Panje Mangesh Rao (1874–1937) was an Indian writer and poet who wrote short stories, essays, poems and children's rhymes 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 is known as 'kavishishya'. He wrote Huthariya haadu, Naagara haave, Koti chennaya, Gudugudu Gummata Devaru, Maathaado raamappa.

Life

Mangesh Rao's ancestors hailed from ''Panje'', now in

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

. He was born on 22 February 1874 to Ramappayya and Seethamma, Chitrapur Saraswat Konkani

Brahmins 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 o ...

, and had six siblings. After finishing primary schooling, in

Bantwal Bantwal () is a taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is located East of Mangalore city center. BC Road-Kaikamba of Bantwal is one of the fastest developing areas in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Along with BC ...

, he had to go to

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

to study in high school. His proficiency in Kannada brought him a Kannada translator's job, on a monthly salary of twenty rupees, even before he completed graduation. He married Girijabai and had six children. They took active interest in his literary pursuits and his love of music. Later he completed his B.A. degree and got a teacher's diploma as well. He was also appointed Inspector of schools. In 1934, he was elected President of All India Kannada Conference held at

Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...

, then under the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

's rule. At the age of sixty-three, he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in 1937. Distinguished littérateurs such as Masti Venkatesh Iyengar,

Shivaram Karanth Kota Shivaram Karanth (10 October 1902 – 9 December 1997), also abbreviated as K. Shivaram Karanth, was an Indian polymath, who was a novelist in Kannada language, playwright and an ecological conservationist. Ramachandra Guha called him th ...

and

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 ...

had paid rich tribute in moving terms. His Great Grandson is journalist

Shiv Aroor Shiv Aroor is an Indian journalist and author. He is an editor and anchor at India Today (TV channel). He is also a defence correspondent, having done conflict reporting from defence zones such as Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Libya. He also runs a d ...

Works

Mangesh Rao is credited with the creation of Navodaya literature in Kannada. He wrote in both Konkani and

. He had worked on drama, poetry, translations and other branches of literature. Among his most famous compositions are ''Nagarahave!'' (Snake) a popular children's rhyme taught in primary schools like Mina Mina minuguva nakshatra(Kannada version of twinke twinkle little star. ''Huttari Hadu'' (Harvest Song), another famous composition, praises the

Kodava people The Kodava people or Kodavas are an ethno-linguistic group from the region of Kodagu in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, who natively speak the Kodava language. They are traditionally land-owning agriculturists and patrilineal, with ma ...

and their land

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

. He also helped popularise the

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

legend,

Koti and Chennayya Koti and Chennayya ( tcy, ಕೋಟಿ ಚೆನ್ನಯ್ಯ Kōṭi Cennayya,) (Circa 1556 A.D to 1591 A.D.) are legendary Tuluva twin heroes characterized in the Tulu epic of the same name, which is considered one of the two truly long epi ...

. ''Tenkanagaliyata'' (Ode to southern Wind) is yet another popular composition of Mangesh Rao's.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Panje Mangesh Kannada-language writers Konkani people 1874 births 1937 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in India