The Hindu : Karnataka / Hassan News : `Nenapina Mantapa' to be inaugurated today

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Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Hassan

`Nenapina Mantapa' to be inaugurated today

By Our Staff Correspondent

HASSAN, OCT. 20. The "Nenapina Mantapa" at Halmidi village in Belur taluk, where the earliest Kannada inscription was found, will be inaugurated by the former Prime Minister and Hassan MP, H.D. Deve Gowda, on Thursday.

Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, the president of the district unit of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP), H.B. Madana Gowda, said that the former Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily, would preside over the function.

The Minister for Public Works and Energy, H.D. Revanna, would be the chief guest.

Felicitated

The president of central unit of the KSP, Harikrishna Punaroor, would release a booklet written by Srivatsa S. Vati, designer of the memorial, on the occasion. Elected representatives, including B.R. Gurudev and S.M. Anand, MLCs; H.K. Kumaraswamy, MLA; the president of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, G.T. Indira; the Deputy Commissioner, K.H. Ashwathanarayana Gowda; the Superintendent of Police, Panduranga H. Rane; and the chief executive officer, M.O. Nagaraj, would participate in the function.

Dr. Vati, H.N. Narayana Gowda and H.N. Siddarame Gowda, who have donated land for the construction of memorial, would be felicitated, Mr. Gowda added.

Postponed

Though the construction of the memorial was completed last year, the inauguration scheduled in November 2003 was postponed owing to political differences between the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) workers.

The situation in the village was back to normal after a peace committee was formed, he said. The Halmidi inscription, dated 450 A.D., has put an end to many controversies surrounding the evolution of Kannada. It is the earliest known record of Kannada characters.

The language used in the inscription is known as "poorvada halegannada" (primitive Kannada), and has distinctive characteristics and resembles the Tamil script.

Neglected

Mr. Gowda said that the stone tablet, which was neglected over centuries, was found in front of the mud fort in Halmidi village and was later moved to the Veerabhadra temple. M.H. Krishna, noted archaeologist, was surprised to find that the inscription was in Brahmi script.

He concluded that it was the oldest Kannada inscription available.

He published the details of his study in the Mysore Archaeological Report and shifted the inscription to the Archaeological Museum, Mysore, and later to the Government Museum, Bangalore.

Study

The inscription had become a subject of study for those researching the Kannada script, its etymology, and Dravidian linguistics.

Noted linguists and writers, including T.V. Venkatachala Shastry, M. Chidananda Murthy, D.L. Narasimhachar, and M.M. Kalburgi, have studied the inscription and published papers.

Epigraphia Karnataka had also dedicated a chapter to the study of the inscription, he added.

Mr. Gowda regretted that though Halmidi had made a significant contribution to Kannada culture and literature, the village was neglected until recently.

He said that the KSP had taken steps to make it an important centre for students of literature and linguistics.

Fibreglass replica

As the inscription could not be read easily, a fibreglass replica has been installed at the memorial.

Mr. Gowda said that he was indebted to the Government for releasing Rs. 1 lakh for the construction of the memorial and thanked the former Minister for Kannada and Culture Rani Satish for her interest in rejuvenating Halmidi.

He recalled the contribution of the members of the Belur Taluk Panchayat, who had contributed Rs. 5,000 each for the construction of the memorial.

Chandrakala, former vice-president of the zilla panchayat, had donated Rs. 1 lakh from her fund, he added.

With the inauguration of the memorial, the tourism potential of the district would double, he said.

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`Nenapina Mantapa' to be inaugurated today