Mangaluru : Mangalore University will kick-start the silver jubilee celebrations of its Prasaranga on Wednesday. As part of the jubilee celebrations, it will upload all publications of the Prasaranga online, according to K. Byrappa, Vice-Chancellor.

Briefing the media here on Monday, he said that as the university would soon upgrade its website as a web portal, those interested to read the publications online could do so by making an online payment. The books will not be available for free reading.

So far the university has published 121 works through its Prasaranga. Henceforth all the new books to be published would be uploaded online. With this, he said, readers from far away places could have access to the university’s publications and they need not approach stalls to purchase hard copy.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the university would sell its books through a mobile bookshop, using a vehicle modified for the purpose. The vehicle would move around towns exhibiting and selling books. Such an experiment by the University of Mysore some time ago proved a success and the sales went up by 10 times, he said.

Mr. Byrappa said that the university would appoint an assistant director and a typist-cum-clerk to the Prasaranga in addition to the current three staff members.

Reiterating that he had sanctioned Rs. 25 lakh to the Prasaranga to observe the silver jubilee through various activities, he said that six books would be released at the inauguration of the jubilee on Wednesday.

The books to be released are: Yakshagana Stitigati by M. Prabhakara Joshi; Balipa Gaana Yana by Nagaveni Manchi; Yakshagana Prasanga Samputa by Padekallu Vishnu Bhatta; Adbhuta America by H.M. Nagaraju; Shaba Seemeya Aache by Poornima Suresh and Karavali Mahaneeyara Baduku-Sadhane by the university.

Six other books are scheduled to be released soon.

The Prasaranga would organise 25 special lectures by eminent persons and experts on various topics. Those lectures would be compiled and released as a book.

De. Javare Gowda, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Mysore would inaugurate the silver jubilee celebrations. Poet K.S. Nisar Ahmed would release the books.

P.S. Yadapadithaya, Registrar (administration), and P. Sripathi Kalluraya, director of the prasaranga, were present.