Mangalore: The Kadri Hills Lions Club organized Lions Kannada Literary and Cultural Convention, the first of its kind at Town Hall on Dec 17, Friday (today).
Dr D Veerendra Heggade, inaugurated the event and said that Kannada is a rich language compared to English, but one must not completely ignore English which is universal.

He also said that, many Kannada litterateurs are inspired from English poetry and writers, hence we must be thankful to them. It is true that in the field of medicine and science, research, there is necessity of English language, but in general they must use Kannada language to protect and safeguard it, he informed.
The people speaking Kannada language have the mutual understanding between each other compared to the people of other states, he added.
Presiding over the event, Satirist and critic H. Dundiraj said that when a small litterateur like him is asked to address at an event, he must say only to confirm his  appointment in his diary or with his secretary even though both are not present, but show their status.
He also said that, earlier Mangalore was only known for communal violence, but today there are terrorist activities too taking place. There are many intelligent people in Dakshina Kannada, who have given their contribution to various fields like art, poetry, education and other areas, he said, with a touch of humour.
When a good piece of literature is given to people, they will surely lay hands to make any programme a success. We must start protecting Kannada right from our homes, he added.
Dr D Veerendra Heggade also felicitated Ganga Padekal for her contributions to literature, B. L. Nagaraj for scholarship, Dinesh Holla for art and poetry, Bendaravadi Subramanya Sharma for Kannada literature, Raymond Monteiro for water research, Lokesh S. Puthran for life security, Jayalakshmi B. R. for social work, Kumari Geetha Bai for sports, and Gangadhar Piliyoor for journalism.

Around five children like Varsha R, Akshay Raj, Laxmiprasad K Achar, Vaishnavi Rao, Iravi Raman besides Kasthuri Kamath and Akshatha Konkodi were also felicitated with shawl and citation for their contribution in different fields.
Convention Honorary President Harikrishna Punaroor, Convener Arehole Sadashiva Rao, Philip Pereira, and Sarvottam Anchan were also present.
The event was held after a procession. Later Abdul Rauf Putthige hoisted National flag, Pradeep Kumar Kalkura hoisted Kannada flag and Harikrishna Punaroor hoisted convention flag.
Harikrishna Punaroor delivered the introductory speech, Convention Committee President N. T. Raja welcomed the gathering. G K Rao released the special souvenir on the occasion.
Naveen Shetty, Manohar Prasad and P Jayaram Bhat were present.
A number of cultural programmes were also performed as a part of the event. A book exhibition was held, which drew a huge crowd.