Language has power to create fear and usher in peace: Tolpadi

Scholar Lakshmisha Tolpadi discusses the power of language to create fear and peace at Mangaluru Lit Fest.

Language is nothing but a thought. It has the power to create fear and also usher in peace, said scholar and Sahitya Akademi awardee Lakshmisha Tolpadi in Mangaluru on Friday, January 19.

Inaugurating the sixth edition of the three-day Mangaluru Lit Fest of Bharat Foundation, Mr. Tolpadi said presently, people are being ruled not by the government but by thoughts, which are created by language. The language, which has the power to create fear, can also usher in peace. “We have created divisions and it’s on us to build unity,” he said.

Creativity, he said, is the common word in literature. Creativity comes out from one’s honesty and his or her sensitivity to suffering. Referring to epic Ramayana, Tolpadi said, the epic resulted from sensitivity of poet Valmiki to suffering of female ‘Krauncha’ bird after the male counterpart ‘Krauncha’ bird is hit by an arrow of the hunter.

Literature, the scholar said, is nothing but a medium to study oneself. “Literature is like a question. We should accept these questions and dig deep into them, by leaving our prejudice aside, and finding truth,” he said. Literary festival like Mangaluru Lit Fest helps a lot in self learning, he added.

The three-day literary festival began with a group of women bringing books on a palanquin to the main stage. This year’s Mangaluru Lit Fest award was given to Vanita Seva Samaj of Dharwad in recognition of organisation’s nine decades-long work in women empowerment. The award was received Secretary of the Samaj, Madhura Hegde, and other office bears of the Samaj.

Honorary Secretary of The Mythic Society, S. Ravi, and Trustee of Bharat Foundation Sunil Kulkarni also spoke.

The inaugural day ended with dance by students of Alvas College, Moodbidri, which was followed by ballet by Jaggi Vasudev’s daughter Radhe Jaggi and her team. The book “The Idea of Bharat” was launched.