The notion of love and its expression may have changed over a generation, but K.S. Narasimhaswamy holds his place in the Kannada literary canon as the ultimate “poet of love”. His best known work Mysooru Mallige , published in 1942, still is fresh and fragrant.
Monday marks the birth centenary of K.S.Na., born on January 26, 1915.
A poet known for a language and style that was simple and quintessentially Old Mysore, K.S.Na’s early poetry (including the iconic Mysooru Mallige ) celebrated conjugal love and portrayed images of middle-class life.
It’s a world of ordinary men and women with their simple pleasure, but not devoid of tensions and strife. His early poetry won him a great fan following, but proponents of the ‘Navya’ (modern) tradition also mocked him as ‘pushpa kavi’, implying that he was too romantic and incapable of “more serious” preoccupations.
Though K.S.Na’s great popularity still rests on his image as a ‘love poet’, his later poetry proved his detractors wrong. Poems like ‘Tereda Baagilu’ and ‘Gadiyaradangadiya Munde’ are testimony to his poetic genius that far surpassed his image. This was acknowledged by firebrand journalist and critic late P. Lankesh, who was once scathing on K.S.Na’s ‘romanticism’.
Writer and critic Narahalli Balasubrahamanya argues that Mysooru Mallige ’s popularity overshadowed the “real potential” of K.S.Na. He read moderns like Ezra Pound and T.S. Elliot and was influenced by Robert Burns. The native Kannada idiom and poetry of 16th Century poet Ratnakaravarni shaped his sensibility, Mr. Balasubrahmanya said.
Poet H.S. Venkateshamurthy says that though family remained the central metaphor of K.S.Na’s poetry, the definition of family itself grew and evolved to include the whole world, taking on a metaphysical dimension.
Describing his oeuvre in a nutshell, critic G.S. Amur describes K.S.Na as “a poet of the earth, its joys and sorrows, its beauty and ugliness”.
Poetic inspiration
K.S. Narasimhaswamy’s collection of poems Mysooru Mallige , published in 1942, has seen more than 32 reprints and was long regarded as an ideal gift for newly-married couples in Karnataka. National award-winning director T.S. Nagabharana made a film based on the poems, popularised by Sugama Sangeeta (light music) singers of the State. This was the first such film in Kannada where a story was written with the framework provided by poems. K.S.Na’s poems have been used by various film directors, including Chaduranga and N.C. Rajan, in their movies.
KSNa on Peotry
“What is a poem? I have no idea. Eyes are boats as tiny as shells, but the view is a beast as vast as the ocean. I grope for an answer as I write.”
“I have worked for long as a clerk in government offices. I have been through many hardships of life. All that pain has metamorphosed into the fragrance of poetry, giving me equanimity.”
January 26, 1915: Born in Kikkeri in Mandya district
1977: Conferred Sahitya Akademi Award for Tereda Bagilu
1995: Awarded Pampa Prashasti
1991: Presides over 60th Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, Mysuru
1996: Named Fellow of Sahitya Akademi
December 27, 2003: Passes away in Bengaluru
