On the day he turned 100, lexicographer Prof G Venkatasubbaiah said, the shut unit of Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) which compiled dictionaries in the regional language must be revived by appointing 10-15 language experts.
“A permanent office should be opened for compiling Kannada dictionaries,” said father of Kannada Dictionary Venkatasubbaiah, who is popularly known as GV, on Thursday.
He urged KSP to take measures to reopen the dictionary office and also to rope in youngsters.
He was addressing a gathering during a programme organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to mark his 100th birthday on Thursday.
During the function, Governor H R Bhardwaj conferred GV with ‘Dr K M Munshi Award’ and a bust of the lexicographer sculpted by Kanaka Murthy was also unveiled.
Recalling the olden days, when he spent about 20 years, compiling Kannada dictionaries at the KSP office, GV said: “After I retired as a professor, the state government nominated me to compile Kannada dictionaries.
(But) I had to step out of the office for various reasons.
” Pointing out that the 175-year-old office of Oxford dictionary is still functioning and is into revising dictionaries, GV bemoaned that due to the poor interest shown by the then president and office bearers of the KSP the dictionary office had to be shut down.
Venkatasubbaiah has compiled as many as 10 dictionaries, including eight volumes of Kannada-Kannada dictionary brought out by the KSP, and has authored about 60 books.
GV said that he wanted to write more and live as a professor.
He said while it is difficult to find people of his age, interacting with people who are younger to him makes him feel young again.
During the occasion Bharadwaj batted for the translation of Kannada works into other languages.
“Kannada literature is very rich.
(These) Works should be translated to other languages, only then will others get to know the value of Kannada literature and its culture.
” Governor, who claimed to have researched about Tulu as a language, said he wished that Tulu is given its due recognition