S.L. Bhyrappa/ಎಸ್.ಎಲ್.ಭೈರಪ್ಪ | |
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Born | Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa 26 July 1934 Santeshivara, Hassan district, Karnataka, India |
Occupation | Writer, novelist, professor |
Nationality | India |
Genre | Fiction, history |
Subject | Philosophy, History, Aesthetics |
Notable awards |
Sahitya Akademi Award Saraswati Samman Padma Shri award Sahitya Akademi Fellowship National Research Professor |
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (Kannada: ಸಂತೇಶಿವರ ಲಿಂಗಣ್ಣಯ್ಯ ಭೈರಪ್ಪ) (born 26 July 1934) is a Kannada novelist whose works are popular in the state of Karnataka, India. Bhyrappa is widely regarded as one of modern India's foremost novelists. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization. He has been among the top selling authors of Kannada language. Books written by him and translated to Hindi and Marathi have also been top sellers in the past. He has been awarded with the 20th Saraswati Samman for 2010.
Bhyrappa's works do not fit into any specific genre of contemporary Kannada literature such as Navodaya, Navya, Bandaya, or Dalita, partly because of the range of topics he writes about. His major works have been the center of several heated public debates and controversies. In March 2015, Bhyrappa was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.
S L Bhyrappa was born at Santeshivara, a village in the Channarayapatna taluk of Hassan district, about 162 km from Bangalore. He lost his mother and brothers to Bubonic plague early in childhood and took on odd jobs to pay for his education. During his childhood he was influenced by the writer Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar.