Shatavadhani Ganesh
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R. Ganesh (also known popularly as Shatavadhani Ganesh, born 4 December 1962) is a practitioner of the art of avadhana, a polyglot, an author in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
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 ...
and an
extempore ''Ex tempore'' (Latin for "out of the moment“) is a legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ''ex tempore''. Another way a judge may deliver a de ...
poet in multiple languages. He has performed more than 1300 avadhanas, 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 ...
,
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
,
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
. He is known for extempore composition of poetry (āśukavita) during these performances, and even of chitrakavya. He is the only Śatāvadhāni from
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 ...
. He once set a record by composing poetry for twenty-four hours continuously. From 30 November 2012 to 2 December 2012, he performed the first ever Shatavadhana entirely in Kannada. On 16 February 2014, in Bangalore, he performed his 1000th avadhāna.


Childhood and education

Ganesh was born on 4 December 1962, 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 Wes ...
, Karnataka, to R. Shankar Narayan Aiyar and K. V. Alamelamma. Ganesh picked up Tamil, Kannada and Telugu from his environment as a child. Also in his childhood, he read Sanskrit and Kannada literature and was writing poetry at the age of sixteen. He learned English at school, and he later learned several other languages like
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
,
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
,
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 ...
,
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and Italian. He has a
B.E. A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...
degree in mechanical engineering from
UVCE University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) was established in 1917, under the name Government Engineering College, by Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya. It is the fifth engineering college to be established in the country and first ...
, an MSc (Engineering) degree in metallurgy from
IISc The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute wa ...
, pursued research in materials science and metallurgy, has an MA degree in Sanskrit, and a D. Litt in Kannada, which was awarded by Hampi University for his thesis on the art of Avadhana in Kannada.


Avadhana

Ganesh is well known for his performances of '' avadhana'', in which he composes extempore solutions in metrical verse to problems posed in parallel by the ''pṛcchaka''s on stage, satisfying the constraints imposed by them, while simultaneously dealing with interruptions designed to break his concentration. The performance tests poetic skill, creativity, memory, concentration, scholarship, and wit. The main variants are the Aṣṭāvadhāna (eight ''pṛcchaka''s) and Śatāvadhāna (hundred ''pṛcchaka''s), both of which he performs. Although there are records of Bellave Narahari Sastry performing ''avadhana'' in Kannada during 1933–36 (having learnt it from Telugu's Pisupati Chidambara Shastri), there was no living tradition of avadhana in Kannada when Ganesh took it up; thus he is credited with reviving ''avadhana'' in Kannada. In 1981, after seeing an avadhana performance for the first time, by Lepakshi Medavaram Mallikarjuna Sharma, he tried one himself in front of his friends. He performed 13 astavadhana between 1981–1987. In 1987, he gave a major astavadhana performance at Kolar in the centenary year of
D. V. Gundappa Devanahalli Venkataramanaiah Gundappa (17 March 1887 – 7 October 1975), popularly known as DVG, was an Indian writer, poet and philosopher in Kannada-language. He is one of the stalwarts of modern Kannada literature. His most notable work is th ...
, where thousands of people and several learned persons assembled. His 100th and 200th astavadhanas were also performed at Kolar, his native place. His astavadhanas became very popular and he gave hundreds of performances, some of which were viewed by people even in pouring rain. He has performed ''avadhana''s using eight languages, including Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. He is also credited with introducing ''chitrakavya'' into ''avadhana'', previously considered impossible to do in an ''avadhana''. He has given more than 20 avadhana performances in American and European countries. He performed his first Shatavadhana at
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...
, Bangalore on 15 December 1991. He did another one 15 days later, then one each again in 1992 and 1993, with his fifth, the first to be done entirely in Kannada, in 2012. In addition to his D. Litt thesis ''The Art of Avadhana in Kannada'' and the forthcoming ''Avadhana Sahasra'', he has written books about the art of Avadhana to groom future ''avadhani''s including 'Shatavadhana Sharade'', ''Shatavadhana Srividye'' and ''Sataavadhaana shaashvati''. He has also started lectures on poetry composition, prosody and poetics on the website of "Padyapaana" organisation.


Other work

He performed a shatavadhana in a single day in 1991. He also gives public lectures, on dance ('' nāṭya śāstra''), music, art, culture, literature, poetics, etc. In his kAvya-chitra shows, he performs with painter B.K.S.Varma, composing poems while the latter paints. He has also written lyrics and composed verses for dance performances. He learned the performance art
Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...
and conceived the idea of ''eka vyakthi yakshagana'' (single-person Yakshagana), of which several performances have been given by Mantapa Prabhakara Upadhyaya. He has played the role of
Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
(dubbed Harshananda) in a Sanskrit production of ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''. He has given multiple lectures on various topics in Gokhale Institute of Public affairs, most of which is published on Youtube.


Literary works

* ''Kannadadalli Avadhanakale'' (The art of Avadhana in Kannada) (D. Litt thesis) * ''Vitaana'' * ''Nityaneeti'' * ''ShriChakreshwari Stavana'' * ''Sandhyadarshana'' * ''Shatavadhanasharade'' * ''Kavitegondu Kathe'' * ''Dhoomadhoota'', a parody of Meghaduta * ''Samaanyadharma'' * ''Neelakanthadeekshitana Shatakatraya'' * ''Shaddarshana Sangraha'' * ''Vanitaakavitotsava'' * ''Kusumadevana Drishtantakalikaa Shataka mattu Neelakanthadeekshitana Shaantivilasa'' * ''Vibhootipurusha Vidyaranya'' * ''Human values in the code of Kautilya'' * ''Human values in Manusmriti'' * ''Human values in the Ramayana'' * ''Human values in Telugu Literature'' * ''Subhashita Samputa'' * ''Alankaarashastra'' * ''Bharateeya Kshaatra Parampare'' * ''Brahmapuriya Bhikshuka'' * Mannina Kanasu ; Works in Sanskrit Ganesh is considered one of the Sanskrit authors to have "carved a niche for themselves in twentieth century", and is credited with introducing new genres into Sanskrit literature. His works include: * Anveṣaṇam, an allegorical one-act play (rūpaka), a satire on social evils (1984) * Sāmbalaharī (khaṇḍakāvya) (1989) * Śaṅkaravivekīyam, a poem with two readings (dvisandhānākavya) * Antaḥkāntiḥ, a novel in blank verse, on the last days of
Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...
* Saugandhikā, a collection of sonnets in blank verse * Citraculikā, an example of Chitrakavya. * Śrīkṛṣṇa-laharī, 123 verses on
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 ...
* Śrījāmba-laharī, 51 verses on
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
* Śṛṅgāra-laharī, 103 verses long * Jātaśakuntalā, a 123-verse work on
Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...
* Ilākaivalyam, 154 verses in Vedic metre * Evam api ṛtavaḥ, poem on the effects of the seasons on village life * Cāṭucandrikā, 87 blank verses * Śrīcandreśvarīstavanam (with Kannada translation) * Madhusadma : a collection of Sanskrit poems 1st ed. R. Ganesh; with a foreword by K. Krishnamoorthy. Published 1989. Library of CongressPK3799.G29 M33 1989


Awards

*
Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as t ...
(Karnataka State Award) for 1992 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 ...
. At 29, he was the youngest person to have received the award. * Rashtriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar * Kāvyakaṇṭhapraśasti * Bādarāyaṇa-Vyāsa Puraskar awarded by the President of India for contributions to Sanskrit for the year 2003. * 'Sediyapu Award' for the year 2010. * Honorary doctorate (D. Litt) from Tumkur University in 2010. * "Chit-prabhananda" award * Erya Award for 2012. *
Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 m ...
2021.


References


External links


Official website

Articles on Prekshaa Journal

Livestream of 1000th avadhana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganesh, Shatavadhani Kannada-language writers Living people 1962 births Sanskrit writers Sanskrit poets Indian Institute of Science alumni Writers from Karnataka People from Kolar district Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation