U. R. Ananthamurthy

Key facts

Born

21 December 1932, Thirthahalli

Died

22 August 2014, Bengaluru

State of birth

Thirthahalli, Karnataka

Sector

Literature & writing

Profession

Indian writer and critic in the Kannada language

Gender

Male

Biography

Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy was an Indian contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language. He was born in Thirtahalli Taluk and is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. In 1994, he became the sixth Kannada writer to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala during the late 1980s. He was one of the finalists of Man Booker International Prize for the year 2013. He remained a fervent critic of nationalistic political parties until his death from kidney failure and cardiac arrest on 22 August 2014.

Summary based on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed by the RochakDuniya editorial team.

Timeline

1. 1932Born in Thirthahalli
2. 1994Awarded the Jnanpith Award
3. 2014Dies in Bengaluru