Balavana — the place where Kota Shivaram Karanth stayed in Puttur, 70 km from Mangalore — will have an added attraction: a gallery showcasing paintings on the litterateur’s works. It was opened on Saturday.
The gallery situated next to the swimming pool in Balavana has 60 paintings by artists on works namely Chigurida Kanasu , Oudaryada Urulalli , and Kanya Bali . It also has a 10-foot mural showing a scene from Yakshagana directed by Karanth. It is a replica of a line drawing done by artiste K.K. Hebbar. The mural has been made by Bangalore-based Vasudeva.
Rs. 1 crore project
This gallery, built at a cost of Rs. 1 crore, has paintings on Karanth’s novels namely Apoorva Pashima , Kathari Vaibhava and Maimanagala Suliyalli painted by artistes Rajendra Kedige, Rani Rekha, M.S. Murthy, Purushottam Adve, Suresh Chandra Datta, illustrator Chandrakant, Ramesh Rao, Babu Rao, and Mohan Sona. Two camps were held at the Balavana twice between February and April where they were made.
The gallery was inaugurated by Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai. MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Puttur MLA T. Shakunatala Shetty, and Puttur Assistant Commissioner Prasanna, took part in the function.
