BANGALORE: A Cabinet subcommittee on Suvarna Karnataka celebrations has decided to shortly constitute a committee of experts for eliciting its views for continuing to hold the popular "Janapada Jaatre," which was suspended recently owing to various reasons, according to sources in the Government.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Minister for Home M.P. Prakash, Minister for Kannada and Culture H.S. Mahadeva Prasad and Minister for Medical Education V. S. Acharya and others participated in the meeting held on Tuesday.

The meeting deliberated briefly on the issues that forced the Government to suspend the Janapada Jaatre. It felt the need to constitute a committee of experts in the relevant fields for guiding the Government in holding the event in future.

It urged Mr. Prasad to convene a meeting of a 21-member committee constituted for the purpose before the launch of jaatre for eliciting its view over the issue before the resumption of the suspended event, sources said.

The Government constituted a 21-member committee headed by Secretary, Kannada and Culture, Information and Tourism, I. M. Vittalmurthy on August 31.

First meeting

The committee met first on September 15 at Kannada Bhavana in Bangalore. Many members, including playwright and MLC, Chandrashekar Kambar, Gandhian and president of Janapada Parishat G. Narayana, Director of Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies (Mysore) and former chairman of Janapada and Yakshgana Academy Hi. Shi. Ramachandre Gowda, writer-publisher Krishnamurthy Hanur (Mysore), Professor of Kannada with Kuvempu University (Shimoga) Srikanta Koodige and H.N. Suresh of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan had reportedly participated in the meeting. The noted absentee was the former chairman of the Kannada Development Authority Baragur Ramachandrappa.

The meeting, which only discussed some general things, had unanimously agreed to co-opt chairman of the Nataka Academy Srinivas G. Kappanna, considering his expertise in managing the cultural events. Later, chairman of the Jaanapada and Yakshagana Academy Keremane Shambhu Hegde and many folklorists had questioned in public the merits of Mr. Kappanna as folklorist, the sources added.

The Government's decision to resume the spectacular jaatre across the State is a welcome move for one and all, particularly for the artists from Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes who participated in the event hitherto held.

However, the Minister of Kannada and Culture had raised questions on the curious inclusion of Bharatanatya, a classical art form, into the gamut of folk arts. This remains to be clarified.

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