Goruru Ramaswamy Iyengar (1904–1991), popularly known as Goruru, was an Indian writer who wrote in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. He was well known for his humour and satire.

Early life

Goruru Ramaswami Iyengar was born at "Goruru" in

Hassan district Hassan is one of the districts of Karnataka, 31 districts of Karnataka, India. The district headquarter is Hassan, Karnataka, Hassan. It was carved out from Mysore district in the year 1866, during the Commissioner's Rule of Mysore (1831-81). ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

in 1904. His father was Srinivas Iyengar and his mother Lakshamma.

Career

Goruru Ramaswami Iyengar was influenced by

Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

and became a staunch follower of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. He was jailed by the British administration in 1942 for 2 months for his participation in the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

and in 1947. His son Ramachandra became a martyr for the same cause in 1947. After Independence in 1947, Goruru worked in the industries. He began writing early in life with the celebrated books ''HALLIYA CHITHRAGALLU'' (1930) and ''NAMMA OORINA RASIKARU'' (1932). His "Amerikadalli Goruru" 1979, is a satirical travelogue of a true Indian in United States. It fetched him the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1981. His short story "

Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu ''Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu'' () is 1974 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Siddalingaiah, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, based on Iyengar's short story of the same name from his novel, ''Vayyari.'' The film st ...

" (based on true events) was made into a

movie of the same name by noted director

S. Siddalingaiah Siddalingaiah (15 December 1936 – 12 March 2015) was an Indian film Film director, director, Screenwriter, scriptwriter and Film producer, producer who worked mainly in the Cinema of Karnataka, Kannada films. He was well known for his distinct ...

in 1975. Novels ''Hemavathi'' and ''URVASHI'' were also made into movies. His travelogue was made into a television series. His other works include ''Rasaphala'', ''Namma Oorina Rasikaru'', ''Putta mallige'', ''Hemavathi'' and ''Garudagambada Dasayya'', ''MERAVANIGE''. His ''Rajanartaki'' was a translation of the Gujarathi novel ''Amrapali'' by Ramachandra Thakore. He was nominated to

Karnataka Legislative Council The Karnataka Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Karnataka state in South Western India. Karnataka is one of the six states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the Leg ...

in 1952 in recognition of his literary contributions. In 1971 he was a recipient of an Honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore. A road in Rajajinagar,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

is named after him.

Death

Goruru Ramaswamy Iyengar died in 1991,september 28 at the age of 87. His birth centenary was celebrated in 2005. His memoirs of his childhood days, ''Goruru Avara Balyada Atma Kathe'' was published posthumously.

References

External links

1904 births 1991 deaths Novelists from Karnataka Kannada-language writers People from Hassan district Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada Indian satirists Indian humorists Indian independence activists from Karnataka Indian travel writers Indian male novelists 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian male writers {{India-writer-stub