Over 1 cr people sing 6 classic Kannada songs in a record of sorts

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: As the state gears up for the 67th Karnataka Rajyotsava (state formation day), the government organised a one-of-its-kind event to celebrate the occasion—Koti Kanta Gaayana.

The programme received an overwhelming response, with an estimated more than one crore people singing six classic Kannada songs, including the state anthem, in various locations across the State. And thousands of them gathered at the Kanteerava, with people arriving in buses and metro to fill up the stadium.

The mass singing programme was organised by the Kannada and Culture Department. The songs were Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujaathe by Kuvempu, Udayavagali Namma Cheluva Kannada Naadu of Huyilagola Narayan Rao, Vishwa Vinuthana Vidya Chetana of Chennaveera Kanavi, Baarisu Kannada Dindimava of Kuvempu, and Hachhevu Kannadada Deepa. Huttidare Kannada Nadalli Huttabeku, a song from Dr. Rajkumar’s film Aakasmika, drew the loudest cheer from the audience, the lyrics to which are ‘If you are to be born, take birth in the Kannada land; If you are to step on, step on the Kannada soil; This life is like a horse chariot; chariot that drives forward our fate.’ Puneeth Rajkumar was also remembered at the event, where it was announced one more time by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that he would receive the Karnataka Ratna award posthumously on Nov 1. The event was attended by former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Member of Parliament D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Bangalore Central MP P.C. Mohan, and Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya. The atmosphere at the stadium was electrifying as thousands of Kannadigas living in different countries and other states participated in the singing simultaneously. This also included fishermen on boats and passengers on aircraft, the videos of which were posted on Twitter. Talking to the media after the event, Bommai said, “We should be proud of being born in Karnataka and should teach our language to nonKannadigas living here.” “It’s a world record”, the CM said as he highlighted the people’s passion for the Kannada language and culture. As he was leaving Tejaswi Surya leaned into his car to have a final word, what was said is unknown. After the CM left, Surya posed for selfies with admirers as he exited the venue.