Karnataka will soon get a standardised ‘Naada Geethe’of 150 seconds duration. It is thanks to Kannada Sahitya Parishat, the representative body of Kannadigas, for stepping in to end the 15-year old controversy over the length and standardisation of the State anthem.
A meeting convened by the KSP on Wednesday to find an amicable solution on the duration of ‘Naada Geethe’, attended by representatives of Kannada literature, scholars, singers and Kannada activists, authorised KSP to recommend to the government to fix the duration at 150 seconds.
The KSP decided to step in to end the controversy knowing well that it is stirring up a hornets’ nest, following representation from thousands of people to cut short the rendering, without losing the text, content, tone and tenor of the anthem. The government had failed to take a final call on the recommendations of three expert committees appointed since 2003 on the issue.
Parishat president Manu Baligar finally convened a meeting of all stakeholders and proved to them that it could be rendered in 150 seconds, without affecting the spirit of the anthem.
The KSP will send its recommendations by Friday urging the government to issue an official notification. “We will see that the recommendations do not meet the same fate as the other three,” Dr. Baligar told media persons. So far, three committees, including the first one formed to accord official status to Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate, have been formed since 2003.
The first committee was formed during S.M. Krishna’s regime. The song got the status of State anthem during the birth centenary of Kuvempu.
In view of the objections raised on the interpolations and omissions in the poem, another committee was constituted during the tenure of the BJP government, but it did not act on the recommendations.
Another committee was formed under the chairmanship of musician Vasanth Kanakapur, but with his sudden demise, noted poet Channaveera Kanavi took over as chairman of the panel, which studied the issue for nearly five months and suggested trimming the length from four minutes to 90 seconds.