Mangaluru: A memorial programme honouring multilingual scholar and researcher Pundoor Venkataraja Puninchathaya, popularly known as Puvempu, will be held at the Parthi Subba Vedike at Gilivindu (cultural centre and memorial dedicated to the renowned Kannada poet and polyglot Manjeshwar Govinda Pai) in Manjeshwar on Saturday.
The 2026 Puvempu Award will be presented to senior writer and thinker Baraguru Ramachandrappa by Karnataka social welfare minister KH Muniyappa.
Addressing reporters, Puvempu Pratishthana president Kuntaru Ravisha Tantri said that the event, titled ‘Puvempu Nenapu’, will feature a memorial tribute, presentation of awards and cultural programmes. The event is being organised jointly by the Karnataka Border Area Development Authority, Puvempu Pratishthana, Kasaragod, and the Rashtrakavi Manjeshwar Govinda Pai Memorial Trust. Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf will preside over the inaugural session. Karnataka legislative council member Saleem Ahmed will inaugurate the event. M Veerappa Moily, president of the Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Memorial Trust, will release ‘Hrudayageethe’, a poetry collection by M Shafi Bandasala. Karnataka Border Area Development Authority chairman Somanna Bevinamarad will distribute prizes to competition winners. Kasaragod zilla panchayat member Irfana Itbal, authority secretary Prakash Mattihalli and S Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, president of the Kalkura Pratishthana, will be present.