Growing Up Karanth

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ONE OF THE GREATEST KANNADA WRITERS. Karanth, Kuvempu, Bendre—the trinity of modern Kannada literature; the pride of Kannadigas; … It was Shivarama Karanth who took the culture of Karnataka beyond the shores of India with his dance and music. After Rabindranath Tagore, no one had mastered as many art forms as Shivarama Karanth. —From the Foreword by Dr Chiranjiv Singh, former Indian ambassador to UNESCO Kota Shivarama Karanth was the ultimate Renaissance Man. A giant of world literature, he produced dozens of novels, plays, children’s works, autobiographies, popular science books, translations and much else. In 1977, he was awarded the Bharatiya Jnanpith Award for the novel Mookajjiya Kanasugalu. But Karanth was more than a writer. He also dabbled in journalism and movie-making, ran a publishing house, and campaigned for environmental and political causes. He was instrumental in transforming the ancient dance-drama form of Yakshagana for a modern audience. While a great deal has been written about the man and his genius, there is little material about the intimate details of his life. Through much of his creative career, for instance, Karanth was unflinchingly supported by his wife, Leela. The Karanths had four children. The eldest, Harsha, died in 1961. The other three, Malavika, Ullas and Kshama, come together to present this uniquely personal account of what it was like to be the children of a creative genius. Growing Up Karanth documents their 'rare privilege' , while also detailing the world of Shivarama Karanth through their eyes. Multilayered and nuanced, critical and affectionate, and filled with revelations that open up new facets of their father's life, Malavika, Ullas and Kshamla reveal Karanth and his times like no one else could have. About the Author Kota Ullas Karanth was originally trained as an engineer at the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal (1971), but pursued his passion for wildlife biology, obtaining a Master’s degree at the University of Florida, USA (1988), and a Doctorate from Mangalore University (1993) focusing on tiger ecology. Karanth is an Adjunct faculty member at the Universities of Florida and Minnesota in USA, as well as the National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR), Bangalore. Karanth has published over 150 scientific articles, 8 books in English and 4 books in Kannada on wildlife issues. Malavika Kapur is a Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. She earlier retired as head of the Department of Clinical Psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences I (NIMHANS). Kapur has published 20 books and over 100 articles and received the Fellowship of the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists, Indian Association of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, British Psychological Society, and Lifetime Achievement award from the National Academy of Psychology. Kshama Rau developed a passion for performing arts from her father and became an accomplished Odissi at the Kalashetra in Chennai and later received training under Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. She directs her dance school, Nrithya Shilpa, at Bengaluru. Kshama Rau is a member of the advisory committee of established by the Government of Karnataka to oversee the restoration of Shivarama Karanth’s Balavana, which is being developed as a lifestyle museum in his memory.

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Review
‘Growing up Karanth is at once a biography of a remarkable couple (the sections on Leela Karanth are particularly moving) and a wider cultural history of modern South India. The book is rich in insight and anecdote, as well as unflinchingly honest, as in the descriptions of their mother’s depression and of their father’s bouts of anger. Growing Up Karanth is made more special still through its tender and empathetic foreword, written by that other jewel of modern Karnataka, Chiranjiv Singh.’ —RAMACHANDRA GUHA

‘The legacy of Shivaram Karanth has been woven together by the authors, and personal stories and anecdotes artistically put together. I really enjoyed reading the book and longed for those astonishing times to return.’ —C.N.R. RAO

‘Growing Up Karanth is an affectionate, honest and objective biography of Karnataka’s first citizen of literature, by his highly accomplished children. It brings out vividly Sri Shivarama Karanth’s multifarious personality…. Reading this unputdownable book brought back vivid memories of my own two-hour meeting with Shivarama Karanth at Kota in 1995. It is a must-read for every English-literate Indian.’ —N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY

‘In Growing Up Karanth, Ullas Karanth, Malavika Kapur and Kshama Rau tell the fascinating story of their father, Shivarama Karanth, a luminary of the 20th-century Kannada literary, artistic, scientific, and political worlds. A household name in Karnataka, Karanth’s awe-inspiring list of achievements has remained shamefully neglected outside the state. This book will go a long way towards reviving his well-deserved reputation as an inspirational polymath of India.’ —SHASHI THAROOR

‘Even in what was an amazing era of great writers in Kannada literature, Shivarama Karanth was a giant. His novels are still read and loved. However, for us, the children of the Kannada playwright “Shriranga”, he was also the “Photo-Mama”, who clicked many excellent pictures of us. I had to read his Marali Mannige to know him as a novelist. And become a writer myself to know the great curiosity readers have about a writer’s life. This book, co-authored by Karanth’s