By

MURALIDHARA KHAJANE& AFSHAN YASMEEN

Kannada writer and one of the most acclaimed public intellectuals in the country, U.R. Ananthamurthy passed away at a private hospital here on Friday. He was 82.

Dr. Ananthamurthy, a Jnanpith award winner, had a kidney ailment and had been on dialysis for a long time. He was put on ventilator on Thursday night.

Manipal Hospital director H. Sudarshan Ballal said Dr. Ananthamurthy’s condition worsened on Thursday night. “There was a sudden drop in his blood pressure around 6.30 p.m. on Friday following which his heart stopped functioning. Despite efforts by doctors to resuscitate him, he could not be revived,” he said.

Long illness had never come in the way of Dr. Ananthamurthy’s continued writing, critical thinking and public engagement. He had always been a critic of Hindutva politics and had incurred the wrath of the supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election for stating that he would not wish to live in a country with Mr. Modi at the helm. He was deeply influenced by Ram Manohar Lohia’s political movement.

Mr. Modi condoled the death, saying it is a loss to Kannada literature. “My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace,” he tweeted.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the void created by his demise in the Indian literary space and social conscience would be hard to fill.

Courtesy:The Hindu

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Ananthamurthy – Pioneer of modern Kannada literature

By MURALIDHARA KHAJANE &AFSHAN YASMEEN

Regarded as one of the prominent voices of the Navya (modernist) movement in Kannada literature, Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy wrote six novels (Samskara, Bharatipura, Avasthe, Bhava, Divya and Preethi Mruthyu Mattu Bhaya) and one play (Avahane), apart from eight short story collections, three collections of poetry and eight compilations of essays in his literary career spanning six decades. His autobiography Suragi was published in 2012.

His landmark first novel Samskara looks at the caste system, religious codes, culture and traditions and the uncertain relationship between traditional and cultural values. The novel, which sparked a raging controversy, was made into a film.

Dr. Ananthamurthy was also shortlisted for DSC Prize for South Asian literature in 2012 for his novel Bharatipura (1973). He was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013 for his overall contribution to fiction.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi pays tribute

In his tribute to the litterateur, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said, “U.R. Ananthamurthy was a modern rishi with the authority of that position but without its baneful sanctimony. In his uncompromising opposition to every manner of narrow illiberalism he became a beacon of sanity and courage in our prejudiced times.”

Courtesy:The Hindu