Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy (21 December 1932 – 22 August 2014) was an Indian contemporary writer and critic 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 born in Thirtahalli Taluk and is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. In 1994, he became the sixth Kannada writer to be honored with the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

, the highest literary honour conferred in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 1998, he received the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

award from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

during the late 1980s. He was one of the finalists of

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

for the year 2013. He remained a fervent critic of nationalistic political parties until his death from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

and

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on 22 August 2014.

Early life

Ananthamurthy was born into

Kannada Kannada () is a 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, and is additionally a ...

-speaking

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family in Melige, in Tirthahalli taluk in the

Shimoga District Shimoga district, officially known as Shivamogga district, is a Districts of India, district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga district lies in the Malnad region or the Western Ghats, Sahyadri. Shimoga city is its adminis ...

. His education started in a traditional

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

school in Doorvasapura and continued in Tirthahalli and

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. After receiving a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

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 ...

, U. R. Ananthamurthy taught in the English department at University of Mysore (''pictured'') for a while before embarking to England for further studies on a Commonwealth Scholarship. He earned his doctorate from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1966 for his dissertation thesis entitled "Politics and Fiction in the 1930s".

Career

Ananthamurthy started his career as a professor and instructor in 1970 in English department of

. He was the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of Mahatma Gandhi University in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

, Kerala from 1987 to 1991. He served as the Chairman of National Book Trust India for the year 1992. In 1993 he was elected as the president of Sahitya Academy. He served as a visiting professor in many Indian and foreign universities including

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and Shivaji University. Ananthamurthy served twice as the Chairman of the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

. In 2012 he was appointed the first Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka. He was also a reason for the establishment of Humanities department of Manipal University. Later in 2012 he served as a visiting faculty at Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, Manipal University for four months. Ananthamurthy has participated and delivered lectures in numerous

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

s as writer and orator both in and outside the country. He was the member of the committee of Indian writers and visited countries like the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, France and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1990. He visited Moscow in 1989 as board member for a Soviet newspaper. Ananthamurthy was the leader for the committee of writers who visited China in 1993.

Literary works

Ananthamurthy's works have been translated into several Indian and European languages and have been awarded with important literary prizes. His main works include "Prashne", "Aakasha Mattu Bekku", ''Samskara'', ''Bhava'', ''Bharathipura'', and ''Avasthe''. He has written numerous

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

as well. Several of his novels and short fictions have been made into movies. Most of Ananthamurthy's literary works deal with

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

aspects of people in different situations, times and circumstances. His writings supposedly analyse aspects ranging from challenges and changes faced by

families of Karnataka to

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", wh ...

s dealing with politics influencing their work. Most of his novels are on reaction of individuals to situations that are unusual and artificial. Results of influences of sociopolitical and economic changes on traditional

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

societies of India and clashes due to such influences – between a father and a son, husband and wife, father and daughter and finally, the fine love that flows beneath all such clashes are portrayed by Ananthamurthy in his works. This is evident in his stories like ''Sooryana Kudure (The Sun's Horse)", Mouni (Silent Man)", "Karthika'', "Ghatashraddha" etc. It does not mean that Ananthamurthy is just clinging to portraying only such somewhat standard subjects of

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akadem ...

of his period. His novelette ''Bara (Drought)'' portrays the dynamics of a drought-stricken district of Karnataka and the challenges and dilemmas a bureaucrat may face in such situations. The central figure of the novel ''Sooryana Kudure – Venkata '' is shunned by his son and wife for his easy-going attitude that does not take him anywhere. Venkata is a non-achiever who could not achieve any material or

monetary Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: med ...

success in his life. However, he is a simpleton who does not take life's suffering to his heart too much. He likes to see life as living in the love of ''Amma (or mother-goddess)''. In all sufferings of life, he has the child-like curiosity about the smallest things in life like a ''grasshopper (Sooryana Kudure)''. The evening after his son revolts and leaves the house, he would be engrossed in a sight in his yard a grasshopper shining in the sun's light. His several novels were made into films like '' Samskara, Bara, Avaste, Mouni,

Sookha ''Bara'' ( ) is a directed and produced by M. S. Sathyu. It is based on the novel of same name by U. R. Ananthamurthy. Simultaneously shot in Kannada and Hindi, the film starred Anant Nag, C. R. Simha and Loveleen Madhu in lead roles. The film ...

'', ''

Ghatashraddha ''Ghatashraaddha'' ( ) is a 1977 Indian Kannada language film directed by Girish Kasaravalli starring Meena Kuttappa, Narayana Bhat and Ajith Kumar in lead roles. It is based on a novella by eminent Kannada writer U. R. Ananthamurthy. The film w ...

'' and '' Diksha''.

Personal life

U. R. Ananthamurthy met his wife Esther in 1954 and they were married in 1956. They had two children, Sharath and Anuradha. He resided in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

for most of his later life. His son in law Vivek Shanbhag also is a famous writer in Kannada.

Political career

U. R. Ananthamurthy made an unsuccessful run for the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

in 2004 in which he stated that his prime ideological objective in opting to contest the elections was to fight the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP). A

Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

leader and former

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

H. D. Deve Gowda had made an offer for Murthy to contest for his party. However, after the Janata Dal (Secular) worked a power sharing agreement with the BJP, Murthy said: Ananthamurthy also contested for the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

elections from state assembly in 2006. The idea proposed by Ananthamurthy to rename ten cities in Karnataka including

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

from their colonial forms to actual native forms was accepted by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

and the cities were renamed on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations of the formation of Karnataka.

Controversies

In June 2007, Ananthamurthy declared that he would not take part in literary functions in future in the wake of strong criticism for his reaction on S.L. Bhyrappa's controversial novel '' Aavarana'' that appeared in a section of the media. In 2013, Murthy's statement that there is a reference in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

to Brahmin's consuming beef drew flak from Hindu religious leaders. Vishwesha Teertha Swami of Pejawar Math commented that there was no reference to Brahmins consuming beef in the conversation between Bhishma and Yudhishtira or anywhere else in the Mahabharata and Murthy's statement came as a surprise to him. A vocal critic of the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

and

(BJP)/Jan Sangh for over 50 years, Murthy said in 2013 that he would not live in the country ruled by BJP leader

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

. He later clarified that those remarks were made when he was "overcome by emotion" and said that he had no such plan, though he continued to oppose BJP. Murthy was given special police protection after he began receiving threatening phone calls. Later when Modi became the Prime Minister he was given a free ticket to Pakistan by a group of Modi supporters called "NaMo Brigade". After Murthy's death was announced on 22 August 2014, several BJP and Hindu Jagarana Vedike were booked for celebrating his death by bursting crackers at four places in Mangalore and one spot in Chikkamagaluru.

Awards

* 1984 : Rajyothsava Award * 1994 :

* 1998 :

* 2004 : Sahitya Akademi Fellowship * 2008 : Nadoja Award by Kannada University * 2011 : Shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize (''Bharathipura'') * 2012 : D. Litt. ''Honoris Causa'' of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

* 2012: Basheer Puraskaram *2013 : Nominated,

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

* 1970-71 - Best Story Writer – '' Samskara'' (1970) * 1977-78 : Best Story Writer – ''

'' (1977) * 1987-88 : Best Dialogue Writer – '' Avasthe'' (1987) (Shared with Krishna Masadi) * 2002-03 : Best Story Writer – '' Mouni'' (2003)

Death

Ananthamurthy died of

on 22 August 2014 at Manipal Hospital, in Bangalore, India, aged 81. He had been suffering from kidney related disease for some years, and was undergoing dialysis treatment with diabetes and heart problem. He was admitted to Manipal Hospital on 13 August with an infection and fever, and underwent treatment on a multi-support system. The

, paid his condolences in response to Ananathamurthy's death.

Bibliography

Below here is a selected list of his books.

Collection of stories

* Endendoo Mugiyada Kathe/ಎಂದೆಂದೂ ಮುಗಿಯದ ಕಥೆ * Prashne/ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ * Mouni/ಮೌನಿ * Aakaasha Mattu Bekku/ಆಕಾಶ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಕ್ಕು * Sooryana Kudure/ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಕುದುರೆ * Pachhe Resort/ಪಚ್ಚೆ ರೆಸಾರ್ಟ್ * Eppattara Dashakada Kathe/ಎಪ್ಪತ್ತರ ದಶಕದ ಕಥೆ * Eradu Dashakada Kategalu/ಎರಡು ದಶಕದ ಕಥೆಗಳು * Aidu Dashakada Kategalu/ಐದು ದಶಕದ ಕಥೆಗಳು * Aayda Kathegalu/ಆಯ್ದ ಕಥೆಗಳು * Samasta Kathegalu/ಸಮಸ್ತ ಕಥೆಗಳು

Novels

* Samskara/ಸಂಸ್ಕಾರ * Bhharathipura/ಭಾರತೀಪುರ * Avasthe/ಅವಸ್ಥೆ * Bhava/ಭವ * Divya/ದಿವ್ಯ * Preeti Mrithyu Bhaya/ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಮೃತ್ಯು ಭಯ

Plays

* Aavaahane/ಆವಾಹನೆ

Collection of poems

* 15 Padyagalu/15 ಪದ್ಯಗಳು * Mithuna/ಮಿಥುನ * Ajjana Hegala Sukkugalu/ಅಜ್ಜನ ಹೆಗಲ ಸುಕ್ಕುಗಳು * Illiyavaregina Kavithegalu/ಇಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗಿನ ಕವಿತೆಗಳು * Abhava/ಅಭಾವ * Samasta Kavya/ಸಮಸ್ತ ಕಾವ್ಯ

Literary criticism and essays

* Prajne Mattu Parisara/ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ ಮತ್ತು ಪರಿಸರ * Sannivesha/ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ * Samakshama/ಸಮಕ್ಷಮ * Poorvapara/ಪೂರ್ವಾಪರ * Yugapallata/ಯುಗಪಲ್ಲಟ * Navyaloka/ನವ್ಯಾಲೋಕ * Bettale Pooje Yaake Koodadu?/ಬೆತ್ತಲೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಕೂಡದು? * Valmikiya Nevadalli/ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯ ನೆವದಲ್ಲಿ * Maatu Sotha Bharatha/ಮಾತು ಸೋತ ಭಾರತ * Sadya Mattu Shashvata/ಸದ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಶಾಶ್ವತ * Rujuvathu/ಋಜುವಾತು * Ruchikara Kahisathyagala Kaala/ರುಚಿಕರ ಕಹಿಸತ್ಯಗಳ ಕಾಲ * Kalamaana/ಕಾಲಮಾನ * Aacheeche/ಆಚೀಚೆ * Nanna Sahithyada Aidu Dashakagalu/ನನ್ನ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಐದು ದಶಕಗಳು * Bhishmaprajne/ಭೀಷ್ಮ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ * Hindutva athava Hind Swaraj/ಹಿಂದುತ್ವ ಅಥವಾ ಹಿಂದ್ ಸ್ವರಾಜ್ * Andininda Indinavarege/ಅಂದಿನಿಂದ ಇಂದಿನವರೆಗೆ * Aayda Barahagalu/ಆಯ್ದ ಬರಹಗಳು

Autobiography

* Suragi/ಸುರಗಿ

Journalism

* Editor – Rujuvaathu/ಋಜುವಾತು

Editor

* Kannada Kavya Sangraha/ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾವ್ಯ ಸಂಗ್ರಹ - 1973

Movies

* Samskara - 1970 *

- 1978 * Bara - 1982 *

- 1983 (Hindi Film) * Avasthe - 1987 * Diksha - 1992 (Hindi Film) * Mouni - 2003 * Prakruthi- 2013

Teleserial

* Bharathipura/ಭಾರತೀಪುರ (DD Chandana) Directed by Krishna Masadi

References

External links

U R Ananthamurthy's writings and Blog

I, a Brahmin: Ananthamurthy's article

Biography from the International Literature Festival Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ananthamurthy, U. R. Writers from Karnataka Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Jnanpith Award 1932 births 2014 deaths Kannada poets Kannada-language writers People from Shimoga district Kannada people Indian socialists University of Mysore alumni Alumni of the University of Birmingham Articles containing video clips 20th-century Indian poets International Writing Program alumni Indian male novelists 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Karnataka 20th-century Indian male writers Heads of universities and colleges in India Deaths from kidney failure in India