Mangaluru: B M Haneef, Bengaluru, Mohammed K Mata, Uppinangady and Mohammed Ali Uchil, Abu Dhabi received the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy annual honorary awards for the year 2015.
Meanwhile, Dr Wahab Doddamane Memorial Research Award was conferred on Yakub Khader Gulwadi and P Sushila Upadhyaya Memorial Beary Women Award was given away to Maryam Ismail at a formal function held here at Town Hall on April 16.

The event was inaugurated in a rather unusual manner by senior litterateur S G Siddaramaih by handing over coconut sapling to guests.

He pointed out that language and culture are inter-dependent. “Only if our language is protected only then our culture can survive,” he said lamenting that in present scenario, a boy and girl from different cultures do not even have the freedom to walk together.

Kannada and culture minister Umashree, promising help to construct Beary Bhavan, said that there is a need to translate Beary literature into Kannada so that the essence of the language reaches far and wide.

District in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai, Health minister U T Khader, sports minister Abhayachandra Jain, MlC Ivan Dsouza and others were present.