Hamsalekha to inaugurate Dasara with call for conservation of Kannada and traditional culture

Veteran music composer Hamsalekha who will be inaugurating this year's Mysuru Dasara has said that he wishes to send a message calling for the conservation of the Kannada language and folk traditional culture among others to protect the identity of Karnataka. He would wish to offer obeisance to Goddess Chamundeshwari with that message, like the song Kannada Janapada Leele, Thaayi Ninage Dasara Hoovina Maale.

"This is important to protect our rights in case of division of states based on (administrative) directions instead of division of states based on languages," Hamsalekha said.

The composer's comments came during an interaction with media persons, hosted by Mysuru District Journalists' Association in Mysuru on Tuesday.

Hamsalekha said that being given the honour of inaugurating Dasara was the "social art justice" for his service in the film industry as a writer for 35 years.

He said, "When I was invited to inaugurate Dasara, I had suggested the names of veterans like Gorur Channabasappa, Rajiv Taranath and Devnur for that honour. Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar had started 'Praja Prathinidhi Sabha', and wanted representatives of various sectors including workers to participate in it and make suggestions there. Cinema has played a great role in protecting our art and culture. So as a representative of the sector of art, I would inaugurate Dasara. My grandparents and parents were from nearby Kannambaadi of Srirangpatna taluk. As an 11-year-old child I had seen the Dasara Jamboo Savari procession, with Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar in the golden howdah. I feel proud to inaugurate Dasara," he said.

Smart villages

On celebration of Dasara amid the drought-like situation in the state, he said, "Agricultural scientists must come up with permanent solutions for the problems of farmers and should guide them."

"On the lines of smart cities, I would urge that there should be smart villages similar to villages in countries like America. The roads leading to villages should be developed and buyers should be able to go to fields to buy crops dirrectly from farmers," Hamsalekha added.

Online music courses

He also suggested that in order to protect the Gangu Bhai Music University of Mysuru, there should be support for offering online degrees and post graduate degrees in music there. With such offerings, people from different countries would be able to take up these courses and pursue them alongside their professions. Also jobs should be guaranteed for the students who pursue courses there, Hamsalekha said.

He also expressed despair over more movies coming up with themes of violence, with either loud music or no songs. Also with films taking a pan-India approach, a song in a particular language cannot be included, the composer said.

He further said that with more and more movies being released, people are being forced to pick and choose which ones to watch in theatres.

Heritage architecture

Commenting on the preservation of heritage monuments, Hamsalekha said, "Besides protecting heritage structures of Mysuru, engineers should ensure that the architecture of those heritage structures continue to be adopted for all the new buildings which are coming up in Mysuru."

Film city

Hamsalekha also pointed out that a film city with all modern facilities is a must for Mysuru as Bengaluru is already facing an infrastructural bottleneck. He also called on the government to allot more land for it, in addition to the land allotted now. They should consult the owners of old cinema studios and take their suggestions to build the film city in Mysuru, he said.

He also spoke about his works on 'Aidani' to give a classical status to folk music. He expressed that his "love" for life and the world is the inspiration behind his songs on love. Hamsalekha also revealed that he would compose a song on Dasara.