Hulkuntemath Shivamurthy Sastri Shivaprakash (born 1954) is a leading poet and playwright writing in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. He is professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics,

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties an ...

, New Delhi. He heads the Cultural Centre at Berlin, known as the Tagore Centre, as Director run by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He has seven anthologies of poems, twelve plays, and several other books to his credit. His works have been widely translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

, Marathi,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

. His plays have been performed in

, Hindi, Meitei, Rabha, Assamese, Bodo, Tamil and Malayalam. Shivaprakash is also a well-known authority on vachana literature,

Bhakti movement The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th cent ...

s of India, and

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

and other mystic traditions.

Life and career

Shivaprakash was born in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in June 1954. His father Shivamurthy Shastri was an eminent

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have bee ...

scholar and served under the erstwhile

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. In title, the role has been known by differen ...

. After obtaining his MA in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univer ...

, Shivaprakash joined the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

government service as an English lecturer and taught for over two decades at various colleges in

and

Tumkur Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

. In 1996, he was appointed the editor of ''

Indian Literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognised languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were ...

'', the bimonthly journal of

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

in New Delhi. Shivaprakash joined the School of Arts and Aesthetics in

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...

in 2001, where he is professor of

Aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

and Performance studies. In 2000, he was selected for the International Writing Program of the School of Letters,

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

, and is honorary fellow of the school. Professor H. S. Shiva Prakash served as Director of Tagore Centre in Berlin (2011-2014). He retired from JNU in 2019 and has been living in Bangalore since 2021.

Poet

Shivaprakash published his first anthology of poems ''Milarepa'' in 1977, when he was still 23. It was immediately recognized as a fresh voice in Kannada poetry. But Shivaprakash gained popularity and acclaim only with his second anthology, ''Malebidda Neladalli'' in 1983. The poem "Samagara Bhimavva" became an instant hit, which brought him to the centre-stage of post-Bandaya Kannada poetry. Since then Shivaprakash has published four collections of poetry, ''Anukshana Charite'', ''Suryajala'', ''Maleye Mantapa'' and ''Matte Matte'' and two anthologies of poems in translation, ''Maruroopagalu'' and ''Nanna Mainagara'', and edited the translation of contemporary

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

poetry, ''Samakaleena Gujarati Kavitegalu'' and Malayalam poetry ''Manasantara''. Shivaprakash's poems make use of mystic

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism, dream-images,

archetypes The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...

and motifs from everyday life to portray the nature of power and the contradictions of modern life.

Playwright

Shivaprakash published his first play ''Mahachaitra'' in 1986. The stage-adaptation of the play by C.G.Krishnaswamy for the troop ''Samudaya'' became a major hit. The play was based on the life and times of the 12th century

saint Basavanna and narrated the struggles of the artisan saints of the city of Kalyana (now Basavakalyan) through a

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

analytic. The play received rave reviews and was acknowledged as a landmark in

Kannada literature Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script. Attestations in literature span one and a half ...

. ''Mahachaitra'' is recognized as one among the three greatest plays out of the 25-odd plays on Basavanna written in Kannada, the other two being

P. Lankesh Palya Lankesh (8 March 1935 – 25 January 2000) was an Indian poet, fiction writer, playwright, translator, screenplay writer and journalist who wrote in the Kannada language. He was also an award-winning film director. Early life and career ...

's ''Sankranti'' and

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

's ''

Taledanda ''Taledanda'' (Kannada: ತಲೆದಂಡ, Hindi: ''रक्त कल्याण'', literally: ''Death by Beheading'') is a 1990 Kannada-language play written by Girish Karnad, an eminent person in Kannada literature, about the rise of the ...

''. Shivaprakash won the

award for this play. His other plays include ''Sultan Tipu'', ''Shakespeare Swapnanauke'', ''Manteswamy Kathaprasanga'', ''Madari Madayya'', ''Madurekanda'', ''Madhavi'', ''Matrika'', ''Makarachandra'', ''Sati'', ''Cassandra'' and ''Maduvehennu''. He has also translated

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' and adapted

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

's ''The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife'' into Kannada under the title ''Mallammana Mane Hotlu'' and

's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' under the name ''Maranayakana Drishtanta''. ''Manteswamy Kathaprasanga'', a play about a 16th-century Dalit saint was made into a successful stage adaptation by director Suresh Anagalli and produced over 300 shows. It kindled interest in this obscure saint and the life of Manteswamy has since been a major area of research in Kannada academia. Most of Shivaprakash's plays are inspired by Marxism and

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

, particularly Lingayatism and Kashmir Shavism. The plays also employ motifs from

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

and other forms of mysticism like

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

and Zen

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. Structurally, the plays are inspired by Japanese Noh theatre and Brecht's

epic theatre Epic theatre (german: episches Theater) is a theatrical movement arising in the early to mid-20th century from the theories and practice of a number of theatre practitioners who responded to the political climate of the time through the creatio ...

The Mahachaitra controversy

''Mahachaitra'' was prescribed as a textbook for undergraduate courses in three universities of Karnataka. In 1995, nearly a decade after its publication, when it was prescribed as a textbook in Gulbarga University, it caused a heated controversy. A section of

Lingayats Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have bee ...

under the leadership of the nun Shri Shri Jagadguru Mate Mahadevi accused the work of portraying Basavanna in poor light and urged the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appoint ...

to ban the play. It led to a legal battle and the play was eventually withdrawn from the university syllabus. The ''Mahachaitra'' controversy seems to have inspired Githa Hariharan's English novel ''In Times of Siege'' (2003), which narrates the story of a professor in an

open university The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, who finds himself in the midst of a controversy over a chapter on Basavanna which he wrote for an undergraduate textbook.

Major works

Poetry

* ''Milarepa'' * ''Malebidda Neladalli'' * ''Anukshana Charite'' * ''Suryajala'' * ''Maleye Mantapa'' * ''Matte Matte'' * ''Mabbina Haage Kanive Haasi'' * ''Maruroopagalu'' (Kannada translation of poems from various languages) * ''Nanna Mainagara'' (Kannada translation of the Malayalam poems of K.

Satchidanandan K. Satchidanandan (1946) is an Indian poet and critic, writing in Malayalam and English. A pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, a bilingual literary critic, playwright, editor, columnist and translator, he is the former editor of ''Indian L ...

) * ''Navilu Nagara'' (songs from his plays) * ''Maatu Mantravaaguvavrege'' * ''Maretuhoda Dombaraake''(Kannada translation of Spanish poems by Zingonia Zingone) * ''Kavite Indinavarege'' (Collected poems) * ''Autumn Ways'' (Haiku in English) * ''Maagiparva'' (Kannada Haikus) * ''I Keep Vigil of Rudra'' (English translation of Kannada Vachanas)

Plays

* ''Mahachaitra'' * ''Sultan Tipu'' * ''Shakespeare Swapnanauke'' * ''Manteswamy Kathaprasanga'' * ''Madari Madayya'' * ''Madurekanda'' * ''Madhavi'' * ''Matrika'' * ''Makarachandra'' * ''Sati'' * ''Cassandra'' * ''Maduve Hennu'' * ''King Lear'' (Kannada translation of

's play) * ''Maranayakana Drishtanta'' (Kannada adaptation of ''

'') * ''Mallammana Mane Hotlu'' (Kannada adaptation of

's ''The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife'') * "Nataka Illiyavarege 2011 (C0llected Plays)

Others

* ''Sahitya mattu Rangabhoomi'' (a treatise on literature and theatre) * ''Modala Kattina Gadya'' (a collection of essays) * ''Yuganta'' (Kannada translation of Irawati Karve's book of the same name) * ''Batteesa Raaga'' (Spiritual autobiography) In English: * ''Incredible India: Traditional Theatres'' (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree, 2007) * ''I Keep Vigil of Rudra: the Vachanas'' (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2010) * ''Everyday Yogi'' (New Delhi: HarperCollins India, 2014)

Awards and honours

* Kusumagraja Rashtriya Puraskar-2017. *

Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry The Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an annual award given by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy recognizing the best poetry of the year written in Kannada language and published in India. Winners See also * List of poetry awards ...

: ''Malebidda Neladalli'' (1983), ''Suryajala'' (1995) * Four Kannada Sahitya Akademi best book prizes * Sangeeth Natak Akademi Award (1997) * Satyakama award for 2003 *

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a Union Government ministries of India, ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on ...

fellowship for

* Honorary Fellow of the School of Letters,

, since 2000. * Karnataka

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as ...

, 2005. * Sahitya Akademi Award (2012)

References

External links

A research paper on Shivaprakash's plays *http://asiatic.iium.edu.my/v3n1/article/Rajayshriee_Khushu-Lahiri.pdf * < *https://web.archive.org/web/20080828115531/http://at-lamp.its.uiowa.edu/virtualwu/index.php/archive/record/iwp_and_writers_workshop_at_praries_lights_with_hs_shivaprakash_and_j_towns *http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/reviews/20_olear.asp *https://web.archive.org/web/20080514195149/http://lokadharmi.org/madhuvehennu.htm *http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/MBE_Programme/paper/paper13.htm *https://openlibrary.org/a/OL374678A *https://web.archive.org/web/20050419110806/http://www.katha.org/Academics/deep%20stories%20%26%20silences_bionotes.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Shivaprakash, H. S. 1954 births Living people Kannada poets Kannada-language writers Indian literary critics Writers from Bangalore Indian male poets 20th-century Indian poets Indian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2005 Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award