T. N. Srikantaiah

Theerthapura Nanjundaiah Srikantaiah (26 November 1906 – 7 September 1966) commonly known as 'Thee. Nam. Shree, was a Kannada poet, essayist, editor, translator, linguist and teacher. T. N. Srikantaiah was instrumental in preparing and publishing the Kannada version of Constitution of India in 1952. He is credited with the use of the vernacular equivalent of Rashtrapathi for the English 'President', a usage which is still in vogue. Srikantaiah was responsible for guiding the doctoral theses of Kannada litterateurs like S. Anantanarayan and M. Chidananda Murthy. An active participant in the Kannada Dictionary Project, Srikantaiah later laid the foundations for the Post Graduate Department at Manasa Gangotri campus at University of Mysore.

Early years Srikantaiah was born in Theerthapura village in Tumkur district to parents Shanbog Nanjundaiah and Baluvaneeralina Bhagirathamma. He had his preliminary schooling at the local government school. Srikantaiah assumed the pen name of Bharathi Dasa under which he wrote articles for the School Folk magazine. His mother Baluvaneeralina Bhagirathamma died when he was nine years of age. By 1926, T. N. Srikantaiah had completed his B.A. in Kannada. Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar had awarded him six gold medals at the convocation. As the M. A. qualification was not yet available in Kannada, Srikantaiah pursued his M.A. in English and secured first rank for the university (1929). While studying for his M. A., Srikantaiah had also cleared his civil service exams (MCS) by 1928. This qualification along with a M. A. degree helped him secure an employment at the Revenue offices in Srirangapatna. by 1930, B. M. Srikantaiah had founded the M. A. course in Kannada and T. N. Srikantaiah took the course. He passed his M.A. in Kannada in 1931 and was awarded three gold medals. About two decades hence, by 1955, Srikantaiah was granted the Rockefeller Scholarship which enabled him to visit the United States for a year to do research at Michigan University, Pennsylvania.

Academician Maharaja College Group Photo (1940s): L – R – Standing 6 from left (Kuvempu), 7 from left (T. N. Srikantaiah); Sitting on Chairs – L – R – 3 from left (B. M. Srikantaiah), 4 from left (T. S. Venkannayya) T. N. Srikantaiah began his teaching career at Maharaja College, Mysore. B. M. Srikantaiah and T. S. Venkannayya persuaded T. N. Srikantaiah to join the Kannada department at the college. By 1943, T. N. Srikantaiah was promoted as associate professor at Central College, Bangalore. Till 1950, Srikantaiah was associated with Kannada Dictionary project along with A. R. Krishnasastry. For two years between 1948 – 50, Srikantaiah was associated with Mysore Samvidhana Parishat. From 1950 – 52, Srikantaiah taught at colleges in Kolar and Davangere districts of Karnataka.

Works T. N. Srikantaiah's first published work was a collection of his poems in Kannada titled Olume. A collection of thirteen essays came out in 1963 under the title of Nantaru. T. N. Srikantaiah's first foray into translation was a Kannada translation of select passages from Amara Shataka (originally in Sanskrit) titled Bidi Muthu which was published in 1970. Srikantaiah, at the behest of T. S. Venkannayya wrote Rakshasana Mudrike, which was a Kannada version of the popular Sanskrit play Mudrarakshasa authored originally by Vishakadatta in 3rd century B. C. was first published in 1939 and was a standard text book on grammar.

Bharatiya Kavya Mimamse His critically acclaimed work Bharatiya Kavya Mimamse was about Indian poetics across millennia. It was a detailed analysis of the relationship between 11th century Alankara poetry (Figure of speech) and various Indian prose & poetic styles. T. N. Srikantaiah's book delved deep into the tradition of Kavyalankara and related classical texts and asserts that Rasa-Dhvani principles are an integral part of this comparison between different streams of poetry. This seminal work was brought forth under the guidance of M. Hiriyanna and B. M. Srikantaiah at Mysore. Bharathiya Kavya Mimamse became the second work to receive the prestigious Pampa Prashasthi in Karnataka. Hariharakaviya Nambiyannana Ragale Gadāyuddha Saṅgrahaṃ: Kāvyabhāga Mattu Tippaṇigalu

Collected works

Pampa Kāvya samīkṣe Samalokana Kavyanubhava Imagination in Indian Poetics and other literary studies Tī. Naṃ. Śrī samagra gadya Affricates in Kannada speech and other linguistic papers

Translations

Bidi Muthu

Grammar

Kannada Madhyama Vyakarana

Recognition T. N. Srikantaiah's suggestion for the use of the vernacular word Rashtrapathi in place of the English word President was welcomed and adopted into vogue at the Indian Constitutional Committee meeting in 1949. South End Circle in Jayanagar, Bangalore has a statue of T. N. Srikantaiah and has been named after him.

Later years T. N. Srikantaiah retired in 1962 after 34 years of service. Following his retirement, he was made a UGC Professor at the University of Mysore. He was invited to be an adjunct professor at Delhi University. He declined it owing to many ongoing commitments. While on a tour of North India, T. N. Srikantaiah succumbed to a heart attack on 7 September 1966 at Calcutta (present day Kolkata), India. Murthy Rao, A. N. (1988). Samagra Lalita Prabandhagalu. (1st ed.) – Complete Collection of Essays. pp 36 – 42 Murthy Rao, A. N. B. M. Srikantaiah (1st ed.) – Biography. pp XII Sanna Guddayya, H. G. Ti Nam Srikantaiah – Jeevana, Vyakthithva Mathu Kruthigala Sameekshe – Biography of T. N. Srikantaiah. pp 200 Akkamahadevi (Editor) (2020). Ranna Gadāyuddham – The Duel of the Maces. Published by Manohar – United Kingdom. pp 36 Amur, G. S. (2001). Essays on Modern Kannada Literature. Karnāṭaka Sāhitya Akāḍemi. pp 59, 60. Sinhā, Madhubālā (2009). Encyclopaedia of South Indian Literature – Volume 2. Anmol Publications. pp 259 C. Panduranga Bhatta, G. John Samuel, Shu Hikosaka, M. S. Nagarajan (1997). Contribution of Karnāṭaka to Sanskrit. Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India). pp 17 The Indian P.E.N. – Volume 33. P.E.N. All-India Centre, Bombay. (1967) pp 16, 17. Nāyaka, Harōgadde Mānappa; Translators: M. Rama Rao, Subōdha Rāmarāya (1967). Kannada Literature – A Decade. Published by Rao and Raghavan. pp 74, 79 Balakrishnan, Raja Gopal (Editor)(1994). The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed – Studies in the History and Culture''. Mythic Society (Bangalore, India) pp 399.