Chandrashekhara Kambara

Chandrashekhara Kambara
Kambara during a talk about "Kannada in Technology" in Bangalore, 2013
Kambara during a talk about "Kannada in Technology" in Bangalore, 2013
Born (1937-01-02) 2 January 1937 (age 87)
Ghodageri, Belagavi, Bombay Presidency, British India (Present day Karnataka, India)
Occupation
Poet
Alma materPhD from Karnataka University, Dharwad[1]
Period1937–present
GenreFiction
Notable awardsJnanpith Award
Sahitya Akademi Award
Padma Shri
Pampa Award
Padma Bhushan
SpouseSatyabhama
Children4

Chandrashekhara Basavanneppa Kambara (Kannada: ಚಂದ್ರಶೇಖರ ಕಂಬಾರ; born 2 January 1937) is a prominent Indian poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi also president of the Sahitya Akademi, country's premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993).[2] He is known for effective adaptation of the North Karnataka dialect of the Kannada language in his plays, and poems, in a similar style as in the works of D.R. Bendre.[3]

Kambara's plays mainly revolve around folk or mythology interlinked with contemporary issues,[4] inculcating modern lifestyle with his hard-hitting poems. He has become a pioneer of such literature.[5] His contribution as a playwright is significant not only to Kannada theatre but also to the Indian theatre in general as he achieved a blend of the folk and the modern theatrical forms.[6]

He has been conferred with many prestigious awards including the Padma Bhushan in 2021,[7][8] Jnanpith Award in 2011 for the year 2010,[9] Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri by Government of India,[10] Kabir Samman, Kalidas Samman and Pampa Award. After his retirement, Kambara was nominated as the Member of Karnataka Legislative Council, to which he made significant contributions through his interventions.[11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference deccan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Giri Seeme: The Tribal Village". Department of Tribal Studies, Kannada University. Kannada University, Hampi. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Senior Kannada Writer Dr Chandrashekhara Kambara gets Jnanpith Award, 8th for Kannada Language". Samvada. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011.
  4. ^ "IBN Live – Kambar does Karnataka proud with Jnanpith". Ibnlive.in.com. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference times1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The Hindu – Speaking from Shivapura Archived 25 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Padma Awards 2021 announced". Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Shinzo Abe, Tarun Gogoi, Ram Vilas Paswan among Padma Award winners: Complete list". The Times of India. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Jnanpith for Kambar". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  11. ^ "The living bard". Deccan Herald. October 2011.