Writers, intellectuals and students gather for ‘Conversation with the Arts’ at Heggodu in Shivamogga

Writers, intellectuals and artists gathered for the annual event ‘Kalevala Sangada Matukate’, organised by Ninasam at Heggodu in Sagar taluk. | Photo Credit: S.K. Dinesh

Writers, intellectuals, critics and literature students from across Karnataka and beyond have gathered at Ninasam in Heggodu, Sagar taluk, for the ‘Kalegala Sangada Matukate’ (Conversation with the Arts). The five-day event, running from October 1 to 5, is a contemporary variant of the ‘Culture Course’ that Ninasam has hosted annually for several decades.

During the event, the quiet village takes on a lively, festive air. Local garment makers set up stalls, while participants — ranging from undergraduate students to senior professors and retired professionals — move freely across the Ninasam campus, continuing conversations that began indoors. Between sessions, they discuss the previous evening’s play, the performances by the Ninasam Tirugata artists, the music and the lectures. After each discussion, they break briefly for tea, coffee and snacks before returning to the seminar hall. During these interludes, Ninasam artists often enthral the gathering with theatre songs performed on campus grounds.