Kannada and voice of Kannadigas resounded in the World Kannada Conference that got off to a glittering start in the border district of Karnataka in Belgaum on Friday. Inaugurating the Conference, Chief Mentor of Infosys Narayan Murthy admitted that being a multi-lingual helps him as a businessman, but deep in his heart, he has always been a Kannadiga. He said that the development of Karnataka does not mean mushrooming of big cities and software companies. It happens only when the quality of life changes in villages. In his presidential address, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa announced the setting up of a theme park to commemorate the important historical events in the State. This theme park will showcase various developments in the history of Karnataka, development of Kannada as a language, Kannada literature, culture, religious and educational, economic, social and political developments. He emphasized that Belgaum is an integral part of Karnataka. The Chief Minister said linguistic minorities including, those who are natives of Karnataka, are all Kannadigas. “Rashtra Kavi” G S Shivarudrappa and Jnanapeeta awardee U R Ananthamurthy were among those present. Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was the special guest in the inaugural ceremony, was the cynosure of all eyes. She sprang a surprise when she began her speech in Kannada, however, she switched to Hindi immediately. The three days event is likely to draw 50,000 delegates from world over. Over a lakh people witnessed the inaugural on Friday.