The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Settar’s book breaks new ground in research’

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

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Settar’s book breaks new ground in research’

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Historian S. Settar’s latest work on early Dravidian relationships strengthens Kannada’s claim to classical language status, Kannada poet Siddalinga Pattanasetty has said.

He was speaking at the launch of Prof. Settar’s “Sangam Tamilagam mattu Kannada Naadu-Nudi”, the 100th publication of Abhinava, here on Tuesday. The work presented an argument for such a recognition more forcefully than agitations, he said.

Making a presentation on the book, critic Ki. Ram. Nagaraj said it broke new ground in research by questioning some of the strongest theoretical assumptions made in the last century about Kannada language and culture.

“It dares to move away from the established models of research and digs into new sources of knowledge”, he said. A work of this kind was a dire need in the Kannada context, Mr. Nagaraj said, since a substantial body of existing research work was either superficial or highly emotional.

The work was unique for the way it gathered details from many disciplines and presented an argument through creative assemblage, Mr. Nagaraj said.

It illustrated that cultures and literatures were not created by emperors and big dynasties, but by little traditions of ordinary people, he argued.

Playwright and MLC Chandrashekhar described it as a seminal work that forces a re-think on the roots of Kannada and culture.

Prof. Settar said that he, as a historian, was more interested in provoking thought through arguments rather than offeing definitive conclusions.

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