Karnataka   

‘Gilivindu project can foster better ties between States’

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

mega project: Kerala Minister for Education and Culture M.A. Baby (centre), chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission M. Veerappa Moily and Secretary, Kannada and Culture I.M. Vittalamurthy (right) at the foundation laying function for the Gilivindu project at Manjeshwar in Kasaragod district on Sunday.

MANJESHWAR (Kerala): Karnataka and Kerala joined hands to pay tribute to Rashtrakavi Manjeshwar Govinda Pai on his 125th birth centenary by laying the foundation stone for “Gilivindu” project here on Sunday.

The project aims at building a befitting memorial — Gilivindu — at an estimated cost of Rs. 2 crore.

It comprises, among other things, an open-air theatre and venue for staging plays.

M.A. Baby, Kerala Minister for Education and Culture, who laid the foundation stone, said the two governments could leverage their collective strengths to bring pressure on the Centre to fund the project.

“We — the States and the Centre — may have political differences on issues.

However, this will not come in the way of executing the project,” Mr. Baby said and added that greater good would come from such cooperation.

Lauding the literary achievements of Govinda Pai, who was born in this town in 1883, Mr. Baby said he was one of the trend-setters in modern Kannada poetry.

The house of the versatile poet should become a centre for cultural pilgrimage.

The ideals that the poet stood for and his love for the mother tongue should guide all those who were enamoured by their love for English at the cost of their own language, he said.

Stressing the need for all concerned to chip in to fund the project, Mr. Baby said: “Do not apportion responsibility in a miserly manner.” Stressing the need for a large-hearted approach to facilitate early completion of the project, Mr. Baby said contribution should be commensurate to the economic strength of the donors.

“The respective State governments have each agreed to contribute Rs. 25 lakh for the project,” he noted.

M. Veerappa Moily, chairman, Administrative Reforms Commission, who inaugurated the function, said the two State governments with assistance from the Centre would strive to complete the project in a time-bound manner.

“I am looking at a time frame of two to three years,” he said and added, “the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni has agreed to release Rs. 1 crore for the Gilivindu project.”

Observing that Govinda Pai was not merely a poet, but a researcher par excellence, Mr. Moily said he was of the firm belief that languages could grow only when it learnt to adopt new words into its vocabulary.

Expressing the hope that the Gilivindu would come up as a national project, Mr. Moily called on all concerned to treat it as their own project and not like a government project.

“This is our tribute to the poet,” he said.

I.M. Vittalamurthy, Secretary, Kannada and Culture, who released a souvenir, said the State Government was committed to executing this national-level project.

“We have already released Rs. 25 lakh for it in 2007-08 and would release a like amount in 2008-09,” he said.

Every effort would be made to ensure that the fruit of works of research of the poet was taken to the common man, Mr. Vittalamurthy added.

Siddalingaiah, chairman, Kannada Development Authority, conferred the Govinda Pai National Award on writer L. Basavaraju.

C.H. Kunhambu, MLA, presided over the function. B. V. Kakkilaya, secretary, Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Memorial Committee, welcomed the gathering. P. Karunakaran, Kasaragod MP, Cherkalam Abdulla, former Kerala Minister, and local elected representatives were present.

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