Mangaluru: Athlete, novelist bag award

MANGALURU: The Dakshina Kannada district administration has selected eminent novelist Usha P Rai and athlete Shreema Priyadarshini for the Abbakka Award 2019. The award carries a purse of Rs 25,000, and will be presented to these achievers at the two-day Abbakka Utsav that the district administration is organising at Assaigoli Central Ground in Konaje village near here from February 29, said district minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari.
Announcing the names of the awardees on Sunday, Poojari said a seminar and poets meet will be held in the run up to the utsav at Ravindra Kala Bhavan of University College on Thursday. Kotresh, HoD of history, Tumkur University, will chair the seminar on the topic ‘Tulunadina Raniyaru’. Arathi H N, senior programme executive, Doordarshan, Bengaluru, will chair the multi-language poets meet to be held later that afternoon.
The administration has arranged for essay and painting competitions for primary and high school students at St Jerosa High School, Jeppu, at 9.30am on Tuesday. The topic for the essay is ‘Historical milestone of Rani Abbakka’, and for the painting competition, a scene depicting Rani Abbakka’s valour. Government First Grade College for Women, Balmatta, will host the district level elocution and mini drama contest for degree students on the same day from 9.30am onwards.
Noting that the Veera Rani Abbakka Kreedotsava was held at the venue of the utsav on Sunday in the run up to the main event, Poojari said the state government has sanctioned a grant of Rs 30 lakh for the utsav. There are no immediate plans to merge the Abbakka Utsav with Karavali Utsav that the administration organises every year, Poojari said, adding the themes of the two events are different, and organised with different specific purposes altogether.