Why in news?

Considering the overwhelming response for its Manvantara, a unique initiative for cultivating reading habits and critical outlook among people in general and children in particular, the Koppal district administration has announced the second edition: Manvantara 2.

About the programme

• The programme is a competition for writing a literary review and a literary criticism of the books selected by the administration. The competition is divided into two categories: children and general.
• Four books, two each in Kannada and English, have been selected for the childrens’ category: Chidambara Rahasya (K.P. Purnachandra Tejaswi) and Marali Mannige (Shivaram Karanth) in Kannada and Becoming – Adopted for Younger Readers (Michelle Obama) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J.K. Rowling) in English have been chosen.
• For the general category, the chosen books are: Malegalalli Madumagalu (Kuvempu) and Grahabanga (S.L. Bhyrappa) in Kannada, and The Glass Palace (Amitav Ghosh) and Ikigai: Japanese Art of staying Young… While Growing Old (Keira Miki) in English.

The procedure:

• The contestants need to select a book and write a review/criticism that doesn’t exceed 1,000 words. A contestant can write on more than one book.
• Taluk-level selection committees will select the two best write-ups on each book in the two categories and send them to a district-level evaluation panel. The district committee will shortlist the best two write-ups for each book.
• The committee will then call the shortlisted candidates for interviews and select the winners.

The prize:

• The first prize will carry ₹20,000 in cash followed by a second prize with ₹10,000, and a third prize with ₹5,000. Those who are not selected for the interview would be honoured with a consolation prize of ₹2,000. The best review of an English work would carry a special prize of ₹15,000 in cash.

Purpose

The purpose of the initiative is to cultivate reading and writing habits among people, especially children. The first edition in 2000 received a good response by getting over 5,000 reviews.