Sahitya Akademi

I Do My Bit
Author(s): SHIVARAM KARANTH and D.V. Potdar
Source: Indian Literature, Vol. 34, No. 3 (143) (May-June, 1991), pp. 50-68
Published by: Sahitya Akademi
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Karanth
K.Shivaram
Akademi
Fellow
Sahitya

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I Do My Bit
karanth

shivaram

wish

'My

beautiful

is

to make

before

the world

I depart

from

a little more
it.' Preface.

There
TVTO apology is needed for writing this autobiography.
*
*- is a dearth of such works in Kannada.
this
book
However,
is incomplete in a double senseit records events up to the time

of writing and I am aware of my shortcomings. A desire for

frank self-analysis has prompted me to write it. Lord Vishnu
took
much

ten

to

incarnations

more

in

nature!

achieve
they

his
being

but

goals;

my

goals

nationalism,

were

swadeshi,

business, journalism, spiritual attainment, photography, drama,

sculpture, films, social reform, rural uplift, education,
industry, etc. I wish to keep my mind sharp and active, ever
exploring new fields. Mine may not be a story of success; but,
dance,

failures

keep

a person

active.

I wish

to present

here

series

of

pictures recalled from my past life.

I hail from Kota, a beautiful village on the south-west sea
shore. Shesh Karanth was my father, a teacher getting the grand
of eight annas p.m. (fifty paise)!
brought good days to the family.
salary

My

mother

Laxmi

During my childhood, native schools were run in a different

way. Ours was a government-run school of a different type. The
and mortgage
three r's, letter-writing, drafting demand-notes
deeds and the 'modi' script constituted the syllabus.
The cane

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52 / Indian Litertur
was generously used. My other boyhood memories are swimming
in the pond called Varunateertha along with buffaloes (!), fairs
and car festivals attended, serpent dances performed by a village
priest, grazing cows and attending to minor agricultural opera
tions.

stories

macabre

Some

current,

and

certain

scenes

from

the

Yakshagana
gave us a taste of the fantastic. Occasionally, British
'white
Gods' visited our village and were welcomed
the
Officers,
and treated in a lavish manner.
In 1912, at the age of ten, I joined the High School at
Boarding and lodging arrangements were made for
Kundapura.
me and my brothers.
During those days 'Books for Bairns'
were my favourite reading. The teachers and other persons who

impressed me at that time were: Malali Subbarao whose student

was Muddana
(well-known Kannada
poet); a catholic gentle
with
red
to
the
who
came
classroom, carrying a long
man,
eyes
a
who
cane; Gabriel Kound's,
gourmet
thought there was nothing
like drawing; Shivaramayya, who gave me Kannada books and
in me

created
whom

made

not

I was

fun
but

Headmaster,

for

love
of;

a very

a bookworm

Kannada
B.

great

teacher.

and

the

literature;

and

Raghunath

just

managed

Rao,

to pass

shy
a

Puranik,

very
the

strict

s.s.l.c.

examination. During my fourth or fifthyear at School. I joined

When there was a famine in our district, we
the scout brigade.
supplied sweet porridge to the poor. Various professional drama
visited my place and staged dramas. They inclined
companies
me towards music and drama.
I joined the Government College (1921)
dents coming from different High Schools

at Mangalore.
Stu
formed groups and
sportsmen were popular. I got a list of books from my professor
and started frequenting the library. After completing Kipling's
Light That Failed, I did not want to continue with the list. I
decided to read books either on India, or by Indian writers and
the

devoured

works

of Tagore.

The

death

of Lokamanya

Tilak

and the proceedings of the Nagpur Congress stirred the nation

I decided to bid goodbye to my College. Our French
deeply.
Professor Kannappa
pushed me to make up my mind My
May-June

1991

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1 Do My Bit / 53
brother K.R.

Karanth also had decided to boycott court, but

decision
shook
him and my father. I listened to many dema
my
and

gogues

was

stunned

one

by

such

person's

foul

language.

also started haranguing the people, borrowing ideas from Gan

Two students, who had joined the move
dhiji's Young India.
returned
to
ment,
Bombay after a few days to take up jobs.
Patriotism was not a profitable profession then, like it is now.
My real life and education began after I had quit College.
Firmly believing in Gandhiji's ideas, I tried to reach them to the
people through lectures. I found, in a tradition-bound
ignorant
people can be kept away from liquor and practice of
When I tried to collect money for
untouchability temporarily.
the Tilak Swaraj Fund, the poor abused me, and the rich proved
to be stingy. My khadi popularisation
programme was a flop,
society,

of the poor

because
cloth.

Mere

quality of the yarn used in weaving the

patriotic sentiment, I thought, would not save
were after me, and some articles I published were

khadi. Spies
seditious
I accompanied

the members of my family on a pilgrimage to

Benares and Gaya and was disgusted by the greed of

Prayag,
the

pandas,

the

crowd

and

the

dirt.

In 1924, there were floods in Kundapura.

The raging waters
of the river fascinated me. I volunteered my services for relief
work,
During

and

became

marriage

aware
ceremonies,

of

extreme
dances

poverty
by prostitutes

of the
were

people.

. . .

arranged.

I and my brother protested and stopped them. My friend R came

I requested him not to make his
from a family of prostitutes.
sisters follow the profession. He wanted me to get them married.
I sought Gandhiji's advice and his reply was "Let them practise

celibacy!" Ultimately, I was successful in getting them irarried.

I was a blind believer in Gandhiji's dictum, 'Lifelong celibacy,
I found homo-sexuality very
and sex only for procreation'.
common. After reading Havelock Ellis and Russell, I was led to
believe that sexuality was rampant in present-day India.
The
belief that all' venerial diseases came from the West is not true.
It was siphilis that came with ferangis. The others were native
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54 / Indian Literature
to our soil which Ayurveda vouchsafes.
Right from birth, the sex instinct manifests itself in gestures
and other bodily movements.
makes it flare up.
Suppression

Perversions of the instinct are so common, I wonder whether we

can call them as such.
Animals mate only during a limited
season for procreation. Is such a practice possible among human

In the first place, sex is forbidden during menstruation.

Secondly, in human beings the care of the young is prolonged
for such a long period, that unless the parents are held together
beings?

Man's life and

by the bond of love, children may be neglected.
needs in modern times are not as simple as they were in the
Our concept of morality must take
beginning of civilization.
into consideration

all these changing factors.

Pai, a friend of mine, subscribed to many Marathi
and Bengali magazines. While reading them, we felt sad, because
our Kannada magazines could not stand comparison with them.
I became its
So, we decided to start a monthly in Kannada.
editor. I filled the pages with detective fiction, cartoons by my
Devanna

Govinda Pai.
While
self and sometimes poems by Manjeshwar
I
for
had
bitter
some
time,
experiences. So,
enlisting subscribers,
When we started republishing it,
I stopped its publication.
M. Acharya sent articles on anarchism from Germany, Siddana
valli Krishna Sharma contributed a series on Economics,
Agnes
Smedley wrote from China. I wrote on sculpture and art. One
was published in the American
of my articles on Yakshagana
Asia magazine and some others in The Illustrated Weekly. At
times, the payment was handsome, but not in all cases. I found,
even well-known writers indulged in plagiarism. Indian journalism
flourishes, though few contributors have depth and many editors
are ready to exploit them.
During my visits to Bombay, I had seen Marathi plays acted.
I translated Gadkari's Ekacha Pyala into Kannada from Marathi
often talked of social
Garud Sadashivrao
and had it staged.

reform

through

plays.

I took

over

a drama

company

which

was

difficulties and tried to run it in my own way. But

the troupe's ex-proprietor and I pulled in different ways and I
in financial

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I Do My Bit / 55
to give up. I wrote some plays for Halageri Jattappa's
company, but found difficulty while rehearsing them; the pro

had

of the

nunciation

actors

was

so

horrible!

Jattappa

suggested

that

I should flog them!! Something I could not bring myself to do.

Gubbi Veeranna, another stage veteran, took up my Gadayuddha
of acting different
for presentation. Though he was capable
'
roles, I felt he had wasted his talent by performing only comic
Actors took up the pro
roles to please the low class audience.
fession only to earn their bread, and lacked enough education
and experience.
People were attracted to the theatre by music,
colourful stage settings, actresses and cheap humour. I wrote
short plays about the evils of drink and untouchability and had

them enacted by a troupe of boys, touring the villages.

a village in Bijapur district, I
During a visit to Halasangi,
listened to a song about Lord Shiva composed by a Muslim folk
poet. From there, I went to Badami, the capital of the Chalu
kyas which is famous for its cave architecture and some paint
are supposed to be
ings. The temples at Aihole and Pattadkal

The Virupaksha temple at Hampi

the cradle of Hindu temples.
mirrors all the characteristics of early Chalukyan architecture.
The ruins of Hampi make us realise what all grandeur we have
lost. Ajanta was once a Buddhist University. Looking at the
sculptures and paintings in the caves, one forgets the world out
side. The caves and temples at Ellora were built by the Rashtra
The monolithic Kailas temple at this place is something
superb. At Karla, we have the magnificent Chaitya, the carving
of which was financed by a Banavasi merchant, and it is located
kutas.

in beautiful

surroundings.
for
architecture and sculpture made me tour North
My .love
The sculptures in Halebid and Belur depict
and South India.
and gestures. However, as time passed
movements
elegant body
our
I feel
sculpture, painting and music lost their vigour, because

the artists were bent upon showing their extraordinary skill. The
grandeur of our sculpture and architecture can be seen at
in the monolithic temples and bas-reliefs. I saw
Mahabalipuram,
at the Calcutta
a five-foot sandstone image of the Sun-God

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56 / Indian Literature
museum.

It was then bathed in the orange light of the setting

Sun which made it look alive.
In the Madras museum, I could
see some of the most charming bronze icons of Rama, Laxman
In the Jain temples at
and Sita group as also of Nataraja.
Mt. Abu, the finely carved marble ceilings are remarkable. My
visits to the South
Cape
age.

Indian temples were rather disappointing.

Comorin and Rameshwar
are beautiful places of pilgrim
Even without temples, they are lovely. Gol Gumbuz of

Bijapur and the Taj Mahal of Agra are fine samples of Indo
The Gumbuz is an engineering marvel.
Sarcenic architecture.
The Taj Mahal has finesse, but lacks balance necessary for good
If we

architecture.

want

to see

the

charm

of Hindu

we

palaces,

must go to Rajputana.
My own district, South Kanara, is noted for natural beauty
The bronze dwara-palalcas at
and Shaiva and Jaina temples.
at Kollur and the statue of
Basrur, the image of Mookambika
Bahubali
writings

are striking examples.

at Karkala
of

E.B.

Havell

and

Ananda

Having read

the

I had

Coomaraswamy,

become unduly proud of Indian art, culture and religion. While

for children I read
writing Bala Prapancha, an encyclopaedia
about Europe and Far Eastern Countries. Their achievements in
these fields humbled me. I visited Europe in the year 1952
during spring. Swiss lakes, mountains, forests and snow-clad
peaks and those of Sweden and Norway charmed me. The
sphinx and the pyramids of Cairo made me forget our Gommata.
In England,
Sadler
and

I saw a
Well's

play of Shakespeare
ballet in London.

at Stratford-on-Avon,
What impressed me

was the daring and determination of the Europeans who

reconstructed their country after the ravages of the second world
war. This tour provided me with an opportunity to meet my old
most

friends like Dr. and Mrs. Baake, and acquire

John Bowers of the unesco and Dr. Haimandorf

new

ones

like

of the London

University.
The religious faith of the people of my village bordered on
I had given up my daily rituals during my High
fanaticism.
School days. Later on, I developed a love for Gita and believed
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I Do My Bit I 57
in its injunction, 'Thy business is with action only, never with its
fruits.' During the thirties I met a real saint in the person of
Sadhu Vaswani.
During contemplation, I began to realise that
the qualities we attribute to God, are the ones we see in life.
Man creates God in his own image. A God without adjective is
What matters to me is life in this world
and therefore, struggling for individual
salvation looks too

difficult to visualise.
selfish.

At the beginning of the fourth decade I moved to Puttur

town. There, I came in contact with Molahalli Shivarao. He was
a lawyer and the Taluk Board President, a good social worker
With his blessings, I took up the
and a dynamic personality.

work of rural uplift. I organised camps for youth. After morn

ing prayers and breakfast, they went round the villages to sink
In the evenings, we arranged for lectures and
or clean wells.
entertainment programmes. During this period, I conducted an

survey of Puttur taluk, among the village folk.

Laziness, poverty and ill-health were common and mortality
rate was high. I tried to make the people undertake dairy
fruit-canning etc. With the help of
farming, poultry-keeping,
economic

lantern

slides,

I did

the

necessary

propaganda.

For

such

work,

felt, movie films would be more effective. So, I learnt to shoot

films, develop and print them. But this enterprise of mine came
to an end one day as my films caught fire and disaster came.
Childrens'

meets

were

held

at various

parts

of Puttur

Taluk.

Some sixty children, ten from each school, in the age-group of

ten to twelve or fourteen, participated in them. Boarding and
The
lodging arrangements were made by the local people.
camps ran for a week and each day, the children recited folk

songs or their own poems. They painted pictures etc. Full scope
was given to them to exhibit their talents. For the teachers, who
gathered, experts delivered lectures on various subjects. These

meets were very popular.

But, one day, an education officer,
like
didn't
who
Shivarao, bunged a spanner in the machinery
saying these camps were not useful for education! So, our venture
At one time, Panje Mangeshrao wanted me
had to be stopped.
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58 / Indian Literature
to organise an education week at Mangalore.
It was a success.
I set up a Kindergarten School in 1935, and tried to teach by
the play-method.
The school strength was too poor, because it
was a private school.
For more than a decade, we organised the Dasara festival in
a novel

manner

at Puttur.

atrical

Lectures

and

eminent

by

scholars,

the

were

entertainment

experiments
programmes
arranged. However, when some dissenting voices began to be
heard among the organisers,
I, who used to programme the
whole show, withdrew from the scene.
Ballard had advocated
the method of using the sentence as
a unit, while teaching a language. Keeping this in mind, I wrote
some textbooks. But, when I learnt that to get them prescribed,
I had to kowtow the officers, I kept back. A workshop about
education, sponsored by the unesco, was conducted at
of Mysore district. An international team of experts
Yelawal
was to prepare textbooks using suitable reading material. I wrote
some books in Kannada
using minimum number of simple
In 1964, I presided over a symposium and directed a
words.
adult

for the preparation of books on different

team at Bangalore
The discussion made us aware of the
children.
for
subjects
the
of
problem and we realised that little had been
magnitude
done in this respect in India.
For

the

teacher

or the

student,

who

wants

to read

and

gain

on

his own, there are no worthwhile books

in
knowledge
Kannada. I decided to write one, keeping Pictorial Knowledge as
I wanted to make it comprehensive by including
my model.

In the effort, I
subjects like religion, politics and economics.
decided to write the whole thing myself. I corresponded
with
zoos

museums,

and

research

centres

in

various

parts

of the

world and

received literature and photographs on many topics.

I toured India, to get first hand information regarding industries,
engineering feats etc. Working for ten hours a day, I got the
entire

script

ready

and

took

it

to experts

to

get

it checked

and

corrected. Then the hunt for a publisher began.

Nittur Srini
vasrao, then an advocate and publisher, came forward to finance
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I Do My Bit / 59
the

scheme.

When

the

volumes

came

comments

out,

were

not

Two thousand copies took ten

encouraging and sales were low.
and U.S.A.,
years to sell! In U.K.,
every year, hundreds of
books are written for the young, to popularise science. Between

1960 and 63,1 wrote four volumes on popular science with the
Due to the recommendation of the Karnatak
same intention.
the
Central
Government provided some financial
University,
the
first
two
I remember with gratitude, the
for
volumes.
help

help rendered by Prof. U.L. Acharya in this effort. However,

such books are to be revised every few years, but finances stand
in the way of such schemes.

Much of my writing consists of novels and plays. In my

earlier plays, there is a lot of moralizing.
I read the works of
Shaw, Shakespeare, Sheridan, Ibsen and Matterlink and learnt
much from them. I found the one-act play to be very effective
on the stage.
Blank verse is suitable for plays dealing with

eternal

I have written burlesques on democracy,

problems.
in
As
rats,
bringing
dogs and such other animals as characters.
a novelty, I have produced operas, with historical and mytholog
ical

cutting

themes on the stage

short

spoken

prose

and
but

Yakshagana

using

dance

and

in ballet
music

form,

only.

All

my dramatic works have been successfully broadcast, or staged

in Puttur during the Dasara festival. There was no dearth for
criticism whenever anything out of the way was produced.
I have
drama
of
stayed with professional
companies
and found both direction and acting sub-standard.
Karnataka
The success of plays in Maharashtra was due to actors like Bala

who were good vocalists and excelled in female

Gandharva,
roles. I have seen foreign films and plays. Both impressed me.
Among Kannada actors, Kailasam's intonation correctly depicted
the various emotions, but his face appeared to be an ugly mask.
While staging a play of mine, I had to be both its director and
an actor. So, standing before a mirror, I recited the lines noticing
facial changes, necessary for registering different moods and
emotions.
How far should an actor be engrossed in the part he
is acting, is a moot point. In my case, once or twice, my absorp
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60 / Indian Literature
tion

so

was

that

deep

was

almost

unconscious.

Kailasam,

watching me, commented "This is too much." But, in spite of

efforts, I could not avoid it. Stagesetting is important for a play.
A Shakespearian comedy cannot be successfully presented against
a too realistic background.
During my High School days, a fellow student taught me to

hum some songs. I carried on this practice in a maidan near my

house.
Sometimes jackals competing with me! Moti Singh, an
early disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, gave me regular lessons.
During later days, I made friends with a Dutch musicologist,
Dr. Arnold Baake, who was doing research on Indian music.
with him were very useful.
Discussions
Saints in North and
South India have made great contributions by way of musical
Their content was mainly devotion and pathos.
compositions.

But, to our classical scholars, the technical aspects of raga and

tala were everything in music. Yakshagana style of music has its
own
textual

talas

and

too.

ragas

content

of the

But,

songs,

our

like

exponents

classical

care

little

for the

exponents.

I confess, I am a jack of all trades and hence will narrate the

The
story of how I produced a film. I wrote a melodrama,
and
One
of
a
few
actors.
amateur
Kingdom of Devils,
engaged
them

was

cameraman,

to play
all

a female

rolled

up

role.

in one!

was

I used

an

actor,

a clockwork

director

and

camera

for

shooting.
Using the hills, forests and valleys of Puttur taluk
as background, I shot a silent film running into eight reels. Dur
ing that period, The Imperial Film Company of Bombay released
the first talkie, Alam Ara, and the future of silent films was over.
Moreover, in my film there were no Gods, or fighting and thrill.
A friend of mine toured South India with it, but in the end, I
could not even get back what little I had spent over it!
During my visit to Santiniketan, somewhere in 1933,1 saw
the paintings of Abanindra
Tagore and Gaganendra
Tagore.
Many have failed to appreciate them, and so also the works of
Cezanne,
Gaugin or Picasso. The statement. Art should please
all, sounds silly to me. Art appreciation requires proper training.

With us, Ravi Varma was

great.

He studied European

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art. In

/ Do My Bit I 6
my youth, I too was Ravi Varma's admirer. It took a few years
for me to realise that art was not an imitative work but one
of creative nature. Among the artists I know, I must mention
wife of M. Acharya,
who settled in
Nautchmann,
Magda
the
She
thirties.
was
fond
of
Bombay during
doing sketches
very
of animals and poor people. Later on, I came to know K.K.
Hebbar, who had such a mastery over colours and lines. But, I
find many painters care only for technique and paint only
pretty things.
In

one

of my

experimental

plays,

Mukta-dwara,

of

messages

each age are depicted as the whimsical moods of kala or time.

As such, I tried to depict them myself through dance.
This
In
made
me
the
of
medium.
realise
the
fan
attempt
potentials

tasies

present
group

like Ali

Baba and the Forty Thieves, it was possible to

the entire theme through dance. For this, I trained a

of young

boys.

As

dance

master,

my

gains

were

not

monetary, but it earned for me my life-partner! I once saw Uday

Shankar's performance and I felt his personality did not go well
with fierce moods.
Our
so-called

low

class

upper

people
classes

have
have

a number
shown

total

of folk-dances,
indifference

but
to

the

them.

In 1958,1 published a thesis on Yakshagana.

This folk-theatre
has its own rich tradition of dance, music and costume. I wanted
I eschewed its spoken prose and depict
to exploit its potential.

ed the entire story through music and dance.

To make the
music more effective, I introduced the saxaphone
background
and violin. My troupe performed ballets at Bombay, Bangalore,
Mysore, etc. Non-Kannada
people and foreigners appreciated
them very much. I am happy to say that my humble efforts

have brought due recognition to the Yakshagana

theatre.
into
I
literature
was a High
adventure
when
My
began
Later
in
the rural areas, I had
School boy.
on, during my travels
Based on this
close glimpses of the life of the untouchables.

experience, I wrote a novel Choman Dudi. When I develop the

writing fever, I choose a quiet place and start scribbling. During
this period I live in the world of my imagination, I live with
No. 143

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62 / Indian Litefaiur
The thirtytwo
my characters and share their joys and sorrows.
Marali
in
of
were
written
as
Mannige
many days.
chapters
Mugida Yuddha, another novel gives the picture of a village
noted critic thought it to be highly
in
outlook
and
another
subjective
equally famous man called it
is
a
political novel depicting my reactions
objective! Gondaranya
to politics and politicians.
But, I do not at all believe a writer's
voice will change the world for the better. But being myself
school

teacher's life. One

influenced by the writings of others, I do believe that my voice

will have some effect on the readers of my generation.
I do not write novels which can be called potboilers. I need
some serious theme. Once a novel is written, one does not make

changes to suit the whims and fancies of critics. Moreover, they

have no right to tell a novelist what to write and what not.
Some of our critics examine my novels in terms of western
techniques. But, for technique sake alone, I do not write. My
Kanasugalu, deals with notions about sex and
religion. Mookajji's remarks about God, religion, sin, merit, etc.,
Some friends have read that
must have shocked the orthodox.
was bestowed the Jnanpith
mum.
when
it
work and kept
But,
To enable Mookajji to have
it!
were
all
for
Award, they
praise

novel, Mookajjiya

glimpses
sensory

of the historical

powers.

Some

past, I have endowed

readers

could

not

her with super

swallow

this,

even

of Sai Baba's

miracles!
much I was

those who are enamoured

influenced by
I have already narrated how
Gandhiji's teachings. I was a Congress volunteer too in early
days. During the second world war, the invasion of Burma by

Japan convinced Britain that she could no

colonies and so India was granted freedom.
many of our leaders who came up after
had succeeded in driving away many rajas
now stepping into their shoes caring little

more hold on to her

I was not happy with

They
Independence.
and princes and were
for the poor masses.

On the one hand Communism was slowly creeping through the

country and on the other, many leaders were playing havoc
with democracy. Deeply stirred by what I saw, I decided to con
test the assembly elections in 1952. Political parties preaching
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I Do My Bit / 63
I lost in the
were indulging in rank communalism.
in
our
discover
much
district. I
but
I
could
elections,
rigging
filed a petition against it, but it was dismissed! I sent a detailed,
and washed my
authentic report to H.V.
Kamath, M.P.,
secularism

hands

of the affair. If there can be no independent

thinking,

a farce.

becomes

democracy

When I was teaching dance to school students at Mangalore,

Leela, an active girl was one of my students. Ramabai, the then
Superintendent of the Besant School, brought us together and
we were married on 6th May, 1936. It was Chaitra Poornima
when I entered into wedlock.

On that day, Siddhartha became

bride
was
a
non-brahmin, and a die-hard brahmin
My
of Udupi, mounted a virulent attack against me. I had to go to
Court.
Buddha.

My short temper and economic burdens must have made life

hard for my wife. But, she was young and so could accom
modate herself to the circumstances she had to face. Children
came in course of time and grew up. Harsha, my eldest son ran a

shop of electrical goods. But, it incurred heavy loss and I had to

send him to Bombay. There, he collapsed after a heart operation
for

cancer

malignant

of the

thymus

gland.

I still

remember

question of his, "Father, if I die what will you do?"

Malavika,
my eldest daughter had completed her M.A. with
Kshama,
Psychology and later on studied Clinical Psychology.

childhood

my

second

S.S.L.c.

and

and

daughter
p.u.c.

courses

Ullas,

my

second

son

completed

their

respectively.

In October, 1962, I was sixty. Many friends cherished it and

organised felicitation functions in many parts of Karnataka.
Special mention must be made of those held at Udupi, Shimoga,
I was loaded
with
Ankola, Karwar, Mysore and Bombay.
garlands and presented
conferred

an

honorary

with purses.
doctorate

on

The Karnatak
me

who

was

University
not

even

graduate! The Mysore University followed suit. What pained

me during the
Mysore function was, its Vice-chancellor,
K.M. Panikkar did not care to speak to me, his honoured guest
either during

the convocation

or during

the dinner for which

No. 143

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64 / Indian Lit eratufe

he had invited me!

These honours

turn a writer's head.

functions,

very

few

For out
have

would

and felicitations should

of the many
read

my

books,

who attend
the

are

rest

not
such
mere

fans!
troupe staged its first performance
my Yakshagana
were
attended
at Bombay, they
by art critics and members of
foreign missions. Alkazi cJled its choreography brilliant. Two
When

of dialogues and introduction of the violin

factorsdropping
and clarionet in background musicfiad made the performances
But, for the same reason, they became unpopular
impressive.
with the tx'aditionalists.

I make no complaints against my readers or audience as I

too have given them bitter doses in my writings which they had
to

swallow

without

murmur.

In 1965, my elder daughter Malavika wanted to marry a

doing a. course in Psychi
young Punjabi doctor, Ravi Kapoor,
His parents were refugees from
atry in the same Institution.
Lahore

and

their

was

marriage

to Arya Samaj rites.

In 1959, Begnt Hager,
medal

came

Stockholm,

Archives,
for

my

research

celebrated

at Amritsar

according

Curator of the International

to

work

Puttur
on

and

me

presented

Yakshagana.

The

Dance
a bronze

same

work

won for me the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award later.

For a pretty long time, I had been writing books for young
and old.
A symposium on adult education was sponsored by

I was one of the two delegates from

India where I impressed upon others that if the purpose of adult
literacy should be of any use, the adult must be provided with
enough and more books on things that would sustain his
the Unesco at Teheran.

interest for reading. Next year, I visited Kabul on the invitation

of a friend, Shrisha Achar, who was doing teaching work at a
College there. He arranged a trip for me to Bamiya. At Bamiya,

I saw two gigantic statues of Buddha with mutilated faces, a

tomb at Kabul and
work of fanatic muslims. I visited Babar's
on my way back, crossed the Suleiman mountains. To receive
the Padmabhushan

title from the Government,

I went to Delhi

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 Do My Bit I 65
via

En route, I visited Bhubaneshwar and saw many

both
there
and at Konark. They were fantastic.
While
temples
to
Kathmandu
in
I
had
of
the
flying
Nepal,
glimpses
Himalayas.
At Kathmandu,
I saw the temple of Pashupatinath
and
Calcutta.

Swayambhunath. From Kathmandu, I flew to Delhi and from

there to Khajuraho. During the tenth and eleventh centuries, the
Chandelas
had built over a hundred temples magnificently in
Nagara style. There I saw numerous sculptures of Vishnu, Ishwar,
and Durga.
The erotic sculptures depicting sexual perversions
seemed to be out of place.
We have very little literature in
Kannada about the architecture of our country and so I pro
duced an illustrated volume on Chalukyan
architecture and
sculpture.
Alkazi's interest in Yakshagana
was responsible for showing
a Hindi version of it at Delhi. . .
With a view to write a book on Painting in Karnataka,
I
visited Bijapur, Nipani, Nargund, Shrirangaptna,
Belagola etc.,
took numerous colour photos.
This book was published by
the Mysore University.
This made me more ambitious, and
write books on Indian Sculpture and another big volume on

World Art, Architecture, etc. I toured, in 1972, USA,

where
I visited museums, galleries and places of natural beauty like
the Yellowstone
Park, Grand Canyon, etc. These sights and
the achievements of the people of USA thrilled me. It was
after seeing the large number of National Parks in USA, I
learnt the importance of ecology in our life.
In 1979, I visited Hong Kong, with our Yakshagana
troupe.
This trip was financed by the iccr and Government
of Kar

nataka. There, the Chinese watched our performances with great

interest. Next year, the Japan Foundation sent a team of artistes
to study the folk theatre in India. They chose Yakshagana
and
so we were invited to visit Japan.
the
visit
seminars
During
were arranged on theatre, and experts attended them; they stuck

to their chairs

the whole

day and their interest was deep and

the
actual
During
performances of our Yakshagana
audience was all eyes and concentration.
During a

detailed.
plays,

No. 143

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66 / Indian Literature
conducted tour of the country, we had lovely glimpses of ancient
Japan in places like Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazava and Sapharo. On
our way back, we halted for a day at Bangkok where we could
see

some

old

temples,

and

sculptures

palaces.

Turning back to the subject of the theatre, I feel that the

potentialities of puppet theatre have not been fully exploited by
us in India.
All our themes were mythological, but they could
include other types of fantasies and stories for children.
When the Emergency was declared in 1975, I felt fundamen
tal rights of the people had been cut short and in disgust I
returned

title to our President.

I was not
my Padmabhushan
happy with the functioning of the Janata Government either.
The craze for power displayed by the members of the old guard
disgusted me. I felt that after the attainment of Independence,
our

leaders

were

more

concerned

with

themselves

than

with

the

country.

In 1978, the Janata

my

Chairmanship

of

the film production

enough

Government set up a Committee

to frame

on

experts

the

a film

committee.

a unanimous

report

not

sure

of its

acceptance.

being

Rao,

young

the

land.

All

considered.
So,

to the

My second daughter Kshama,

could not continue her studies.
Padmanabha

policy

were to be

submitted

for

then

after

aspects

There

a year

Congress

under

or

were

so,

we

Government,

after getting her B. Sc. degree,

She chose her life-partner in
lawyer

from

Madras

and

her

marriage had to be arranged. Two friends of mine, Ramakrishna

Aithal and Anandram Holla, bore much of that burden for me.
They arranged it at Bangalore.
It was only in my seventies, I could realise my dream of
It was during this period that
living on my writings alone.
Aithal arranged a gala felicitation function in my
Ramakrishna
honour. Chief Minister Hanumantayya presided and I felt happy
The
to find many readers of my works among the audience.
of
and
K.S.
Haridas
of
brothers
Bhat
Pai
Manipal
Udupi
I cannot
arranged an equally grand function for me at Udupi.
but narrate here a small incident that pained me. It was the use
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t Do My Bit I 67
of Yakshagana
artistes in full dress made to stand on either side
of the path right from the gate of entry to the dais. But this
artistes hurt me. Art is greater than
display of Yakshagana
individual.
After four decades of stay, for me, Puttur had become a dull
after the departure of Molahalli Shivarao.
place, especially
Ramakrishna Aithal had built a house at Saligrama and wanted

me to stay there. For my children, this departure was a wrench.

to dispose

I wanted

of my

but

house,

the

Government

wanted

to

purchase and preserve it. My second son Ullas, after getting an

engineering degree, decided to purchase a few acres of land near
Nagarhole, a sanctuary. There, he wanted to cultivate tobacco,
and indulge in his hobby of bird and wild life watching.
The Meerut University conferred the D. Litt, degree on me.

Thanks

to the efforts of some Kannada

people working there.
Sometime later, I went to Bombay to receive the Jnanpith Award
and stayed there with the Jains. This award brought me
notoriety. Hence, the Janata Party wanted me to contest the
Lok Sabha seat at Chikmagalur against Indira Gandhi. Due to
my age, I had to decline, but I took an active part in the election
campaign

against

The Mysore
to be

tionary

member.
Ranganna

her.

University wanted their English-Kannada

revised

and

set

up

At the first meeting,

declared

that

the

work

committee.

the
would

I was

Prof.

Chairman,
be

over

Dic
made

in

three

S.V.
years.

Even after ever so many years, the work is yet to be finished, the
reason

being,

there

are

not

enough

experienced

men

who

can

do the work.

Many members did not take the work seriously

and the process became too slow and slipshod.
I attended a Conference at Ernakulam,
held to popularise
science and literature. Inaugurating
it, I said, "My writings had

nothing to do with political 'isms'. I want to be true to myself."

While talking to the participants there, I felt that the organisers
of this seminar had greater interest in Communism than in science

I was impressed by
proper! At a literary meet in Maharashtra,
the courtesy and regard shown to me by the organisers. At
No. 143

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68 / Indian Literatute
another time, when I visited Bombay, the Director of Music at
the AIR, Ramesh Nadkarni wanted me to address the members
of the Arts Circle, Bombay University. I did so, rather with
diffidence. The title of my talk was "Music,
Movements and
Later I learnt that the audience very much appre
Meaning".
ciated the talk. When, on another such demonstration, Dnyanesh
war Nadkarni,
wrote a few good words about my talk, I

a sigh of relief! At another meeting of Hindi writers

in Calcutta, they expressed the hope that in future, I would
write in Hindi. I had to tell them, "Abandon such hope. Kannada
being my mother tongue, I will lisp my joys and sorrows through
breathed

it."
In my long life, I have come
friendship had cheered me: D.V.
aware

people

Dinakar

of

the

sincerity;

and

democracy

worked for the educational

Desai,
of North
development
and

of

importance

who

across many worthies whose

who made the
Gundappa,

B.G.L.

G.P.

Kanara;

Swamy,

Rajarathnam,

Professor

of

culture;

and economic
for his zeal

Botany

and

researcher in his field; S.N. Moodabidri, well-known to Bombay

Lives of such people can be models
citizens for his generosity.
for us all.
Aware of my innovations and experiments in folk
drama,

Ken

Newzealander,

Ray

by

name,

asked

me,

"What

after you?" I replied, "I do my bit and leave it at that."

I have never bothered about the future. Living with others, I
This I have done, with dedi
have striven for common good.
cation and to the best of my ability.
Excerpts
Sagar:

from Huchchu
Akshara

manasina

Prakashana.

hat tu mukhagalu,

1950.

1984 edn.

Translated from Kannada by D.V. Pot dar

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