“Nearly 316 works of one of the earliest saint-poets, Kanakadasa, is available with us on record. It is a pleasure to inaugurate a website in Kannada and English that will be a permanent source of electronic reference material for people across the globe,” said Minister for Kannada & Culture, Umashree, after her formal launch of the ‘Kanaka’ website (www.saintpoetkanaka.in) in the city on Tuesday.
The initiatives of the two-year-old Kanakadasa Study and Research Centre - which has opened up the website - to propagate the saint-poet’s voluminous work now includes digitised information, said Ms. Umashree.
Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa are the foremost among Haridasas. Besides conveying Dwaita (dualism) ideologies and a pious routine, Kanaka advocated equanimity towards fellow human beings in his kritis and other writing, much as he shunned superstition and empty rituals. Kanaka was an embodiment of sincere and principled living that scored him a ‘special darshan’ from the Lord of Udupi, earmarked now as ‘Kanakana Kindi’ at the Krishna Temple premises.
As of now, the Government of Karnataka has given Rs. 1.05 crore to the Kanakadasa Research Centre for their activities. The mega 50-volume project “Karnataka Tatvakaarara Samagra Sahitya” will include works of some pre-eminent saint-poets of Karnataka which is already begun. “Kanakadasa’s repertoire which runs into 1,550 pages of text matter, containing the entire gamut of his kirtane, pada, ugabhoga, mundige and literary work ( Nala Charitre, Hari Bhakthi Saara, Ramadhanya Charitre and his Kavya Kritigalu ) would be rendered by nearly 22 vidwans and brought in CD format,” said K.T. Chikkanna, Co-ordinating Officer, Kanakadasa Research Centre. “In a rare endeavour, we are also organising ‘Kanaka Gombeyaata’ stage shows by Belagal Veeranna for bringing the poets glory in puppetry,” added Mr. Chikkanna.
Special Guest Chiranjeev Singh, former ambassador said, “Kanaka is one of the most attractive figures of our bhakthi movement who saw a transformation from Thimappa Nayaka of Haveri district to Kanakadasa. “He shunned his sword to accept poetry, music and literature in the 14 century representing both gnana and bhakthi ,” he said. “Who else could spin-off a dialogue between the rich rice and down-to-earth ragi as a metaphor brought out in his Ramadhanya Charitre for bringing oneness?” said Mr. Singh. Mr. K.A. Dayanand, of the Research Centre also spoke on the occasion.
