Karnataka - Bangalore   

Confluence of cultures hailed

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Annual meet: (From left) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Governor Rameshwar Thakur, Ramakrishna Math general secretary Swami Prabhananda Maharaj, Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman M. Veerappa Moily and sammelan general secretary Jayantho Ghosh at the Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan conference in Bangalore on Thursday.

Bangalore: Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Thursday commended the efforts of Bengalis and Kannadigas in forging a homogeneous blend of the two cultures for over a century, which was enriched by the visits to Bangalore of Swami Vivekananda; Sharada Devi, wife of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa; and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Inaugurating the 80th annual conference of the Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan here, the Governor said Karnataka had the distinction of hosting two such conferences, in 1959 and 1993. It was in 1919 that Tagore stayed at the Balabrooie guesthouse for 15 days as the guest of the Maharaja of Mysore.

Swami Vivekananda visited the city in 1905 and Sharada Devi stayed here for nine days in 1911.

The Ramakrishna Maths in Basavanagudi and Ulsoor also showed the spiritual links between the two States, Mr. Thakur said.

“It is the linguistic diversity that lends colour and richness to our rainbow-like heritage. India is a land of diverse cultures and languages, each one having strong roots and being practised and spoken by millions. Thus, the need to preserve this kind of plurality is also imperative, irrespective of political boundaries,” he said.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is the president of the Tagore Cultural Centre, presided over the sammelan. He dwelt at length on the evolution of Bengali ethnicity, culture and language.

Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman M. Veerappa Moily spoke. Mr. Mukherjee, who introduced Mr. Moily to the gathering, said it was heartening that Mr. Moily, like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the former Chief Minister of Orissa J.B. Patnaik, was also a poet. Mr. Moily is the author of Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam in Kannada.

Rama Ranjan Mukhopadhyay, former Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University; Sunil Moy Ghosh; writer; and Prabhananda Maharaj, general secretary of the Ramakrishna Math, spoke.

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