About

“A storyteller who thinks India is the biggest story to tell because India is not a geography, it is a metaphor” – Shiv Visvanathan

U. R. Ananthamurthy (21 December 1932 – 22 August 2014) is one of  India’s most important literary icons due to his major contribution to Kannada literature. He took on various roles throughout his life such as a writer, editor, critic, and professor. He published five novels, eight short-story collections, three collections of poetry, one play, and many essays. He was a pioneer of the Navya literary movement in contemporary Kannada literature. He was also known for his strong political views and repeated questioning of established norms of society through his work.

Early Life and Education

Ananthamurthy was born in 1932 in the village of Melige in the Shimoga District (Kingdom of Mysore, British India), Karnataka. He belonged to a strict and traditional Brahmin household at a time when India was moving towards Independence. His education started in a traditional Sanskrit school in Doorvasapura and continued in Tirthahalli and Mysore. After receiving a Master of Arts degree from the University of Mysore, Ananthamurthy went to England for further studies on a Commonwealth Scholarship. He earned his doctorate from the University of Birmingham in 1966 for his dissertation thesis entitled “Politics and Fiction in the 1930s” (“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”).

Social and Cultural Milieu

Ananthamurthy grew up in a traditional Brahmin home. In an interview, he called his childhood rich and poor at the same time– rich culturally and poor economically. He was born at a time when the freedom struggle was picking up, therefore major social and political changes were taking place. Social reforms were gaining speed, and ideas of equality for all and uniform opportunity were in the air. Thinkers like Jayaprakash Narayan and Rammanohar Lohia wanted to bring socialism in the Indian society plagued with social differences, inequalities, and superstitions. Ananthamurthy was highly influenced by these leaders and their ideas, as well. Moreover, his village had sharp differences of caste and class. This made him more aware and sensitive to the existing inequalities of caste and exploitative Brahmanical rituals, and he wrote extensively on it (“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”).

While in high school, Ananthamurthy read Karanth’s ‘Chomana Dudi‘, a novel which deals with the life and aspirations of a simple Dalit farmer. The book had a huge impact on Ananthamurthy and changed his views on Dalits. His family was relatively progressive. His grandfather idealized Gandhi and was involved in the social reformations such as letting Dalits into the temple led by Gandhi.

Early Influences of Socialism

As a young boy, Ananthamurthy had participated in freedom processions. He was influenced by the thoughts of Gandhi. His first exposure to socialism happened through the speech of Ramananda Mishra, the secretary of ‘All India Kisan Sabha’ at Tirthahalli. He also participated in the ‘farmer’s movement’, the Kagodu Satyagraha. He had also written a small booklet on the problems of farmers and the necessity for their welfare as a young student which he sold himself. This was how he was first attracted to socialism (“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”).

A Socially Responsive Writer and Citizen

These events in his early life made him not only a sensitive writer but also a very socially responsive one. He was involved in various social movements such as the River Tunga movement in 2001 and the 2002 protest against illegal mining in Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka.

He believed that he was a part and parcel of the society; therefore he had to draw from there. He said once that 

“To live is to involve, many times get involved in incidents which are beyond our control too. Though to do creative writing one has to stay at a distance and observe, but this is difficult and also morally wrong” (“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”)

Hence, most of his writings include a lot of thought-provoking topics relevant to his life. His work is deeply rooted in reality and is very much influenced by the time and place around him.

U.R. Ananthamurthy and Kannada literature

Ananthamurthy represents a much later stage of activity in Kannada literature. When he started his writing, Kannada had achieved a certain status and the language was sensitively used. By then, nuances had developed and subtlety gained. Young writers like Ananthamurthy used the language in such a way that it flourished. After Masti, he is known to be the best short-story writer in Kannada (“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”).

U.R. Ananthamurthy and Politics

Ananthamurthy was always outspoken about his strong political views. In 2004, he made an unsuccessful run for the Lok Sabha, stating that his prime ideological objective in opting to contest the elections was to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was very vocal about his dislike for BJP and Narendra Modi. He once said that Modi reminded him of dictators like Mussolini and Hitler. He also said that he would not want to live in a country where Modi is the prime minister, though he retracted the statement immediately, clarifying that the statement came from a spur of emotion (Sharma).

Important Career Highlights

Ananthamurthy’s career has been marked by a number of achievements over many years. He was the Chairman of the National Book Trust in 1992. His prominence on the literary scene only grew when he became the President of the Sahitya Akademi in 1993. This was before he had received his Sahitya Akademi Fellowship– that would come in 2004. He is a former Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and in 2013, a year prior to his passing, he became the Chancellor of the Central University of Karnataka in 2012.

The Sahitya Akademi on Ananthamurthy

He is the recipient of many awards. In 1994, he was awarded the prestigious Jnanpith Award and in 1998, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan. He was one of the finalists of the Man Booker International Prize in the year 2013. Ananthamurthy has also received multiple Best Story Writer awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards for the adaptations of his own works. These are just some of his achievements over the span of his career.

Personal Life

Ananthamurthy married a Christian woman, Esther Ananthamurthy, despite the backlash from the society. They had two children, Sharat and Anuradha. Ananthamurthy passed away on 22 August 2014 due to renal failure and a cardiac arrest.

The Films Division of India has made an extensive documentary about the Kannada literature legend’s life. It is available for free on Youtube. You can watch it here:

 

References

“Kannada Literature- An Introduction”. Shodhganga, 2012. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/91573/12/12_chapter%207.pdf

Sharma, Vaibhav. “In ‘Hindutva Or Hind Swaraj,’ A Warning Against Hindu Nationalism”. Nytimes.Com, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/books/in-hindutva-or-hind-swaraj-a-warning-against-hindu-nationalism.html. Accessed 3 Dec 2018.