Jnanpith, the country’s highest literary award was instituted in 1965.
Karnataka has won the maximum number of awards till to date, With 42
years of history of this award Kannada bagged Eight of them with an
average of one in 5 years. Even after present rule, if a language gets
the award it is not eligible to get next three years. Kannada
literature, which one of the oldest, Indian languages is very much
enriched by these icons, whose writings over a range of genres
translated into several Indian languages and foreign languages, provide
the Kannada world with their fabulous feast of writings.
Kuvempu
Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa
Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (Kuvempu), the first ever winner of
the Jnanpith award from Karnataka,was born on December 29, 1904, in
Hirekodige and brought up in Kuppalli, both villages in Shimoga
district. He came to Mysore for his school education and joined
Maharaja’s College for his B.A. degree. He got his M.A. in Kannada in
1929 and started his career as a lecturer in Kannada at Maharaja’s
College in the same year. He then became a professor and a principal,
and retired as the Vice-chancellor of the University of Mysore.
He strode the world of modern Kannada literature like a colossus,
starting a whole new school of thought in poetic tradition and bringing
unprecedented glory to Kannada in the linguistic and literary sphere of
India. His creativity took Kannada poetry to a new peak and immortalized
him in the hearts and minds of generations of poets to come, and he
brought a new sense of pride to the Kannada-speaking masses at large.
Kuvempu
was highly prolific as a poet and produced over 30 major collections of
poems in a period spanning five decades. But his creative intellect
also expressed itself brilliantly in his various plays, novels and
critiques. He also created significant children’s literature and
translations. Honours and awards ’sought’ Kuvempu unceasingly. He
chaired the 1957 Kannada Sahitya Sammelana at Dharwad and was conferred
honorary D.Litt. by the University of Mysore and by the Karnataka,
Bangalore and Gulbarga universities, Padmavibhushana by the Govt. of
India and the ‘Rashtrakavi’ title by the Govt. of Mysore. He won the
Central Sahitya Academy award in 1955 (for his epic Ramayana Darshanam),
the very first Pampa award in 1988 of Karnataka and of course, the
ultimate recognition of literary work in India-the Jnanpith award-for
his magnum opus Ramayana Darshanam in 1969. Having lived the life of a
true Vishwa Manava-the world citizen conceived and propounded by him-for
9 fulfilling decades, he passed away in 1994. His ever lasting
contribution to Kannadiga’s is our Nada Gete, “Jaya Bharata Jananiya
Tanujaate”.
D.R. Bendre
Dattatreya Ramachandra BendreDattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, the second Jnanpith award recipient from
Karnataka, was born on Jan 31, 1896, in Dharwad. Having lost his father
at a very young age, Bendre grew up under the guardianship of his uncle
and completed his B.A. at the famous Fergusson College in Pune. He got
his M.A. in 1934 and worked as a teacher in different schools in
different areas. His poem Narabali (Human Sacrifice) got him 3 years’
imprisonment at the Hindalga jail, after which he remained unemployed
for more than 5 years. He then joined Masti’s monthly journal Jeevana as
its honorary editor and went on to work in several more schools and
colleges before joining the D.A.V. College of Sholapur as professor of
Kannada. He remained in this position for 12 years till his
superannuation at age 60. But, even after retirement, he continued to
work in several places and his was indeed a highly chequered career
which exposed him to untold hardships in family life. But, amidst it
all, his poetic genius never failed to flower and in fact, his
adversities proved to be an ever-lasting source of inspiration and
philosophy for his unique brand of poetry.
Bendre composed close
to 30 collections of poems, but also produced many memorable plays,
short stories, critiques and translations, and he wrote in Marathi too.
Bendre’s outstanding contributions to literature were recognized in
various forms and on various forums. He was elected the President of the
27th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana of Shimoga in 1943; awarded honorary
doctorate by the University of Mysore and the Karnataka University;
elected Fellow of the Central Sahitya Academy in 1969; honored with the
Central Sahitya academy’s award for his poem “Aralu Maralu” and awarded
the supreme literary prize of Jnanpith in 1974 for his anthology of
poems Naku Thanthi . Word wizard Bendre passed away on October 26, 1986,
after playing a historical role in keeping the rich traditions of
Kannada poetry alive for over 5 decades. Dr. Vaman Bendre, a renowned
poet, critic and translator of Kannada and Marathi literature and son of
D.R. Bendre, has authored a biography of his father titled Bendre
Jeevana Parichaya.
Shivaram Karanth
Shivaram KaranthKota Shivaram Karanth, the third Jnanpith award recipient from
Karnataka, was born on October 10, 1902, at Kota in Dakshina Kannada
district. He had his primary education in Kundapur and his college
education at the Government College, Mangalore. The vastness and variety
of Karanth’s life and works defy any definition. Novels, short stories,
plays, encyclopedias, translations, satires, travelogues, essays,
biographies, critiques, works on folklore, art and sculpture, philosophy
and science no sphere of knowledge and no form of literature was alien
to his creativity.
Indeed, none else could have deserved so
briquettes such as “Mobile Encyclopedia” and “Bhargava of the Coast”
more richly than Karanth. He shunned the beaten track and set his own
path in an uncompromising pursuit of truth, based on constant
experimentation and exploration. He believed in the plentitude of life
and wanted people to experience every aspect of it and share such
experiences with others. This was why he did not find any branch of
knowledge too big or too small per se, for his cultivation. In fact, he
found these branches to be different paths to explore the same truth,
and was himself very familiar with every one of them. For Karanth, life
was never different from writing and his rich life easily and
effectively translated into equally rich literature.
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar
Masti Venkatesha IyengarMasti Venkatesha Iyengar, Karnataka’s fourth recipient of the
prestigious Jnanpith award was one of the tradition-makers of Kannada
literature. He was born on June 6, 1891, in Masti village of Kolar
district. By the sheer strength of his intelligence and industry, Masti
built a distinguished academic career for himself, passing the MCS
examination in 1913 and securing M.A. in 1914. As a civil servant, he
held various positions of high responsibility in different parts of
Karnataka, before retiring voluntarily in 1943. His long and diverse
career of 3 decades was marked by total dedication to public service and
exceptional administrative ability. And his wealth of experience as a
bureaucrat gave immense inspiration for his literary works. His
pseudonym Srinivasa is as popular as his native village Masti, in
Kannada literary circles today. Masti, in fact, started composing
stories right in his student days. His first published work ‘Kelavu
Sanna Kathegalu’ became the first noted work in the history of modern
Kannada short stories. A master story-teller, Masti had a unique
relationship with this genre of literature and was therefore aptly
called the “Brahma of Kannada Stories”, “Forefather of Short Stories”.
His works carry the best elements of literature in story form and with
their inimitable language, narrative style and richness of theme and
realities, powerfully relate to the readers. His story Subbanna, based
on the life of a musician is a good example of this and it has been
translated into several Indian and foreign languages. Channabasava
Nayaka and Chikkaveera Rajendra, both historical novels, are the best
examples of the fertility of Masti’s literary gifts. Masti also penned
quite a number of poems on different philosophic, aesthetic and social
themes which give us an insight into his versatile creative personality.
He also composed and translated several important plays and authored
several works in English, wrote biographies-including the 3-volume
autobiography ‘Bhava’ and edited the monthly journal ‘Jeevana’ from 1944
- 1965 which was a memorable era in Kannada journalism.
In terms
of quality, quantity, depth and diversity Masti’s works present a true
challenge to any researcher. He has written more than 120 books in
Kannada and more than 17 books in English, over a period of 7 decades,
giving abundant inspiration to generations of literary talents in
Kannada. Masti’s output naturally attracted fellowships, awards,
doctorates, presidentships and honors and recognition in numerous other
forms.
The most notable of them were, of course, the Jnanpith award which
came to him in 1983, in recognition of his historical novel Chikkaveera
Rajendra as an important literary work of post-Independent India. After
leading an exemplary and complete life in which he succeeded in placing
Kannada brilliantly on the literary atlas of India, Masti passed away in
1986 at the age of 95.
V.K. Gokak
Vinayaka Krishna GokakVinayaka Krishna Gokak, the fifth person to win the Jnanpith award from
Karnataka, was born on August 9, 1909. He had his primary and high
school education in Savanur, got his B.A. in 1929 and M.A. in 1931. In
1931, he began his professional career as an Assistant Professor in
Fergusson College, Pune and became the principal of D.E.Society’s
Willington College, Sangli, after finishing his advanced studies with
distinction, at Oxford, in 1936. But, soon he gave up his principalship
following an incident that hurt his self-esteem, and the resultant
unemployment set him on a path of serious introspection. In 1946, he
went to Rajasthan and set up a college in its desert region and in 1949,
with the reorganization of Indian states, his services in Rajasthan got
transferred to the Government of Bombay and he became the principal of
Karnataka College, Kolhapur, in 1952. He steadily grew in his academic
career there on, and attained a peak with his appointment as the
Vice-chancellor of the Bangalore University in 1966.
The main phase of his literary career and his life itself began in 1925
when he was swayed by the magnetic force of the towering figure of
Kannada poetry D.R.Bendre, like many other young poets of his time.
Seeing his knowledge of English literature, and his talents in English
poetry, Bendre prophesied “if Gokak allows his talents to blossom in
Kannada, his own poetry as well as Kannada will have a great future.”
Thus with Bendre as his Kavya Guru, Gokak embarked upon a unique career
in the world of Kannada letters, a career in which he made unparalleled
contributions to poetry (including composition of the epic Bharatha
Sindhurashmi), drama, criticism and various other forms of literature,
apart from producing many scholarly works in English.
The literary distinction of Gokak naturally attracted scores of
awards and honors. Of these, mention must be made of his Presidentship
of the 40th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in 1958, honorary doctorates from
the Karnataka University and the Pacific University of the USA, the 1961
Central Sahitya Academy award for his ‘Dyava Prithivi’ and of course,
the highest award for literary excellence in India-the Jnanpith
award-for his monumental contributions to Kannada literature, in 1990.
Gokak saw not only peaks of glory but also a peculiar complexity of
happiness and sorrow at many turning points of his life, a complexity
that became a characteristic mark of all his works. He passed away on
April 28, 1992.
U R Anant Murthy
Bornin 1932, at Melige, a remote Village in Tirthahalli Taluk, in Shimoga
District. Dr. Udupi Rajagopala Acharya Anantha Murthy had his early
Sanskrit education in a traditional Patashala. He completed his
graduation and Post-graduation from the University of Mysore in 1956.
Later in 1966 he earned a PhD (English & Comparative Literature)
from the University of Birmingham, U.K. He began his career as a
Lecturer in English in 1956 & continued till 1963. During the period
from 1970-80 he served as the Reader in English at Mysore University.
He has served as a visiting Professor at a number of foreign and Indian
universities. During the period 1987 to 1990 he served as the
Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. Besides, he has
also served as the Chairman of the National Book Trust of India at Delhi
in 1992-93, Indian Institute of Social Sciences in 1998 and The Film
and Television Institute of India at Pune in 2002. He was the President
of the Sahitya Academy from 1993 to 1998.
He has been the winner
of a number of awards both from the Government and also Academies for
his invaluable contributions in different fields. Notable are the
‘Jnanapeeta Award won in 1994 and the Padma Bhushana in 1998. Besides
these, the other important awards are the Literary Distinction, awarded
by the Government of Karnataka in 1984. Karnataka Sahitya Academy In
conferred the Fiction Award and Award for Literary Achievement, the year
1983 & 1984 respectively. He won the Masti Award in Literature in
the year 1994. He is also the winner of the Ganakrishti Award for
Literary distinction, Kolkatta for the year 2002. Besides these awards
mentioned above he has been the winner of a number of awards from the,
Karnataka Film Development Corporation for best stories like Samskara,
Ghatashradda, Bara etc., at different periods. Seminars, Lectures,
Tours. Since 1974 to this present day he has undertaken innumerable
tours, attended thousands of Seminars and has given a number of lectures
on various topics.
His lectures were on varied topics such as on politics, culture,
literature, Art and a number of other present day issues. In Kannada
Literature Mr. Murthy’s works can be classified into stories, poems,
novels and essays. His works like Endendu Mugiyada Kathe (1955) Mauni,
(1967), Prashne (1962), Akasha Mattu Bekku (1983), Mooru Dasakada
Kathegalu (collected stories), 1989, Suryana Kudure (1995), Aidu
Dashakada Kathegalu, (Collected Stories) 2001 are stories. His poems
like Mithuna (1992), Ajjana Hegala Sukkugalu (1989), 15 Padyagalu
(1967), Eeevareginal Kavithegalu (collected poems) 2001, Eeevareginal
Kavithegalu (collected poems) 2001 are famous. His novels include
Samskara, (1965) which has been translated into English, Russian,
French, Hungarian, German, Swedish, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi,
Urdu,Tamil and Gujerati, Bharathipura (1974), D!ivya (2001) and others.
Mr.
Murthy’s contribution to English language is no way less compared to
Kannada. Many of his works in Kannada have been translated to English by
different authors. For instance, ‘Initiation’ is a Kannada story
translated by Gary Wills, ‘Avasthe’ a novel, translated by Shanthinath
Desai, ‘Bhava’, & ‘Twenty Vacanas from Sunya Sampadane’ is a set of
twenty poems translated from Kannnada by Judith Kroll, ‘Bharathipura’ a
novel has been translated by P. Srinivasa Rao.
Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad, the seventh and latest Jnanpith award winner from
Karnataka, was born in Maharashtra on May 19, 1938. He got his
bachelor’s degree from the Karnataka University in 1958 and then
proceeded on a fellowship to study at Oxford where he secured his M.A.
degree in 1963.
Karnad is internationally known as a playwright, but is also a
highly talented film-maker, a versatile actor, an able cultural
administrator, a noted communicator and a person of wide accomplishments
and interests. Based on his serious explorations of folklore, mythology
and history, the subject of his plays reflect the problems and
challenges of contemporary life, and endeavor to forge a link between
the past and the present. The creative intellectual that he is, he
obviously views the subjects of his plays from his own perspective,
develops them in the crucible of his own imagination and personal
experiences, and employs them as a medium to communicate his
own-independent and original-feelings, thoughts and interpretations.
Karnad’s
play Hayavadana won the Central Sangeeth Natak Academy award and the
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya award in 1978. In 1993, his play Nagamandala
was premiered in Minneapolis in the USA. It was later staged, and became
widely popular, across the world. His other famous works (in Kannada)
are Yayati, Tughalak, Anjumallige, Hittina Hunja, Taledanda, Agni mathu
Male and Tippuvina Kannasugalu. He has translated his plays from Kannada
into English and Tughalak into German and Hungarian as well.
As
for films, Karnad has been director, actor and screenplay writer for
many famous Kannada movies including Samskara, Vamsha Vriksha, Kadu and
Kanooru Heggadithi, and several Hindi movies. Samskara won the best film
award, Vamsha Vriksha got national and state awards and many of his
films have won medals and awards. He has also made a number of
documentaries and tele-serials.
Karnad has also served as director of the Film and Television
Institute of India and Chairman of the Central Sangeeth Natak Academy
and the National Academy of Performing Arts. He was a visiting professor
at the University of Chicago in 1987-88 and as an intellectual, has
presented his thought-provoking views and ideas on culture and allied
topics on many national and international forums. He has always taken a
leading part in movements and crusades concerning social and cultural.
ChandraShekar Kambara
Chandrasekhar Kambara is a Kannada language novelist, composer,
folklorist, and poet. He was born in Ghodgeri, Belgaum district, in
1938. Chandrasekhar was educated in Belgaum, he taught Kannada
literature at various institutions before becoming Vice-Chancellor of
Kannada University and Chairman, National School of Drama. He also
directed films, notably Kadu kudure i.e. `Wild Horse` in 1978. This was
adapted from Garcia Lorca`s House of Bernarda Alba. Some of his short
early plays like Narcissus in 1969, staged in 1971 and Chalesha i.e.
`Man with Spectacles` in 1974, staged 1975 were absurdist in technique.
Rishyashringa in 1970 staged 1973. This was cinematized by V. R. K.
Prasad in 1976 dealt symbolically with the power of sex in a folk style.
Most of Kambar`s full-length drama is based upon traditional themes and
forms, especially those of north-Karnataka Bayalata. His breakthrough,
Jokumaraswami in 1972, is a folk-mythical ritualistic play about
fertility and impotence, and their implications extended to agriculture,
as well as the failure of revolution in India. Just as the tenant, and
not the landlord, is the real owner of land. The potent servant Basanna
happens to own sexually the wife of the impotent village chief. B. V.
Karanth`s production, with Girish Karnad as the headman, proved very
popular in Karnataka.
Angimyalangi
i.e. `Shirt over Shirt` in 1975 shows a man`s disappointment over his
wife`s ugliness, pushing him to marry again. But after he realizes her
moral beauty, he drops the idea of a second marriage. Jay Sidanayaka
i.e. `Victory to Sidanayaka` in 1975 has leftist leanings. It throws
light on the vicious element in society through the life of an arrogant
administrator, and teaches the philosophy that dreamers cannot change
the present. Kambar also edited and modernized the tragic play on
illicit love, Sangya-Balya i.e. `Sangya and Balya`, originally written
by the folk artist Nilakanthappa Pattar, or Pattar Master, and directed
it himself in 1975. Harakeya kuri i.e. `Sacrificial Sheep` in 1981,
staged 1983 powerfully satirize contemporary Karnataka through a
minister`s political exploitation of an officer. Huliya neralu i.e. `The
Shadow of the Tiger` in 1984 is another folk-mythical play. The tiger
symbolizes truth and its shadow, untruth. There can be no truth without
untruth. Siri Sampige in 1986 deals with the dichotomies between mind
and body, man and woman. Based on a Kannada folk tale about a prince who
has human and serpentine forms also adapted by Girish Karnad in
Nagamandala dance form, 1988, it is composed in Yakshagana style.
Chandrasekhar
Kambar contributed immensely to Kannada theatre by drawing upon folk
themes and techniques, particularly of north Karnataka. In his
traditional plays he often reinterprets folk myths and in his social
plays he satirizes the corruption and other vices of contemporary
society. In his older absurdist work he employed that idiom to present
rational themes. Most of his plays are known for their musical quality
and vigorous language. Because of their heavy dose of north-Karnataka
Kannada, especially the dialect of North Karnataka, they pose great
challenges to the translator.
Awards and Honours Received by Chandrasekhar Kambara
*Jnanpith Award - Recipient for the year 2010
*Padma Shri in 2001
*Sahitya Academy award in 1991
*Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1983
*Tagore Literature Award
*National Film Award for the title song of film Kaadu Kudure
*Kalidas Samman
*Kabir Samman in 2002
*Pampa Award in 2003
*Nadoja Award from Kannada University in 2004
Poetry Written by Chandrasekhar Kambara
* Mugulau - 1958
* Helatena Kela - 1964
* Takararinavaru - 1971 (State Academy of Literature Award)
* Saacvirada Neralu - 1979 (Ashan Award in 1982, Kerala)
* Aayda Kavanagalu - 1980
* Belli Meenu - 1989
* Akkakku Haadugale - 1993
* Ee Varegina Helatena Kela - 1993
* Chakori (Epic) - 1996 (Translated into English by Penguin Publication, India in 1999)
*
Rocks of Hampi - (Collection of poems translated into English by
Nagabhushana Swamy. Published by Sahitya Academi, New Delhi 2004)
Plays Written by Chandrasekhar Kambara
* Bembattida Kannu - 1961
* Narcissus - 1969
* Rishyashringa (Filmed) - 1970
* Jokumaraswamy - 1972
* Chalesha - 1973 (Translated to Hindi by Dakshina Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai in 1973)
* Sangya Balya Anabeko Naadolaga - 1975
* Kittiya Kathe - 1974
*
Jasisidanayaka - 1975 (Translated to Hindi by Saraswathi Vihar, New
Delhi in 1984 and English. State Academy of Literature Award and
“Vardhamana Prashasti” as the Best Book of the Year in Kannada)
* Alibaba - 1980 (Translated and published in Indian Literature, Sahitya Academy)
* Kaadu Kudure - 1979 (Filmed and received National Award)
* Naayi Kathe - 1980 (Filmed as Sangeeta and received 5 Karnataka State Film Awards)
* Kharokhara - 1977
* Mathanthara - 1978
* Harakeya Kuri - 1983 (Filmed and received National Award, translated into Hindi by Gyan Bharathi, New Delhi in 1989)
* Kambara Avara Natakagalu - 1984
* Sambashiva Prahasana - 1987 (Translated into Hindi, English by Seagull Books, Calcutta in 1991 and Tamil)
* Siri Sampige (Sahitya Akademi Award, New Delhi in 1991)
* Huliya Neralu (Filmed) - 1980
* Boleshankara - 1991
* Pushpa Rani - 1990
* Tirukana Kanasu - 1989
* Mahamayi - 1999 (Translated into English by NSD, New Delhi in 2000 and Hindi)
* Nela Sampige - 2004 (Collection of plays published by Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara, Government of Karnataka)
* Jakkana - 2008
* Shivaratri - 2011
Novels and Stories Written by Chandrasekhar Kambara
* Anna Tangi - 1956
* Karimaayi - 1975 (Filmed)
* G.K.Maastarara Pranaya Prasanga - 1986 (Filmed for Doordarshan, translated to Hindi by Vidya Prakashan Mandir, Delhi)
*
Singarevva Mattu Aramane - 1982 (State Academy of Literature Award,
translated to English by Katha, New Delhi in 2002, Hindi by Radhakrishna
Prakashan, New Delhi in 1984 and to Malayalam by DC Books, Kottayam in
1999 as Kulothe Chingaramma)
* Shikhara Soorya - 2007 (Published by Akshara Prakashana and second edition by Ankita Prakashana)
Source :
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