Kasargod's merger with state is Pampa awardee's dream

MANGALORE: The reorganization of states had left the people of Kasargod region bitter. Noted poet Kayyara Kinhanna Rai expressed anguish in his work, 'Benki biddide namma manege ... O bega banni, Kannadada gadi kayona banni, Kannadada nudi kayona banni', a few days after Kasaragod was merged with Kerala.
The veteran will be presented the prestigious Pampa award for 2013 on Friday for his contribution to Kannada literature.Rai will step into his 100th year on June 8.
Rai has time and again said language and culture transcend geographical barriers and people who want to disseminate culture and language are not bound by borders. He has always strongly advocated Kasargod's merger with Karnataka. He, in fact, lost the 1980 polls from Kasargod to the Kerala assembly.
One of his major demands has been implementation of the Mahajan Committee report. The committee placed its report before Parliament in 1970, recommending the merger of 71 villages with Karnataka.
Rai is a teacher, journalist, writer and a poet. He published his first handwritten journal, Susheela, at the age of 12. He bagged the national award for Best Teacher in 1969. As a journalist, he contributed to several newspapers. Some of his notable works are Shreemukha, Aikyagana, Punarnava, Chethana and Koraga. He has written a biography of Kannada poet Govinda Pai, and also books on theatre, grammar and children.
Deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, Rai participated in the freedom movement too.
He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Mangalore University in 2005 and chaired the 66th Akhila Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held in Mangalore. He, in fact, lost the 1980 polls from Kasargod to the Kerala assembly.