The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Kalburgi’s remarks divide literary world

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Kalburgi’s remarks divide literary world

K.N. Venkatasubba Rao

G. Venkatasubbaiah says Kuvempu’s ’nada geethe’ should not be abridged

Javare Gowda terms remarks irrelevant
Chandrashekar Patil supports Kalburgi

BANGALORE: Scholar M.M. Kalburgi’s reported observation on what constitutes a nada geethe (State anthem) has triggered a debate in literary and cultural circles.

At a function in Belgaum on Sunday, Prof. Kalburgi reportedly said: “We have not been able to find a good nada geethe. Some people are of the view that incorporating the names of rivers, saints, religions and writers will make a nada geethe. Is it not possible to produce a better and intense nada geethe?”

Although Prof. Kalburgi had not made any reference to the officially accepted “nada geethe” based on Jnanpith Award winner Kuvempu’s poem Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujaathe, many have reacted sharply.

The former Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University D. Javare Gowda reportedly said Prof. Kalburgi’s observation was not right and relevant.

G. Venkatasubbaiah, a scholar, told The Hindu that the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, then headed by G. Narayana, was responsible for according the “nada geethe” status to Kuvempu’s poem. Prior to it, the late Huyilugola Narayana Rao’s Udayavaagali Namma Cheluva Kannada Naadu was considered as the “nada geethe” and sung with reverence.

He said Prof. Kalburgi had only suggested to explore the possibility of producing a succinct “nada geethe” with a perspective. There was a clear distinction between adopting a popular poem as the “nada geethe” and producing exclusive lyric for the purpose, Prof. Venkatasubbaiah said.

In the light of complaints about the length and the differing tunes in which the “nada geethe” was being sung, all those people concerned should discuss the issue in detail. Any attempt to abridge the poem for the rendering purpose would disturb the harmony of the poem and affect its sense, he said.

Expressing a similar opinion, Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Chandrashekhar Patil said the Government should enforce the G.S. Shivarudrappa Committee’s recommendations on the issue.

Scholar M. Chidananda Murthy said the existing “nada geethe” was perfect. The poem should be abridged appropriately for facilitating its rendering within four minutes. The Prof. Shivarudrappa Committee, which was asked to suggest a befitting tune for the rendition of the “nada geethe”, had recommended that the music composed by the late Mysore Ananthaswamy was apt.

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