Mysuru: Red and yellow colours of Kannada Flag dominated the city as the three-day 83rd Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana began this morning with a massive procession with over 22,000 people including 9,000 schoolchildren and 2,000 women participating. A carnival atmosphere, resembling Dasara festival, prevailed all through the procession route. The procession ended at Maharaja’s College Grounds, the main venue of the event. As part of the festival, the Mysore Palace will be illuminated for three days from 7 pm to 8 pm. The Sammelana is being held in Mysuru after a gap of 27 years. The city has hosted four Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelanas — 1917 (Sammelana President H.V. Nanjundaiah), 1930 (Aluru Venkata Rao), 1955 (Shivaram Karanth) and 1990 (K.S. Narasimhaswamy) — and also the first Vishwa Kannada Sammelana in 1986. The colourful procession, complete with tableaux and cultural troupes, began at Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple at 9.15 am and was inaugurated by ZP President Nayeema Sulthana in the presence of Sammelana President Prof. Chandrashekar Patil (Champa), his wife Neela Patil, Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Dr. Manu Baligar, District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa and Mayor M.J. Ravikumar. The inauguration was signalled as the ZP President waved the Kannada Flag. Before the procession, Champa performed special puja to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari inside Palace premises.
