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From Temple of Learning to Cattle-shed: How Politics Unmade Mysore’s Maharaja’s College
B.G.L. Swamy’s unforgettable scene of a donkey and two cows in Maharaja’s College is more than shock value; it crystallises a wider institutional decline at the University of Mysore. Drawing on S.L. Bhyrappa’s Bhitti and the memory-portraits of A.N. Murthy Rao, this essay traces how identity blocs, party patronage, and faculty “private durbars” displaced scholarly…
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From Common Rooms to Campus Cults: How Ideological Prophetism Captured Mysore Academia
Two classic vantage points—A.N. Murthy Rao’s portrait of the Maharaja College Common Room and B.G.L. Swamy’s field-notes in Mysore Diary—trace how Mysore’s academic culture shifted from collegial mentorship to hardened factionalism. The analysis situates this transition in broader patterns of patronage, social identity dynamics, and an assertive “prophetic mentality” that privileges rupture over deliberation. It…
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S.R. Ramaswamy’s Enduring Legacy: Dharma, Journalism, and the Rescue of DVG’s Memory
S.R. Ramaswamy (SRR) leaves an enduring legacy as a culture-shaping editor, institution-builder, and custodian of D.V. Gundappa’s (DVG) memory and thought. For nearly five decades he guided Utthana, embodying true journalism through integrity, workmanship, and a Gita-rooted ethic of action without attachment. He revived the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), rescuing a critical platform…
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Akka Mahadevi Jayanthi 2026 on Chaitra Pournami: Fearless Bhakti, Timeless Vachanas, Living Heritage
Akka Mahadevi Jayanthi, celebrated on Chaitra Pournami, honors the 12th-century Kannada mystic-poet whose Vachanas transformed the Veerashaiva (Lingayat) Bhakti movement. In 2026, the observance falls on April 1, aligning devotion and study with the full moon’s auspicious clarity. The post explores Akka’s life, theological insights, and literary craft—her ankita to Chennamallikarjuna, digambara-like renunciation, and engagement…
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Akka Mahadevi Jayanti 2026 (Chaitra Purnima): Timeless Vachanas, Origins, and Practices
Akka Mahadevi Jayanthi on Chaitra Pournami honors the 12th-century Kannada poet-saint whose Vachanas transformed the Bhakti Tradition in Karnataka. In 2026, the Jayanti falls on 1 April (Chaitra Purnima), with observances centered on recitation, reflection, and inclusive community gatherings. The article situates Akka’s life within the Veerashaiva movement alongside Basavanna and Allama Prabhu, examines the…
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Kumara Vyasa (Naranappa): Architect of the Kannada Mahabharata and a Beacon of Dharma
Kumara Vyasa (Naranappa) crafted the iconic Kannada Mahabharata, the Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari, blending poetic elegance with moral inquiry. Situated in the cultural radiance of the Vijayanagara era, his work remains central to Kannada literature and living performance traditions like Gamaka and Yakshagana. The narrative’s Bhamini Shatpadi meter and nuanced characterizations of Krishna, Arjuna, Karna, and…