'M'luru Lit Fest 2023' will elevate language, culture of nation: Mythic Society honorary secretary
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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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
