby T.M.A. Pai College of Education grounds.

The cultural teams in the procession are Shehnai team, “Kolata”, “Chande vadya”, “Karadi mela”, “Simha nritya”, “Dolina padada”, “Karadi majalu”, “Kangilu nritya”, “Bestara kunitha”, “Mahila veeragase” , “Puja kunitha”, “Daphu kunitha”, “Dollu kunitha”, “Navilu kunitha”, “Patada kunitha” and “Dhwaja kunitha”.

Sweet welcome: Sumptuous ladoos being prepared for the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan in Udupi on Monday.

Udupi: The General Secretary of the reception committee of the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, U.C. Holla, said on Monday that preparations for the Kannada meet, to be held here from December 12 to 15, were in the final stages.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Holla said the committee had made some changes in the timings of the programmes on the inaugural day of the meet (December 12). The procession of the sammelan would start at 9.30 a.m. from the Town Hall and would reach the venue of the sammelan at the ALN Rao Grounds at 11.30 a.m. Lunch would be served as soon as the procession reaches the venue for participants of the procession, while those at the venue could have lunch from 11 a.m. onwards. The inaugural function would start at 12.45 p.m. instead of 12 noon as was earlier scheduled.

Nearly 30 cultural troupes from other districts would be participating in the procession, along with troupes from Udupi itself. As many as 25 tableaux would also take part in the procession. A chariot would carry Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and a special vehicle would carry the President of the sammelan, L.S. Seshagiri Rao, and the inaugurator Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, D. Veerendra Heggade.

Nearly 300 cooks have already started preparing sweets and other items for the sammelan. The menu is completely Udupi-style vegetarian food. Only chappatis would be prepared additionally for the delegates coming from other parts of Karnataka. Nearly 2,000 NSS volunteers, 1,000 members of the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), and 250 members of Bharat Seva Dal would be rendering voluntary service at the sammelan, Mr. Holla said.

At the meeting of the reception committee, the president of district unit of State Government Employees Union Anand Ganiga said teachers of Government primary and high schools in Udupi district had been given leave only for one day. They were told to avail OOD (on official duty) facility on the remaining days to attend the sammelan. But if they availed OOD, what about the students in the schools? Unless they are given four-day leave, it would be difficult for them to attend the entire sammelan, he said.

A visibly angry Mr. Holla said he had been urging Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj to hold a meeting to resolve the issue for the last six months, but to no avail. “Do we require such officers? I have attended 15 Kannada Sahitya Sammelans. In other districts the teachers were given leave for four days to attend the sammelans. But here the matter remains unresolved. If four-day leave is not given, then we will divert the sammelan procession to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office,” he said.