MAHE Celebrates Matribhasha Diwas
Manipal, Feb 22, 2022: The Matribhasha Diwas 2022 was celebrated at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). The program was organized by the Department of Languages (DoL).
Minister of Kannada and Culture V. Sunil Kumar praised MAHE’s efforts in developing academic pathways for Kannada and regional languages.
MAHE Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr PLNG Rao stressed the importance of education in mother tongue and highlighted the role of MAHE and the Department in enhancing language education across disciplines.
In his keynote address, Scholar Prof. Purushothama Bilimale threw light on the loss of languages. He drew attention to the rapid decline in the number of speakers of minority languages, such as Kodava and Koraga. Prof touched on the need for policy reforms in language education in the country. With the strong belief that primary education in the mother tongue should be made compulsory in the country, he spoke about changes that can be set up in the teaching of Indian languages. He presented his online platform ‘Kannada Kalike’, which hosts multiple pedagogical innovations in teaching the language.
The talk was followed by a panel discussion ‘Kannada Language Pedagogy: Developments and Potentialities.’
Eminent scholars- Prof Purushothama Bilimale, JNU, Delhi, Prof Robert Zeydenbos, University of Munich, Prof R.V.S. Sundaram, former Chair, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and Prof Rahul Putty, DoL, MAHE participated in the discussions. Prof Neeta Inamdar and Dr. Prithviraj Kavatar moderated the discussion.
Drawing on comparative perspectives between teaching European and Indian languages, each panelist dwelt on the conceptual and theoretical basis of Kannada language pedagogy, its evolution over the years, and the present need to develop clear standards of gauging language proficiency.
Later cultural performances including Gamaka Vachana of a few verses from Kumaravyasa Bharata by Padmashri Shri H. R. Keshavamurthy, readings illustrating the intimate bonds shared by Tulu, Malayalam, and Havyaka Kannada by Prof Mahalinga Bhat, St. Aloysius College, Mangalore and a rendition of ‘Mile sur mera tumhara’, featuring a Tulu verse, as a tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, by Pallavi Manipal was held.
