Mangalore: Abbakka Utsava enthrals public

DHNS

Mangalore, 31 May 2010: Veerarani Abbakka Utsava - 2010 was celebrated under the aegis of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy in association with Veerarani Abbakka Utsava Samiti at the Chandappa Memorial Auditorium in Thokkottu near here on Sunday. Veteran ‘Pad-dana’ singer Neelamma Poojarthi inaugurated the festival.

Addressing after inaugurating the cultural programmes organised as part of the festival, Dakshina Kannada District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kumar Kalkura emphasised that the government should introduce the saga of Veerarani Abbakka in school curriculum.

The patriotic saga of Veerarani Abbakka should be taught to the younger generation. People should join hands and strive to build Veerarani Abbakka Bhavana, he added.

He called upon Tulu, Kannada, Malayalam, Beary, Konkani and English writers in the region to write books on life and history of Abbakka. Literary works on legendary life of Veerarani Abbakka can enliven her memories in people’s mind.

Speaking after inaugurating the literary sessions, Mangalore MLA U T Khader assured that he will discuss about the demand of introducing history of Veerarani Abbakka in the school curriculum in the Assembly session. He said that teachers in schools also should give priority to value based education in addition to curriculum.

Fr Muller Medical College Administrator Fr Denis D’Sa said that literature, art and music unites people. Mangaloreans are peace loving and compassionate that they united forgetting their caste, community and religion when aircrash tragedy struck, he said and questioned, “should we wait for a tragedy to unite or should we unite to avert tragedies.”

Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy Chairman Abdul Rehman, former MLA K Jayaram Shetty, Tulu researcher Dr Vaman Nandavara, Zilla Panchayat President Santhosh Kumar Bhandary, Taluk Panchayat President Ramachandra Kumpala, Women and Child Welfare Department Deputy Director Shakunthala and District Congress Committee President Ivan D’Souza were the guests.

The festival, which was scheduled to be held on May 22 and 23, was postponed in the wake of aircrash tragedy. There were plans to celebrate the festival in a vibrant manner. However, the aircrash tragedy has lessened the spirit and the celebrations were limited to one day.