• Don’t forget our roots- experts call

By Team Mangalorean

Udupi November 21, 2009: Let us not forget our roots in the melee of modernization, let us re trace our origin and conserve our heritage and language called experts. The occasion was a regional conference that was organized as a prelude to the World Convention of Tulu which will be held at Ujire on 10th December. The regional conference was held under the MGM college.

The conference was inaugurated by Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade who is also the chairman of the World Tulu Convention and Dharmadhikari of Shri kshetra Dharmasthala. He said many Tulu speaking communities are found on this land for so many years one of them were Bearyies who have been there for centuries doing business and also contributing to enrich our society, culture and language. We should look at small communities and societies that speak Tulu in order to rejuvenate the language from the roots. This will also enhance the visibility of Tulu and the culture of Tulunadu in the long run. The Tuluvas should be empowered to protect their culture and language and Tulu world convention was one of the events to that eventuality.

Veteran writer and poet and Tulu scholar Mr. Aerya Lakshminarayana Alva on this occasion stated that  Tulu should be a language that should be practiced by everybody in Tulu speaking areas of the state, the love for the language should be in practicing it speaking, writing and reading it. So let us speak tulu, read literature, see Tulu plays and let us include it in our lives every minute he called.

Mr. Alva commended the vision of Dr. Heggade and said the tulu world convention should be made a success to assert the need of such a large movement by the people. He said Tulu was one of the Panchadravida languages such as Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Tulu. Mr. Alva said there was a dire need for preserving the originality of Tulu language and culture.  He said under Dr. Heggade the Tulu convention has received a large following and the world Tulu convention will be great success he added.

The Regional Conference also proposes to the government that it should move the central government to include Tulu in the Eighth Schdeule of the constitution that will give Tulu a great push for being preserved in its original form and glory. When that happens the language will survive on its own strength.
 
Others who were present on the occasion included  Surendra Kumar, Harshendra Kumar, Tuluva leader Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA K Raghupati Bhat, President of the Udupi CMC Mr. Dinakar Shetty Herga, Congress leader Vinay Kumar Sorake, Prof. Yashovarma and others.  Prof H Krishna Bhat welcomed. Muddu Moodubelle presented the programme. Y M Shetty proposed vote of thanks.

On this occasion a the organizers had erected a typical Tuluva village, which showcased the Tuluva way of life. The folk medicine used by Tuluva society, some of the work environment of a Tuluva village, their culture, things used in the domestic life by Tuluvas and many other vignettes of Tuluva life. The traditional gold jewelry of Tuluvas attracted every body.  A series of talks, seminars, demonstrations, dialogues, workshops have been lined up during the Regional workshop.