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N A M A S K A R
W
E L C O M E
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50
Years of Delhi Karnataka Sangha
When the nation was experiencing the birth pangs of a well fought freedom, the idea of the Sangha as a social & cultural association was being conceived in a small gathering at the
courtyard of late Sri V Narahari Rao in the midst of a handful eminent Kannadigas like Sri A V Pai,
Sri S R S Raghavan, Sri K R S Acharya, Sri Y K Murthy, Sri H S Ranghaswamy, Sri H S Patil, Sri G M Kulkarni, Sri K R Potdar, Sri B S Dasharathi, Sri Shama Rao and
others.
The first executive committee formed in 1948 had Sri Narahari Rao as the President, Sri Raghavan as the General Secretary, Sri K R S Acharya as the Joint Secretary. One of its first prominent functions was the celebration of the India's first independence day with Bapuji's photo at the head of 20-25 Kanndiga's procession along the Parliament Street. Since then the Sangha has seen and grown with the nation's fifty years of post independence era. The Sangha has been the emergence of the state of Mysore as an integrated whole and rechristened of the state's name as Karnataka in 1973. It may,
therefore, be apt to say the life and growth of the Delhi Karnataka Sangha has been inter-woven with the main stream of national life and its resurgence. The Sangha has been busy in carving out for itself a special position in the state's as well as as capital's cultural life. It was indeed, a modest
beginning.
The love for Kannada was the common bond that brought those enthusiastic people together to have a meeting place. Out of all those eminent persons whom we can describe properly as the founder
members only two octogenarians Sri K R S Acharya and Sri K R Potdar are amongst us today. Sri Acharya was the first Joint
Secretary of the first working committee and General secretary of
second working committee.
Since then many illustrious persons have contributed their mite to the growth of the
institution as a big cultural organizations. Amongst them Sri A V Pai, Dr V K R Rao, Sri Raghavan, Sri S V Krishnamurthy Rao, Sri R R Diwakar, Sri D P Karmarkar and others, have left indelible
impressions. The membership fee was one rupee per head. People used to assemble at the bungalow of Sri Narahari Rao, Sri R R Diwakar or at Sri S V Krishnamurthy Rao's residence. Invariably the meeting and activities used to be inter-linked with the festivals like Nadahabba, Ugadi, Deepavali, etc. Some youngsters started taking active interest in collecting Kannada books and started library which was named after Mudaveed Krishna Rao. The then His Highness Jayachamaraja Wodeyar was
felicitated by the Sangha when he visited New Delhi.
This association was given a legal shape and form when under the leadership of Sri S V Krishnamurthy, it came to be registered as a literary and cultural organization in the year 1953. The promotee members who had affixed their signatures were Sarva Sri S V Krishnamurthy Rao, Sri K H Ranga Rao, C K Tirumalesh, B N Sathyanarayana, N K Shankara Rao, Krishna Murthy and B V Shastri. Ever since then the Sangha had been engaging in meaningful activities. The credit of staging the Kannada drama "PURANDARA DASA" from out of the indigenous materials goes to our veteran
dramatist and the present chairman of the cultural committee Sri H S Kulkarni in 1956. He took the lead role of 'Purandara Dasa' whereas Smt Lalitha Kulkarni played the wife's role. The drama was directed by one of the founder members Sri H S Patil. Sri S V Krishnamurthy Rao was the chief guest. Thereafter the plays of T P Kailasam were staged. The Horanada Kannadigara Sammelana was successfully held soon thereafter.
The Sangha had a real head start when Sri K C Reddy, minister for works & housing, was instrumental in getting a centrally located site at Lodi estate in the name of the Sangha. With all pomp and show a Kannada School was housed in the said site. It has now blossomed into a very big Senior Secondary School. The first managing committee of this Kannada School was the same as that of the Delhi Karnataka Sangha.
However, for the purpose of getting necessary grants, the Education Society had to be separately registered and the site of the Sangha had to be transfered to its name. The Sangha was again
driven to go in search of shelter. Dr Sarojini Mahishi's residence for quite a long time provided such shelter when her
courtyard became the center of many activities. During her long
innings as the President of the Sangha between 1966 and 1983, She was instrumental in getting the present site and the building at R K Puram. A firm foothold and a shelter over the head was possible on account of this building. The struggle and strain which were put in by the office bearers and the other members like Dr Sarojini Mahishi, Sri B K Seethatram, Sri B G Acharya, Sri N H Deshpande, Sri Bhende, Sri Narayan, Sri G R Inamdar, Sri Rathanakar, Sri S Gopal Shastri and others, deserve to be recorded in golden letters. Finally the existing building was inaugurated in 1977 by Sri B D Jatti, the then acting President of India.
During this phase of the Sangha's life, we also see that it entered an unfortunate era of ego clashes coupled with the attempts to perpetuate individual holds over the sangha. Hence Delhi Karnataka Sangha Trust was created and there was large scale resentment against the same. At the same time, the Sangha had landed itself into a
financial strait with the piling of building loans, house tax, etc. 65% of the
Sangha building was leased out to the bank at a paltry sum. The organisational strength of membership had dwindled down to double figures. There was naturally along drawn struggle to extricate the Sangha from this tangle and the Kannadigas succeeded in their
endeavor. It nearly took a decade for the
Sangha to wipe off the ugly scars of this period. It pains us to note that the upheavals witnessed by the Sangha during these days had to be sorted out by no less persons than the two Ex Chief Justices of Patna High Court and Delhi High Court who were appointed as Election Commissioners to hold elections to the working committee of the Sangha.
This marked a decisive transition in Sangha's life over to a period of real resurrection wherein we see participation by large section of the Kannadigas from different walks of life in the rebuilding of the Sangha. After 1983 almost all best dramas from Karnataka used to be staged in Delhi. Almost all young promising dancers, musicians and other artists were provided with a platform at the national capital. Other literary activities also flourished. So much so, the number of cultural
programs and their quality out beat that of such programs even in the capital of Karnataka. The Government of Karnataka started showing increasing interest in rendering financial assistance and sponsoring different teams. Various academics in Karnataka started sponsoring
programs. The department of Information and Publicity and the Directorate of Kannada and Culture started looking up and treating Delhi Karnataka Sangha as one of their extended wings.
A devoted team of lawyers, accountants worked day and night to get a proper legal shape to the different facets of the Sangha in as much as the Sangha was rooted formally in a
scientifically designed democratic set up. The constitution of the Sangha was drastically amended to make it consistent with the increasing demands of the changing time. The organisational strength shot up to four figures from double figures. The Sangha was recognised as a charitable trust under Section 12(A) of the Income Tax Act after the accounts were finalised and audited by Chartered Accountants. The MPs and other leaders from Karnataka extended their helping hand to sort out the problems with Sangha's tenant Canara Bank.
The issue relating to the tax liability which had become final at the highest court was reopened and resettled successfully. As a result of this, the building loans to the extent of Rs 14 lakhs were all cleared and by about 1990, the Sangha was resurrected and
reestablished on proper lines with a steady income of more than Rs. 1 lakh per month. Not only
that, the Sangha started saving substantial sums towards its dream of
realising the long cherished ambition of a cultural complex. In 1990, the Sangha had a solid fixed deposit of more than Rs. 20 lakhs byway of savings, even while generously carrying on
multi-faceted activities regularly. The Sangha started expanding its
activities in the educational field, started recognising talented students and awarding scholarships. After 1990 during the brief period of Shri N P Bhat and Sri C V Gopinath, there was a big boost to cultural and literary activities. The literary periodically of the Sangha
- ABHIMATA was launched very effectively by then.
We also see during this phase springing up of other small Kannada associations in different parts of Delhi. The vastness of the city, its strange vagaries of weather, increasing transportation problems and
above all increasing strains on the time dictated the need for such small but very meaningful Kannada associations. The Sangha, however, continued as the central focal point for all the associations and provided an umbrella under which all the multifarious activities of the Kannadigas relating to the language and culture took an entirely new dimension. Thus the Delhi Karnataka
Sangha blossomed into a federal set up. The Sangha has also launched a CONFEDERATION of outside Kannada associations under the presidentship of Sri S Gopal Shastry.
The increasing popularity of its literary monthly ABHIMATA besides providing a link amongst Kannadigas and the Sangha has now started fulfilling the creative aspirations of the Kannadigas in Delhi and is looking forward to build a bridge with the kannadigas all over the world. The credits go to the concerned and collective efforts of Kannadigas in the capital. To name particularly a few
persons would be doing injustice to the collective efforts of the Delhi Kanndigas. However, the Sangha will be failing in its duty if it does not acknowledge the contributions of Sri S Gopal Shastry, Sri K R Nagaraja, Sri G Y Krishnan, Sri A P
Kumtakar, Sri B G Acharya, Sri M Veerappa, Sri K B Shetty, Sri M B Samaga, Sri N P Bhat, Shri S Krishna Bhat, Sri C V Gopinath, Sri I Ramamohan Rao, Sri S G Hedge, Dr Ahalaya Chintamani, Sri H S Kulkarni, Sri M H Poojari, Smt Jyotsna Rao, Smt Subha Sinnur Das, Sri T D Salian, Sri B F Murgod and others. Dr Venkatachala Hegde, the present secretary of the Sangha has been the main architect behind ABHIMATA ever since it
inception.
During this period, the Sangha had an advantage of inviting and receiving the blessings of many
illustrious personalities like Sri K V Puttappa, dr Shivaram Karanth, Prof U R Anantha Murthy, Dr Amrita Pritam, Dr Raja Ramanna,
shri Khushwant Singh and eminent intellectuals from different languages, writers,
journalists and theatre artists and recently to cement the bond with Karnataka and Kannada culture and Art , the Sangha has launched a Film Club with a determination to screen
at least one best Kannada film a month. Almost all film artists from Karnataka have started looking upon Delhi Karnataka Sangha as home away from their home. Late Sri K S Jagannath who was the principal architect in developing the FILM CLUB was instrumental in getting popular Kannada Films to the Delhi Kannadigas. The present Kannada Film Club is named after him and dedicated to his
memory.
Another important part of the Sangha is its LIBRARY. This Library
composed of nearly 15000 Kannada books. The government of Karnataka particularly department of Kannada & Culture, the Sahitya Academy and many publishers in the state have been generously donating to build this library in cash and kind. The Sangha has a unique collection of the leading Kannada film cassettes. The reading room of the Sangha has almost all leading dailies and magazines from Karnataka.
The CANTEEN of the Sangha running on a contract basis is one of the most popular
resorts in Delhi. Many non-Kannadigas of the capital identify the Sangha with the canteen itself. Thanks to the creditable performance of the Karnataka Food Center piloted by Sri Shekar Bangera. The limited Guest Room facilities the Sangha is providing in its building has become the favourite resort for the artists, writers and weaker sections of the society visiting Delhi from Karnataka. The tourists, pilgrims and students excursions find the Sangha easily accessible and the atmosphere here congenial.
On the eve of its completion of 50 fruitful years, the Sangha is now entering into another crucial phase of its life. The emphasis is now shifting to encourage and develop the LOCAL TALENTS. True to its federal character, the Sangha is regularly subsidising the activities of about 20 different Kannada Organizations all over the National Capital Territory. The Sangha has started conducting intra association tournaments and competitions like on day cricket & one act play competitions. The picnics and social gatherings have become much sought after features. Local Talents
programs, annual day celebrations, computer classes, Kannada fine arts classes, literary
programs, film shows, Rajyotsava celebrations, etc. are some of the annual highlights of the Sangha activities.
The Sangha has also launched free medical checkups, seminars, workshops periodically under the stewardship of the eminent Doctor Bheema Bhat. Blood donation camps are conducted every year. Even the Delhi Government had acknowledged the contribution of the Sangha. The Sangha was given an award for its performance by the Chief Minister of Delhi in 1995.
The Sangha has been spending a huge amount on hiring auditoria befitting to the different occasions and
programs, though a make believe open stage has been built and developed in the Sangha premises for staging many of its activities. Hence it has become an imperative need to build its own auditorium and a cultural complex to channelise and codify all its activities in more
meaningful and fruitful manner. Hence the Sangha has now conceived the big CULTURAL COMPLEX idea at an ambitious outlay of more than Rs 4 crores.
Our urgent need for a multi faceted CULTURAL COMPLEX for augmenting social and cultural activities has been strongly supported by the opinions expressed by many eminent persons of Karnataka belonging to different fields of art, culture, literature, social service, politics including very important personalities of the Government of Karnataka, who visited our Sangha in the past from time to time. These eminent personalities include Sarva Sri K V Subbanna of Nanasam (Heggodu), Chandrasekhar Kambar, Pu Ti Narasimhachar, D Javare Godwa, D K Naiker, Ex MP H D Devegowda, Former Prime
Minister of India, A R Chandrahas Gupta, IAS, Secretary Kannada and culture, Government of Karnataka, M S Sathyu, noted film Director, Sumatindra Nadig, Chairman NBT, H Vishwanath, former Secretary, Kannada and Culture, Government of Karnataka, D Veerendra Hedge, Dharamadhikari, Dharamsthala, Patil Puttappa, Writer and Journalist, Smt Leela Devi R Prasad, Minister of State, Kannada & Culture, Government of Karnataka.
The sum and substance of the various opinions expressed is as below :
"In the capital of India, the Delhi Karnataka Sangha, as a representative of Kannadigas and the state of Karnataka, has been doing
excellent job in the fields of art, culture and literature. It has a building of its own in
a prime locality. Its President and other functionaries take great interest in all the activities of the Sangha and organising Kannadigas in Delhi and helping those coming from Karnataka. The hospitality and help rendered is excellent. The present space
available for the Sangha is insufficient. It should build a big modern auditorium and more rooms and dormitories for Kannadigas. For this purpose we will help. The Government of Karnataka should render generous financial help, making a separate provision in their budget , if required, at least to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs." (This view was expressed in 1994 and the present grant needed would be
at least Rs 2 crores.)
Thus it justifies and strengthens our request for whole hearted generous donations and advertisements from
Prime Donors, Industrialists and from the Government of Karnataka and also the Union Government as the huge Cultural Complex envisaged is estimated to cost more than Rs 4 crores.
The Sangha hopes and believes that though the budget estimates for this project is threateningly huge, with the active assistance of the Government of Karnataka, HRD Ministry and more than all with the best wishes and active support of all Kannadigas, this dream will come true.
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