Works and Message
Kuvempu started his literary work in English first, with a collection of poetry called Beginner's Muse, and later switched to Kannada.
He spearheaded Kannada as a medium for education, emphasizing the theme of "Education in Mother tongues". To cater to the needs of Kannada research, he founded the Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe (The Institute of Kannada Studies) in Mysore University, which has since been renamed after him as Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies. As Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University, he pioneered the study of Basic Sciences and Languages. He also championed the Publishing of knowledge for laymen, started by G. Hanumanta Rao.
Kuvempu was more than a writer, and the way he lived his life was in itself a great message. He was against casteism, meaningless practices and rituals. Kuvempu's writings also reflect his resentment against the caste system according to which the "Shoodra Tapaswi" (1946) shudras were unfit to attain knowledge. Kuvempu (from the Vokkaliga community) also gives a different perspective to the characters in the Ramayana unlike the portrayal of characters by Valmiki in his Sri Ramayana Darshanam which won him Jnanpith Award. This work is the complete Ramayana in Kannada. It underscores his vision of sarvodaya (Upliftment of One & All). Rama of his Ramayana personifies this when he tests himself along with his wife Seeta, by jumping into the fire.
O nanna chetana, Agu nee aniketana (ಓ ನನ್ನ ಚೇತನ, ಆಗು ನೀ ಅನಿಕೇತನ ) which can be translated as "Be unhoused o my soul, only the infinite is your goal" is a very popular note by Kuvempu on Universal Humanism.
His speech during the convocation ceremony of Bangalore University has been published in the book, vichaarakranthige aahwaana. It calls for a re-assessment of developmental policies. Though it was delivered in 1974, the message is still considered relevant.
In the year 1987, a new university was started in Shimoga district, Karnataka in the name of Kuvempu. It is located in Jnana Sahyadri campus, 28 km from Shimoga.
His son Poornachandra Tejaswi was a polymath, contributing significantly to Literature, Photography, Calligraphy, Digital Imaging, Social Movements, and Agriculture.
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Famous quotes containing the words works and/or message:
“Now they express
All that’s content to wear a worn-out coat,
All actions done in patient hopelessness,
All that ignores the silences of death,
Thinking no further than the hand can hold,
All that grows old,
Yet works on uselessly with shortened breath.”
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“Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.”
—David Thomson, U.S. film historian. America in the Dark: The Impact of Hollywood Films on American Culture, ch. 8, William Morrow (1977)