Mangaluru: The ‘Mangaluru Lit Fest 2023’ got off to a grand start on Saturday at TMA Pai International Convention Centre, Mangaluru, with honorary secretary of Mythic Society V. Nagaraj inaugurating the program by lighting a lamp.
V. Nagaraj said that Saturday being Shivratri, the festival of Shiva, who is called as Dakshina Murthy and is the lord of religion, culture and education, it was special that the program was being held on such an auspicious day.
“The language, art and culture of our great nation will be elevated through the literary festival. Literature reflects age and culture of the nation. The past decades were filled with ideas that were not ours, but times have changed. It is a matter of pride that our Indian culture has continuously grown over the past five thousand years. Other civilizations of the world have fallen due to attack and reliance on other religions. But only in India, the light of ‘sanatana’ has flowed for 5,000 years,” he said.
Nitte Vice-chancellor Dr. N Vinay Hegde, who presided over the program, said that Mangaluru is a city leading in the country in various fields, including education, health, commerce and employment. “This literary festival organized by Bharat Foundation is a guide. Mangaluru region is a religiously, culturally and educationally elevated place. Even before Independence, Mangaluru region had a special place,” he added.
He also wished that the program would become a model for the world.
Tukaram Pujari, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, recalled his path of achievement and praised him. He said, “Although our ancestors did not have knowledge of letters, their knowledge of nature and culture was good. It is from them that our culture has flowed till now. We have to owe it to them.”
R. Jagannathan, Editorial Board Director of Swarajya magazine, who participated as a guest in the program, said that the thought of India is the thought of religion. He referred to the Sanskrit phrase, “Sukhasya Moolam Dharma, Dharmasya Moolam Artha, Arthasya Moolam Rajya,'' as mentioned in the Chanakya Sutra, which is the basic religion for the country to be prosperous. He also said that good economic policy will elevate the country to a higher position.
“Present day India is progressing on the same path. The country will become prosperous through self-reliance, poverty is disappearing from the country,” he said, adding that the ‘Amritkala’ of next 25 years will elevate the country to the highest position.
Before the start of the program, a procession of books in a palanquin was held up to the program venue. Senior folk artiste Bhavani Amma Pergade flagged off the program by singing ‘Paddan Gita’.




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Bengaluru: Lokayukta police have arrested a KAS officer and his driver for allegedly demanding and accepting a Rs 30 lakh bribe to pass a favourable order in a pending RRT case.
The accused have been identified as Nagaprashanth (KAS), serving as Special Assistant Commissioner (North) and Special Land Acquisition Officer-1, KIADB, and Kumar, a driver associated with his office, Deccan Herald reported.
Based on a complaint by Ravi Kumar, a resident of Attur in Yelahanka, Lokayukta team laid a trap.
According to investigators, the accused had demanded Rs 30 lakh, of which Rs 15 lakh was allegedly collected earlier by the driver on the officer’s instructions.
On Wednesday, the driver was caught red-handed while accepting the remaining Rs 15 lakh, leading to the arrest of both him and the officer.
Both accused have been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.
