"Padanidhi"- the First Thesaurus of Kannada Language by Fr. Prashanth Madtha Released.

11 years of hard labour hunting for every Kannada word from village and town, from old times and modern times, from dictionaries and newspapers and arranging them in the order of similar, near, related and opposite meanings has finally borne fruit for the scholarly Jesuit of Karnataka Province, Fr. Prashanth Madtha. An 800 page book containing synonyms for over 16,000 Kannada words was released at the glittering ceremony held at St. Joseph’s Boys High School. Veerappa Moily, the former C M of Karnataka and a well known poet released the book and appreciated Fr. Prashanth’s unique contribution to the Kannada literature. Rashtrakavi G.S. Shivarudrappa in his message highlighted the contribution of Christian missionaries to the Kannada literature. Prof. Siddharamayya who introduced the book to the audience pointed out the meticulous, extensive, scientific division of the words. Fr. Prashanth spoke of the twofold usefulness of the book. Fr. Terence Farias, the Rector of SJC, praised Prashanth for his masterpiece and urged all to make use of this work. The hall was packed to the capacity. It was certainly a joyful occasion and a matter of pride for all the students and staff of St.Joseph’s Evening College to see their dear principal included in the circle of literary giants of Kannada language.