Tejaswi

Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (8 September 1938 - 5 April 2007) was a prominent Kannada writer, novelist, photographer, ornithologist, publisher, painter and environmentalist who made a great impression in the "Navya" period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the bandaya ("protest literature") with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu.

At early stages of his writing career, Tejaswi wrote poems but later concentrated on short stories, novels and essays. Poornachandra Tejaswi has a distinguished style of writing which has heralded a new era in Kannada literature.

Early life

Tejaswi was born on 8 September 1938 in Kuppali in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Although he was the son of "Rashtrakavi" Kuvempu, he came out of his father's shadow and established his own image at an early age. Tejaswi received Rajyotsava Award for his first short story "Linga Banda", a look at the rainy Western Ghats from the eye of a boy. After completion of his education from Maharaja College of Mysore, one among the top colleges in India, due to his interests in nature and farming, he moved to Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur District after buying a coffee estate. Apart from literature he was actively involved in painting, photography and philosophy.

He was a keen learner of nature and his favourite pastime was to roam around in the forests of western ghats.

He has 2 daughters Susmitha and Eshanye who are software professionals. His wife Rajeshwari stays in Niruttara,Mudigere.

Literary works

Tejaswi has written in almost all forms of literature including poems, short stories, novels, travel literature, plays and science fiction. Nature and incidents related to nature enjoy major roles in most of his works. One of the most popular writers in Kannada, Tejaswi's works have continued to remain popular, going into multiple prints and often topping reader's charts. Karvalo is one such novel where the author participates in an adventure of discovering a flying lizard in the dense forests of Western Ghats.

Tejaswi has translated a number of English books to Kannada enriching the depth of Kannada literature. His famous translations include the series on Kenneth Anderson's hunting expeditions and Henri Charrière's Papillon.

Tejaswi wrote his first novel, Kaadu Mattu Kraurya, when he was a 24-year-old in 1962. The novel is expected to be in print for the first time towards the end of 2012. He had initially planned to name this work Nalini but later decided to go by its present title. Tejaswi was inspired to write the novel after visiting his wife Rajeshwari's maternal home in the forested Malnad region of Karnataka. The novel, whose manuscript was prepared by Rajeshwari, is the story of Linga, a migrant bonded labourer from north Karnataka who moves to a remote Malnad village where he struggles to cope with his new life and surroundings.

Galleries of Tejaswi