Karnataka's Tourism and Kannada and Culture Minister CT Ravi is turning Kannada 'mestru' with his new digital initiative to teach the Kannada language to non-Kannada speaking citizens in the State. On Tuesday the minister announced 'KaliKannada'- an initiative aimed at inspiring non-Kannada speakers to learn the State language. Speaking to The New Indian Express Ravi said that he hopes to use his social media reach to create curiosity about Kannada and its usage.

"There are many apps and websites that offer free Kannada lessons but I have a considerable social media following and I hope to use that to teach Kannada to those who don't speak the language. Even if just about 2% people learn functional Kannada through this initiative, I will be happy," CT Ravi said. He added that the Kannada department officially has taken many initiatives like online classes for children of Kannadigas living outside the country, translation of literary works from and to Kannada, continuous study and invention of new words for translation and synonyms etc but this was his individual effort.

On Tuesday, Ravi's social media management team put out two lessons on basic conversation and vocabulary as part of his KaliKannada initiative. Asked if the initiative will go beyond symbolism to address issues of language concerns like rural banks refusing service in Kannada or dropping Kannada text from official records the minister said, "the BJP believes that every individual should learn their mother tongue. All regional languages, including Hindi, are facing challenges of extinction. While people with an agenda continue to protest or create ruckus, it was under our government that airports started announcements in Kannada and railways started printing tickets in Kannada too."