Venkataramaiah Seetharamaiah (2 October 1899 - 4 September 1983)
commonly known as Vee See, was a
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 ...
poet, writer, essayist, critic, editor and teacher who taught Kannada literature at University of Mysore between 1928 and 1955.
He is a recipient of the
Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award (1973),
Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and an Honorary Doctorate (
D. Litt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...
) 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 ...
in 1976.
He presided over the 36th
Kannada Sahitya Sammelana (Kannada Literary Conference) at
Kumta
Kumta is a town and taluk in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It is one of the important stations along the Konkan Railway line running between Mumbai and Mangalore.
The 36th Kannada Sahithya Sammelana was held in Kumta in 1 ...
in 1954.
He has authored about sixty works in Kannada with about eight anthologies of poems, thirty-six works of Kannada prose, ten translations from English to Kannada and ten biographical sketches written in English.
This corpus of writing spans fifty years of his academic career and includes nearly every conceivable genre and style of writing prevalent in his time. He mainly embodied the Navodaya movement in Kannada literature in the 1950s and 1960s. V. Seetharamaiah was an Economist by education and was trained under the tutelage of N. S. Subba Rao at Maharaja College, Mysore.
N. S. Subba Rao studied Economics along with
J. M. Keynes at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in the early 1920s under the eminent Economist
Alfred Marshall
Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist and one of the most influential economists of his time. His book ''Principles of Economics (Marshall), Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textboo ...
.
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Early years
Seetharamaiah was born in Budhigere village,
Devanahalli
Devanahalli, also called "Devandahalli", "Dyaavandalli", Devanadoddi, and Devanapura, is a town and Town Municipal Council in Bengaluru Rural district in the state of Karnataka in India. The town is located to the north-east of Bengaluru. Deva ...
,
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 ...
, on 2 October 1899.
His parents were Venkataramaiah (father) and Doddavenkamma (mother). He spent the first six years of his childhood in Budhigere under the care of his grandparents. His father was a priest officiating various Brahminical rituals at Bangalore, who he lost when he was eight. He was sent to Bangalore to pursue further schooling in 1906. He completed his schooling at Municipal School, Chamarajpet, and then at Anglo-vernacular school. Some notable classmates of his here were
K. V. Iyer,
T. P. Kailasam
Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam (29 July 1884 – 1946), was an Indian playwright and prominent writer in the Kannada literature. Literary criticism in Kannada literature is said to have started for the first time by Kailasam in his works.
His ...
and
C. S. Venkatachar. After completing his schooling, Seetharamaiah sat for the University of Mysore entrance examination. He has the rare distinction of being in the very first batch of students in the nascent
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 ...
in 1917. Seetharamaiah chose
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
for his bachelor's degree at the university. His teachers in B. A. included
S. Radhakrishnan and
M. Hiriyanna. He was awarded the Sir Seshadri Gold Medal in Economics in 1920.
For his master's degree, Seetharamaiah chose economics as his favoured subject. Here he came under the tutelage of Prof. N. S. Subba Rao. Rao was trained in economics at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
along with his classmate
J. M. Keynes under the eminent Economist
Alfred Marshall
Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist and one of the most influential economists of his time. His book ''Principles of Economics (Marshall), Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textboo ...
. He would mould Seetharamaiah's interest and aptitude in Economics in a constructive manner. Seetharamaiah remembered memories of his college days at the Maharaja College, Mysore in his memoir ''College Dinagalu''.
The Faculty at the Maharaja College, Mysore included J. C. Rollo,
B. M. Srikantaiah and Macintosh in Department of English,
M. Hiriyanna,
S. Radhakrishnan and
A. R. Wadia in Department of Philosophy, N. S. Subba Rao (Economics), Kanakanahalli Varadachar and B. Krishnappa in Department of Kannada and the Principal of the college was
C. R. Reddy.
After completing his M. A. in 1922, Seetharamaiah embarked for
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
where he joined a course in Law (L.L.B.). Owing to a bout of malarial fever, he soon gave up the Law course and returned to Mysore. He would later reminisce his days in Bombay in his book ''Mumbayivāsa'' in 1976.
Academic
Seetharamaiah returned to Mysore in 1923 and took up a teaching tenure at Sarada Vilas High School till 1928. During these years, Vi. Si. began to pen poems in Kannada. These he would publish extensively in journals and periodicals like ''Prabuddha Karnataka'', ''Aruna'', ''Rashtra Bandhu'' and ''Artha Sadaka''. B. M. Srikantaiah, who was the Registrar of University of Mysore appointed V. Seetharamaiah as lecturer in 1928 at Central College, Bangalore. Even though Vi. Si. was trained in Economics, B. M. Srikantaiah reposed faith in his grasp and knowledge of Kannada language and literature and appointed him as a Kannada lecturer instead. V. Seetharamaiah taught at Central College and Intermediate Colleges at Bangalore till 1942. At Central College, Bangalore he was a member of the "''Karnataka Sangha''" - a band of Kannada literary enthusiasts who would pen poems, write novellas and often even stage them in amateur theatres in Bangalore.
In 1943, V. Seetharamaiah was promoted and transferred back to Maharaja College, Mysore. Here he worked till 1948. For the next two years, he would head the Intermediate College at
Chikamagalur first as Superintendent and then as Principal. From 1950 till 1955 (until his retirement), he headed the Department of Kannada Studies at Central College, Bangalore.
His students were
B. G. L. Swamy,
R. K. Laxman
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman ''Pg. 11 in the source says that Laxman & his brother Narayan were Tamil Iyer Brahmins.'' (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creat ...
,
A. K. Ramanujan,
H. Y. Sharada Prasad, S. V. Parameshwara Bhatta,
H. M. Nayak,
G. S. Shivarudrappa,
L. S. Sheshagiri Rao, H. M. Shankar Narayan Rao, J. Varadaraja Rao and Smt
C. N. Mangala
After retirement, from 1956 till 1958, Vi. Si. worked with All India Radio - Bangalore Akashvani as producer for the "Spoken Word Professor" series. From 1964 till 1968, V. Seetharamaiah headed Malnad Progressive Society's Arts and Science First Grade College at
Honnavar
Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India.
History
Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...
, Karnataka as Principal. In 1968, he returned to Bangalore to assume Editorship of India Book House's (IBH) encyclopaedic project aimed at compiling all of Kannada poetry from ''Kaviraja Nayakara (Nrupatunga)'' to ''Navodaya’s Muddanna''. This vast work was successfully brought out by Vi. Si. under the title of “''Kannada Kavi Kavya Parampare''”.
Works
V. Seetharamaiah published his first poem as well his first work of prose (''Pampa Yatra'') in "''Prabhuddha Karnataka''" in 1922.
A. R. Krishnashastry as Editor of this journal was instrumental in encouraging Vi. Si. to contribute consistently. It was
A. R. Krishnashastry who shortened V. Seetharamaiah to Vi. Si. - this became his pen name going forth. He has authored about sixty works in Kannada with about eight anthologies of poems, thirty-six works of Kannada prose, ten translations from English to Kannada and ten biographical sketches written in English.
List of works
Anthology of Kannada Poems
* ''“Geetegalu”'' (1931) – 67 poems
* ''“Deepagalu”'' (1933) – 16 poems
* ''“Nelalu-Belaku”'' (1935)
* ''“Drakshi-Dalimbe”'' (1948)
* ''“Hejjepadu”'' (1959)
* ''“Kadamba”'' (1970)
* ''“Aralu-Baralu”'' (1972) – Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (1973)
* ''“Hagalu-Iralu”'' (1981)
Works of Kannada Prose
* ''“Pampa Yatre”'' (1927)
* ''“Sohrab Rustom”'' (1930)
* ''“Agraha”'' (1931)
* ''“Hana Prapancha”'' (1937)
* ''“Karnataka Kadambari”'' (1940)
* ''“Bharatagala Sri Krishna”'' (1940) – Kumaravyasa Prashasthi
* ''“Abhijnana Shakuntala Nataka Vimarshe”'' (1943)
* ''“Ashwathaman”'' (1946)
* ''“Bharatada Rajyanga Rachane”'' (1947)
* ''“Vyavahara Dharma”'' (1949)
* ''“Bharatada Aivaru Manyaru”'' (1951)
* ''“Kavi Kavya Drishti”'' (1955)
* ''“Shivarama Karantharu”'' (1956)
* ''“Beladingalu”'' (1959)
* ''“Sri Shaila Shikara”'' (1960)
* ''“Sahitya Vimarshegalalli Artha mathu Moulya”'' (1961)
* ''“Bharatadalli Yojane”'' (1962)
* ''“Sahitya: Sampradaya mathu Hosa Marga”'' (1967)
* ''“Seekarane”'' (1970)
* ''“Chyavana''” (1970)
* ''“Mahaniyaru”'' (1970)
* ''“College Dinagalu”'' (1971)
* ''“Eradu Nataka: Chyavana mathu Agraha”'' (1971)
* ''“Satya mathu Moulya”'' (1972)
* ''“Valmiki Ramayana”'' (1976)
* ''“Kalanubhava”'' (1976)
* ''“Olleya Manushya, Olleya Baduku”'' (1976)
* ''“Mumbaivasa: Nenapugalu”'' (1976)
* ''“Mahakavi Pampa”'' (1976)
* ''“Mahabharata Krishnacharithra”'' (1978)
* ''“Pattabandha”'' (1979)
* ''“Sahityalokana”'' (1979)
* ''“Sarvajanika Jeevanadalli Adhikara, Shakthi, Prabhava Mandalagalu”'' (1979)
* ''“Hiriyaru Geleyaru”'' (1980)
* ''“Samvidhana mathu Kanunu”'' (1992)
* ''“Sahityaloka (Part II)”'' (unpublished)
Works in English
* “''Mahakavi Pampa''” (1967)
* “''K. Venkatappa''” (1968)
* “''Purandaradasa''” (1971)
* “''M. Visveswaraiah''” (1971)
* “''Valmiki Ramayana''” (1972)
* “''D. V. Gundappa''” (1972)
* “''Panje Mangesha Rao''” (1978)
* “''Abhijnana Shakuntala Nataka Vimarshe''” (unpublished)
* “''Mahabharatada Krishnacharithra''” (unpublished)
* “''Manyaru''” (unpublished)
Translations
* “''Reserve Bank of India''” (1959)
* “''Bharata Swatantraya Galisithu''” (1963)
* “''Pygmalion''” (1963)
* “''Bangali Sahitya Charithre''” (1966)
* “''Major Barbara''” (1968)
* “''Thyagaraja''” (1969)
* “''Purandara Dasa''” (1979)
* “''Moby Dic''k” (1982)
* “''Panje Mangesha Rao''” (1985)
* “''Mission with Mountbatten''” (unpublished)
Collected works
* “''Sneha Vishwasa''” (1990)
* “''Novu Nalivu''” (1990) (unpublished 59 works)
* “''Samagra Lalitha Prabhandha Samputa''” (1992)
* “''Samagra Nataka''” (1993)
* “''Vyakthi Chitra Samputa''” (Part I and II) (1993)
* “''Smrithi chitra Samputa''” (1997)
* “''Vimarshe Samputa – I – History & Poetry''” (1998)
* “''Vimarshe Samputa – II – Poetry & Drama''” (1998)
Recognition

V. Seetharamaiah chaired the Poetry division of the 17th
Kannada Sahitya Sammelana at
Karwar
Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...
. He presided over the 36th
Kannada Sahitya Sammelana at
Kumta
Kumta is a town and taluk in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It is one of the important stations along the Konkan Railway line running between Mumbai and Mangalore.
The 36th Kannada Sahithya Sammelana was held in Kumta in 1 ...
in 1954 (see photo). He chaired the “''Mumbai Prantha Bhasha Conference''” held at
Gadag
Gadaga-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined ...
. Vi. Si. was an honorary member of “''P. E. N. Kendra Sahitya Akademi Prashasthi Committee''” as well as the “''Jnanapeeta Prashasthi Committee''”.
His collection of character sketches “''Mahaniyaru''” and descriptive essay “''Krishnacharithra''” won him the Rajya Sahitya Akademi award. His anthology of poems “''Aralu Baralu''” received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award. Festschrift volumes “''Rooparadhaka''”, “''Vi. Si.''” and “''Vi. Si. – 75''”
were presented to him in recognition of a lifetime contribution to Kannada Language and Literature. His alma mater University of Mysore conferred on him a Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt.) in 1976.
Later years
V. Seetharamaiah travelled widely in India and visited
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...
's Shantiniketan. On his visit to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, he suffered a debilitating stroke and he was hospitalised for nearly a fortnight in Britain. Vi Si. was married to Sarojamma. Many of his books are prescribed curricula both at University of Mysore and Bangalore University. V. Seetharamaiah died on 4 September 1983 at Bangalore aged 83 years. His numerous Kannada poems and works of prose remain popular in Karnataka. The noted
Psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
and
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 ...
scholar
S. K. Ramachandra Rao described Vi. Si.'s writing thus:
External links
Official Webpage
Bibliography
M. Ramachandra (2006). "V. Seetharamaiah" (ವಿ. ಸೀತಾರಾಮಯ್ಯ) - Biography - Kannada Book; 1st Edition (Beṅgaḷūru: Navakarnāṭaka Prakāśana)
L. S. Seshagiri Rao (1999). ವಿ. ಸೀ. - ನೂರರ ನೆನಪು (1 ed.). Vi. Sī. Sampada, Vi. Sī. Saṃsmaraṇa Vēdike
* P. V. Joshi, G. S. Shivarudrappa, Shivaram Karanth (1991). ವಿ. ಸೀ. - ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವ, ಕಾವ್ಯ ವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯ (2 ed.). Bangalore: ವಿ. ಸೀ. ಸಂಪದ.
*
* ;
* ;
Vi. Sītārāmayya; Venkat Madhurao Inamdar (1975). Vi. Sī.- 75: Sambhāvanā Grantha. Vi. Sī. Satkāra Samitigāgi; Ai. Bi. Ec. Prakāśana.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seetharamaiah, V.
Scholars from Karnataka
20th-century Indian essayists
Indian male writers
Indian social sciences writers
Writers from Karnataka
People from Mysore district
Kannada people
Academic staff of the University of Mysore
1899 births
1983 deaths
University of Mysore
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada