Kittel’s kin cherish his work, stay in Dharwad

Dharwad: It was a memorable morning for Eves Patrick Meyer and Almuth Barbara Elnore Meyer, relatives of Rev Ferdinand Kittel, on Friday as they walked around the place where their great-grandfather had worked for the cause of Kannada.
The family visited Hebich Memorial Church and garlanded the statue of Kittel. They also visited Basel Mission School where the German Missionary spent many years and produced the Kannada lexicon.
Speaking at a function organised at Sahitya Bhavan, Eves Patrick Meyer said he was delighted to visit Dharwad and listen to the contributions of his great-grandfather for the cause of Kannada. “Rev. Ferdinand Kittel came from north Germany to Karnataka in the 19th century and settled down in Dharwad. I now realise that having come from a cold region, he chose Dharwad due its salubrious climate and green environs,” Eves said.
He said Kittel loved the people of Karnataka and Kannada language so much that he was inspired to bring out a 70,000-word English-Kannada lexicon besides writing books on Kannada grammar. “I’m delighted to know that scholar Srinivas Havanur has done a lot of work on Kittel’s contributions to Kannada,” he said.
Eve’s mother Almuth said the family has preserved the Kannada books, spectacles and other materials used by Rev Kittel and expressed her desire to donate them to Kittel College. Bishop of Karnataka North Diocese Rt Rev Martin Borgai, Rev Samuel Calvin and writer Malati Pattanashetti among others spoke.