Week-long campaign on Kannada to precede Rajyotsava

It seeks to promote use of Kannada in talking, writing and on social media

Kannada and Culture Minister Sunil Kumar releasing the catchline of the ‘Kannadakkaagi Naavu’ campaign in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The State Government will launch a week-long campaign titled ‘Kannadakkaagi Naavu’ (We for Kannada) from October 24 to 30, the week preceding Kannada Rajyotsava which falls on November 1. This is aimed at creating a “Kannada ambience” by encouraging everyone to speak and transact in the language.

The campaign, which goes with a logo and a catchline ( Maataad Maataad Kannada) , also seeks to teach Kannada to non-Kannadigas and encourage people working in the IT/BT sector to speak in the language at office, a release from the Department of Kannada and Culture said.

The campaign also aims to promote the use of Kannada on social media and acquaint the public with the works of famous Kannada writers.

The Kannada and Culture Department also plans to organise a ‘Kannada Samskrutika Utsava’ comprising theatre shows and dance and music programmes depicting the importance of Karnataka and Kannada. It will showcase cultural programmes in all the wards of Bengaluru city, on the premises of IT/BT firms, and at factories, metro stations, and the Vidhana Soudha.

An event will be held at Ravindra Kalakshetra of Bengaluru from October 29 to 31. It will have a book exhibition, ethnic dress display, and food, art and sculpture melas. It will also include cultural programmes.

The department plans to organise a mass rendition of three popular Kannada songs by one lakh people at 11.06 a.m. on October 28. The songs —

Baarisu Kannada dindimava by Kumvempu,

Jogada siri belakinalli by Nisar Ahmed, and

Huttidare Kannada Nadalli Huttabeku by Hamsalekha — will be sung on the premises of government offices and educational institutions, the release said.

Speaking contest

How many people can speak in Kannada fluently without using words from English or other languages? A competition is being organised by the Kannada and Culture Department in which the participants have to speak only in Kannada.

They have to send across a four-minute video selfie of themselves speaking fluently in the language. The winners at the district level will get cash rewards of ₹5,000 (first prize), ₹3,000 (second prize), and ₹2,000.

The district-level winners will be chosen for the State-level contest, which will have cash prizes of ₹50,000, ₹30,000, and ₹20,000 for the top there. October 28 is the last date for receiving the video recordings. Details can be found on the website of the department.