Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur Rastriya Smarak

It was Nov or Dec of 1988, I was home from college, had lunch, switched on the radio which was a habit while studying. Those days All India Radio was the only station and classical music was being aired. Until then I'd never paid attention to classical music but I was smitten by the voice. Yes, It was Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur's voice. I listened to the Raaga completely. When it was over, I wished the show continued. Those few minutes ignited an interest in Hindustani music. Between then and now, I've had the chance to listen to several other Hindustani Pandits' renditions. I've loved them all yet my favorite was Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur. His husky voice has always had a calming effect. I knew the maestro was from Dharwad...

About a fortnight ago while exploring parts of Dharwad on Google Maps I stumbled upon a place marked as "Mallikarjun Mansur Memorial Museum." It was a pleasant surprise. Even though I'd passed by that street a hundred times, I didn't know about it. Well, now I knew the location and had all the time for a visit.

Sept 2, 2024. This is the house where Hindustani Maestro Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur resided. Now this house is a museum and a memorial. The Mantapa to the left, a replica of Jagatjyoti Basaveshwara's Aikya Mantapa, marks the Samadhi of Mallikarjun Mansur & Gangamma Mansur.

This is the verandah. Pandit's Tanpura, his statue and several photographs are on display.

A marble statue made during Pandit's life time.

Pandit Mansur with his son Rajashekhar Mansur at a concert.

A family portrait: Pandit Mansur with wife Gangamma & son Rajashekhar, and sister Shakuntala & daughter Lakshmi.

Adjacent to the verandah was a room which I guess was Pandit's room since his personal belongings have been kept here. Pandit was a person who lived a simple life, his time & energy was dedicated to family and music.

A set of musical instruments- Tanpura, Harmonium & Tabla -these were probably used for Pandit's daily practice.

Almost every wall of the house was covered with photos of Pandit at various events, with fellow artists and politicians. It was an humbling experience. The lady caretaker of this place has kept the place well. With her permissions I took these pictures. The lady then introduced me to Pandit's daughter who lives next door. It was an honor to meet Pandit's daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and a granddaughter.

The memorial is being maintained by the state government. Pandit's birth anniversary (Dec 31st) and death anniversary (Sept 12th) are observed, poojas are organized here and public is welcome to attend the event.

Like my friend and Guru Karun Kumbera said- this was an enriching experience indeed.

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Kargil Stupa lit up for Independence Day

Kargil Stupa, a memorial for the martyrs of Kargil war was lit up for 2024 Independence Day. It was a nice change to see the structure in varying color lights. I managed to get couple of shots when the colors were saffron and green.

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Bendre Bhavan

Dr. Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, popularly known as Da Ra Bendre, is one of the greatest poets of Kannada literature. Da Ra Bendre was born on 31st January 1896 at Dharwad and passed away at Mumbai on 26th October 1981. His contribution to Kannada literature is immeasurable and invaluable. Today is this great poet's 40th death anniversary.

Bendre Bhavan was established as an honor to his contribution. The building houses a library of books, a museum and collection of paintings. Bendre Bhavan is situated right next to Bendre's house in Sadankeri area. The memorial building is open to public on weekdays from 10 AM to 5 PM, not sure about Sundays.

Da Ra Bendre's house and memorial building are situated in Sadanakeri locality named after the small waterbody of the same name, situated off Dharwad-Goa highway. Many of Da Ra Bendre's compositions happened in the vicinity of Sadankeri, the place is almost synonymous with Bendre's name.

photo by Sridhar B

Transcription of two quotes on the arch:

ರಸವೇ ಜನನ, ವಿರಸ ಮರಣ. ಸಮರಸವೇ ಜೀವನ 

ವಿಶ್ವದೊಳ ನುಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಣ್ಣಾಡಿಸುತಿಹನಲ್ಲ ಅಂಬಿಕಾತನಯನಿವನು 

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Deputy Channabasappa Memorial

Deputy Channabasappa was a patron of the Kannada movement in the second half of XIX century who is fondly known as the 'Lamp of Kannada.' This spot located right opposite Teacher's Training Institute in Dharwad has been dedicated to Deputy Channabasappa in memory of his service to Kannada language, culture and education.

November 1 1833 to January 4 1880

Transcription of the plaque:

ಡೆಪ್ಯೂಟಿ  ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನವರು

೧೯ ನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನದ ಉತ್ತರಾರ್ಧವು ಮುಂಬೈ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರಾಠಿಯ ಪ್ರಾಬಲ್ಯದ ಹಾಗೂ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷಿನ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭದ ಕಾಲ ಆಗ ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ ಬೆಳೆಸುವ ಮಹಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನಾಂದಿ ಹಾಡಿದವರು ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನವರು ಕನ್ನಡದ ಕುಲ, ನೆಲಗಳ ಉಜ್ವಲ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳಾಗಿ, ಖ್ಯಾತಿವೆತ್ತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತಜ್ನ್ಯರಾಗಿ, ಗಣಿತ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಜ್ಞರಾಗಿ, ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ವಾಗ್ಮಿಗಳಾಗಿ, ಶೇಕ್ಸಪಿಯರನನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಥಮ ಲೇಖಕರಾಗಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪ್ರಥಮ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತರಬೇತಿ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಪ್ರಾಚಾರ್ಯರಾಗಿ, ಶತಮಾನೋತ್ಸವವನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸಿದ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಏಕಮೇವ ಶೈಕ್ಷಣಿಕ ಮಾಸಿಕ "ಜೀವನ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ" ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾಪಕರಾಗಿ, ದಕ್ಷ ಡೆಪ್ಯೂಟಿ ಎಜ್ಯುಕೆಶನಲ್ ಇನ್ಸ್ಪೆಕ್ತರರಾಗಿ ಅನೇಕ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಾಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಪಿತಾಮಹರಾಗಿ, ಉಚಿತ ಪ್ರಸಾದನಿಲಯಗಳ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಗೆ ಮೂಲ ಪ್ರೇರಕರಾಗಿ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಪುನರುಜ್ಜೀವನ ಕಾರ್ಯದ ಕಾರಣಪುರುಷರಾಗಿ ಬೆಳಗಿದ ಪುಣ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನವರು ಲಿಂಗೈಕ್ಯರಾಗಿ ೪-೧-೧೯೮೧ ಕ್ಕೆ ನೂರು ವರುಷಗಳಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಆ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಡೆಪ್ಯೂಟಿ ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದು ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಹಾಗೂ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕ ತರಬೇತಿ ರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವ ಸೇವಾಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯಾಗಿದೆ.

​ಜನನ - ೧ ನವೆಂಬರ ೧೮೩೩ , ಮರಣ - ೪ ಜನೆವರಿ ೧೮೮೦

ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪುನರುಜ್ಜೀವನ ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪ್ರಸಾರ ಕಾರ್ಯದ ಶಕಪುರುಷರಾದ ನಾಡಿನ ಏಳಿಗೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನೇ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ "ಕನ್ನಡದ ದೀಪ" ಡೆಪ್ಯೂಟಿ ಚನ್ನಬಸಪ್ಪನವರ ನೆನಹು ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಸ್ಪೂರ್ತಿದಾಯಕ.​

Channabasappa was born to Basalingappa & Tippavva on November 1, 1833 in Dharwad. Having done some primary schooling in Dharwad he was moved to Pune where he completed  schooling in English medium. He was nominated for engineering course at England but things did not workout in his favour. In Pune he come in contact with  Jyoti Rao Phule and Satyashodhak Samaj. The student life in Pune, he was influenced by Maharashtrians people's culture and their love of land & language. He entered the field of education and remained dedicated to his passion for development of Kannada and education of Kannada people. He returned to Dharwad in 1855. He got married to Guravva and had two children Basalingappa and Rudramma.

In 1860 British government established a Kannada school in Dharwad where Channabasappa was appointed as the principal in 1861. In 1864 the school was upgraded to a training college and later shifted to Belgaum. Channabasappa served as the first Principal of that Training College. Channabasappa worked closely with Russel (education officer of Bombay presidency) for development of education in Kannada. Channabasappa was the first Kannadiga to hold the post of Deputy Educational Inspector (DPI). As a DPI, he strove to establish Kannada medium schools and hostels in the Bombay-Karnataka region. He was instrumental in making Dharwad the centre of Kannada language & literature and establishment of Karnataka College and Karnataka University. Deputy Channabasappa had encouraged authors to write books in Kannada. He was instrumental in setting up a number of Kannada schools and hostels. Besides his regular duties, Channabasappa has also authored books on mathematics and translated Shakespeare'’s '‘Comedy of Errors’' into Kannada under the title '‘Nagadavarannu Nagisuva Kathe’.' He died on 04.01.1881. Considering his contribution to Kannada he was rightfully known as "Kannadada Deepa" ~ "Lamp of Kannada" and also as the Tiger of Karnataka.

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Kargil Stupa

A memorial to soldiers from North Karnataka who laid down their lives defending India.

If you want to see it and ask for the location, many people may not be able to tell. It's right opposite Dharwad DC Office gate, near Sub Registrar's Office.

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