Source: http://travel2karnataka.com/personalities_karnataka.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 02:43:35+00:00

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Karnataka has produced many famous people who has contributed to the society in some way or the other. Basavanna, Akka Mahadevi, Sarvajna, Madhvacharya, Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Bahubali, C. V. Raman, Sir M. Visvesvaraya, Field Marshall K.M. Cariappa, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah, Gangubai Hangal, Girish Karnad, M.S. Satyu, Puttanna Kanagal, Dr. Rajkumar, Rajnikant, Aa.Na.Kru, Kuvempu (K.V. Puttappa), R.K. Narayan, Shivarudrappa, Shivarama Karanth, Triveni, Prof. U.R. Rao, Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Narayana Murthy, Azim H Premji, Prakash Padukone, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, B.S.Chandrashekar, E.A.S. Prasanna, Mahesh Bhupathi, Pankaj Advani, Aiswarya Rai, Lara Dutta are Great Personalities from Karnataka.
Basava was an Indian philosopher, statesman and a social reformer from what is now Karnataka. Basava fought against the practice of the caste system, which discriminated against people based on their birth, and other rituals in Hinduism. He spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas. Basavanna used Ishtalinga, an image of the Siva Linga, to eradicate untouchability, to establish equality among all human beings and as a means to attain spiritual enlightenment. These were rational and progressive social thoughts in the twelfth century.
The Basava Purana is a 13th-century Telugu epic poem. It was written by Palkuriki Somanatha. It is a sacred text of Lingayat. The epic poem narrates the life story of philosopher and social reformer Basava (1134-1196 CE), the founder of Lingayatism. He is also known by several other names such as Basavanna, Basaweshwara, Basavesha and Basavaraja. It is also an anthology of several Lingayat saints and their philosophies.
Akka Mahadevi was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement of the 12th century Karnataka. Akkamahadevi Vachanas in kannada, a form of didactic poetry, are considered her most notable contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature. In all she wrote about 430 Vachanas which is relatively fewer than that compared to some other saints of her time. Yet the term 'Akka' (elder Sister), which is an honorific given to her by great Veerashaiva saints like Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Kinnari Bommayya, Siddharama, Allamaprabhu and Dasimayya, speaks volumes of her contribution to the movement that was underway. She is in hindsight seen as a great and inspirational woman for Kannada literature and the history of Karnataka. She is said to have accepted the god Shiva ('Chenna Mallikarjuna') as her husband, traditionally understood as the 'madhura bhava' or 'madhurya' form of devotion (similar to how 8th century Andal declared herself marriable only to lord Vishnu or as centuries later Meera, a 16th-century saint, considered herself married to Krishna).
Sarvajna was a Kannada poet, pragmatist and philosopher. He is famous for his pithy three-lined poems which are called tripadis, "with three padas[disambiguation needed], three-liners", a form of Vachanas. He is also referred as Sarvagna in modern translation.
Madhvacharya also known as Purna Prajna and Ananda Tirtha, was the chief proponent of Tattvavada "philosophy of reality", popularly known as the Dvaita (dualism) school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedanta philosophies. Madhvacarya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in many ways, going against standard conventions and norms. According to tradition, Madhvacarya is believed to be the third incarnation of Vayu (Mukhyaprana) and first two being Hanuman and Bhima.
Purandara Dasa is one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music and is widely regarded as the "Grandfather of Carnatic Music". Purandara Dasa addressed social issues in addition to worship in his compositions, a practice emulated by his younger contemporary, Kanakadasa. Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada; some are in Sanskrit. He signed his compositions with the mudra (pen name), "Purandara Vittala" (Vittala is one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu).
Kanaka Dasaru (1509-1609) was a poet, philosopher, musician and composer from modern Karnataka. He is known for his Kirtanes and Ugabhoga compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music. Like some other Dasas, he often used colloquial language for his compositions. He was a disciple of Vyasathirtha and a follower of Dwaita philosophy propounded by Madhvacharya.
Bahubali also called Gomateshwa was an Arihant. According to Jainism, he was the second of the hundred sons of the first Tirthankara, Rishabha and king of Podanpur. The Adipurana, a 10th-century Kannada text by poet Adikavi Pampa (fl. 941 CE), written in Champu style, a mix of prose and verse and spread over in sixteen cantos, deals with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Rishabha and his two sons, Bharata and Bahubali. According to the Digambaras he was the first human in this half time cycle to attain liberation.
A monolithic statue of Bahubali referred to as "Gommateshvara" built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chamundaraya is a 60 feet (18 m) monolith and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It was built in the 10th century AD. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, devotees and tourists from all over the world flock to the statue once in 3 years for an event known as Mahamastakabhisheka. On August 5, 2007, the statue was voted by Indians as the first of Seven Wonders of India. 49% votes went in favor of this marvel.
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, (7 November 1888 - 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist whose ground breaking work in the field of light scattering earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics. He discovered that, when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect. In 1954, he was honoured with the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.
Sir Mokshagundam Vishveshwariah KCIE, (popularly known as Sir MV; 15 September 1860 - 14 April 1962) was a notable Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore during 1912 to 1918. He was a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. Every year, 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad, now capital city of Andhra Pradesh, as well as the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya.
Field Marshal Kodandera "Kipper" Madappa Cariappa OBE (28 January 1899 - 15 May 1993) was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief,of the Indian Army and led the Indian forces on the Western Front during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947.
He is among only two Indian Army officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal (the other being Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw). His distinguished military career spanned almost three decades, at the highest point of which, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Military in 1949.
Hosur Narasimhaiah 6 June 1921 - 31 January 2005) was an Indian physicist, educator, freedom fighter and rationalist from Karnataka. He was popularly known as "HN". He was conferred Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1985.
Gangubai Hangal (5 March 1913 - 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the khyal genre of Hindustani classical music, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana.
Gangubai Hangal was born in Dharwad to Chikkurao Nadiger, an agriculturist and Ambabai, a vocalist of Carnatic music. Hangal received only elementary education and her family shifted to Hubli in 1928 so that Gangubai could study Hindustani music. She began to train formally aged 13 with Krishnacharya Hulgur, a kinnari (stringed instrument like a veena)player, studying Hindustani classical music. From Hulgur, Gangubai learned sixty compositions in one year before he stopped teaching her after an argument about his fees. She also learned from Dattopant Desai before studying under Sawai Gandharva, a respected guru. Hangal could only study sporadically under Gandharva when he returned to his home, but she received an intensive training of three years after he relocated permanently to Hubli.
Gangothri - the birth place of Gangubai Hangal - has been converted into a museum by the Government of Karnataka. Dr Gangubai Hangal Gurukul in Hubli trains artists in traditional Guru-Shishya parampara to become performing artists.
Girish Raghunath Karnad (born 19 May 1938) is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language. His rise as a playwright in 1960s, marked the coming of age of Modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He is a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. He has translated his plays into English and has received acclaim. His plays have been translated into some Indian languages and directed by directors like Ebrahim Alkazi, B. V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan and Amal Allana. He is active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, director, and screenwriter, in Hindi and Kannada flicks, earning awards along the way. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India and won four Filmfare Awards where three are Filmfare Award for Best Director - Kannada and one Filmfare Best Screenplay Award.
Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu (born 6 July 1930 in Mysore, Karnataka) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. His film Garam Hawa is based on the partition of India. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri in 1975.
Puttanna Kanagal (1 December 1933 - 5 June 1985) was one of the prominent Kannada film directors of the 1960s and the 1970s. Although the majority of his films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, he endeared himself to both the critics and ordinary film goers alike. He also directed a handful of films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. He received three National Film Awards, three Southern Filmfare Awards and numerous Karnataka State Film Awards. Karnataka state is honoring film directors and various personalities with Puttanna Kanagal Award in his memory and honor every year during the Karnataka State Awards function.
Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju (24 April 1929 - 12 April 2006), known mononymously by his screen name Rajkumar was an actor and singer in the Kannada film industry. Dr.Raj is considered a cultural icon of Kannada, where he is also known as Rajanna, Natasarvabhouma (emperor of acting), Gaana Gandharva (singer in the court of Gods), and as Annavru (beloved elder brother).
A method actor, Rajkumar entered the film industry at the age of eight and got his first break as a lead in the 1954 film Bedara Kannappa and went on to work in over 220 films. At the age of 71, he was kidnapped in Gajanur (the place where he was brought up) by forest brigand Veerappan during a 108-day ordeal when he was released. He died of cardiac arrest at his residence in Bangalore on 12 April 2006.
Sampath Kumar (18 September 1950 - 30 December 2009), popularly known as Dr. Vishnuvardhan, was a prominent Indian film actor. He was called "The Phoenix of Indian Cinema". He has acted in over 200 Kannada, five Hindi, five Telugu, nine Malayalam and three Tamil films. He was very instrumental in shaping the Kannada identity. He adopted the name Vishnuvardhan at the insistence of Puttanna Kanagal, who directed his maiden film, Naagarahaavu that gave him the recognition of the 'angry young man of Kannada cinema'. He proved to be extremely versatile by playing variety of roles, be it the character of an Action Star or The Romantic Hero, Comedy roles or the serious ones, name it and he has done it all. He could handle all the roles with great ease. He was a Martial Art expert and in an interview to The Hindu, he had said that it was the era of Bruce Lee and it was only Kamal Haasan and himself who had learnt Martial Arts in his generation.
A poll conducted in Karnataka by the very popular English News Channel CNN-IBN in 2008 revealed that 'Dr.Vishnuvardhan was the most popular star, the Kannada Film Industry has ever seen' and this was in the 36th year of Vishnu's career in the industry which proved that he rubbed shoulders with the new generation actors and still was considered as an actor who had no competition whatsoever. The poll also revealed that Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and Mohanlal were the most popular stars of the Tamil, Telugu and the Malayalam film industries respectively.
Malavallii Huche Gowda Amarnath (Ambareesh) or M. H. Amarnath (Ambaresh) (known as Rebel-Star and Mandyada Gandu) born 29 May 1952 at Maddur Taluk in Mandya District of Karnataka state is an Indian film actor and also a prominent politician from Karnataka state. He's currently the MLA winning the assembly election of the Mandya constituency, by a margin of 42,937 votes. He is the present Minister of Housing for the Karnataka State.
Rajinikanth (born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad; 12 December 1950) is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his acting debut through the National Film Award-winning Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor. While working in other regional film industries of India, Rajinikanth has also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including that of the United States.
Born and raised in the Indian city of Bangalore, Rajinikanth struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. He began acting in plays while working in the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation as a bus conductor. He came to Madras in 1973 and got admitted into the Madras Film Institute to pursue a diploma in acting. After a brief phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil films, Rajinikanth gradually rose to become an established actor. Since then, he continues to hold a matinee idol status in the popular culture of India. His mannerisms and stylised delivery of dialogue in films contribute to his mass popularity and appeal. After being paid INR260 million (US$4.2 million) for his role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.
As of 2013, he has won six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards-four Best Actor Awards and two Special Awards for Best Actor-and a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour. In addition to acting, Rajinikanth has also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his film career, he is also a philanthropist, spiritualist and serves as an influence in the Dravidian politics. He married Latha Rangachari, whom he met in an interview in 1981 and has two children with her.
Dr. A. N. Krishna Rao (Arakalagudu Narasingarao Krishna Rao) 9 May 1908 - 8 July 1971), popularly known as Anakru, was an Indian writer. He was one of the best-known writers in the Kannada language. He was popularly known as Kadambari Sarvabhouma (lit, King of Novels). The inception of the Pragatishila (progressive) movement in Kannada literature is credited to him. He received an honorary doctorate from the Mysore University and the Karnataka state Sahitya Akademi award.
Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa December 29, 1904 - November 11, 1994), widely known by the pen name Kuvempu or by the abbreviation K. V. Puttappa, was a Kannada writer and poet, widely regarded as the greatest poet of 20th century Kannada literature. He is the first among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada. Puttappa wrote all his literary works using the pen name Kuvempu. He is the second - after M. Govinda Pai - among Kannada poets to be revered as Rashtrakavi, a national poet. His work Sri Ramayana Darshanam, the rewriting of the great ancient Indian epic Ramayana in modern Kannada, is regarded as revival of the era of Mahakavya (Epic poetry) in a contemporary form and charm. He is immortalised by some of his phrases, and in particular for his contribution to Universal Humanism or in his own words Vishwa maanavataa Vaada. He was conferred Padma Vibhushan by Government of India. He has penned the Karnataka State anthem Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate.
R. K. Narayan (10 October 1906 - 13 May 2001), full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami, was an Indian writer, best known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He is one of three leading figures of early Indian literature in English (alongside Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao), and is credited with bringing the genre to the rest of the world.
Narayan broke through with the help of his mentor and friend, Graham Greene, who was instrumental in getting publishers for Narayan's first four books, including the semi-autobiographical trilogy of Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher. Narayan's works also include The Financial Expert, hailed as one of the most original works of 1951, and Sahitya Akademi Award winner The Guide, which was adapted for film and for Broadway.
In a writing career that spanned over sixty years, Narayan received many awards and honours. These include the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature and the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award. He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament.
G.S. Shivarudrappa (Guggari Shanthaveerappa Shivarudrappa) (7 February 1926 - 23 December 2013) was a Kannada poet, writer and researcher who was awarded the title of Rashtrakavi by the Government of Karnataka on November 1, 2006.
Kota Shivaram Karanth (October 10, 1902 - December 9, 1997) was a Kannada writer, social activist, environmentalist, Yakshagana artist, film maker and thinker. He was described as the "Rabindranath Tagore of Modern India who has been one of the finest novelists-activists since independence" by Ramachandra Guha. He was the third person among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada the highest literary honour conferred by the Govt. of India.
Udupi Ramachandra Rao, popularly known as U. R. Rao is a space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Presently he is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad.
Rao was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1976. He was inducted into the Satellite Hall of Fame, Washington on March 19, 2013 at a ceremony organised by the Society of Satellite Professionals International. With this he became the first Indian to be inducted.
Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade (born November 25, 1948) is a philanthropist and the hereditary administrator/Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple. He succeeded to the post of Dharmadhikari at the age of 20, on October 24, 1968 becoming the 21st Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala Temple.
Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has been described as Father of Indian IT sector by Time magazine due to his contribution to outsourcing in India. Murthy has also been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards.
Azim Hashim Premji (born 24 July 1945) is an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Limited, guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leaders in the software industry. According to Forbes, he is currently the fourth wealthiest Indian, and the 91st richest in the world, with a personal wealth of $17.2 billion in 2013. In 2000, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011. Premji owns 79 percent of Wipro and also owns a private equity fund, PremjiInvest, which manages his $1 billion personal portfolio.
Prakash Padukone (born June 10, 1955) is a former Indian badminton player from Karnataka. He won the All England Championship and became the first Indian to do so. Prakash was awarded the Padma Shri in 1982. He, along with Geet Sethi, has co-founded Olympic Gold Quest which is a Foundation for the Promotion of Sports in India. Prakash Padukone's life story has been chronicled in the biography 'Touch Play', by Dev S. Sukumar. The book is only the second biography of any badminton player.
Anil Radhakrishna Kumble (born 17 October 1970) is a former international cricketer and captain of the Indian cricket team. A right-arm leg spin (leg break googly) bowler, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and remains the third-highest wicket taker-only behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne-as of 2012. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, rather relied much on pace and accuracy. His ability to make the ball bounce with subtle variations in pace made him a tough bowler to face for the batsmen; thus earning him the sobriquet "Jumbo". Kumble was selected as the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1993 and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later.
Born in Bangalore, Karnataka, Kumble developed an early interest in cricket as he grew up watching players like B. S. Chandrasekhar before becoming a full-fledged cricketer. He made his First-class debut at the age of 19 while representing Karnataka. Soon he was picked up for the Austral-Asia Cup in 1990 before making his Test debut against England later that year. Since then he has represented the Indian Test team on more than 132 Test matches and was responsible for many of India's victories. Kumble became a part of the regular ODI team during the early 1990s and held some of the best performances during this time; which included his six for 12 (six wickets for 12 runs) against the West Indies. The year 1996 proved to very successful for him as he was selected for the World Cup and emerged out as the most successful bowler of the tournament; he played seven matches and captured 15 wickets at an average of 18.73. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all the ten batsmen in a Test match innings. In the event he became the second player to achieve this feat after Jim Laker of England.
In January 2013, Kumble accepted the role of Chief Mentor with the Mumbai Indians, resigning from a similar position he held in the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Rahul Dravid(born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer, who captained the national Test and One Day International (ODI) teams. Born in a Marathi family, he started playing cricket at the age of 12 and later represented the state team at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid has been described as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to address at the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
As of October 2012, Dravid is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Kallis, and is only the second Indian cricketer, after Tendulkar to score 10,000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs. In April 2009, he became the only player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most number of catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210.
In August 2011, after receiving a surprise call in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I), and in March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He appeared in the 2012 Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals. Rahul Dravid, along with Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney on 1 November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian award.
Javagal Srinath (born 31 August 1969) is a former Indian cricketer and current ICC Match Referee. He was India's finest fast bowler in the 1990's. He is India's fastest bowler(1996 South Africa Tour) and the only Indian fast bowler to have taken more than 300 wickets in ODI's. If not for the sub-standard Indian fielding unit of the 1990s, he would have ended up with a phenomenal record.
He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured 156 km/h (97 mph). He also clocked 93mp/h at the 1999 World Cup. He is the leading wicket taker from India in Cricket World Cups, with 44 wickets in the 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003 World cups. He has taken 8 wickets in second innings Kolkata 1999-2000 test match India vs Pakistan and he took 35 wickets against South Africa in 6 test matches in 1996 - 1997.
A right wrist withered by polio was converted into a weapon that struck fear in the hearts of batsmen across the world. This fact can give inkling about the kind of determination with which ace spinning legend B S Chandrashekhar faces life.
Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna (born: 22 May 1940) is a famous former cricket player from Bangalore, British India. He was a spin bowler, specializing in off spin and a member of the Indian spin quartet. He is an alumunus of National Institute of Engineering, Mysore.
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian professional tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2006, he joined the elite group of eight tennis players who have achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
Pankaj Arjan Advani (born 24 July 1985 in Pune) is India's leading professional billiards and snooker player. A winner of 8 World Titles in billiards and snooker, he is considered the best all-round professional billiards and snooker player India has produced. In 2005, he set a world record by becoming the first player to complete a grand double by winning both the point and time formats in the IBSF World Billiards Championship, Malta. In recognition of his achievements, the Government of India has bestowed several awards upon Advani-Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006 and Padma Shri in 2009. On the 28th of October 2012, Pankaj won his 8th World Title by defeating Mike Russell 1895-1216 in the Professional World Billiards Championship. Pankaj completed a hat-trick of hat-tricks in 2012 by being the reigning World, Asian & National Champion in Billiards (2005 & 2008 too). He is also the only Indian to win the Men's Australian Open Billiards Championship in 2008 in Melbourne. Pankaj has won everything there is to be won in the world of Billiards, a feat achieved by no other. He became a snooker professional only in 2012 and his first season on the main tour is the 2012/2013 season.
Rai made her acting debut in the 1997 biographical film Iruvar and starred in the commercially successful 1998 film Jeans. She earned wide public recognition and Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her leading roles in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 1999 melodrama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the 2002 period film Devdas. She gained critical appreciation for her portrayal of Tagore's heroine Binodini in Rituparno Ghosh's 2003 film Chokher Bali, and a depressed woman in Ghosh's 2004 relationship drama Raincoat. Following a series of commercially unsuccessful films, Rai featured in the 2006 blockbuster adventure film Dhoom 2, the 2008 historical romance Jodhaa Akbar, and the 2010 science fiction film Enthiran. She garnered wide critical acclaim for her work in Bhansali's 2010 romantic drama Guzaarish.
Lara Dutta Bhupathi (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian Bollywood actress who was crowned Miss Universe 2000. She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. Dutta next appeared in a series of successful films such as Masti (2004), No Entry (2005), Kaal (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Partner (2007), Housefull (2010) Chalo Dilli (2011). She, thus, established herself as one of India's most successful female actors.
Prakash Raj is an Indian film actor, director, producer and television presenter, who mainly works in the South Indian film industry.
After working in the Kannada television industry and Kannada cinema for a few years, he made his debut in Tamil cinema through Duet (1994) by K. Balachander and has since been a commercially successful film star in Tamil & Telugu. In remembrance, he named his production company Duet Movies. Prakash has also worked in a number of Bollywood films. He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist and as a character actor. Prakash, as an actor has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.
5 10 famous Eminent Great personalities of karnataka. List of list of famous and notable people from Karnataka.
Kadri Gopalnath, Vittal Ramamurthy, Maya Rao, M. S. Sheela, R R Keshavamurthy, Doraiswamy Iyengar, Pandit Basavraj Rajguru, Gangubai Hangal, Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji, Malathi Rao, Gopalakrishna Adiga, Shakuntala Devi, Anitha Nair, Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi and Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa, Yusuf Arakkal, Saalumarada Thimmakka, SG Vasudev, Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi, K. Shivaram Karanth, G. S. Shivarudrappa, Pankaj Advani, Ramarao Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Kiran Mazumdar, Devi Prasad Shetty, Azim Premji, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, K.Kasturirangan, U. R. Ananthamurthy, Vinayaka Krishna Gokak, Chandrashekhara Kambara, K.S. Nissar Ahmed and P.B.Sreenivas are few famous personalities from Bangalore.
The Unification of Karnataka refers to the formation of Karnataka, then named Mysore State, in 1956 when several Indian states were created by redrawing borders based on linguistic demographics. Decades earlier, during British rule the first demands for a state based on Kannada demographics had been made. It was also considered as a movement of writers as many writers took part in the integration movement. Some of them are Kuvempu, A N Krishna Rao, B M Srikanthaiah, Kayyara Kinhanna Rai, Da.Ra. Bendre, K. Shivarama Karanth, V.K. Gokak, Sham.Ba. Joshi, M. Govinda Pai, and Betageri Krishna Sharma.
Popular literary authors and poets from Karnataka are A. V. Varadachar, Aa.Na.Kru, Adya Rangacharya, Arati Monappa, Aravind Adiga, Beechi, Chittala, Chandrashekhar Patil, Girish Karnad, K.V. Puttappa (Kuvempu), Prof. Itigi Eranna, Kaykini, P Lankesh, Dr. Panchakshari Hiremath, R.K. Narayan, Samasa, Sarita Mandanna, S.L. Bairappa, Shivarudrappa, K.V. Subbanna, Triveni, Tejaswi, H S Shivaprakash, Kavery Nambisan, Jayant Kaikini, M.S. Sathyu, P.T. Narasimhachar and UR Ananthamurthy.
Prakash Padukone Needs no introduction. Not just for the game but for his 'down to earth' attitude and humbleness.
RM Shankara World Carrom Champion (2000 in New Delhi, 2004 in Sri Lanka). National champion twice. Has US Open and a Malayasian championship to his credit.He played in a club called Kiran Carrom Club near Kalasipalyam. Shankara is hoping to get the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
The state govt (during HDK regime) rejected his request for a site (land) to build a house. Tamil Nadu Government gve him a job with Indian Airlines and helped him pursue his passion. We continue to do a great job in snubbing non-cricketers.
B S Chandrasekhar Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar is a former Indian cricketer who played as a leg spinner. Considered among the top echelon of leg spinners, Chandrasekhar along with E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan constituted the Indian spin quartet that dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s. At a very young age, polio left his right arm withered. Chandrasekhar played 58 Test matches, capturing 242 wickets at an average of 29.74 in a career that spanned sixteen years.
E.A.S. Prasanna Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna is a famous former cricket player from Bangalore. He was a spin bowler, specializing in off spin and a member of the Indian spin quartet. He is an alumunus of National Institute of Engineering, Mysore.
G.R. Vishwanath Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath was one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. Viswanath played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983 making 91 appearances and scoring over 6000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982 including the World Cups of 1975 and 1979.
Javagal Srinath Javagal Srinath is an Indian former cricketer and current ICC Match Referee. He is considered among India's finest fast bowlers and remains the only Indian fast bowler to have taken more than 300 wickets in One Day Internationals. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets.
Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid is a former Indian cricketer and captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Hailed as The Wall, Dravid was named one of the best five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000 and received the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony in 2004. In December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to deliver the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
M.P. Ganesh Former India hockey team captain and former Director of Sport Authority of India. He was a member of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1975.
Pankaj Advani won World Snooker Championship on Oct 25, 2003 at a young age of 19.
K. T. Achaya, K. S. Amur, P. Anandan, M. Annamalai (scientist), N. H. Antia, Manmohan Attavar, A. A. Krishnaswami Ayyangar, D.J. Bagyaraj, Padmanabhan Balaram, A. V. Baliga, Bhaskara II, B. R. Bhat, P. Gururaja Bhat, Jayaraman Chandrasekhar, Tavarekere Kalliah Chandrashekar, Rajeshwari Chatterjee, Chavundaraya, S. G. Dani, P. B. Desai, Ramakant Krishnaji Deshpande, John Ebnezar, Aloysius Prakash Fernandez, K. N. Ganeshaiah, Harish Gaonkar, Agnes Giberne, Nagarur Gopinath, Jayant Haritsa, Belle Monappa Hegde, Ramachandra S. Hosmane, Ramakrishna V. Hosur, S. A. Hussain, Ramarao Indira, M. C. Joshi, M. M. Joshi, Shamba Joshi, Kalappa Muniyappa, Kamalakara, Suryanath U. Kamath, Sumitra Mangesh Katre, A. S. Kiran Kumar, Michael Lobo, M. S. Nagaraja Rao, M. Mahadevappa, Mahavira (mathematician), C. N. Manjunath, Swami Manohar, Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi, Achala Moulik, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, M. R. N. Murthy, S. J. Nagalotimath, V. Nagaraja, Kullal Chickappu Naik, D. M. Nanjundappa, Roddam Narasimha, K. V. Narayana, G. S. Paramasivaiah, Y. G. Parameshwara, Vishweshwaraiah Prakash, Y. S. Rajan, N. S. Rajaram, Dhanvanthi Rama Rau, Kanakanahalli Ramachandra, Raja Ramanna, B. N. B. Rao, C. R. Rao, Gundu Hirisave Rama Rao, Kalya Jagannath Rao, M. B. Ramachandra Rao, Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao, Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Srinivas Kishanrao Saidapur, Dinakar Mashnu Salunke, E. Sampathkumar, H. Krishna Sastri, S. Srikanta Sastri, Ranganathan Shashidhar, L. S. Shashidhara, Mewa Singh, B. V. Sreekantan, Sargur Srihari, K. N. Udupa, Aninhalli Vasavi, N. K. Venkataramana, Moreshwar Ramachandra Walambe and H. B. Walikar are few Scientists from Karnataka.
V. K. Aatre, Satish Amarnath, Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar, Anuradha TK, V. S. R. Arunachalam, Ramana Athreya, B. Lewis Rice, B.S.Madhava Rao, K. Narayanaswamy Balaji, Rohini Balakrishnan, Padmanabhan Balaram, Erle Bartley, Bikramjit Basu, Prakash Belkale, Krishna Bharat, Sohang Chatterjee, Prabha Chatterji, Jagdish Chaturvedi, Atul Chokshi, Avinash Deshpande, Shakuntala Devi, L. K. Doraiswamy, Shankar Doraiswamy, John Dossetor, Bilikere Dwarakanath, Arthur Erskine Ellis, Raghavendra Gadagkar, Sulochana Gadgil, Amit Garg, Rohini Godbole, Balasubramanian Gopal, Kodaganur S. Gopinath, Ravinder Goswami, Rajeev Gowda, Geoffrey Hanks, Nandini Harinath, Jayant Haritsa, Shishir Hathwar, C. N. S. Iyengar, Chanda Jog, Amitabh Joshi, K. Ullas Karanth, Rajesh Kasturirangan, K. Ahmed Khan, Chandra Kintal, Vinod Krishan, Sunitha Krishnan, Giridhar Madras, Uday Maitra, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, C. Minakshi, C. Mohan, Jagadeesh Moodera, M. R. Gurusamy Mudaliar, H. Narayan Murthy, Sudha Murthy, Hosur Narasimhaiah, Shobhana Narasimhan, Venkata Padmanabhan, Aralumallige Parthasarathy, Brian J. G. Pereira, Prahlada (scientist), A. R. D. Prasad, Malur R. Narasimha Prasad, Bangalore Puttaiya Radhakrishna, Kusala Rajendran, A. G. Ramakrishnan, Subramaniam Ramakrishnan Uma Ramakrishnan, Suryanarayanasastry Ramasesha, Hosahalli Ramaswamy, Sujatha Ramdorai, P. N. Rangarajan, B. Ramana Rao, C. N. R. Rao, Kamini A. Rao, Madan Rao, M. R. S. Rao, V. Narayana Rao, Veronica Rodrigues, Subir Sachdev, B. S. Daya Sagar, Srinivasan Sampath, Srikanth Sastry, Kizhakeyil Lukose Sebastian, Priti Shankar, K. N. Shankara, Ramadas P. Shenoy, Vijay Balakrishna Shenoy, Devi Shetty, Aninda Sinha, Anindya Sinha, Rajpal Singh Sirohi, Naa Someswara, K. R. Sreenivasan, Sargur Srihari, M. R. Srinivasan, Bharath Sriraman, Kumble R. Subbaswamy, Hanumappa Sudarshan, B. G. L. Swamy, B K Thelma, T. N. Venkataramana, M. Vijayan, Usha Vijayaraghavan, Saraswathi Vishveshwara are few Scientists from Bangalore.
Popular Scientists from Mangalore are Anant Agarwal, John Barnabas, Gopinath Kallianpur, Krithi Karanth, M. Sarada Menon, M. G. K. Menon, Narendra Nayak, R. K. Baliga, Prajval Shastri and Devi Shetty. Famous Scientists from Mysore are Gita Gopinath, H. R. Janardhana Iyengar, Rangachar Narayana Iyengar, Devaki Jain, Mysore Doreswamy Madhusudan, N. V. Madhusudana, E. P. Metcalfe, Nuggehalli Raghuveer Moudgal, Pramila Nesargi, M. R. S. Rao, S. K. Shivkumar, Snake Shyam, J. A. K. Tareen and M. J. Thirumalachar.
Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar, Anuradha TK, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Shakuntala Devi, Rohini Godbole, Nandini Harinath, Ramarao Indira, Devaki Jain, Sunitha Krishnan, Sudha Murthy, Nina Nayak, Pramila Nesargi, Kusala Rajendran, Dhanvanthi Rama Rau, Lalith J. Rao, Priti Shankar, Prajval Shastri, Saraswathi Vishveshwara are few Women scientists from Karnataka.
Karnataka has long tradition of innovation in the fields of both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. Basaveshwara, King of Kalyana, leader of the Bhakti movement and Prime Minister of Bijjala, created his Vachanas, an integral part of the Indian classical music's development during this period, which also saw the rise of composers like Chandraja, Shantala, Akka Mahadevi and Allama. Later, Vidyaranya's Sangitasara, Ventamakhin's Chaturdandi Prakashika and Chaturkallinatha's Sangitaratnakara further refined these traditions.
We are listing down few Playback singers in Kannada - A. M. Rajah, A. P. Komala, Abhay Jodhpurkar, Abhimann Roy, Anitha Karthikeyan, Annupamaa, Anoop Seelin, Anuradha Bhat, Anuradha Paudwal, Anuradha Sriram, Archana Udupa, Arjun Janya, Asha Bhosle, Avinash Chebbi, B. Jayashree, B. R. Chaya, Bela Shende, Benny Dayal, Bombay Jayashri, C. Aswath, Chaitra H. G., Chetan Sosca, Chinmaya M. Rao, Chinmayi, Devi Sri Prasad, Ghantasala (singer), Gopika Poornima, Gurukiran, Haricharan, Hariharan (singer), Harini (singer), Harish Raghavendra, Hemanth (singer), Ilaiyaraaja, Inchara Rao, Indu Nagaraj, Jamuna Rani, Jassie Gift, Javed Ali, Jikki, Jonita Gandhi, K. J. Yesudas, K. Rani (singer), K. S. Chithra, Kailash Kher, Karthik (singer), Kasturi Shankar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, KK (singer), Krish (singer), Krishna Iyer, Kumar Sanu, Kunal Ganjawala, L. N. Shastri, L. R. Eswari, Lata Mangeshkar, M. Balamuralikrishna, M. D. Pallavi Arun, M. G. Venkata Raghavan, M. L. R. Karthikeyan, M. M. Manasi, M. V. Rajamma, Madhu Balakrishnan, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Malgudi Subha, Mamta Sharma, Manjula Gururaj, Mano (singer), Maria Roe Vincent, Master Saleem, Megha (singer), Mika Singh, Mysore Ananthaswamy, Nanditha, Naresh Iyer, Neha Rajpal, Nikhita Gandhi, Nithya Menen, Nithyasree Mahadevan, P. B. Sreenivas, P. Jayachandran, P. Kalinga Rao, P. Leela, P. Susheela, Pop Shalini, Prem (film director), Priya Himesh, Puneeth Rajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Rahul Nambiar, Rajalakshmy, Rajesh Krishnan, Rajkumar (actor), Raju Ananthaswamy, Ramana Gogula, Ranjith (singer), Rita (Indian singer), Roopa Revathi, S. Janaki, S. N. Surendar, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja, Sadhana Sargam, Sangeetha Katti, Shaan (singer), Shamitha Malnad, Shankar Mahadevan, Shimoga Subbanna, Shiva Rajkumar, Shreya Ghoshal, Shweta Mohan, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, Sithara (singer), Sonu Kakkar, Sonu Nigam, Sowmya Raoh, Srimathumitha, Srinivas (singer), Suchitra, Sudeep, Sujatha Mohan, Sukhwinder Singh, Suman Kalyanpur, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sunitha Sarathy, Sunitha Upadrashta, Supriya Lohith, Suresh Peters, Swarnalatha, T. G. Lingappa, Tippu (singer), Udit Narayan, Upendra (actor), Usha Uthup, V. Harikrishna, V. Sridhar, Vani Harikrishna, Vani Jairam, Vasundhara Das, Vijay Raghavendra, Vijay Urs, Vijay Yesudas, Vishnuvardhan (actor), Yash (actor), Yogaraj Bhat, Yogesh (actor).
There are a few female film directors in Kannada Films like Vijayalakshmi Singh, Sumana Kittur, J Chandrakala, Priya Belliappa and Priya Hasan.
Prema Karanth: The year 1983 was a memorable year for Sandalwood since a woman director entered the industry in the otherwise male-dominated field. Prema Karanth broke the monotony of the Sandalwood's film segment through the film Paniyamma and set an example for many aspiring talents.
Kavitha Lankesh: Hailing from the clan of journalists and media publishers, films were an obvious part of the family and did catch the attention of Kavitha at an young age. Her debut venture in Kannada, Deeveri (1999), was well received by both the audience and critics. It also fetched her several national and global awards. Though Kavitha started her film career with a documentary on children's nature camp, it was the critically acclaimed Deveeri which saw her debut as a director and won several State, National and International awards, including International Critics Award and the National Debut Director Award.
Vijaylakshmi Singh: Though she chose to debut with a remake, Vijayalakshmi Singh who is the sister of national acclaimed director S.V.Rajendra Singh Babu, made it a perfect launch for her directorial career. Ee Bandhana which was the remake of the Bollywood superhit movie Baghban impressed the family audience to a greater extent and Vijayalakshmi Singh who was until then recognized as an actress, also started gaining attention as a director.
Suman Kittur: When there was a time where only a set of formula type of film-making was accepted in the film industry, it was Suman Kittur who raised the interest level in the audience. She forayed into genres of films which even many of the male directors had not dared of getting into. She started making films which were real stories of underworld and also took care of picturizing them carefully. Her directorials like Aa Dinagalu and Edegaarike were based on the real story of underworld while they gained her a lot of appreciation and made her a name to be remembered.
Roopa Iyer: Roopa Iyer is known for her creative feat in the film industry. While she is successfully upholding the Indian dance & culture around the globe, she is also involved in the film making process as an actress and as a director. Her debut film Mukha Puta-The Cover Page which was about a child suffering from HIV/AIDS won accolades for her and her next directorial Chandra which was a bilingual, not only had an ensemble star cast but also gained appreciation. In addition to the above names there are many other women directors who have thriven to be the pillar of women empowerment and few names include Priya Belliappa whose Ring Road Shubha is one of the most awaited movie of the year which has an all women crew, Priya Hassan whose Jambada Hudugi and Smuggler were appreciated and J.Chandrakala whose Kwaatle was liked by the industry.
Priya Belliappa: Priya is the latest to join the list of Sandalwood's women directors. She directed the recently released Ring Roadwhich had an all-women crew. The movie was a perfect launchpad for Priya as it was well received by the audience. All 16 technical departments handled by an all-woman team. From the director to lyricist to the sound engineer and from the colourist to the dialogue writer, the producer and director have chosen to work with female technicians. This is perhaps the first film in India to have all the 16 departments handled by female technicians. Mitr, My Friend (2002 film) directed by Revathi had an all-woman crew, but not in as many departments. Priya Belliappa (Karnataka) Dialogues: Rekha Rani (Karnataka) Cinematography: Reshmi Sarkar (West Bengal) Music: Vani Harikrishna (Karnataka) Make-Up: Poonam Prasad (Delhi) Costume designer: Shilpa Krishna (Karnataka) Art director: Chitralekha Shetty (Karnataka ) Stills: Avisha ( Maharashtra) and Mehi Shah (Bombay) Choreography: Mayuri, Chandrika, Shakti (Gujarat) Lyrics: Vani Harikrishna, Rekha Rani, Ranjini Editor: Marian (Goa) Sound Engineer: Hema (Karnataka) Effects: Vishaka (Kerala) DTS: Rashmi (Tamil Nadu) Colourist: Zoei (Indonesia) Producer: Ranjini Ravindra Das.
Priya Hassan: Another Priya in the bandwagon of women directors who is an actress too. Her films Jambada Hudugi and Smuggler too triggered the interest of the audiences.
J Chandrakala: Chandrakala has dared to be experimental in her first film Khatle. However, the film received a mixed response from critics.
Pushpa: Pushpa had worked as an actress before wielding the megaphone. Navella Bharatheeyaru is her debut film as a director and it also has a socially relevant theme.
Anushka Sharma studied at the Army Scool and went on to graduate with a specialisation in arts from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. Her father, Colonel Ajay Kumar Sharma, is an army officer, and her mother, Ashima Sharma, is a homemaker.
Deepika Padukone studied in Sophia High School and later joined Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She gave up on college mid way for a career in modelling and acting.
Anushka Shetty did her schooling in Bangalore and her Bachelor of Computer Applications at the Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.
Karnataka women's cricket team is an Indian domestic cricket team representing the Indian state of Karnataka. The team has represented the state in Senior women's one day league (List A) and Senior women's T20 league.
Ananth Hegde Ashisara, Pandari Bai, Smita Bellur, Ganapati Shankar Bhat, Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, N. G. Chandavarkar, Gangadhar V. Chittal, Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, Dinakara Desai, Shantinath Desai, R. V. Deshpande, P. R. Dubhashi, Satish Dubhashi, Vaman Mangesh Dubhashi, Jayshree Gadkar, Gopal Gaonkar, Harish Gaonkar, Sannappa Parameshwar Gaonkar, N. H. Gouda, Tulsi Gowda, Samar Halarnkar, Anant Kumar Hegde, Doddamane Mahadevi Hegde, Jyoti Hegde, Keremane Shivarama Hegde, Latha Hegde, Panduranga Hegde, R K Hegde, Ramakrishna Hegde, Satya Hegde, Shripad Hegde, Narayan Sadashiv Hosmane, Ramachandra S. Hosmane, M. M. Jalisatgi, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Gourish Kaikini, Jayanth Kaikini, Sumitra Mangesh Katre, Sulakshan Kulkarni, Mahabaleshwar Sail, Manohar Malgonkar, Hardekar Manjappa, Mynavathi, Dayanand S. Nadkarni, M. G. Nadkarni, Mangesh V. Nadkarni, Ramesh L. Nadkarni, Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, G. Devaraya Naik, Kashinath Naik, N. K. Naik, R. B. Naik, R. N. Naik, Shivanand Naik, Venkanna H. Naik, Gopalkrishna P. Nayak, Govindray H. Nayak, S. R. Nayak, M. P. Pandit, Radhika Pandit, Parijnanashram I, Kanara, Vittal Rai, Ramakrishna (Kannada actor), Rama Raghoba Rane, Kudmul Ranga Rao, Preetika Rao, Vilas Sarang, Gangadharendra Saraswati, Aruna Shanbaug case, Anant Krishna Shastry, R. N. Shetty and Chakravarti Sulibele.

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