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 ...

(ಕನ್ನಡ) is the language spoken in

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 ...

(ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, ಕರುನಾಡು). Karnataka has eight Jnanapeeth (ಜ್ಞಾನ ಪೀಠ ಪುರಸ್ಕೃತ) award winners, the highest honor bestowed for

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 ...

. From the period of Adikavi Pampa(ಆದಿಕವಿ ಪಂಪ) who proclaimed his wish to be reborn as a little bee in the land of Kannada, Kannada poetry has come a long way to

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

(ಕುವೆಂಪು) and Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre (ದರಾ ಬೇಂದ್ರೆ)

Pre-history

Kannada poetry has been traced back to around 5th century A.D, though none of those early works have been found. The earliest extant poetry in ''tripadi'' meter are the

Kappe Arabhatta Kappe Arabhatta ( kn, ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಅರಭಟ್ಟ) was a Chalukya warrior of the 8th century who is known from a Kannada verse inscription, dated to c. 700 CE, and carved on a cliff overlooking the northeast end of the artificial lake in ...

records of 700 C.E. The first well known Kannada poet was Adikavi Pampa who wrote in an archaic style of Kannada called Halegannada (figuratively "Old Kannada"). His Vikramarjuna Vijaya is hailed as a classic even to this day. With this and his other important work Adipurana he set a trend of poetic excellence for the Kannada poets of the future. Kannada poetry called vachanas, were pithy comments on that period's

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

conditions. More importantly, they hold a mirror to the seed of a social

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, which caused a radical re-examination of the ideas of

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

. One of the important ideas coming out of this revolution was the view that Work is worship and a path to

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

Bhakti

Kannada poets have the unique distinction of sowing the seeds of one of the richest forms of classical music:

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. The

Dasa ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

s or saints, around 15th century, sang the glory of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

through poems. These poems called Padas were usually of 10 to 20 lines. They expressed the desire of the

Bhakta ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

or devotee to be

one with God 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. This form of poetry was highly amenable to

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

and exposition. This music evolved into the highly sophisticated and codified

. The Haridasas spread the message of peace, love and bhakti in their Dasa Sahitya, which are also popularly known as Devaranamas.

Navodaya (New birth)

Navodaya figuratively means a ''new birth''. The early 20th Century saw a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

of Kannada poetry which had been dormant for a few centuries in the face of

British occupation of India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himse ...

. This period saw great poets like Srikanthaiah,

Bendre Bendre is an Indian surname native to the state of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. Typically it is found in the Marathi Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP), Chitpavan Brahmin and Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin (DRB) communities. Notable people wit ...

, Shivaram Karanth writing poetry. This

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

was highly influenced by Romantic English poetry. It was

B. M. Srikanthaiah Belluru Mylaraiah Srikantaiah (3 January 1884 – 5 January 1946), was an Indian author, writer and translator of Kannada literature. Prominent Students * V. Seetharamaiah * K. V. Puttappa Works * ''Gadayuddha Natakam'' (ಗದಾಯುದ� ...

who started this movement of sorts with his translation of a few critically acclaimed English poems of the

Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. B. M. Shri advocated a movement away from reliance on Sanskrit, as traditional Kannada poetry had done, and borrow from more modern English poets and genres. Many educated Kannadigas, especially those were in the teaching

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted b ...

, realised that they need to express themselves in their

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

and started writing poetry in Kannada. Kuvempu is a case in point who was convinced by his professor (of British origin) that he should write in his mother tongue. Kuvempu went on to become a "Rashtrakavi" (national poet). His love of nature, realisation of the greatness of man's spirit and the vision to see the blend of nature and God made him more than Kannada's Wordsworth. Another interesting case is that of Shivaram Karanth who was a man of great

intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...

, rock-solid convictions and a profound social sense. He was known as the

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

of Karnataka.

Navya (New)

Indian Independence in 1947 brought with it the promises of

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

and a new genre sprouted in Kannada poetry. The torch-bearer of this tradition was

Gopalakrishna Adiga Mogeri Gopalakrishna Adiga (1918–1992) was a modern Kannada poet. He is known by some commentators as the "pioneer of New style" poetry. The Hindu - 26 September 2002 Biography He was born in an orthodox brahmin family in coastal village of ...

. The Navya poets wrote for and liked disillusioned intellectuals. The sophistication in the use of language and the importance of technique to poetry reached new heights in this genre.

Other genres

Kannada poetry in the last 50 years has been closely related to social aspects. The

system gave rise to the Bandaya and Dalita genres of poetry. The atrocities against women and the general ill-treatment meted out to them in

Indian society Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term ...

gave rise to the Stri (Woman) genre of poetry.

Awards

Kannada poetry has won eight Jnanapeeth awards, the second highest for any other Indian language after Hindi.

Reaching people

The popularity of poetry is gauged in terms of the response that the educated and interested elite give. But the real popularity of poetry is when common people sing it. Popular appeal is not very easy to achieve for any form of poetry; especially when audiences are not kept in mind. Kannada poetry has a few instances of such mass popularity. Kumaravyasa's retelling of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

is recited in homes even today.

Bhavageete ''Bhaavageete'' or ''Bhavageeth'' (literally 'emotion poetry') is a form of poetry and pop music in India. Most of the poetry sung in this genre pertain to subjects like love, nature and philosophy, and the genre itself is not much different from ...

(figuratively "emotion poetry") has popularized many Kannada poems and has people humming them.

References

Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore, Reprinted 2002

External links

Some Vachans
by

Basavanna Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chal ...

, Akkamahadevi, Allamaprabhu, Sarvajna, and selected poems by Dr. Siddalingaiah.
Kavanas from Upcoming Poets
Some Kannada Poems by Upcoming Poets. Encourage people to write more kavanas.
Kannada Poems at Chilume.com

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