The process of choosing the next Rashtrakavi of Karnataka got off to an official start on Wednesday, with the 14-member search committee holding its first meeting.
According to one of the members who attended the meeting, there was discussion on setting the “parameters” for selecting a “person of high stature” to the prestigious position, which is held by a writer for a lifetime. “Since this is the first time that the selection is happening through a committee, it is important to set certain sound parameters in place,” said the member.
One of the strong opinions that emerged in the meeting was that the writer to be named for this position should be a person who “upholds the secular tradition of Karnataka and is known for his/her progressive views”. It should be a person who has led an “exemplary” life, he added.
Opinions to be soughtIn a bid to make the process broad-based and democratic, there was a proposal to write letters to 120 senior writers in Karnataka to suggest two names for the position. “The suggestion will not be binding on the committee, but it will be a way of eliciting opinion from a larger group of opinion-makers,” said the member.
While no specific names were discussed in the meeting, the names of three senior writers — Chennaveera Kanavi, K.S. Nissar Ahmed and Chandrashekar Kambar — have been doing the rounds.
Manjeshwar Govinda Pai was the first to be conferred the title of Rashtrakavi in 1949. Jnanpith Award winner Kuvempu was conferred the title in 1964 followed by G.S. Shivarudrappa in 2006.
