Purohita Thirunarayana Narasimhachar (17 March 1905 – 13 October 1998), commonly known as PuTiNa, was a playwright and poet in the

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 ...

. Along with,

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...

and D. R. Bendre, he forms the well-known trio of Kannada Navodaya poets.K. M. George (1992), p642 He was a

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

fellow and the winner of the

Pampa Award The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, La Pampa Province, La Pampa, ...

, awarded 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 ...

in 1991.P. T. Narasimhachar (2001), Back cover

Life and career

Narasimhachar was born on 17 March 1905 into an orthodox

Iyengar Iyengar (also spelt Ayyangar or Aiyengar, pronounced ) refers to the name of an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, whose members follow Sri Vaishnavism and the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. Found mos ...

family in the town of

Melkote Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka.It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadeepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote i ...

Mandya district Mandya District is an administrative district of Karnataka, India. The district is bordered on the south by Mysore district, Mysore and Chamarajanagar district, Chamarajangar districts, on the west by Hassan District, on the north by Tumkur Di ...

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 ...

. Apart from being a writer, PuTiNa also worked in the army of

Mysore state Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

and later in the legislature of the Government of Mysore state. He died on 13 October 1998.

Literary contributions

PuTiNa was one of the catalysts of the Navodaya style of Kannada literature. According to Lakshminarayana Bhat, "At a broader level, the growth of the Navodaya style of literature resembles the growth of the writings of PuTiNa". In his first collection of poems ''Hanathe'', he conveys profound insights into significant moments in life by using a simple language and style. Many of PuTiNa's writings detail the beauty and majesty of nature, bordering on the spiritual.K. M. George (1992), p174 Two of his well-known writings are ''Ahalye'', which subtly narrates the conflict between

kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

and

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

, and ''Gokula Nirgamana'', which narrates the departure of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

from

Gokula Gokula Singh (also known as Veer Gokula, or Gokal or Gokul Singh Jat; died on 1 January 1670 AD) was a Jat zamindar of Tilpat, belonging to Haga(Agre/Agha) gotra, in what is now the state of Haryana, India. The second of four sons born to Madu, ...

.Sisir Kumar Das (1995), p766 PuTiNa's essays reflect his dominant poetic personality.Amaresh Datta (1988), p1220

Awards and recognitions

Kendra Sahitya Academy 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 1966 for his work "Hamsa Damayanti Mattu Itara Roopakagalu" * Pampa Prashasthi in 1991 from

Karnataka Government 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 ...

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

from the Government of India, 1991

Bibliography

Collection of poems

*''Hanate'' *''Mandaliru'' *''Sharadayaamini'' *''Hrudaya vihari'' *''Ganesha darshana'' *''Rasa Sarasvati'' *''Maley Degula'' *''Irula Meragu'' *''Haley Chiguru – Hosa Beru'' *''Raaga raagini'' *''honala haadu''

Musical dramas

* ''Vasanta Chandana'' * ''Seeta Kalyana'' * ''Ahalye'' * ''Gokula Nirgamana'' * ''Shabari'' * ''Doniya Binada'' * ''Vikatakavi'' * ''Ramapatabisheka''

Collection of stories

* ''Ramachariya Nenapu'' * ''Rathasaptami and other stories'' * ''Sri Rama Pattabhiskekham'' * ''Hamsa Damayanti'' * ''Eechalu marad kelage''

Notes

References

* * * *
Documentary
by Chadrashekhar Kambar

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narasimhachar, P. T. Kannada poets People from Mandya district 1905 births 1998 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada Kannada dramatists and playwrights Maharaja's College, Mysore alumni 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male poets Poets from Karnataka Indian male dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Dramatists and playwrights from Karnataka 20th-century Indian male writers