Karanth Puraskar to be conferred on dance guru Master Vithal

Karanth Puraskar to be conferred on dance guru Master Vithal

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Oct 8: Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, the president of the DK Kannada Sahitya Parishad, announced that the Karanth Purasakara for this year will be conferred on dance guru Master Vithal for his lifelong contributions to this art. 

Speaking about Master Vithal, Mr. Kalkura said that he has trained innumerable students in Bharatanatyam for the past 70 years. Master Vithal has to his credit innumerable awards and honors, including the Karnataka Kalashree Award for 1998 – 99 conferred by the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy.

He further said that the award will be conferred on Master Vithal on the occasion of the 110th birth anniversary of Dr. Shivaram Karanth, which will be held on Oct 10 by the Kannada Sahitya Parishad and Kalkura Foundation at Town Hall on Oct 10. 

The event will include unique presentations such as the Yakshagana Gana Vaibhava at 4:30 p.m., followed by a lion dance presentation by Mohan Dhareshwar. 

Dr. U. P. Upadhyaya and Dr. Susheela Upadhyaya will inaugurate the formal stage ceremony at 5:30 p.m.

District-in-charge Minister Krishna J. Palemar will confer the honor on Master Vithal. Dr. B. Shivaram Shetty, the director of the Karantha Chair at Mangalore University, will preside and Kota Rajakrishna Hande will speak on Karanth, his life, and philosophy. 

K. G. Ramesh Rao, the deputy general manager of Karnataka Bank Ltd., will offer floral tributes to Dr. Karanth’s portrait. K. Anil, the regional manager of Indian Overseas Bank, will distribute prizes among the winners of a painting competition held in honor of Dr. Karanth. 

The guests of honor will be Prof. M. L. Samaga, the president of the Karnataka Yakshagana Bayalata Academy; Abdul Rahman, the president of Beary Sahitya Academy; Chandrahas Rai, the registrar of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy; and Sureshraj, the correspondent of Sarojini Madhusudhan Kushe Group of Educational Institutions.