Entertainment
Three-day workshop on theorisation of Kannada criticism at CUK from October 7
A three-day workshop on “Theorisation of Kannada Criticism” will be organised at the Kannada Department of the Central University of Karnataka (CUK) from October 7 to 9.
The workshop will be organised jointly by the Kannada Department of CUK and the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi, Bengaluru, under the Department of Kannada and Culture. It will feature 10 sessions involving discussions, interactions and paper presentations on various dimensions of Kannada literary criticism and its theoretical foundations.
The inaugural programme will be held at 10 a.m. Karnataka Sahitya Akademi president L.N. Mukundaraj will inaugurate the workshop. CUK Vice-Chancellor Battu Satyanarayana will be the chief guest, while Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages Ganesh Pawar will be present.
Basavaraj M. Kodagunti, Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru, and Ramalingappa T. Begur, principal of Government First Grade College, Hoskote, will speak at the workshop. Karnataka Sahitya Akademi member-convener Siddarama Honkal will deliver the introductory remarks.
Shivaganga Ramma, Head of the Department of Kannada, CUK, will preside.
The three-day workshop will focus on various dimensions of Kannada criticism and its theoretical underpinnings. Topics to be discussed include translated works in Kannada literature, approaches to pre-modern literature, Jain literature, Vachana and Shaiva literary criticism, Kannada poetics, selected forewords and afterwords, folk literature, comparative writings, feminist criticism in Kannada, Dalit literary criticism, inscriptional studies, Keerthana and Vaishnava literary criticism, the history of Kannada literature, Tattvapada literary criticism, and the review and theorisation of writings on various philosophical concepts and theories.
A total of 10 sessions will be held during the workshop. Senior writers, scholars, thinkers, professors and subject experts from across Karnataka will participate both online and in person, presenting papers and taking part in discussions.
The valedictory programme will be held on October at 4 p.m. Sabiha Bhumigowda, former Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka State Akkamahadevi Women’s University, will deliver the valedictory address. Karnataka Sahitya Akademi president L.N. Mukundaraj and Registrar Kariyappa N. will be present.
CUK Registrar R.R. Biradar and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages Ganesh Pawar will be the chief guests. Shivaganga Ramma, Head of the Department of Kannada, will preside.
Students, research scholars, professors and literature enthusiasts from universities and colleges across Karnataka are expected to participate. The workshop is intended to provide a platform for meaningful discussions on the tradition, evolution, contemporary dimensions and theoretical aspects of Kannada literary criticism.
The Hindu·5 hours ago·2 min read
Entertainment
Kannada book fair to add literary flavour to Dasara
A Kannada book fair featuring discounted sales will be held from October 11 to 20 as part of the Mysuru Dasara-2026 festivities at the Bharat Scouts and Guides grounds here.
Karnataka Book Authority president Manasa said Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi would inaugurate the fair. Around 70 publishers are expected to participate, with 90 stalls being set up.
Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday (October 6), she said new books would be released every morning, while cultural programmes, including ‘Selfie with Sahiti’, would be held in the evenings.
As part of the fair, 12 books published by the Karnataka Book Authority would be released on October 12. The programmes on subsequent days include ‘Bhavageethegalu’ by Amma Ramachandra on October 13; ‘Reading My Favourite Book’ by students of Yuvaraja College on October 14; folk songs by Sabbanahalli Raju and troupe on October 15; and a poetry meet, ‘Kuncha-Kavya Gayana’ and other programmes organised by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy, Karnataka Lalitakala Academy and KSN Trust on October 16.
Students of Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music University will present stage songs on October 17. A performance of Kanaka Keerthanas and Tatpadas by a team from Chamarajanagar will be held on October 18, followed by a Devi Mahatme Moodalapaya Yakshagana presentation by A.N. Thimmaiah of Tumakuru on October 19.
As in previous years, a book chariot will be used to publicise the fair. The venue for the cultural programmes has been named Rashtrakavi G.S. Shivarudrappa Cultural Stage.
Entrance gates named after noted novelist C.N. Muktha and former Mysuru district Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Maddikere Gopal, both of whom passed away recently, will also be erected at the venue.
A new initiative, ‘Recite a Poem, Get a Plant’, will be organised every day. Interested poets can recite their poems and receive a sapling.
The poster for the Dasara book fair was released during the press conference.
The Hindu·5 hours ago·2 min read
Entertainment
Paramount closes $110bn deal with Warner Bros Discovery: The new firm is Skydance
Paramount offered $31 a share in cash, valuing Warner's equity at $81 billion The entity Skydance will be led by tech scion David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, formerly the top executive at Mattel.Paramount's purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which Hollywood spent most of 2026 treating as either inevitable or illegal, depending on who was paying for the lunch, is done. The parent company will be called Skydance, and David Ellison will run it alongside his incoming co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. Ellison simply reused the name of Skydance Media, his original film production company, as the umbrella for everything being folded into the new conglomerate. Paramount and Warner Bros. themselves survive as brands under that umbrella, keeping their logos on their films, much as Universal sits under Comcast.The road here was not short. Paramount offered $31 a share in cash, valuing Warner's equity at $81 billion and the whole transaction at $110 billion once debt is counted. Netflix had got there first, with a $27.75-a-share agreement for the studio and streaming assets, but when the price rose its co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told Warner the deal was no longer financially attractive and walked away. Then came a lawsuit from twelve states. On September 30, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved Paramount's settlement with them, and the price of that settlement is worth reading closely. The combined company must release at least 30 theatrical films a year for two years and 32 for the following three, pay a $30 million penalty for every film it falls short, and honour 45-day theatrical windows. It must also set up an independent editorial board to oversee CNN and CBS News. Rarely has a merger been approved on the condition that it behave like two companies.Which brings us to Kreiz, the most interesting hire in Hollywood this year. At Mattel since 2018, he turned toy brands into films, TV shows and games, and delivered "Barbie," the highest-grossing film Warner Bros. has ever had. The man who rented Warner its biggest hit now gets the keys to the building. He will oversee daily operations and the combined businesses, while Ellison leads strategy, creative and technology. Ellison, in short, keeps the vision and hands Kreiz the spreadsheet.That spreadsheet is not a gentle one. Paramount is aiming for more than $6 billion in savings from the merger, and Kreiz's turnaround at Mattel included job cuts. To fund the purchase, Paramount is issuing about $42.4 billion in bonds and taking out a further $8.5 billion and €850 million in loans. Three Middle Eastern funds will own 38.5% of the merged company, according to Paramount. The leadership reshuffle has already begun: Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will not be part of Ellison's team.Ellison describes Skydance as "a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling." The settlement, with its film quotas and per-title fines, suggests that twelve state attorneys general were not entirely prepared to take his word for it.(With wire inputs)
Times of India·5 hours ago·2 min read
