It’s 66 years since the formation of the state called Karnataka, and the proud Kannadigas from Sandalwood speak to CE about this day’s significance and various ways to continue promoting Kannada — Tunir Biswas
Ramesh Aravind
I remember back from my school days, the Karnataka Rajyotsava brought attention to this state and its language. Every year on this day, it brings all of us together. Even in a multicultural metropolis like Bengaluru, I have noticed that the youth are finding pride in being Kannadigas.
All around the city, I also see efforts being taken by non-Kannada speakers to ingrain themselves in our culture. All this has been happening of their own volition and it is a beautiful thing to see.
Shwetha Srivastav
As a Kannadiga, this day is a very special occasion for me and all other Kannadigas. It reminds us of our rich heritage. One of the things we can do is impart this knowledge of our culture to the next generation. Then it will continue to grow with the passage of time.
Being an artist, we should continue to promote all sorts of representations of our culture like Kannada literature, theatre and folk music and lores, among other things.
Prakash Belawadi
One of the ways we can promote Kannada is by encouraging people employed in Karnataka to learn the language. We can ask them to obtain Kannada proficiency certificates through TOEFL-type tests. These tests could be conducted regularly, online, by the Kannada Development Authority.
In time, these certificates should be made mandatory to obtain jobs in this state, with certification required according to the level of public interaction expected of an employed person. They would understand that this is not only to promote Kannada but also to promote themselves. Reasonable exceptions from certification could be made for some candidates, but not because anybody feels they don’t need to know Kannada.
Disha Madan
This Rajyotsava I am using the digital medium to promote Kannada, which is my language. We are living in a time when social media is big. So recently I started doing content where I am doing all the narration in Kannada and it has started reaching a lot of people. I have a mixed bag of followers from pan India and for them, I have put the subtitles. I used to get many messages about if I can speak Kannada, now many people from Karnataka relate to my video.
Radhika Narayan
Even though we should be celebrating our culture and heritage on a daily basis, it is great to have one day that reminds us of our roots. For some people, the celebration goes on for a month, which is a wonderful thing to see. However, I don’t believe we should force anyone to appreciate our culture. I believe with more imposition, comes more opposition. Instead, we should create good content, which would in turn lead others to appreciate our language and our art. For example, the success of Kantara has definitely brought positive attention to our culture.
Vasu Dixit
For me, every day is Karnataka Rajyotsava, in the sense that I celebrate the language and this place on a daily basis. All of the work that I do essentially represents the language and the culture I come from. In fact, I’m doing a show for this occasion today in Hampi. So even though I might not be personally celebrating it, I’m directly or indirectly involved in somebody’s celebration of the Karnataka Rajyotsava. I think we should promote our heritage through our work and that will get non-natives interested in our culture.