The Kodagina Gowramma Endowment Award is among the most prestigious endowment awards instituted by the Kodagu District Kannada Sahitya Parishat.The endowment was established by Gowramma’s son B.G. Vasanth to honour women writers of Kodagu by presenting an award for an outstanding work published by a woman writer from the district. So far, 23 women writers have received the award.
When applications were invited for the 24th award for 2026-27, nine women writers submitted their works for consideration.
Three senior writers from the district were appointed as judges and evaluated all the books. The award has been given to Dr. K.P. Lalitha (Rashmi Nanjappa Kalliachanda) for her work “Kodagina Janapada Kathegalu” (Folk Tales of Kodagu), Kodagu District Kannada Sahitya Parishat president M.P. Keshava Kamath said in a press statement. Â Writer Dr. Lalitha K.P. (Rashmi Nanjappa Kalliachanda) completed her primary education in Kodagu and graduated from Mangalore University with the distinction of being an outstanding student. She obtained her postgraduate degree from the University of Mysore with a gold medal and was awarded a doctorate by the University of Mysore for her doctoral thesis on the place names of Kodagu. The Sahitya Akademi published her research thesis in book form and made it available to readers.
Her other major research works include “Vivaksha”, “Vivechane”, “Jeevanta Paleyuligala Kuritu”, “Kodagina Bhashe Mattu Samskruti”, “Kodagina Janapada Kathegalu” and “Shodhaneya Hadiyalli”. She has also written a collection of research articles titled “Oororme” in English. Her play “Pommothira Ponnappa”, based on the history and folklore of Kodagu, received public appreciation after eleven house-full performances at Bengaluru’s prestigious Rangashankara theatre. The play was later translated into English and staged several times in New York in the United States and at the Cultural Hub in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, thereby introducing Kodagu’s distinctive culture and folklore to an international audience.
Twenty-nine of her research papers have been published in reputed international journals, and she has received the “Abdul Kalam National Award” given by the NITI Aayog of the Government of India for her research work. She has presented papers at seminars at the State, national and international levels and has published numerous research articles.
Dr. K.P. Lalitha has been engaged in translation, research and folklore studies. She has served as head of the Kannada Department at B.M.S. Women’s College in Bengaluru and as Deputy Director of the Publications Division of the University of Mysore. She is currently serving as Honorary Executive Editor of the Publications Division.
At a meeting of the office-bearers of the Kodagu District Kannada Sahitya Parishat, the marks submitted by the judges were consolidated in the presence of honorary secretary Revathi Ramesh, treasurer S.S. Sampath Kumar, former president T.P. Ramesh, Madikeri Taluk Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Kadler Tulasi Mohan and district organising secretary Vasur Rai.
Dr. K.P. Lalitha’s “Kodagina Janapada Kathegalu” received the highest marks and was selected for the Kodagina Gowramma Endowment Award.
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