Vol. 15. No.3. March - 2015

KARNATAKA

BhavanBharatiya VidyaBharatiya VidyaBharatiya VidyaBharatiya VidyaBharatiya Vidya

NewsNewsNewsNewsNews

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Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Race Course Road, Bengaluru - 1.

Tel.: 2226 7303, 2226 5746.Fax : 2228 7373

Website : www.bhavankarnataka.comwww.facebook.com/bhavan.bengaluru

e-mail : contactus@bhavankarnataka.com

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Bangalore is considered aculturally “happening city”, yet muchof what “happens”, is not accessible tomany, time constraints, distances, andnightmarish traffic being spoilers.

Quality programmes,in terms of the stature of the artistesand myriad, creative, activities, arethe casualty, small organizations in

far-flung localities not having thewherewithal to either conduct orafford such programmes.

The Bhavan’s Bangalore Kendrahas attempted to set right this lacuna bytaking art and artistes to the farthestcorners of the City, reinventing itself asa cultural ambassador while continuingto espouse the cause of valued Indianartistic and spiritual traditions.

INFOSYS FOUNDATION’S RS. 3.40 CRORE

CORPUS UPLIFTS BVB ACTIVITIES

Dr. Sudha Murthy, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation, with a puppet during a Puppet festival

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On the other end of thespectrum is Infosys Foundation,the modern IT citadel symbolic ofthe Silicon City that representsglobal aspirations, backed byintegrity and perspective.

It is indeed historic that thesetwo monoliths have come togetherto nurture and preserve art in afast-changing metropolis likeBengaluru, whose culturalmoorings are rapidlydisappearing.

The confluence of theidealism and altruism of Infosysand the futuristic approach of theBhavan’s Bengaluru Kendraresulted in the Infosys FoundationCultural Outreach Programmes,devoted to securing cultural ethosand spiritual values among a largecross section of Bangaloreans.

Bhavan’s Bangalore Kendrahas been a time- tested partnerfor Infosys Foundation, whosechairperson, Dr. Sudha Murthy,went far beyond the call of

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR), and visualized a spaceand time committed to art andculture.

The vehicle she chosewas Bhavan, whose credibility,vision, and transparency she hadexperienced.

Insfosys Foundation’sassociation with the Bhavan’sBangalore Kendra goes back toalmost two decades, when Dr.Murthy created an endowment inher grandfather, Hanumantha RaoKadim Diwan’s name, to holdlecture programmes.

The phenomenal amountof Rs. 3.40 crore made by hertowards the outreach culturalprogrammes could wellbecome a game-changer vis avis the Bhavan’s culturalpursuits.

Visual and performing artswill come under its ambit, youngtalent being the focus. Preferenceto the economically deprived,

OUTREACH

CULTURAL

PROGRAMMES

UNVAILED

VISUAL ANDPERFORMINGARTS GETSNEW SPACE

3

will be its credo. Every genre ofmusic including Bhakti, SugamaSangeeta, and Dasapadas will beshowcased in different locales ofthe City, the highpoint being theprojection of less-known artistesfrom even remote villages andtowns of Karnataka, benefittingart, artistes and the public.

The Foundation earliersupported in bringing out200 CDs of Kumara VysayaBhartha. Dr. Murthy, as acommittee member of theKendra, was bold and activein expressing her views onvarious issues, while beingsupportive of the Bhavan’sactivities, including financially.This has been the intimateand symbiotic relationshipbetween the twoorganisations.

With its track record ofbringing together like-mindedpeople, and giving its best to anyactivity it undertakes, Bhavanwas the ideal vehicle for the

Foundation to translate its dreamsof ploughing back into society.

Truly concerned aboutschooling for underprivilegedchildren, it is no surprise thatDr. Murthy has allotted Rs. onecrore from the corpus to theBhavan’s BBMP Public Schoolat Sriramapuram.

Inspiring teachers to put intheir best assures the school anexcellent faculty, the directbeneficiaries of which are thestudents, is a truism thatDr. Murthy has decided towork on; the money set asidewill go towards enhancing thesalaries of the teachers.

The importance of educationis ingrained in her, as she herself isa teacher by profession, as washer father and her parents-in-law.

The amount has beenthoughtfully divided—the culturaloutreach programmes get Rs. 80lakhs, and the Kolkata KendraRs. 75 lakhs for bringing thecultural heritage of the North Eastinto the limelight.

A NEW CULTURALMOVEMENT HASBEEN SET INMOTION

Bhavan-BBMP Public School

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A vision that both theFoundation and the Bhavan shareis branching out into new areasand gradually creating a culturalmovement. The four-year-oldTrichy Kendra, literally situatedin the midst of an ancient culture,and a seat of South Indiantemples, architecture, danceand music, gets a largesse ofRs.70 lakhs.

“ Infosys Foundation hasdonated money liberally tosupport needy artistes at severalBVB centres which we have setup”, says Sri H.N.Suresh,Bengaluru Kendra Director,adding that only the interest fromthe corpus will be used for theactivities.

“We will use ourexperience of 61 years tosift and give opportunities todeserving artistes, and attemptto revive dying arts and unsungartistes”, he says.

The outreach programmesare year-round affairs with

pre-allotted dates. The inauguralprogramme of the megaoutreach project was held atTrichy, aptly with a Nadaswaramrecital by two young artistes —P.G.D. Manivannan andR.S.Parthasarathy, on Feb 2.

Second in the series was“Swara Laya Madhuri” by veenaartiste Geetha Ramanand andtroupe, on Feb. 27, at Bengaluru.

The Kolkata outreachprogramme will be inauguratedon March 6 next with a sitarrecital by siblings Ustad RaisBale Khan and Ustad HafizBale Khan.

- Jyothi Raghuram

THE OUTREACHPROGRAMMES WILLBE ANNUAL AFFAIRSWITH PRE- ALLOTTEDDATES

Dr. Sudha Murthy

DYING ARTS

AND UNSUNG

ARTISTES

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Kadri Gopalnath, saxophone player, inaugurating the Trichy outreach programmeon Jan 31, 2015. H.N.Suresh (second from right), Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,

Bengaluru Kendra, T.V. Murali (second from left ), Secretary, andDr. S. Chandrakumar (centre), Chairman, and Chari, Director,

BVB Trichy Kendra and others are with him.

BHAVAN-INFOSYS FOUNDATION

OUTREACH INAUGURAL PROGRAMME

AT TRICHY ON JAN 31, 2015

Nadaswaram recital by P.G.D. Manivannan andR.S.Parthasarathy, on Feb 2.

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Max Mueller, in his lecturein 1882-- “India, What CanIt Teach Us”, says:

“If I were asked underwhat sky the human mind hasmost fully developed some ofits choicest gifts, has mostdeeply pondered over thegreatest problems of life, andhas found solutions for some ofthem which well deserve theattention even of those whohave studied Plato and Kant,I should point to India.

And if I were to ask myselffrom what literature, we, whohave been nurtured almostexclusively on the thoughts ofGreeks and Romans, and of theSemitic race, the Jewish, maydraw the corrective which ismost wanted in order to makeour inner life more perfect,

more comprehensive, moreuniversal, in fact more trulyhuman a life... again I shouldpoint to India”.

This observation looksas if India has only to do withphilosophy, literature and wayof life. But Indian heritage hassomething more. It is a treasureof mathematics, astronomy,physical sciences and much more.A general awareness needs to becreated on these aspects.

Dr. K.M.Munshi, founder ofBharatiya Vidya Bhavan, foresawthe need for intense research andmade the writing of history ofIndia, research in Sanskrit, andspreading awareness on thelanguage as primary tasks of theBhavan.

Despite the efforts of suchvisionaries, apathy does not onlyexist but continues to grow amongthe general public and especiallythe youth, who have fallen prey tomaterialistic pursuits.

INDIANS HAVEFALLEN PREY TOMATERIALISTICPURSUITS

Sri Rajiv Malhotra

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It is against this backgroundthat Kulpati Munshiji definedBhavan’s faith in reinforcing IndianCulture in the minds of its youth:

The Bhavan stands for thereintegration of IndianCulture. In the world fallingto pieces under the impact ofan amoral technologicalavalanche, it tries to hold fastto the fundamental values forwhich our culture stands –RITA, SATYA, YAGNA andTAPAS.

On February 16, 2015,at BVB, Bengaluru, there was anappeal to the youth of India bySri Rajiv Malhotra, an avidresearcher, writer, speaker, columnist and founder-directorof Infinity Foundation, Princeton,New Jersey, USA, when hedelivered a thought-provokingtalk on “Are Indians ignoringour civilization while Westappropriates it,” an idea whichis reflected strongly in his writingsand speeches.

Sri. Malhotra began with anexample of IIT Kharagpur, one ofthe leading technology schools ofIndia where he encountered astrong bias against the study ofSanskrit and Indian traditions.This is not confined to theinstitution; it is the general mindsetof the scientific community, whichdesists from promoting anythingof ancient India for fear of beingbranded chauvinistic. But it isaccepted if the same thing comesfrom West, he said.

He expressed concern thatmost of the western scholarscome to India to gain knowledge,go back home and claim theknowledge as their own.Not only that, they come backhere and try to preach the sameto our own people. It is sad thatsuch scholars are welcomed andhonoured by society and thegovernment.

He lamented that there is adeep hidden pride in Indians butthey are embarrassed to acceptthe same in public. This is anIndian Complex which is not

MOST WESTERNSCHOLARSCLAIM INDIANKNOWLEDGEAS THEIR OWN

STRONG BIASAGAINST SANSKRITAND INDIANTRADITIONSIN INDIA

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only true of Indians in India butthose overseas too. A classicexample of this is that more than90 per cent of the yoga schoolsin the US are managed byAmericans who came to India,learnt yoga and set up schools.

Sri Malhotra also came outwith the U-Turn theory, which isthat many westerners come withgreat respect and study an Indianidea and practice it. They mighteven get initiated. Then theygradually begin feeling, “It’s mine,why do I need this Indian, Hinduor Buddhist tag, so they startpresenting it as their owndiscovery to their followers”.

“They give a lineage ofwestern original sources andput themselves in that bracket.They join the parampara of greatwestern thinkers. They even trashthe Indian idea”.

Sri. Malhotra’s views onloss of Indian oral traditionwas an eye-opener. “The earliergenerations were recipients ofthis oral tradition. We learnt tablesthe hard way. We did not need

a calculator. We sang the tables.The tradition of chanting meantthe use of human faculties;it was not always written”.

He regretted that “we arebreaking the integrally unifiedcivilization of India into fragments,bringing in new models ofeducation and deluding ourselvesthat we are becoming moreadvanced”.

Sri Malhotra felt sad thatsuccessive Indian governmentshad done little to promoteSanskrit and research into ancientmanuscripts. He observed that inIndia, philosophy used to be apart of learning. Whether it wasmusic, dance, medicine, orliterature, the disciplines wereintertwined with philosophy. Infact these were paths towardssalvation.

One cannot understandwhy, as a society, we look at ourancient works as mere religioustexts, and call them sectarianwithout realizing that they alsocontain scientific material, andpromote a scientific temper.

WE AREINDIFFERENTTO OURHERITAGE

ORAL TRADITION

MEANT THE

USE OF HUMAN

FACULTIES

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When we look at theapathy of Indian society towardsits culture and heritage, we haveto accept that the British, to alarge extent, succeeded in thisendeavour. The challenge is whenwill we come out of it and realizethe treasure we have in ourancient texts, and heritage. Whenwill we regain our national pride

and overcome the slavishmentality which has gone deepinto our national DNA?,he asked.

The special lectureprogramme was organizedby Indira Gandhi National Centrefor Arts (IGNCA) and BVB,Bengaluru.

Sri. Rajiv Malhotra being felicitated by Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB.Sri. Vikram Sampath, Executive Director, IGNCA, joins.

On theoccasion of

RathaSapthami,Sri Kumar

Reddy,Yoga teacher

at theBhavan,

along withhis students,performed108 Surya-

namaskaaraason Feb 15,

2015.

SURYANAMASKARA ONRATHA SAPTHAMI DAY

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As part of its continuedefforts to revive and bring ancientclassical texts and epics to thecommon man, the BengaluruKendra organized the launchof “Srimad BhagavathaUttaradha Shatpadi” byDr. Parthasarathy AcharyaR. Panchamukhi, at its premiseson January 29.

A noted economist,Dr. Parthasarathy is as highlyrespected a scholar, thinker,and author on Indian philosophy,having written several books on it.The said book, in Kannada,comprising chaptersseven to 12, was released bywell-known lexicographerProf. G. Venkatasubbaiah.

BHAGAVATA IN

BHAMINI SHATPADI

FORMAT LAUNCHED

Speaking on the occasion,he dwelt on the 1926 edition ofSrimad Bhagavata rendered inBhamini Shatpadi, and hopedDr. Panchamukhi would bring outthe next edition comprisingchapters one to six.

Dr. Chiranjeevi Singh,former ambassador to UNESCO,who was chief guest, praised theefforts of the author, highlightingthe common thread runningthrough the Bhagavata and the

At the launch of Srimad Bhagavatha (from left) Sri. M.V. Jayaram Rao,noted Gamaki, Sri. H.N. Suresh, Dr. G. Venkatasubbaiah, noted lexicographer,

Dr. Panchamukhi, author of the book, Sri. Chiranjeev Singh, former ambassador toUNESCO, Sri. S. Ranganath, noted scholar

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Guru Granth Sahib. He hoped thebook would be made available forthe public at all Bhavan Kendrasincluding those in Karnataka.

Dr. Panchamukhi wasmodesty personified, saying thathe was only an economist andnot a scholar. He pointed outthat his work was not a meretranslation, but had philosophicand metaphorical substance andsignificance to it.

Dedicating the work to hisparents, the savant said he hadfulfilled the wish of his father whohad wanted to translate the work.

Guest of Honour,Dr. S. Ranganath, a renownedSanskrit scholar himself, felt thatDr. Panchamukhi was the rightperson to have translated thework. The other name forKrishna, the hero of theBhagavata, was Parthasarathy,and who better than ParthasarathyAcharya to have translated theBhagavata, he said.

“Poetry beautifies philosophy,and philosophy edifies poetry”,Dr. Ranganath quoted fromShelly, drawing a parallel toDr. Panchamukhi’s work asbeing both poetic andphilosophical.

Sri. H.N.Suresh, Director,under whose stewardship theBhavan has branched into severalnew areas of activities with along-range outlook, revealed hismagnanimity when he said thatthe Bhavan was always readyto support such endeavours.The launch of Dr. Panchamukhi’sbook simultaneously marked itsavailability at the Bhavan kendrasof the State, he said, adding thatthe presence of persons likeProf. Venkatasubbaiah createdthe right atmosphere for therelease of the book.

Sri. C.N.Ashok Kumar,Deputy Director, compered theprogramme and proposed thevote of thanks.

- JR

BHAVAN ALWAYSREADY TOSUPPORTCREATIVEACTIVITIES

THE WORK HAS

PHILOSOPHICAL

AND METAPHORICAL

SUBSTANCE

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The Dr. N.S.AnanthaRangachar Memorial EndowmentLecture was held on February 14,at the Kendra, focusing on hiscontribution in the translation ofthe Upanishads.

Delivering the lecture,Dr. P.Ramanujam, PrincipalInvestigator, e-PG PathashalaProject, dwelt on the entirebody of work of the Vedantin,pointing out that Dr. N.S. AnanthaRangachar was the first totranslate all the principalUpanishads into English in toto,according to the Vishishtadvaitasystem of philosophy.

He had taken up publicationof the major Upanishads with textand translation, with explanatorynotes that were useful andinformative to the scholar andthe layman.

DR. NSAA SCHOLARWITHOUTPARALLEL

He had translated theprasthana-traya texts of theVishishtadvaita system ofphilosophy such as the Brahma-Sutra Bhashya, UpanishadBhashya and Bhagavad GitaBhashya into English andKannada, showing his masteryover the two languages, besideshis scholarship, Dr. Ramanujamsaid.

The Vishishtadvaita systemof philosophy has Ubhaya (twin)Vedantas as its base—Sanskrittexts and the Tamil DivyaPrabandham (divine poems)comprising 4,000 verses of theAlvars or devotional saints, andDr. Anantha Rangachar hascovered most of the philosophicaland stotra works ofVishishtadvaita Acharyas in histranslations in both languages.

“The young, 85-year-oldDr. Rangachar is an authority onthe Upanishads and an all-roundscholar whose prolificcontributions cannot besurpassed. He is an inspiration toDr. P. Ramanujam

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everyone, leading a simple andhumble life”, Dr. Ramanujam said,adding that his works were likestreams flowing from him by virtueof his realization of Brahman.

Dr. Rangachar has taken upexposition of the Vishishtadvaitaschool of Vedanata as his life’smission, and his efforts throwlight on his erudition, vast teachingexperience and writing skills.

He has worked for the causeof preserving cultural values, and

his adherence to sampradayahas provided strength and clarityto his writings, while imbuing hislife with meaning, Dr. Ramanujamsaid.

PICKLES & LOTA CARTOON EXHIBITION

FROM FEB 22, TO MARCH 7, 2015,

AT INDIAN INSTITUTE OF

CARTOONISTS BENGALURU

Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India,

takes a look at the cartoons of Smt. Goda Anirudh Raghavan

EXPOUNDINGONVISHISHTADVAITAHIS LIFE’S MISSION

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BHAVAN-INFOSYS FOUNDATION

MUSIC PROGRAMMES AT

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF

WORLD CULTURE,

BASAVANAGUDI, BENGALURU

Sugama Sangeetha by

Smt. Supriya Thirumalesha Bhat on January 9, 2015.

Devotional songs by

Ms. Asha Ganapathy on February 13, 2015.

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PROGRAMME :MARCH - 2015

Sun 10.30 a.m. - Khincha Hall15. Dr. K.M. MunshiInstitute of Art and Culture -Yakshagana : Jatayu Mokshaby the artists ofRashtrakavi Govinda PaiSamshodhana Kendra, UdupiDirection : Prof. H. Krishna BhatHon. Director, Rashtrakavi GovindaPai Samshodhana Kendra, Udupi

Sun 10.30 a.m. - Khincha Hall22. Ugadi specialLaunch of CD - Nada -VasanthaThoughtful musical venture bySri. Bapu Padmanabha andSri. N.S. Sridhar Murthy

Sat 6.30 p.m. -28. BVB-Infosys FoundationOut Reach Cultural ProgrammeVeena flute concertVeena : Vidwan BalakrishnaFlute : Vidwan Vamshi SridharVenue : Ramana MaharshiAcademy for Blind, III Main,III Cross, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru

Sun 3.00 p.m. - ESV Hall29. MP Birla FundamentalResearch Centre - Graduation Day

for the 100 -hour certificate course inAstronomy and Astro-Physics.

Introductory Course in Cosmology,General Astronomy course, andSpecialised course inRadio AstronomyChief Guest : Prof . K. NagarajanPrincipal, Vijaya Bharati PU College

Tue 5.00 p.m. - Khincha Hall03. Pt. Puttaraj Gavai PratishtanHindustani Music -Vocal : Pt. Madhup MudgalHarmonium : Pt. Vyasamurthi KattiTabla : Pt. Udayaraj Karpur

Sun 5.00 p.m. - Khincha Hall08. Saptak presentsYakshaganaTopic : “Kamsana Vadhe” bySri Idagunji MahaganapathiYakshagana Mandali

Fri 6.00 p.m. -13. Kumaravyasa BharathaVachana VyakhyanaTopic : Dhurvasara AthityaVachana :Sri. M. Kaseem Mallige MadavuVyakhyana: Sri. M.R. Satyanarayana(in association with InfosysFoundation)Venue : Indian Institute of WorldCulture, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru

Sat 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall14. Bharatanatya bySri Sathyanarayana Rajuunder Horizon Series,(In association with Indian Councilfor Cultural Relations)

PRINTED BY L.V. SRINIVASMURTHY AT THE BANGALORE PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO.,LTD., 88, MYSORE ROAD, BENGALURU -560 018 AND PUBLISHED BY H.N. SURESH FOR THEBHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN BENGALURU KENDRA, RACE COURSE ROAD, BENGALURU- 560 001. EDITOR : H.N. SURESH

"Registered News Papers"

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bengaluru Kendra News

Reg.No. : KARENG / 2001 / 6498 / 29 APR 2002

March - 2015