Chennaveera Kanavi (28 June 1928 – 16 February 2022) was an Indian

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 ...

language poet and author. In a career spanning over seven decades he wrote over 25 anthologies and over 28 books across genres. He was considered one of the major poets and writers in the Kannada language and received 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 ...

for his poem "Jeeva Dhwani" () in 1981. He was popularly known as "''Samanvayada Kavi'' ("the poet of reconciliation"), "''Chembelakina Kavi'' ("the poet of beautiful light"), and "''Soujanyada Kavi'' ("the poet of courtesy"). In 2011, he was awarded the Sahitya Kala Kaustubha Award. He was also a recipient of the

Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is an annual literary award given to literary works in Kannada by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy. Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is given to individual books published in various genres like poetry, novel, short ...

Karnataka Rajyotsava award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 ...

, and 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 Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

Early life

Kanavi was born on 28 June 1928 in

Hombal Hombal is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 627800 Hombal, Gadag, Karnataka It is located in the Gadag taluk of Gadag district. Education Hombal has several co-educational schools for both genders. Most are g ...

, a village in present-day northern

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 ...

, to Pravathavva and Sakkareppa. His father, Sakkareppa, was a school teacher who was noted to have taught poems from saint-poets like

Nijaguna Shivayogi Nijaguna Shivayogi (15th century) was an Indian poet and a prolific writer in the Kannada language. He lived in the 15th century. He was a follower of the Veerashaiva faith (devotee of the Hindu god Shiva), which he attempted to reconcile with the ...

and Sarpabhushana Shivayogi, and other ''tatva-pada'' (philosophical songs) to the young Kanavi. These and other native folklore would form an influence on some of his later works. Kanavi completed his schooling in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Karnatak University Karnatak University is a public state university in Dharwad district of Karnataka state, India. The university is recognized by University Grants Commission (India), University Grants Commission and accredited by National Assessment and Accre ...

in Dharwad in 1952. He followed it with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from the same university, studying under the guidance of the then principal,

V. K. Gokak Vinayaka Krishna Gokak (9 August 1909 – 28 April 1992), abbreviated in Kannada as Vi. Kru. Gokak, was an Indian historian and writer in the Kannada language and a scholar of English and Kannada literatures. He was the fifth writer to be hono ...

, a

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 ...

winner.

Career

Kanavi started his career in the publication wing of the

, ''Prasaranga'', as its secretary and went on to serve the university, between 1956 and 1983, before retiring as the director of its publication wing. When he moved to Dharwad, he stayed at the ''Prasada Nilaya,'' a boarding house of the Murugha Matha, a

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have been ...

monastery. He was introduced to Kannada language scholars and

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

ians including

Mallikarjun Mansur Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur (Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರ), (31 December 1910 – 12 September 1992) was an Indian classical singer from Karnataka, an excellent vocalist in the khyal style in the ...

at the monastery. During his time at the monastery he was also introduced to twelfth century ''Vacanas'' and other works of Kannada language poets including

Raghavanka Raghavanka ( kn, ರಾಘವಾಂಕ) was a noted Kannada writer and a poet in the Hoysala court who flourished in the late 12th to early 13th century. Raghavanka is credited for popularizing the use of the native ''shatpadi'' metre (hexa me ...

and

Harihara Harihara (Sanskrit: हरिहर) is the fused sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) from Hindu theology. Hari is the form of Vishnu, and Hara is the form of Shiva. Harihara is also known as Shankaranarayana ("Shankara ...

setting him on a path towards Kannada poetry. Kanavi's career in poetry began in 1949 with his first anthology ''Kavyaakshi''. Poet

Da Ra Bendre Dattātreya Rāmachandra Bēndre (31 January 1896 – 26 October 1981), popularly known as Da Rā Bēndre, is generally considered the greatest Kannada lyric poet of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the history of Kannada ...

wrote the preface for this work and stayed a supporter through his career. Kanavi followed it with over 25 anthologies and 28 books across genres. He wrote poetry across all phases of Kannada poetry starting from the '' Navodaya'' period (), ''

Pragatisheela Pragatishila ( kn, ಪ್ರಗತಿಶೀಲ is a form of literature in Kannada language. It is one of the five forms of modern Kannada literature, the other four being ''Navodaya'', ''Navya'', ''Dalita'' and ''Bandaya''. ''Pragatishila'' which ...

'' (), '' Navya'' (), and ''post-Navya'' periods. For his work he was known as Samanvaya Kavi () or someone who was a synthesizer of key trends. His poetry spanned genres and themes including nature, friendship, love, places, and even the occasional political poetry focusing on the state of democracy. Many of his works were written as a conversation with time. Kanavi started ''Kavyanubhava Mantapa'' () as an informal association for upcoming poets to recite their poetries and exchange ideas. Some of the other participating poets included Da Ra Bendre and

. Some of his works were in response to political events of the day. He wrote in opposition to the

Indian emergency The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution beca ...

between 1975 and 1977, and was also a participant of the

Gokak movement The Gokak agitation ( kn, ಗೋಕಾಕ್ ಚಳುವಳಿ) was a successful language rights agitation in the 1980s that fought for the first-language status of the Kannada language in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It was named aft ...

, a language rights movement that was launched to ensure primacy of the Kannada language in the state. Through his career he won awards including the

, and the

. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry anthology ''Jeeva Dhwani'' () in 1981.

Personal life

Kanavi was married to Shantadevi Kanavi, also an author who wrote short stories. Kanavi died at SDM Medical Hospital in

, on 16 February 2022, at the age of 93, from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, resulting as a complication of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Politicians including the Indian prime minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

and chief minister of Karnataka Basavraj Bommai expressed their condolences.

Published works

Poetry

* Kavyaakshi * Bhaavajeevi * Aakaashabutti * Madhuchandra * Shishu Kanda Kanasu * Nela Mugilu * Mannina Meravanige * Deepadhari * Eradu Dada * Hombelaku * Karthikada Moda * Jeevadhwani * Hoovu Horaluvavu Sooryana Kadege * Shishiradalli Banda Snehitha * Chirantana Daaha * Samagra Kavya * Nanna Desha Nanna Jana * Yeradu Dada * Nagaradalli Neralu * Hakkipuccha * Zinnia * Inviting Life – Selected Poems in English

Prose

* Sahitya Chintana * Kavyanusandhana * Samahita * Madhurachenna * Vachanantharanga * Shubha Nudiye Hakki * Sahitya Samahitha * Samatholana * Sadbava * Samagra Gadya Volume - 1 * Samagra Gadya Volume - 2

Awards and honours

for Jeevadhwani * Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award * Rajyotsava Award *

Nrupatunga Award The Nrupatunga Award is an award for excellence in Kannada literature in the Indian state of Karnataka. The award was instituted by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and is sponsored by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). Instit ...

* Pampa Award * Maasti Award * Nadoja Award from

Kannada University Kannada University, also called Hampi Kannada University or Hampi University or Kannada University, Hampi, is a research-oriented public university in Hampi, Karnataka, founded in 1991 by the Government of Karnataka through the Kannada Universit ...

Humpi * Honorary Doctorate from

Karnataka University Karnatak University is a public state university in Dharwad district of Karnataka state, India. The university is recognized by University Grants Commission and accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). As of 2014, ...

Dharwad * Ambikatanayadatta National Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanavi, Chennaveera 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian poets Kannada poets Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada Indian male poets People from Gadag district Poets from Karnataka Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India