Suragi, the flower Ananthamurthy loved, gives out more fragrance as it fades U.R. Ananthamurthy’s oeuvre stands out in glittering letters in the history of modern Indian literature. As teacher, writer, and critic, he inspired and challenged his peers, influenced cultural policy, and defined the role of the public intellectual as the ‘critical insider’. His novels in Kannada, Samskara, Bharathipura, and Avasthe, are now regarded as classics. ...
A poet tracks his journey from a dalit colony on the edges of Magadi town-where he would rather roam the hills and wade in rivers than attend school-to the hardships of living in dalit hostels in the city. Instead of despairing in his poverty, he turns to poetry. This makes the poet look at the benefits of sleeping on the streets of Bangalore: ‘The imagination of people who sleep under the star-studded sky takes wing. They become close to the moon.’ ...