Writer hails women’s contribution to Kannada literature and life

Pointing to traditional discrimination against women in all spheres of human life, writer Kum. Veerabhadrappa has stressed the need to recognise women’s contribution to human development and treat them as equal human beings.

“The cradle of Kannada literature belongs to women. It is because of women’s contribution that Kannada literature, especially poetry, is rich. We need to recognise women’s contribution not just to the development of literature but also to the development of human beings,” he said.

He was speaking at a women’s poetry recitation session on the Virupaksha Temple premises in the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district.

The event was part of a three-day Hampi Utsav that began on Friday last.

“Kannada poetry is so strong that it has the strength to suppress all sorts of superstitions and blind beliefs. The sad part of current Kannada literature is that only the core issues of human life such as acute poverty are largely missing. Another issue is that Kannada usage is increasingly diminishing in public sphere. If we want Kannada to live long, we have to nurture it constructively. We have to send our children to such schools which have Kannada-speaking environment,” Mr. Veerabhadrappa said.

Terming a family without a woman as an incomplete unit, Mr. Veerabhadrappa said that women will never send their old parents to an orphanage.

“The family will be incomplete if it doesn’t have a woman member. Parents who have daughters will not spend their last days at an orphanage as their daughters themselves take care of them in their houses. Women are known for their tolerance. I am happy to listen to poems of 42 women poets in this session,” he said.

Shedding light on his own literature, Mr. Veerabhadrappa said that he will not have been a successful writer if he had not nurtured the woman-ness in him.

“Ballari is my land which provided me a fertile soil for my literature. I have manifested women’s concerns in most of my novels. It wouldn’t have been possible if I had had no woman-ness in me,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner M.S. Diwakar said that the women’s poetry recitation session being held since the last Hampi Utsav has provided a platform for women to express their voice.

Writer Somakka M. said that women can enjoy their rights only because of the thoughts of the Buddha, Basava and Ambedkar.

“As much as 75 years have passed after Independence, yet women are being considered second-grade citizens. They continue to face discrimination and exploitation because of their gender. Women need to raise their voice against it and get organised to fight patriarchal oppression,” she said.

Writer Shreedevi Keremane presided over the session.