Kannada Poet HS Venkatesha Murthy Passes Away At 81
HS Venkatesha Murthy, a veteran Kannada poet, passed away at 81 in Bengaluru on Friday.
Kannada poet HS Venkatesha Murthy passed away at the age of 81 in Bengaluru on Friday. He was suffering from health problems related to old age.
His poetry was considered modern, yet deeply connected to traditional themes. Several of his poems were adapted into Bhaavageete — emotionally rich songs — during the Kannada Sugama Sangeeta (light music) era. Because his work was widely recorded and circulated on audio cassettes, he became known as one of the 'cassette poets" of that time.
He started his literary journey with his poetry collection Parivrutta in 1968 and continued writing for decades. One of his major works included Buddhacharana (2020), a full-length poetic retelling of the life and teachings of the Buddha.
He maintained his unique voice throughout evolving literary trends. As critic SR Vijayshankar observed, his effort to move beyond the shadow of Gopalakrishna Adiga — the leading figure of the Navya movement — led his poetry to resonate more with the styles of Pu.Thi. Narasimhachar and KS Narasimhaswamy.
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