Crossed wires over State Anthem in Karnataka
The Congress government issued a directive stating that the “Naada Geete”(State Anthem) should be sung alongside the public melody daily in all seminaries to foster its sweats in promoting Kannada and Karnataka culture. Still, this directive was controversial, and the ruling Congress faced scrutiny over another significant oversight. On February 1, an order dating back to 2004 declaring “Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Thanujaathe” as the state anthem was formally exhibited. It became obligatory for all seminaries, government and semi-government realities, pots, boards, and affiliated associations in Karnataka to begin their day only after singing the state anthem. On February 16, an amended announcement was issued, altering the expression of all seminaries to government seminaries, all seminaries following a case filed in the Karnataka High Court. Minister of Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi attributed this to a printing error. He explained that the original announcement on February 1 included the expression all seminaries, while the alternate information on February 16 came after a case was filed seeking an explanation of the term all seminaries by Kikkeri Krishnamurthy.
There had been a longstanding demand for uniformity in rendering the Nada Geethe, with a duration of 150 seconds and adherence to the rendition by noted music musician Mysore Ananthaswamy. The council had also claimed that the Karnataka State Anthem be sung to the tune composed by C Ashwath rather than Ananthaswamy. The February 16 announcement served as an explanation regarding the interpretation of all seminaries. In the process, the minister conceded that the term private had been inadvertently neglected. The original note mentioned’ all seminaries,’ but it was neglected in the announcement due to a printing error, stated the minister while presenting revised information specifying that the state anthem must be sung in all seminaries — government, government-backed, unaided, and private. Penned by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu( Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa), the Karnataka State Anthem is traditionally sung before every government event. Now, the administration has also decided to extend this practice to seminaries. This rich Kannada lyric, expressing the concinnity of India, its different artistic heritage, and the peaceful concurrence of family countries while projecting tone- confidence, respect, and quality, was officially declared Karnataka’s state anthem in 2004.
[Image Source: News18]
