Narappa Someswara (born 14 May 1955) is an Indian quiz master, television presenter and writer. He is known for popularising science and medicine in the print and the electronic media in the

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, an ...

. He was also the editor of ''Jeevanaadi'', a monthly medical magazine. He has also published 41 books on various aspects of medicine, 5 books are under different stages of publication and multiple articles on health and medicine in various journals. Someswara also hosts the game show ''

Thatt Antha Heli ''Thatt Antha Heli?!'' is an Indian television game show (quiz show) in Kannada language. Shot in and telecast from the DD Chandana station in Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its ...

'' which in 2012 entered the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

to become the longest running television quiz show.

Personal life

Someswara was born to Narappa and mother was Anjana . He was born on 14 May 1955 in

Malleshwaram Malleshwaram is a northwest neighbourhood and one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in Bengaluru, India. It was planned in 1889 after the great plague of 1898, developed as a suburb in 1892 and handed over to the city munici ...

locality of Bangalore, in the erstwhile Mysore State (now

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 ...

). He received his bachelor's degree in medicine from

Bangalore Medical College Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), (Beṅgaḷūru Vaidyakīya Mahāvidyālaya mattu Sanśōdhanā Sansthé) formerly Bangalore Medical College (BMC), is a medical college in Bengaluru, India run by the Government of Karn ...

in 1986. He is married to Rukmavathy B. V. and they have a son together, Nachiketha.

Career

As writer

Someswara is a well-known writer of medicine in Kannada and was instrumental in popularising science and medicine in the print and the electronic media. He is also the editor of ''Jeevanaadi'', a monthly medical magazine. He has also published 30 books on various aspects of medicine and innumerable articles on health and medicine in various journals. He has also conducted more than 1,200 programmes on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

on science and health awareness, and 75 programmes on the same on

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 television presenter

Someshwar is a presenter of

, a quiz program broadcast by

DD Chandana DD Chandana is a Kannada TV channel owned and operated by Prasar Bharati under Doordarshan, supported by Doordarshan studios in Bengaluru and Kalburgi. Launched in 1994 DD Chandana has entertainment serials, infotainment programmes, news and ...

TV channel telecast from Doordarshan Kendra, Bangalore, Monday to Friday 09.30PM IST. This show has completed a record 4000+ episodes without any sponsorship. With three participants, this show consists of 10 questions in different fields like education, science and technology, culture, heritage etc. Each answer is awarded a valuable book published and printed by

Kannada Sahitya Parishat Kannada Saahithya Parishath (; ) is an Indian non-profit organisation that promotes the Kannada language and its literature. Its headquarters are in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India. It strives to promote Kannada language ...

, instead of cash prize, which is a speciality of this program.

Awards

In 2004, Someswara was awarded the Dr. P. S. Shankar Shreshtha Vaidya Sahitya Prasashthi for 2003, for how work ''Elu Suttina Koteyalli Entu Koti Bhantaru'' (Eight crore warriors in a seven layered fort). The work dealt with diseases caused from

immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that aff ...

such as

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, and the mechanism involved in

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis (Greek: 'up' + 'guarding') is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of the use of emergency medication on site. It typicall ...

and other auto immune disorders. Someswara is also a two-time winner of the

Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is an annual literary award given to literary works in Kannada by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy. Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is given to individual books published in various genres like poetry, novel, short f ...

, both times in the category of scientific literature. The first award was for his book ''Badukaneeduva Badali Jodane'' in 2001, and second for 2015. In 2013, he was awarded the Best Science Writer Kannada for 2012–13 by the

Karnataka Science and Technology Academy The Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA) is an organization established in 2005 to promote science and technology-related activities in the Indian State of Karnataka. It functions under the Department of Science and Technology of the ...

for his work ''Gnanendriyagalu Matthu Namma Odala Visarjanangagalu''. Other awards won by him include the Dr. B. C. Roy Doctors day Award, Aryabhata International Award and the Samadana Janaseva Award.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Someswara, Naa 1955 births Scientists from Bengaluru Living people Indian television presenters Indian medical writers Writers from Bengaluru Television personalities from Karnataka 20th-century Indian surgeons 20th-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian male writers