BENGALURU: Addressing members of the Bar and Bench, N V Anjaria, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, on Monday highlighted the bond between Kannada-Karnataka with Gujarati-Gujarat from where he hails by narrating an anecdote at the welcome programme.
“When the Parsi community came from Persia to Gujarat and sought asylum near a place called Sanjan, the king responded by sending the head of the Parsis a glass filled to the brim with milk. The king wanted to convey that there was no place for him in his kingdom. The head of the Parsi community responded by adding sugar to the milk to convey that the Parsis would mingle with the people and make the milk sweet. Let history repeat here for me,” said Justice Anjaria.
He said it was wonderful to find as to how Gujarat and Karnataka are connected. The Chalukya dynasty from here ruled Gujarat. “I am told that because of this there are certain words in the Gujarati language that are borrowed from Kannada or influenced by the Kannada language,” he said.
“I am also a bit fond of literature and poetry. It was a pleasure for me to know that in the field of literature, Kannada poet Kuvempu and Gujarati poet Umashankar Joshi were jointly conferred the Jnanpith Award in 1967. The voice of Kuvempu is the voice of social equity. I learnt that his conviction was that the children of Karnataka should mandatorily learn the Kannada language along with English. I am also an ardent supporter of Mathrubhasha, which is the mother tongue. While Gujarati is my Mathrubhasha, Kannada will be my Karma Bhasha,” he said.
He further said Karnataka is rich culturally and Karnataka is a Sanskrit state and the state of Sanskriti. In the context of judicial culture, to be Saskriti is to be ethical and Sanskrit symbolises the rich tradition. This HC is known for both.