Mangaluru: The Pilikula Habba was inaugurated amid much pomp and celebration at Dr Shivaram Karanth Nisargadhama Pilikula here, on December 24.
The four day event began with a colourful procession which featured Chende, a Tulu style marriage couple, Gombe, Daff and other cultural treats.
Tulu Habba was celebrated on December 24. It was organised by the Tulu Sahitya Academy. An open quiz on Tulu culture, Lagori, Coconut hitting and other folk games were conducted. Prizes were distributed to the winners. After the competitions, a cultural programme and a magic show by Kudroli Ganesh was held.
Speaking on this occasion, Minister for Fisheries, Abhayachandra Jain said that the main aim of the events and programmes at Pilikula was to make the place a main attraction for tourists.
Executive Director of Pilikula Nisargadhama, SA Prabhakar Sharma also spoke on this occasion. He said that in the coming days various other Sahitya Academies will celebrate the Pilikula Habba at the venue and the citizens were welcome to attend and take part in various competitions.
President of Tulu Sahitya Academy, M Janaki Bhramavar also spoke on the occasion.
Deputy Commissioner, AB Ibrahim; President of Beary Sahitya Academy, Haneef and others were also present.
Lately, I have seen a significant jump in number of events being held in dakshina kannada region in the name of ‘this-habba’ or ‘that-habba’. I’m also seeing many invented, re-invented ‘day celebrations’ (example – ‘aati-onji-dina’) coming up every year. All these celebrations are usually accompanied by chende-meLa, gombe-vesha and other stuff.
Nothing wrong with all the theatrics and celebration. But, I see a total lack of focus on some of the big issues we face, experience everyday. The first thing any person who visits Mangaluru (Or, India for that matter) is the total lack of hygiene in our urban areas. Other than Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, nobody seems to be worried about what they experience almost all day and everyday. Our streets don’t even have traffic lanes in most areas in this so called ‘city’!! The disgusting filth found near Town hall or raw sewage are no problem for our ‘fish lovers’!!! I only wish we had better standards in life.