Abdul Rasheed (born 1965) is an Indian writer, poet, editor and translator from

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. In 2004 he won

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 off ...

Golden Jubilee Award for lifetime achievement. He also a translator, blogger, columnist and radio personality.

Early life and education

Abdul Rasheed was born on 28 February 1965 at Suntikoppa,

Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...

and grew up in

Kodagu Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...

district. He obtained his bachelor's degree in journalism from Maharaja's College, Mysore and master's degree in English literature from

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

Professional career

Rasheed works with

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

as a program officer. Currently he is Program Director with Mysuru Akashavani He is the editor of online magazines "Kendasampige" and "Mysorepost" which are widely read by Kannada public. He has written the life stories of celebrated Kannada artists like Vidyabhusana in his blogs.

Literary works

Rasheed has published two novels, four books of short stories, four books of creative essays and two anthologies of poetry. His popular stories include "Kirti Patake" (Red Flag) and "Hoovinakolli" His first novel ‘’Hoovinakolli’’ was published online before paperback was released in 2011. He has also translated the works of Hemingway, Camus, Pushkin,

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

and Rilke. Rasheed's works are difficult to classify and he is known as a genre bender weaving together prose, poetry, journalism and biography. His works have been translated into English, German, Swedish and Hindi. His poetry collections include ‘’"Nanna Paadige Nanu"’’ and ‘’"Narakada Kennaligeyantha Ninna Benna Huri"’’ Abdul Rasheed is often called Kannada's Basheer because of comparison of his fiction works with that of celebrated Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer.

Other contributions

Rasheed writes columns for Kannada newspapers like

Vijaya Karnataka ''Vijaya Karnataka'' is a Kannada newspaper published from a number of cities in Karnataka. The newspaper is published from Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Kalaburagi, Gangavathi, Belagavi, Davanagere, Hassan, Chitradurga. It was ...

. He is a modern pioneer in Kannada column writing. He is a regular speaker at various national and state-level literary festivals including Bangalore Literature Festival, Mysore Literature Festival and Kerala Literature Festival. He has served as a jury for various literary awards including TOTO Funds Arts (TFA) awards. He is the founder editor of ''Kendasampige'' Blogging Website, which metamorphosed into the publishing house Kendasampige Prakashana. Rasheed has been a delegate of

to various countries including

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

under cultural exchange program. He has addressed seminar of

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU or APBU), formed in 1964, is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations. It currently has over 288 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching a potential audience of about 3 b ...

. He has also collaborated in international literary translation projects.

Opinion and criticism

Rasheed feels that the new generation of writers are not bothered about imagery or technique, but rather focused on first hand narratives. Rasheed has been vocally critical of Hindutva terror and

religious fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...

in contemporary literature. He is also vocal about conservation of tribal language and culture.

Awards and recognition

Rasheed's award-winning works include four anthologies of short stories ''Pranapakshi'', ''Haalu Kudida Huduga'', ''Sampoorna Parijata'' and ''Eethanakada Kethegalu''. His works were recognised by Sahitya Akademi which conferred on him its golden jubilee prize in 2004. He also won Karnataka Sahitya Academy award for his book ''Haalu Kudiga Huduga''. Besides he has won numerous other literary awards including Sandesha Award for journalism and

Kempegowda Award The Kempegowda Award or Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Award is a civilian award presented annually by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The award nomination is based on the notable contributions of civilians, in t ...

for contribution to

Kannada literature Kannada literature is the Text corpus, corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, which is spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script. Attestations in literature span one and a half millennia, R.S. ...

Bibliography

Books in English

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Books in Kannada

* * * * * * * * * *

Journal articles

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Translations

*''Lord Cornwallis and Queen Elizabeth'' (2021), Akshara Prakashana

References

External links

Interview with Abdul Rasheed – Times of India dated 17 October 2019U. R. Ananthamurthy and Abdul RashidMysore Post Blog by Abdul Rasheed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasheed, Abdul Poets from Karnataka Kannada-language writers Indian male writers University of Mysore alumni Writers from Mysore People from Kodagu district Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada Maharaja's College, Mysore alumni 1965 births Living people Kannada people