MANGALURU: “I am a farmer first, then a teacher and finally a poet and a writer ... I got all my inspirations to write my poetry and other books from being a farmer and a teacher ....” These were the last few lines of the speech made by centenarian poet Kayyara Kinhanna Rai at a function organised on the day he turned 100 on June 8 this year.
His epitaph will read long. freedom fighter, poet, political activist, teacher, researcher, translator, peacenik, journalist, farmer.
One of Rai’s close associates is Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, president of the Dakshina Kannada District Kannada Sahitya Parishat.
Kalkura remembers Rai as a scholar of not just Kannada but also of that of Sanskrit, English and Tulu. “I remember that he (Rai) had once told me that Sanskrit must be India’s national language ... In several of his works, including Aikya Gaana and Benki Biddide Manege, he has shown his true nationalist spirit. He even lived the nationalist spirit by following the Gandhian way of life till the end. I have not seen him wearing anything but khadi throughout his life. ”
Rai’s contemporary was the late B M Idinabba, a three-time MLA. Idinabba used to start all his speeches on the floor of the House by quoting a few lines from Rai’s work — Aikya Onde Mantra. Idinabba was a legislator who galvanised Rai’s poem as an anthem for unity and integration. Health Minister U T Khader’s father U T Fareed was a follower of Rai too.
Prof B A Vivek Rai, former V-C of Hampi Kannada University, said. “His fight for merging Kasargod into Karnataka was not based on linguistic regionalism but a staunch support for uniting Kannada hearts in both the states.” Vivek said that it was not just him but an entire range of Kannada and Tulu writers are influenced by Rai’s writings.
Bridged Kannada, Malayalam Literature
Rai will also be remembered for bridging Malayalam and Kannada literature. His important works include Malayala Sahitya Charithre, a translation of P K Parameshwaran Nair’s History of Malayalam literature. He has also translated Kumaranasan’s Chandalabhishuki, Karuna, and Chinthavishtaya Seetha into Kannada.