L. Gundappa (1903-1986) was a distinguished professor of Kannada literature at Bangalore University who played a pivotal role in the revival of Kannada literature. Inspired by his mentor, B. M. Srikantaiah, Gundappa made significant contributions to the field, particularly in the areas of translation and promoting world literature to Kannada readers.
Gundappa was an accomplished poet and writer who introduced Kannada readers to world literature by translating classics from ancient Kannada and Classic Tamil to modern Kannada. He translated short stories by Tolstoy from English, and won a gold medal for the translation of a poem by Matthew Arnold (titled Sohrab and Rustum) to Kannada. He worked on the first dictionary from English to Kannada. He wrote a definitive book on the art of translation called Kannadi Seyve (mirroring). He was honored by both the Kannada and Tamil people for his service to literature.
