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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Literary critics have been unfair to writers with a social consciousness , says Baragur Ramachandrappa
Writer Baragur Ramachandrappa said, literary critics have been unfair to writers with a social consciousness. They tend to think that such writers are less creative than others. He was speaking at an event where he was presented with an award, instituted by the Basavaraj Kattimani Trust, on Monday by Minister for Public Works Satish Jarkiholi. 'The progressive writers, women novelists and popular writers were looked down by critics. Writers like A.N. Kru, Basavaraj Kattimani, and Niranjana were discarded for decades. They were branded as popular literature and not creative literature. But they fail to see that they had fuelled a massive growth of readers. Serious theatre can not an identity that is isolated from professional theatre. Mr. Kattimani and Niranjan's novels were recognised decades after their death. It does not mean they were writers of low quality. But it was because the critics did not have the required sensibilities. But then, things changed over time. Kannada has produced a rich harvest of great critics,' he said. He said he was very happy to receive an award in the name of Basavaraj Kattimani. 'Mr Kattimani produced one of the boldest works in Kannada as he was fearless. That courage came from his personal integrity. It is very difficult to write such novels again,' he said. He called for continued friendship among writers, despite ideological differences. 'Nowadays, we have forgotten that. We tend to turn our friends into enemies just because they follow ideologies different from ours. Conversation should go on among people of different ideological groups,' he said. He gave examples of Ram Manohar Lohia and Jawaharlal Nehru. 'They were strong critics of each other. But they were never enemies. They continued to be friends,'' he said. Several years ago, B.S. Yediyurappa, who was in the opposition, strongly opposed a Bill about displacing forest dwellers and sat on dharna. The Bill was moved by Forest Minister B. Rachaiah who came around and agreed to the points raised by Mr. Yediyurappa. But in the last decade, we have lost this art of agreeing to disagree. We are trying to use language rooted in feudal mindset, he said. He said there was a lot of prejudice against people like him, but he rose above it. 'I never thought I would be a writer. The insults suffered in childhood due to my caste and my poverty made me a writer. I became a socialist before studying sociology, due to the prejudice and insults I suffered,' he said. Ravindranath Tagore inspired me through his works and paintings. I began to read and write only to get recognition from teachers and classmates. I took it as a challenge and began wide reading and writing. I copied a song from the film Ohileshwara of Dr. Rajkumar and wrote a poem about a classmate who dropped out of school. That became very popular in school, he said. He recalled all his teachers from middle school to university, like M. Nagabhushan, H.S. Biligiri Chidambar Dixit, H. Narasimhaiah and Satyanarayan. If not for them, I would never be a reader, let alone a writer, he said. Trust chairman Yallappa Himmadi, members, Rani Channamma university Vice-Chancellor, C.M. Tyagaraj, Kiran Gajanur of Central university of Karnataka and others were present.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Basavaraj Kattimani trust award presented to Baraguru Ramachandrappa
The Basavaraj Kattimani Trust presented its annual award for novel writing to veteran writer and film maker Baraguru Ramachandrappa in Belagavi on Monday. Resource persons, including writers, critics and former students of Prof. Ramachandrappa spoke in various sessions about his life and work at an event in the Sangolli Rayanna first grade college. Vinaya Vakkund, president of the Betageri Krishna Sharma Trust, spoke about his literature. She said that he had produced over 60 books in various forms of writing like novels, poetry, dramas, scripts, dialogues and songs for films. 'This is no ordinary writing. It is literature that stems out of self-respect and ideological commitment. Prof. Ramachandrappa is deeply influenced by the ideologies of Buddha, Basavanna and Dr. Ambedkar. His writing is the essence of the preachings of these saints and cultural leaders,' she said. She said that the characters in his works spoke against social evils like class and caste discrimination, and batted for gender equality. Rajappa Dalwai, writer and actor, spoke about the films of Prof. Ramachandrappa. 'He has directed 24 films till now, and has won an award for each of them. Most of them have been screened in international film festivals. He believes that cinema is a world language, that not only provides entertainment, but also makes us reflect on the various humanistic values and the crisis in human life, Prof. Dalwai said. His works form a significant portion of the alternative cinema in Kannada. However, he has worked in both commercial and art films and has managed to smoothly transition from using reels to digital technologies. He has won awards for the script, dialogue and songs he has penned for films of other directors. His films have been advocating equality and human dignity. For example, Ondu Oorina Kathe, made in 1978 spoke of caste system and zamindari system. HIs film Shanti entered the Guinness book of records, for a film portraying only one character. Prof. Ramachandrappa has worked with stars like Shivaraj Kumar and veteran theatre artists like B.V. Karanth and writer Chandrashekar Kambar. He is a filmmaker with a social consciousness, Prof. Dalwai said. The two volumes of Kannada film history that he edited are milestones in documenting Indian cinema, he said. A.B. Ramachandrappa, coordinator of Manava Bandhutva Vedike, spoke about Prof. Ramachandrappa's personality traits. He described him as a 'teacher of teachers'. 'He has inspired a generation of students and teachers. His polite demeanour and the character to mingle with people of all ages are exceptional. His professional achievements are above the ordinary. They stem out of his strict discipline, healthy habits, and hard working nature. He was instrumental in the government granting five percent reservation for kannada medium students,' Mr. Ramachandrappa said. Gurupada Mariguddi, critic, said Prof. Ramachandrappa deserved an award instituted in the name of Basavaraj Kattimani as both were considered rebellious. Being a journalist, Mr. Kattimani expressed his angst through his newspaper and his novels. Prof. Ramachandrappa has done this through his writing and through his work as chairman of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Kannada Development Authority. He is like a pro-Kannada warrior. He has learnt not only to work with academicians and creative writers, but also with various government agencies, Prof. Mariguddi said. Manu Baligar, former chairman of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and writer D.S. Chougale, spoke during the inauguration. Trust chairman Yallappa Himmadi, members Manjula Biradar, J.P. Doddamani, K.R. Siddagangamma, Hamidabegum Desai, Somanath Chikkanaragund, Vishnu M. Shindhe, Vithal Dalwai, member secretary Vidyavati Bhajantri and others were present.
