‘Exchange of ideas must for healthy society’

There is a need to rediscover a pluralistic society in the present context, said Kannada University-Hampi former vice chancellor and Tulu-Kannada scholar Prof B A Viveka Rai.

He was speaking after releasing ‘Harshada Atithi - Dhwani Taranga’, a compilation of 101 radio interviews of achievers from various fields, during a programme held at Hotel Deepa Comforts in Mangaluru on Sunday.

Rai opined that for a healthy society, there should always be an exchange of ideas between various disciplines.

“But what is happening now is the confinement of values, which is not a hopeful development,” he said.

He lauded the efforts of Prasar Bharathi, which has contributed to the literary world as well, by publishing the compilation of radio interviews, with private partnership.

Rai also commended the social concern of Prakash Retails Private Ltd, Udupi, which had sponsored the publication. “The work serves as a record for the generations to come and speaks about the lives and achievements of various stalwarts of the region.”

Speaking on the need to create a platform for mutual exchange of thoughts between the young generation and the old, in order to fill the gap created by the social media, Rai noted that the a majority of the youth may be considering all those who are not active in the social networking sites, to be irrelevant.

Sadly, they fail to understand that there are a lot of the elderly who still are very much relevant in the knowledge sphere, he added.

Rai reiterated that one must come out of the virtual world to the real world to know about the lives of people, who have carved a niche for themselves by immensely contributing to society and without being in the limelight.

Negative tags

Lamenting that the coastal regions are misunderstood by outside people, Rai pointed out that some negative tags which are attributed to the coastal districts are indeed unfortunate.

“All such tags reflect a shallow understanding of the region. If one goes deep beneath the superficial layer of a falsified image and studies the tradition, culture, and living of the people here, one will realise that the coastal region has still maintained its humane aspect.”

Media expert Ishwar Daithota opined that the interviews broadcast on ‘Harsha Varada Atithi’ programme, are inspirational for the young generation.

DK Zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kumar Kalkura said that the work was a testimony to the cultural diaspora of the region and was a rare contribution to the literary world.

All India Radio, Mangaluru, Programme Head Ushalatha Sarapadi said that the 101 best interviews out of 387 episodes of ‘Harsha Varada Atithi’ programme recorded at All India Radio, Mangaluru, have been compiled and edited by AIR, Mangaluru, Programme Executive Dr Sadananda Perla.

The book, containing 536 pages, is published by DK Zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat.

Prakash Retails Pvt Ltd, Udupi, Managing Director Suryaprakash K presided over the programme.