# Poornachandra Tejaswi

Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (8 September 1938 – 5 April 2007) was a prominent Indian writer and novelist in Kannada. He also worked as a photographer, publisher, painter, naturalist, and environmentalist. He made a great impression in the Navya ("new") period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the Bandaaya Saahitya genre of protest literature with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu. He is the son of noted Kannada poet Kuvempu.
At early stages of his writing career, Tejaswi wrote poems but later concentrated on short stories, novels and essays. His distinctive style of writing is credited with heralding a new era in Kannada literature.

## Early life

Tejaswi was born on 8 September 1938 in Kuppalli in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Although he was the son of Kuvempu, he came out of his father's shadow and established his own image at an early age. Tejaswi received best story award in the competition held by Prajavani Kannada newspaper on the occasion of Deepavali, for his first short story "Linga Banda", a look at the rainy Western Ghats from the eye of a boy. After completion of his education from Maharaja College of Mysore, one among the top colleges in India, due to his interests in nature and farming, he moved to Mudigere taluk of Chikkamangaluru District after buying a coffee estate. Apart from literature he was actively involved in painting, photography and philosophy.
He was a keen learner of nature and his favourite pastime was to roam around in the forests of Western Ghats.

## Literary works

Tejaswi has written in almost all forms of literature including poems, short stories, novels, travel literature, plays and science fiction. Nature and incidents related to nature enjoy major roles in most of his works. One of the most popular writers in Kannada, Tejaswi's works have continued to remain popular, going into multiple prints and often topping reader's charts. Karvalo is one such novel where the author participates in an adventure of discovering a flying lizard in the dense forests of Western Ghats.
Tejaswi has translated a number of English books to Kannada enriching the depth of Kannada literature. His famous translations include the series on Kenneth Anderson's hunting expeditions and Henri Charrière's Papillon.
Tejaswi wrote his first novel, Kaadu Mattu Kraurya, when he was a 24-year-old in 1962. The novel is expected to be in print for the first time towards the end of 2012. He had initially planned to name this work Nalini but later decided to go by its present title. Tejaswi was inspired to write the novel after visiting his wife Rajeshwari's maternal home in the forested Malnad region of Karnataka. The novel, whose manuscript was prepared by Rajeshwari, is the story of Linga, a migrant bonded labourer from north Karnataka who moves to a remote Malnad village where he struggles to cope with his new life and surroundings.

## Awards received by poornachandra tejaswi

* Sahitya Academy Award for "Chidambara Rahasya" (1987)
* Karnataka Sahitya Academy (1985)
* Pampa Award (2001) Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement
* Rajyotsava Award
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Karvalo"
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Chidambara Rahasya"
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu"
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Alemariya Andaman Mattu Mahanadi Nile"
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Parisarada Kathe
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Kaadina Kathegalu"
* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for "Vismaya" along with Pradeep Kenjige
* Karnataka State Film Award for Best Story 1986-87 for "Tabarana Kathe"
* Karnataka State Film Award for Best Dialogue 1986-87 for "Tabarana Kathe"
* Karnataka State Film Award for Best Story 1989-90 for "Kubi mattu Iyala"