Avasthe

According to Anjum Hasan’s brilliant article in the Caravan, the story follows Annaji, a peasant organizer from Telangana, who is wanted by the authorities in two states and is hiding out under an assumed name in a third. Annaji instructs Krishnappa, a young politician-in-the-making, about the difference between middle-class aspirations for prosperity, and the “dynamic greed” of the laboring classes.

Avasthe is the story of Krishnappa’s sentimental education—the relationships with a series of unconventional men and women which shape him,
a Shudra cowherd of the Gowda community, into
a leading politician (Hasan).

The novel was adapted into a film in 1987, where the story was written by Ananthamurthy himself. The film
received critical acclaim and won multiple awards at
the Karnataka State Film Awards.

Purchase Avasthe in Kannada here.

References

Hasan, Anjum. “The Ambivalent Indian: UR Ananthamurthy’s Contrarian Wisdom.” The Caravan, 1 Aug. 2016, caravanmagazine.in/reportage/ambivalent-indian-ur-ananthamurthy.