Scholar, writer, activist P.V. Narayana passes away in Bengaluru

He was an avid translator, bringing to Kannada over 22 works from English and Telugu. He brought out a prose version of his ancestor Venkamatya’s Ramayana, translated Palkurike Somanatha’s Basavapurana, Kumudendu Ramayana and also Burtend Russell’s History of Western Philosophy, and several other works.

Scholar, writer and translator P.V. Narayana, 82, who was at the forefront of Kannada movements for over five decades, passed away in Bengaluru on April 3 due to age-related ailments. 

Born in 1942 in Akkirampura village, Tumakuru district, Narayana studied in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mysuru and Dharwad completing two Masters in Arts in Kannada and English. He hailed from the family of Venkamatya, a poet and prime minister in the court of Hyder Ali, following whom everyone in the family used the prefix “Pradhan.”

Narayana chose the 12th century vachana movement as his subject of study, and wrote his doctoral thesis Vachana Sahitya: Ondu Samskrutika Adhyayana. He continued his work on the vachana movement through his life, undertaking several research projects, and editing several compilations of vachanas. He has written nine novels, several scholarly works on Halegannada. His compilations of four dictionaries, Pampana Nudigani, Champoo Nudigannadi, Halegannada Padasampada and Jainaparibhashe, on key old Kannada literary texts, are considered significant. 

He was an avid translator, bringing to Kannada over 22 works from English and Telugu. He brought out a prose version of his ancestor Venkamatya’s Ramayana, translated Palkurike Somanatha’s Basavapurana, Kumudendu Ramayana and also Burtend Russell’s History of Western Philosophy, and several other works.

He taught Kannada at Vijaya College in Bengaluru for over three decades, and was active in almost all Kannada movements in the last half-a-century, starting from Gokak Movement in the early 80s. He played a key role in the fight for Kannada getting the Classical Language tag. He served as the dean of Kannada Classical Language Study Centre at Udayabhanu Kala Sangha, and as the [resident of B.M. Sri Pratishtana. 

Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi condoled his death.