Vaidehi (Kannada writer)
| Vaidehi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Vasanti[1] 12 February 1945 Kundapur, Udupi, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Pen name | Vaidehi |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable awards |
Sahitya Akademi Award 2009 |
| Children | 2 |
Janaki Srinivasa Murthy (Kannada: ಜಾನಕಿ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಮೂರ್ತಿ) (born as Vasanti on 12 February 1945), popularly known by her pen name Vaidehi (Kannada: ವೈದೇಹಿ) is a well-known writer of modern Kannada language fiction. Vaidehi is one of the most successful women writers in the language and a recipient of prestigious national and state-level literary awards.[2] She has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her collection of short stories, Krauncha Pakshigalu in 2009.[3]
Biography
Early life
Vaidehi was born on 12 February 1945 to A. V. N. Hebbar (father) and Mahalakshmi (mother) in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district, Karnataka. She belongs to Kota Brahmin community, a distinct Kannada speaking community mostly found in the Kundapura region.[4] She grew up in a large traditional Brahmin family. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Commerce from the Bhandarkar College in Kundapura. Her father is a lawyer and her mother was a homemaker. At home, a dialect of Kannada called Kundapur Kannada[4] is spoken and she uses this dialect in her works as well.[5] Vaidehi became her pen-name under unusual circumstances. Early in her writing career, she had sent a story to the Kannada weekly magazine Sudha for publication but later requested the publisher not to go ahead with the print as the story was non-fictional and included a real-life story. However, the editor went ahead with the publication by changing the author's name to 'Vaidehi'. This name stuck in her later writings as well as she gained popularity.
Married life
Vaidehi married to K. L. Srinivasa Murthy at the age of 23. The couple have two daughters, Nayana Kashyap (née Nayana Murthy) and Pallavi Rao (née Pallavi Murthy). After marriage Vaidehi changed her legal name to Janaki Srinivasa Murthy and moved to Shivamogga. Later the family moved to Udupi and then to Manipal where she currently resides. Vaidehi's daughter Nayana Kashyap is a translator, Kannada writer and English teacher. She has translated some of the Vaidehi's works into English including five novels.
Works
Collection of short stories
- Mara Gida Balli (1979)
- Antharangada Putagalu (1984)
- Gola (1986)
- Samaja Shastrajneya Tippanige (1991)
- Ammacchi Yemba Nenapu (2000)
- Hagalu Geechida Nenta
- Krouncha Pakshigalu
Essays
- Mallinathana Dhyana (1996)
- Meju Mattu Badagi
- Jatre
Novels
- Asprushyaru (1992)
Collection of poems
- Bindu Bindige (1990)
- Parijatha (1999)
- Hoova Kattuva Haadu (2011)
Children's dramas
- Dham Dhoom Suntaragali
- Mookana Makkalu
- Gombe Macbeth
- Danadangura
- Nayimari Nataka
- Kotu Gumma
- Jhum Jham Aane Mathu Putta
- Surya Banda
- Ardhachandra Mitayi
- Hakki Haadu
- Somari Olya
Biography
- Nenapinangaladalli Mussanjehothu (life of Kota Lakshminarayana Karanth)
- Sediyapu Nenapugalu - (life of Sediyapu Krishna Bhatta)
- Illiralare allige hogalare - (life of B. V. Karanth)
Translations
- Bharathiya Mahileyara Swathanthra Horata (from Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya's "Indian women's freedom struggle")
- Belliya Sankolegalu (from Maithreyi Mukkhopadhyaya's "Silver Shakles")
- Surya Kinnariyau (from Swapna Dutta's "Sun Fairies")
- Sangeetha Samvada (from Bhaskar Chandavarkar's "Lecture on Music")
Awards
Vaidehi has won numerous awards for her writings in Kannada.
- Sahitya Akademi Award (2009) for Krouncha Pakshigalu
- Geetha Desai Datti Nidhi (1985, 1992) by Karnataka Lekhakiyara Sangha for Antharangada Putagalu and Bindu Bindige
- Vardhamana Udayonmukha Award (1992) by Vardhamana Prashasti Peetha for Gola
- Katha Award (1992, 1997) by Katha Organisation, New Delhi for Hagalu Geechida Nenta and Ammacchiyemba Nenapu
- Anupama Award (1993) for Samaja Shastrajneya Tippanige
- Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi Award (1993, 1998) for her five children's dramas and Mallinathana Dhyana
- Sahtya Kama Award for Ammachi Yemba Nenapu
- Sadodita Award (2001) by Shashwathi Trust
- Sudha Weekly Award for Aprushyaru
- Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award by Government of Karnataka
- Attimabbe Award by Attimabbe Pratishtan
References
- ↑ http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=70046
- ↑ http://www.oup.co.in/search_detail.php?id=144737
- ↑ "2009 Sahitya Akademi Award list" (PDF). Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- 1 2 "Standing at the threshold". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 1 January 2010.
- ↑ "A little-known 'Kannada' dialect on the wane". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 May 2009.