P. T. Narasimhachar

P. T. Narasimhachar (Pu Ti Na)
Kamat's Potpourri
Born	(1905-03-17)17 March 1905 Melukote, Pandavapura taluk, Mandya district, Karnataka
Died	23 October 1998(1998-10-23) (aged 93) Bangalore, Karnataka
Pen name	Pu Ti Na (ಪು ತಿ ನ)
Occupation	Writer, poet
Nationality	India
Genre	Fiction
Literary movement	Kannada: Navodaya

Purohita Thirunarayana Narasimhachar (17 March 1905 – 23 October 1998), commonly known as PuTiNa, was a playwright and poet in the Kannada language. Along with, Kuvempu and D. R. Bendre, he forms the well-known trio of Kannada Navodaya poets. He is a Sahitya Akademi fellow and the a winner of the Pampa Award, awarded by the Government of Karnataka in 1991.

PuTiNa was born on 17 March 1905 into an orthodox Iyengar family in the town of Melkote in Mandya district of Karnataka. His father was Tirunarayana Iyengar and mother was Srirangamma. The study of Sanskrit was an important part of his education, as was English, being the primary language of instruction at the time. He was also exposed to several including French and Tamil. This versatility enabled PuTiNa to expand his intellectual horizons, such as studying western literature.

PuTiNa's intellect curiosity was aroused in his study at Maharaja's College, Mysore, where he came under the influence by his English professor TiNamSri, who recognized his talent for poetry; the former President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who was then a professor at the college; and the well-known philosophy professor, M. Hiriyanna. However, despite his proficiency in many languages, PuTiNa was most interested in the local language of Kannada.

Apart from being a writer, PuTiNa also worked in the army of Mysore state and later in the legislature of the Government of Mysore state. He served as a member of the Mysore University committee looking at revising the English-Kannada dictionary. He died on 23 October 1998.