Kuntagodu Vibhuthi Subbanna (20 February 1932 – 16 July 2005) was an acclaimed dramatist and writer 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 the founder of the world-famous ''NINASAM'' (''Neelanakantheshwara Natya Sangha'') drama institute.History of Ninasam is explained by Founded in 1949 in

Heggodu Heggodu is a village located in the Sagar Taluk of Karnataka. It is a very important cultural and educational hub in South India, because of the organizations at this place. Institutes Apart from a pre-university and an undergraduate degree ...

Sagara Sagara may refer to: People * Sagara (ethnic group), a people of Tanzania * Sagara (Vedic king), Ikshvaku dynasty * Sagara clan, a clan of 16th century Japan * Sekihotai (Sagara Souzou), a leader of the Sekihotai military unit during the Boshin ...

. ''

Ninasam Ninasam (Kannada: ನೀನಾಸಂ) is a cultural organisation located in the village of Heggodu in Sagara, India, Sagar Taluk of the Shivamogga district in the state of Karnataka, India. Ninasam (also spelt as Neenasam) is the short form of S ...

'', under the guidance of K.V. Subbanna, made significant contribution to Kannada theatre and other performing arts. He was awarded, in 1991, the '' Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts'', in recognition of his contribution to ''enrich rural

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 ...

with the world's best films and the delight and wonder of the living stage''. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

during 2004–05. Under the influence of Shantaveri Gopala Gowda, a senior leader of the socialist movement in Karnataka, Subbanna espoused socialist ideology, to which he was committed throughout his life. To promote

dramas Subbanna set up training centres in various parts of Karnataka. He also establishe
Akshara Prakashana
a publishing house, to publish literature in

related to theatre, which included translations of plays from other languages. His son K. V. Akshara is also a playwright.

Awards and recognition

* Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1991 * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1994 *

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 2003 * Padma Shree in 2004

Notes

External links

* Sudhanva Deshpande, 'The World was his Stage',
Remembering Subbanna at kamat.com
1932 births 2005 deaths Indian theatre directors Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Subbanna, K.V. People from Shimoga district Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Kannada people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Karnataka {{India-writer-stub