Countdown begins for the 84th edition of Kannada Sahitya Sammelana— literary sessions, music and drama to go on for three days in twin cities

With just a few hours left for the 84th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana to begin, the Kannada Sahitya Parishat along with the Hubballi Dharwad district administration have worked hard to see that this three-day event takes place without any issues. This festival celebrating Kannada, its history, literature, art and music will go on for three days starting from January 4.

The event which will begin at 8:30 am tomorrow at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (UAS) will be inaugurated by Karnataka Chief Minister, HD Kumaraswamy. Various literary sessions, music events, play and theatre performances will be included in the event. Famous author Chandrashekhar Patil who had chaired the 83rd edition of KSS will handover the charge to Jnanpith Award Winner Chandrashekhar Kambar.  

Author arrives: Jnanpith Awardee Chandrashekhar Kambar will be presiding the 84th edition of Kannada Sahitya Sammelana (Pic: D Hemanth)

While last year's edition only had 20 sessions, this year there will be 24 sessions that will include discussions on serious issues like North Karnataka's development in terms of education, infrastructure, job and other aspects, water wars related to Mahadayi, Cauvery and Krishna rivers, border dispute related to Belagavi and the recent order by the Government of Karnataka about introducing English medium classes in 1,000 government schools. 

School children to cheer 

School and college students have been divided into batches and will be standing to cheer the procession which is going to start from Karnataka College to the University of Agricultural Sciences.

Since Dharwad is the birthplace of Hindustani music and many famous singers, the Gangubai Hangal Foundation has come up with the idea of exhibiting the information of various music personalities and their contributions to music. They will also be displaying some of the musical instruments and rare photographs of musicians in this literature festival. All this will be presented in the tableau truck that will move along in the procession.

This way, the foundation wants to educate the younger generation about Indian classical music, its history and contributors.

A total of 10.60 crore rupees has been incurred by the government for this literary event. A separate stall for children books will be put up at the event. The details of the literary sessions in the three-day event will be published later in the form of a book

Increase in the number of delegates

When compared to last year, this year there has been an increase in the number of delegates coming to the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana. According to the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, around 18,000 people have registered their names as delegates. While the number of delegates for the previous KSS was only 12,000. Apart from delegates, they are expecting a footfall of 4 lakh people for three days

North Karnataka's food: Various delicacies and food is being cooked for the participants who will be in Dharwad to attend the event (Pic: D Hemanth)

Rottis from Gadag

Participants in the 84th edition will have the chance to feast on authentic jowar rottis that are being prepared in Shigli village of Gadag district. These one lakh rottis will be transported to Dharwad. While 90,000 will be made from jowar, the other 10,000 will be made from pearl millet.

24 hours helpline
With a view to felicitate the visitors and guide them during the three-day event, the district administration has provided a 24 hours helpline number. While hotels, lodges and government guest houses have been booked for special invitees, chief guests and artists to stay, places like marriage halls, school classrooms and government college hostels both in Hubballi and Dharwad have been opened for regular visitors.

Meanwhile, the district administration will also be providing some beds and bedspreads for visitors and also hot water facility for bathing purposes. As the weather will be quite chilly and the temperature could drop down to 11-degree celsius in Dharwad,  the visitors have been advised to carry some warm clothes or a warm blankets.

For more details about accommodation, one can call 
0836 - 2447544, 9449847640
For details on transport and bus services
0836 - 2445566

Police force: Police and homeguards have been deployed at the venue and various security measures have been taken (Pic: D Hemanth)

Apart from this, arrangements have been made to provide 24 hours health service on all the three days. Ten teams comprising a total of 30 doctors have been hired to work in three different shifts. Ten ambulances have also been arranged for emergency purposes. The helpline number for emergency medical service is  7483819080.