Workshop on ‘Literary World of Shantarasa’ held at Gulbarga University

Writer Amresh Nugadoni on Saturday said that ghazal poet Shantarasa played a crucial role in nurturing Kannada literature in the Kalyana Karnataka (previously called Hyderabad Karnataka) region despite the strong influence of Urdu during the pre-Independence Nizam rule.

He was speaking after inaugurating a one-day literary workshop titled “Shantarasa Sahitya Loka” at Gulbarga University, organised jointly by the Kannada Studies Institute of Gulbarga University and the Dr. Besagarahalli Ramanna Foundation, Bengaluru.

Mr. Nugadoni said that though Shantarasa was born into poverty, his association with the Jangama community had enriched him with traditional knowledge. At a time when ornamental writing dominated Kannada literature, Shantarasa established the ‘Satya Snehi’ publishing house in Raichur, encouraging several writers and contributing significantly to the growth of Kannada prose and poetry. By translating works from Urdu into Kannada, he expanded the reach and influence of Kannada literature, he said.

Highlighting the poet’s rebellious spirit, Mr. Nugadoni noted that Shantarasa openly protested injustice against the region and drew inspiration from Basavanna’s vachanas. “A secular thinker and a witness to his times, Shantarasa remains largely unfamiliar to readers in southern Karnataka. There is a need to take his literary legacy to a wider audience,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, H.T. Potte, Director of the Kannada Studies Institute, expressed concern that despite the State government having established 27 literary foundations across Karnataka to promote Kannada language and literature, none existed in the Kalyana Karnataka region. “This is a land that witnessed Vachana literature, Sasa literature and the Dalit movement, and gave Karnataka its earliest available literary texts. Yet, not a single foundation has been set up here,” he said, urging the government to establish literary foundations in the region in the names of eminent poets and writers.

The programme was presided over by H.R. Sujatha, president of the Dr. Besagarahalli Ramanna Foundation. Senior theatre personality H.S. Basavaprabhu and foundation secretary Rajendra Prasad were present.

As part of the workshop, K. Ravindranath of Hosapete spoke on ‘Research and Book Editing’ by Shantarasa and critic Shreeshail Nagaral on the ‘Prose Literature’ of the writer in the first session. In the second session, critic Shailaja Bagewadi spoke on ‘Women’s World in Literature’, Mahantesh Navalakal on ‘Poetic Traditions’, and translator Suryakant Sujyatha on ‘Translated Literature’.