Basavaraj Kattimani trust award presented to Baraguru Ramachandrappa

The Basavaraj Kattimani Trust presented its annual award for novel writing to veteran writer and film maker Baraguru Ramachandrappa in Belagavi on Monday.

Resource persons, including writers, critics and former students of Prof. Ramachandrappa spoke in various sessions about his life and work at an event in the Sangolli Rayanna first grade college.

Vinaya Vakkund, president of the Betageri Krishna Sharma Trust, spoke about his literature. She said that he had produced over 60 books in various forms of writing like novels, poetry, dramas, scripts, dialogues and songs for films. “This is no ordinary writing. It is literature that stems out of self-respect and ideological commitment. Prof. Ramachandrappa is deeply influenced by the ideologies of Buddha, Basavanna and Dr. Ambedkar. His writing is the essence of the preachings of these saints and cultural leaders,” she said. She said that the characters in his works spoke against social evils like class and caste discrimination, and batted for gender equality.

Rajappa Dalwai, writer and actor, spoke about the films of Prof. Ramachandrappa. “He has directed 24 films till now, and has won an award for each of them. Most of them have been screened in international film festivals. He believes that cinema is a world language, that not only provides entertainment, but also makes us reflect on the various humanistic values and the crisis in human life, Prof. Dalwai said.

His works form a significant portion of the alternative cinema in Kannada. However, he has worked in both commercial and art films and has managed to smoothly transition from using reels to digital technologies. He has won awards for the script, dialogue and songs he has penned for films of other directors. His films have been advocating equality and human dignity. For example, Ondu Oorina Kathe, made in 1978 spoke of caste system and zamindari system. HIs film Shanti entered the Guinness book of records, for a film portraying only one character.

Prof. Ramachandrappa has worked with stars like Shivaraj Kumar and veteran theatre artists like B.V. Karanth and writer Chandrashekar Kambar. He is a filmmaker with a social consciousness, Prof. Dalwai said. The two volumes of Kannada film history that he edited are milestones in documenting Indian cinema, he said.

A.B. Ramachandrappa, coordinator of Manava Bandhutva Vedike, spoke about Prof. Ramachandrappa’s personality traits. He described him as a ‘teacher of teachers’. “He has inspired a generation of students and teachers. His polite demeanour and the character to mingle with people of all ages are exceptional. His professional achievements are above the ordinary. They stem out of his strict discipline, healthy habits, and hard working nature. He was instrumental in the government granting five percent reservation for kannada medium students,” Mr. Ramachandrappa said.

Gurupada Mariguddi, critic, said Prof. Ramachandrappa deserved an award instituted in the name of Basavaraj Kattimani as both were considered rebellious. Being a journalist, Mr. Kattimani expressed his angst through his newspaper and his novels. Prof. Ramachandrappa has done this through his writing and through his work as chairman of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Kannada Development Authority. He is like a pro-Kannada warrior. He has learnt not only to work with academicians and creative writers, but also with various government agencies, Prof. Mariguddi said.

Manu Baligar, former chairman of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and writer D.S. Chougale, spoke during the inauguration. Trust chairman Yallappa Himmadi, members Manjula Biradar, J.P. Doddamani, K.R. Siddagangamma, Hamidabegum Desai, Somanath Chikkanaragund, Vishnu M. Shindhe, Vithal Dalwai, member secretary Vidyavati Bhajantri and others were present.