A. N. Krishna Rao


A. N. Krishna Rao, popularly known as Anakru, was an Indian writer. He is one of the best-known writers in the Kannada language and was popularly known as Kadambari Sarvabhouma. The inception of the Pragatishila movement in Kannada literature is credited to him. He received an honorary doctorate from the Mysore University and the Karnataka state Sahitya Akademi award.

Life

Anakru was born on 9 May 1908 in Kolar town in the state of Karnataka, India to Narasinga Rao and Annapoornamma. The family traces its roots to Arkalgud town in the Hassan district of Karnataka. At the start of his career, he edited literary Kannada magazines such Katha Manjari and Vishva Vani. He was also an editor of the Kannada Sahitya Parishath's publication Kannada Nudi. Anakru was nominated as the president of 42nd Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held in Manipal. He is known for his passion for his native language Kannada. Once when introducing Anakru to an audience, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, one of Kannada's most well-known writers said "I am a Tamil Kannadiga, Sir Mirza Ismail is a Muslim Kannadiga, and Anakru is a pure Kannadiga". This tribute from the likes of Masti mirrors the Kannada fervour Anakru was known for.
Anakru fought for the unification of Kannada speaking regions, when Kannada speakers were spread across different provinces in British India. He started a movement to promote and popularize Kannada. He openly criticized people in authority who neglected Kannada. In one such case, he wrote an article in the Kannada Nudi', criticizing the Hindi oriented policies of R. R. Divakar, the President of Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in 1929. On being asked to apologize, Anakru resigned from the post of the editor. Anakru lived most of his life in his house in Vishveshpuram, a suburb in South Bangalore. He died on 8 July 1971 at the age of 63.

Literature

Starting with his first novel, Jeevanayathre, Anakru wrote for about 40 years and authored more than a hundred novels. He was a prolific writer and his literary output exceeded eighty thousand pages. When he started writing, the Navodaya form of Kannada literature was in vogue. He rejected this form because he felt such writings were a creation of aesthetes and did not reflect the disturbing realities of life. He came up with themes that formed a new movement in itself, called Pragatishila. Anakru saw literature as an instrument of social change. Influenced by Anakru, other promising writers such as Ta Ra Su, Basavaraj Kattimani and Anupama Niranjana wrote novels that belonged to the Pragatishila genre.
Not known to follow the beaten track, Anakru penned three novels, Nagna Sathya, Shani Santaana and Sanje Gaththalu, with themes dwelling on the topic of prostitution for which he was criticized for depicting vulgarity in these novels. To defend his theme, Anakru wrote in his work Sahitya mattu kama prachodane : "If telling the truth is vulgar, then I am a vulgar writer. If the act of covering with a cloth, a downtrodden helpless naked woman on the street is vulgar, then I am a vulgar writer". His non-moralistic approach to writing and extensive usage of dialogue contributed to vast readership.
His magnum opus novel Natasarvabhowma runs for 750 pages, delves into the dire state of Kannada drama world, during the early 20th century. He provides the details about what was ailing the Kannada drama companies and provides valuable suggestions on their improvement. The novel covers the life of fictitious stage actor Rajacharaya, his struggle to establish as an actor and then to run the drama company as its proprietor. This novel was first published in 1940 and was way ahead of its time. The novel was criticized for celebrating the extramarital affairs of Rajacharya. However out of 750 pages hardly 3-4 pages covers this and the rest wonderfully depicts the do good nature of Rajachraya, where he donates majority of his earnings to charity. Krishna Raos love for the Kannada culture, its people and his quest to see the Kannada speaking areas integrated comes out clearly. He severely criticizes the language bigotry and tries to convey that all languages are great through Rajacharya.
Anakru wrote many novels where the protagonist was an artist. These novels follow a plot which narrates the story of a gifted musician who becomes famous, only to succumb to the charms of a woman. This leads to his subsequent failure as his commitment on the art deteriorates. At the end, the artist either overcomes this to regain his touch or succumbs completely to passion leading to his eventual failure. One of Anakru's most popular novels Sandhyaraaga belonged to this theme and narrates of the life of a dedicated musician while contrasting him with his mean brother. a Kannada movie based on this novel in 1966 received critical acclaim. This same novel motivated Beechi, one of the great Kannada humorist, to contribute to Kannada literature. Other notable novels written by Anakru with on theme are the Mia Malhar, Udayaraga, Sahitya Ratna and Vijayanagara Samrajya

Awards and honours

Novel
Play
Criticism
Biography
Autobiography
  • Amara Chetana
  • Barahagarana Baduku Mathu Nannannu Naane Kande
Children's books
  • Shree Krishnadevaraya : Kannada Nadu Mattu Kannadegara Parpampare
  • Kempegowda - Kannada Nadu Mattu Kannadigara Parampare
  • Sarvagna Kavi - Kannada Nadu Mattu Kannadigara Parampare
  • Yalahanka Bhupaala
  • Sundharu Samsara
Religion & Other
  • Bhagavadgeetaarthasaara
Short Story'