He was recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Saraswati Samman, Sahitya Akademi Awards, among others.
Well-known Kannada writer and Saraswati Samman awardee S. L. Bhyrappa, 94, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on September 24. He was suffering from age-related ailments and was under treatment in the city for the past three months.
Jayadev Memorial Rashtrotthana Hospital and Research Centre, where he was admitted, stated that he suffered cardiac arrest and passed away at 2.38 p.m.
Sources said he was suffering from cardiac issues and had collapsed during a morning walk a few months ago. He was then shifted from Mysuru to Bengaluru for better care.
Sources said that cremation would be held on September 26 in Mysuru where he lived for many years. On September 25, the body would be kept at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru for people to pay their last respects.
Loyal to novel
Bhyrappa’s medium of choice was always the novel. He was committed to novels throughout his over-six-decade career as a writer. His first novel Bheemakaya was published in 1958. He wrote 25 novels, the last being Uttarakanda (2017), a retelling of Ramayana through the perspective of women. After Uttarakanda, he had announced retirement from writing.
He was one of the best-selling novelists of Kannada, with each of his novels running into multiple editions. His first novel, that he wrote when he was 27, is still being reprinted and sold. All his novels have been translated into multiple Indian languages, apart from English and other European languages. He was among the most widely translated writers of Kannada, with a dedicated following across India.
His novels Parva (1979), a retelling of Mahabharata, Vamshavriksha (1965) and Gruhabhanga (1970) are considered to be classics of Kannada literature. He won the Saraswati Samman award for his novel Mandra (2001) in 2010. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2023.
Several of his novels were adapted to film by B. V. Karanth, Girish Karnad, Girish Kasaravalli and T. N. Seetharam. These films became important films in the parallel cinema movement of India. Mr. Kasaravalli also adapted his novel Gruhabhanga to television.
Pro-Hindutva views
Byrappa became, especially in his later years, known for his pro-Hindutva views. Some of his novels, particularly Avarana (2007), triggered a huge controversy. Avarana’s portrayal of Muslim rulers and conversion kicked up a row. In later years, Bhyrappa became an open supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Many critics from the progressive school argued that Bhyrappa’s novels had a conservative outlook, which was often in collision with various Kannada literature movements — Navya, Bandaya and Dalit — which dominated the second half of the 20th century. His fiction ran parallel to these movements, and remained hugely popular.
source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)