Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer in

Kannada language 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 sp ...

. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

, the highest literary honor conferred in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was popularly referred to as ''Maasti Kannadada Aasti'' which means "Maasti, Kannada's Treasure". He is most renowned for his short stories. He wrote under the pen name ''Srinivasa''. He was honoured with the title ''Rajasevasakta'' by then

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. In title, the role has been known by differe ...

Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadeyar.

Early life and education

Maasti was born in 1891 at Hungenahalli in

Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Weste ...

district of

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 a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

speaking Sri Vaishnavaite

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family. He spent his early childhood in Maasti village. He obtained a master's degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

(Arts) in 1914 from

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. After joining the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

(Known as the Mysore Civil Service in the days of the Maharaja of Mysore), he held various positions of responsibility in different parts of Karnataka, rising to the rank of District Commissioner. After 26 years of service, he resigned in 1943, as a protest when he did not get the post equivalent to a Minister, which he felt that he deserved, and a junior was promoted ahead of him. He wrote some pieces in English and then switched to writing in the Kannada language. He often used the pen name ''Srinivasa''.

Works

He published his first work, ''Rangana Maduve'' in 1910. His last work was ''Maatugara Ramanna'', from 1985. ''Kelavu Sanna Kathegalu'' (Some Short Stories) was his first notable work in modern Kannada literature. Maasti also crafted a number poems on various philosophic, aesthetic and social themes. He composed and translated several important plays and was the editor of the monthly journal ''Jivana'' (Life) from 1944 to 1965. A prolific writer, he wrote more than 123 books in Kannada and 17 in English, over the course of seventy years. He won the

in 1983 for his novel '' Chikka Veera Rajendra.'' The story was about the last Rajah of Kodagu.

Demise

Masti Venkatesh Iyengar died on his 95th birthday in 1986.

Commemorations

Since 1993, an award in his name, the "Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Award" is presented to well-known writers from Karnataka. His house is located in Basavanagudi area in Bangalore. His house, located in Maasti village, Maluru Taluk (

Kolar District Kolar district ) is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. Kolar ( ಕೋಲಾರ) is the district headquarters. Located in southern Karnataka, it is the state's easternmost district. The district is surrounded by the Bangalore Rural ...

) has been converted into a library and maintained by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

. Masti Residential School was started in his memory in 2006–07, at a nearby location.

Bibliography

Epics * Shri Rama Pattabisheka (Coronation of Shri Ram)
Novels * Chikaveera Rajendra * Channabasava Nayaka * Subbana * Sheshamma
Stories and Anthologies * Kelavu Sanna Kathegalu (Some Short Stories) * 100 Short stories in a number of volumes * Ranga's Marriage * Venkatashami's Love Affair
Plays *

Kakanakote {{coord, 11, 53, 55, N, 76, 12, 10, E, display=title Kakanakote is situated at a distance of 73 km from Mysore in Karnataka state, India. It is a thick forest of the Western Ghats, and a famous place where a large number of wild elephants c ...

* Manjule * Yashodhara * Purandaradaasa * Bhattara Magalu * Shanthaa
Autobiography * Bhaava (Three Volumes)
Other * Subbanna (1928) * Sheshamma (1976) * Shanta (1923) * Talikoti (1929) * Yashodhara (1933) * Kannadad Seve (1930) * Arun (1924) * Tavare (1930) * Sankranti (1969)

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyengar, Maasti Venkatesh Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Kannada-language writers People from Kolar 1891 births 1986 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada