10th Anniversary Celebrations of WWW.JAINHERITAGECENTRES.COM was held on June 24, 2012 at Kannada Sahitya Parishath, Bangalore.
Bangalore (Karnataka), June 24, 2012: It was an unique experience for Bangaloreans, unlike many other Sundays they attended a special event. That was the 10th anniversary celebrations of the popular Jain website WWW.JAINHERITAGECENTRES.COM (JHC) at Kannada Sahitya Parishath. Renowned writer & research scholar Dr.Hampa Nagarajaiah inaugurated the celebrations. Delivering his presidential address he opined that “JHC has turned out to be a reference website for many Jains world wide including the various Jain study centres, research scholars & universities. He lauded the efforts of Nitin H.P. and Dr.H.A.Parshwanath; the founders of the website in building it over the years as one of the premier sources of Jainism”. Speaking further, “he praised the efforts & vision of Nitin in developing the website and said that what more does a father need when he sees his son being praised by the world around for his good deeds”.
He further said that “Jainism and its teachings are not only confined to the Jains but is universal in its disposition. Rather it is for those who wish to know and learn more. He said that Jainism has widened and is expanding in leaps and bounds across the globe. The desire among the people to explore more information about the religion is increasing rapidly across the globe. The websites like JHC are the best sources of information for such people as everything is available with in a click any time. He called upon the Jain community to involve in such initiative venture and support the founders of the website by contributing contents, articles and photos”.
The chief guest of the event Sri P.Y.Rajendra Kumar, (former director of the department of public libraries, Govt. of Karnataka) said that he has been following JHC since the past 5-6 years and is very much impressed by its features. He suggested to provide downloads of Jain songs & pravachanas of Jain munis & Bhattarakhas. He also added that including scanned copies of all the Jain texts on the website can serve as a reference to all.
Prof. Jeevandhara Kumar K. Hotapeti, Director of National Institute of Prakrit Studies & Research, Shravanabelagola had all praise for Nitin for his continued efforts in developing the website as a premier resource in Jainism at such a young age.
Delivering his key note address Dr.H.A.Parshwanath, (former joint director with the department of medical education, Govt. of Karnataka) opined that any religion has to be flexible to accept the changes in the society with the passage of time and the use of advancement is modern technologies for its propagation & understanding is inevitable. Internet & websites are one such powerful tool of communication that has to be used for their propagation.
Nitin H.P., executive director of the website shared his thoughts and experiences over the past decade. He said that it is because of the support and guidance offered by his parents (Dr.Parshwanath & Smt. H.A.Jayanthi) that he is able to attain this level. He further mentioned that the support rendered by his wife Smt. B. Ashwini, friends and relatives in this connection.
Nitin shared his thoughts and future plans with the website –
- Open Community Editing – Opening the site for open community editing with moderated postings.
- Customised Poster Service – A service by which individuals can choose the images on the website and request for printing them in the form of A4 & A3 size posters.
- Jain Heritage Lecture Series – A series of lectures to be started in different parts of India focusing on the Jain heritage.
Felicitation – Sri Brahmananda Chipre, Sri Manjunath B., Sri Rahul Naik, Sri Sudeep Jain, Sri Prashanth Jain and other contributors across India who have immensely contributed towards the growth and development of JHC were felicitated on the occasion.
Sri Y.C.Bhujabalaiah, executive member of Karnataka Jain Association, Bangalore delivered the welcome note. Sri A.P. Kumar, president of Jaina Adyayana Samsthe, Shimoga district, delivered the vote of thanks.
Tirtha Darshana – Later in the evening the slideshow presentation ‘Tirtha Darshana’ by Nitin H.P. was organized. The audiences were taken through the journey of various Jain Heritage Centres across the world. It was a very unique experience for them as they were able to see some of the rare Jain temples and idols. Dr.Hampana’s comments on some of the Jaina antiques added core value to the presentation.
– Jain Heritage Centres News Service