Rangasangathi felicitates Poet Subraya Chokkadi

Mangaluru: Rangasangathi held a programme to honour renowned Kannada poet, Subraya Chokkadi on receiving Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award, at Canara College, MG road here, on May 8.

PRO of Karnataka Bank, Srinivas Deshpande welcomed the gathering and Jogi from Udayavani Bengaluru inaugurated the programme along with other dignitaries by lighting the traditional lamp.

Speaking on this occasion, Jogi urged the audience to ponder on why there was a need of a poet to the society and said, “Subraya is a very humble person and has had pretty humble origins. He has written around 418 poems and songs. His writings reflect the life of a common man and are relevant to everybody. A person can read his poem feel relieved and come back to them in order to seek solace.”

He further said, “A great poet can write a poem so that anyone can claim that it has been written about him. Reading of poem is not the right way to grasp it, but one has to live a poem in order to understand it thoroughly. It has a power to turn the reader into a poet and can make us travel long distances without moving an inch.” He said that reading a poem everyday was as beneficial as taking regular medication.

Subraya Chokkadi was felicitated by the dignitaries. Chairman of Alvas Education trust, Dr M Mohan Alva said, “Subraya is a renowned poet and quite well known in his field. He doesn’t belong to a particular group but has written generally about everything. He is like the Buddha among us.”

Head of Market Corporate, Intel Technology, SR Vijayashankar said, “Subraya is very patient and has lived his life for others. He is a family man. I recall he had a lot of books which he used to read. He had the books of the new era and he always motivated others to read or subscribe them. Many people of his fail to accept modern technology, but Subraya has kept himself updated.”

He further said, “Subraya is my most senior Guru. His works are inspired by the love of his father, the society and the love of the nature. It is a matter of pride to the state that a poet of his calibre is conferred by the prestigious Academy award.”

Writer, Gopalkrishna said, “Subraya has the ability to find poems and song in each and everything.”

Subraya said, “I had never expected this honour. I don’t know why I ever started to write, but I think it has got to do with eliminating fear. I have been insulted a lot at a young age. To extinguish the pain of those insults, I kept myself involved in reading books. There is a difference between poems and songs. A poet cannot be serious always and write to change the mindset of a reader.”

He further said, “I am simply a minor poet and people can choose to reject my work. But that doesn’t bother me. I have expressed everything that I wanted to express in my poems. Though my native village Chokkadi is still backward, I am happy that I have given it recognition through my work.”

Laureate, N Dhamodar Shetty and others were present.