M’luru: Commemorative coin on Kavi Muddana released

Mangaluru: A new coin in the denomination of Rs 150 brought out by the Union government to mark the 150th birth anniversary of poet Muddana was released by Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel here on Monday.

The coin, with a circumference of 44 mm and weighing 35 gm, has been made with an alloy of the four metals – silver, copper, nickel, and zinc.

The face of the coin bears the lion of the Ashoka Pillar in the center with ‘Satyameva Jayathe’ inscribed below. On the left periphery is written Bharath in Devanagari script and on the right, India is written in English. It also bears the rupee symbol and the denominational value 150 below the lion’s face.

The other face of the coin bears the image of Kavi Muddana in the center and ‘Kavi Muddana Ki 150th Jayanthi’ written in Hindi and the 150th birth anniversary of Kavi Muddana in English. The year 1870-2020 is also mentioned below the image of Muddana.

Kavi Muddana (Nandalike Laxminarayanappa), a native of Nandalike in Karkala, was a popular and highly respected figure in the history of Kannada literature. He lived from 1870 to 1901. His rich contributions to Kannada literature are held in high esteem even to this day.

Muddana, who worked as a physical education teacher for a living, had authored works like Ratnavati Kalyana, Srirama Pattabhisheka, Adbhuta Ramayana, and Sri Ramashwamedha.