Taking a dig at Jnanpith awardee and Kannada writer U R Ananthamurthy (URA) for criticising the works of Kuvempu, former president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat and writer Prof G S Siddalingaiah described URA as a ‘monkey’ and an ‘idiot’.
He was speaking after releasing 101 books published by Aditya Prakashana of Belgaum here on Sunday. By saying Kuvempu is not a poet, Ananthamurthy has proved what type of man he is, he added. Siddalingaiah said that in the past poet Gopalkrishna Adiga had also criticised Kuvempu saying that the poems written by Kuvempu are not fit to be called poems.
However, after protests Adiga withdrew his statement, he said.
People like Adiga and Ananthamurthy are creating confusion in the literary field by issuing such baseless and meaningless statements, he said.
Writer S M Krishnaraya, who was one of the guest at the programme, said that Krishnamurthy Puranik of Belgaum was a great novelist, who gave a new direction to the Kannada literary field. Siddaram Swamiji of Nagnur Mutt, former president of Belgaum district Kannada Sahitya Parishat Basavaraj Jagajampi and others were present on the occasion.