Monday, May 4, 2015

Stupendous Achievement: Kannada-English Dictionary.

A Kannada - English Dictionary containing 4750 pages in three volumes with 1,60,000 words in it written by a single individual, V Krishna, who worked on it for the last 30 years, is released now, on 3rd May 2015, published by Karnataka Sahitya Parishat headed by Professor C Veeranna. The three volume set is priced at Rs. 3000.


Prof.Veeranna along with the Author has been toiling since the last five years to get funds from the Government of Karnataka to publish the Dictionary but of no avail. The insensitive and unintelligent successive governments did not find any value in it, were willing to give only Rs. five lakhs while the project cost is 45 lakhs. Government always boasts that they are for growth and development of Kannada and yet fail to grab the opportunity to raise Kannada to a global status by promoting dictionary of this kind. Knowledge of Kannada alone by Kannadigas will not help to raise to national and international level, although it helps to get rooted to one' source and enhance one's creative talents. Learning the mother tongue Kannada along with English will help him to raise in terms of job and growth potential and thereby become a citizen of national and even global stature, a first class citizen. Dictionary of this kind is a big step to reach that stature.

Kudos to both the author V Krishna and Professor C Veeranna who deserves all our appreciation for such a huge accomplishment for the benefit of Kannadigas. Even the non-Kannadigas who are to move closely with Kannadigas can also benefit from it while picking up Kannada easily as the dictionary contains Kannada words spelt with intonation in English.