Gilivindu set to be opened on March 6 in Kasargod

Kasaragod: The chief ministers of Kerala and Karnataka will jointly inaugurate “Gilivindu”, the cultural centre in commemoration of Rashtrakavi M. Govinda Pai on March 6.

A trust jointly formed by the Union government and the two states renovated Govinda Pai's residence at Manjeshwaram in Kasargod to make it his memorial at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore.

Gilivindu consists of an amphitheater for staging plays and Yakshagana, and spaces for art exhibitions, library, preservation of manuscripts, research, comparative studies, archives and guesthouse for scholars.

“The centre will show the life and works of Govinda Pai to the young generation. It will keep important works in both Malayalam and Kannada literature and will develop as a world-class heritage centre,” said P.S Mohammad Sagir, Kasaragod district collector.

The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Foundation had met the expenses to renovate the memorial building into a museum, library and an auditorium.

Former Union petroleum minister M. Veerappa Moily, who is also a writer, took earnest efforts in realising the project.Kannada poet Manjeshwar Govinda Pai  (1883–1963) was born in a Konkani Brahmin family at his maternal grandfather's house in Manjeshwar.

He was awarded the first Rashtrakavi title by the Madras Government when Kasaragod district was part of South Kanara district of Kerala before the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956. Gilivindu is the name of his first collection of poems published in 1930.