Poet Jayanth Kaikini inauguarating the 38th foundation day event of the Kuvempu University at Shankarghatta in Shivamogga on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Poet and storyteller Jayant Kaikini called upon students of the Kuvempu University to strive towards achieving equality in society and spreading love and harmony, keeping aside differences that divide people. Kaikini was addressing the students on the occasion of the university’s 38th foundation day at the campus at Shankarghatta in Karnataka’s Shivamogga on Wednesday.
Appreciating the students who chose to study languages, humanities, and basic science at the university, Mr. Kaikini opined that these areas of study dealt with human beings and thus, would help them understand life better. “I believe you have made the right choices,” he stated.
Stressing on the role of teachers in shaping a student’s character, Mr. Kaikini said that great teachers are those who showed students the path of liberation. “Great teachers should not confine, but liberate us. For that, students should remain focused on the subject, and committed to enhancing knowledge with the help of their teachers,” he said.
Mr. Kaikini, who is also a lyricist, spoke about the difficulties he encountered . While writing songs for movies, he would be writing for the actors playing different roles for a pre-set tune. “I don’t have the liberty to express my true self in songs written for movies. I wish students who have listened to my songs from movies also read my short stories and poems,” he added.
Day of introspection
Sharath Ananthamurthy, vice-chancellor of the university, who chaired the programme, said that the foundation day was also the day of introspection. “We can no longer bask in the glory of the past. We have to reinvent that glory. We have to make the university one among the top five universities in the country,” he stated.
He said that the university was facing a challenging time due to the decrease in grants from the State government. “We are not in a position to fill up posts that fall vacant with retirement. However, we have got highly talented students, a dedicated faculty and non-teaching staff,” he added.
Registrar A.L. Manjunath, registrar (Evaluation) S.M. Gopinath, finance officer H.N. Ramesh, and others were present on the occasion.
Exhibition
As part of the foundation day, many departments conducted exhibitions. The Department of Environmental Sciences exhibited an apparatus meant to monitor weather and air quality on the campus.
The department has been recording the rain, temperature, wind speed, humidity, and other conditions for the past few months. The department also records the air quality index (AQI) at the university campus and its city office in Shivamogga as well.
Published – July 02, 2025 06:52 pm IST
