The decade-long dream of having a Kannada studies Chair at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has finally been realised. The chair started functioning at the Centre for Indian Languages from October 1 and scholar Purushothama Bilimale assumed office as the chairperson.
Language teaching, literary and cultural studies, and digital archiving are the primary activities of the Centre. It will also have certificate courses, online production of Kannada teaching material, and building up an international network of Kannada teaching centres.
Though the Department of Kannada and Culture and the Kannada Development Authority have long been planning to set up a Chair at JNU, the idea gained momentum only after 2004. It crystallised in 2014 with the formation of a subcommittee comprising of T.S. Satyanath, Venkatachala Hegde and Prof. Bilimale.
The subcommittee put forward two proposals: setting up a full-fledged department with a one-time grant, or a chair with an annual grant. Finally, the latter was agreed upon with an annual grant of Rs. 50 lakh for five years.
The search committee, comprising scholars S. Shettar, B.A. Vivek Rai and H.S. Shivaprakash zeroed in on Prof. Bilimale, an expert in cultural studies, Kannada folk literature and Yakshagana art form as the first chairperson.
The Hindu spoke to the scholar on the road ahead. Excerpts from the interview:
Q.How will Kannada benefit with the opening of the Chair?
A. JNU has its own standing in international academics. Students from across the world come here for inter-disciplinary comparative studies. Though Hindi, Urdu, Bangla and Tamil languages have their chairs here, there was no presence of Kannada. The Chair will work towards disseminating the rich history and culture of Kannada.
What are your plans to attract students?
Students of the Centre for Indian Languages will study Kannada as a subject. If they opt for comparative study, the Kannada Chair will help them with academic input. A few students have already shown interest in the comparative study of Shivaram Karanth and Rabindranath Tagore.
What will be your initial priorities?
My plan is to start a programme for M.Phil. and Ph.D. in the next three months. Creating an online Kannada teaching portal to meet the needs of non-resident Kannadigas is another priority.
What is your long-term plan for the Chair?
Translations of landmark works in Kannada into other languages and comparative literary and feminist studies are my priority.
My plan is to introduce non-fiction and rationalistic works of writers such as Shamba Joshi, A.N. Murthy Rao, D.R. Nagaraj, and others. I also plan to organise seminars on folk forms in other parts of the country.
