BANGALORE: With the exit of U R Ananthamurthy, India has lost a great writer, and one of its finest secular intellectuals. The Kannada literary world has lost a trailblazer of the Navya (modernist) movement and a cultural theorist who created masterpieces in several genres.
In his early twenties, Ananthamurthy blossomed into a fine short story writer. In his thirties, he was a distinct novelist revolting against the conservative society of his time.
Inspiring Prof
A passionate teacher of English literature, he was able to blend his critical observations with the finest sensibilities of Europe. In Kannada, he was inspired by Shivarama Karanth, and in English, he admired the fiction of Lawrence and the criticism of F R Leavis. He later outgrew their influences, and went on to produce truly original ways of looking at Indian culture and civilisation. As one of India’s foremost intellectuals, he considered this his cultural duty.
Born and brought up in an orthodox Brahmin family, his early urge was to shed his caste identity and define his fiction as a vehicle for a new morality. He evolved a distinct mode of self-criticism.
With a Lohiaite understanding of Indian society, he created protagonists who represented a desire to change their conservative societies. Later, he was able to redefine Gandhian ideas to negotiate the challenges of modern civilisation.
Caste Question
He was among the handful of Indian writers to have revised their ideological positions from time to time. Once a votary of annihilation of caste, he returned to see if creative elements were still left in it. Having examined the pitfalls of tradition in Samskara and Bharatipura, he revisited the theme in the novel Divya.
In his fifties, Ananthamurthy expressed his longing to be released from the tyranny of colonial history. In that period, a mission of decolonisation found a dominant place in his writing. From there on, he rediscovered Gandhi and turned critical of the West and the endless greed of capitalist societies.
Nuanced Analyses
Till the end, Ananthamurthy continued to don the role of a public intellectual, sharply reacting to current issues. He was a bitter critic of rightist politics, and could be equally critical of the ‘progressives’ too. He opposed the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. He would always respond to the challenges thrown at him by power politics and was fearless in speaking out against political leaders and parties. In recent years, he had taken a clear stand against Modi’s politics.
Last week, when I called him, he had just completed his latest book, dealing with the upsurge of communal forces in India. In the midst of his dialysis agony, he was still able to respond to breaking political developments.
One of the tallest Indian writers of our times, Ananthamurthy’s creative writing and cultural theory will continue to inspire and enlighten generations to come.
(The writer is a well-known academic and short story writer).