Kayyara Kinyanna Rai
Encyclopedia
Kayyar Kinhanna Rai (born March 29, 1915) is an Indian independence activist
,author, poet
and a former journalist
.
speaking Bunt
family to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai
. His given name stands unique since it includes the Kannada alphabet
'ಞ' (a palatal consonant pronounced nasally as "nya"), which is used very rarely in the written Kannada
of today and is absent in the English alphabet which often leads to various other transliterations of his given name such as Kinyanna and Kinnanna.Rai first learned Kannada
in school. Later he published his first handwritten journal, Susheela, at the age of 12. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
and also participated in the freedom movement of India
. During this period he married Unyakka and is a father to eight children.
and The Hindu
. He received the National Award for Best Teacher in the year 1969. He is a prolific writer and poet who has written books on theatre, grammar and children. Some of his famous poems are Shreemukha, Aikyagana, Punarnava, Chethana and Koraga. He has written a biography of Govinda Pai, the famous Kannada poet from whom he was highly influenced. His other important works are Malayala Sahitya Charithre (History of Malayalam literature
),which is a translation of an original work by P. K. Parameshwaran Nair and Sahithya Drushti. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Mangalore University
in the year 2005. He also chaired the 66th Akhila Kannada Sahitya Sammelana
(Kannada Literature Conference) which was held at Mangalore
. Some of his poems have been used as songs for the Kannada film, Paduvaaralli Pandavaru
which was directed by the renowned film director, Puttanna Kanagal
. In 1980, he also stood for elections in Kasargod to the Kerala Legislative Assembly but was unsuccessful.
into Karnataka
. One of his main goals is to seek the implementation of the Mahajan Committee Report, which urged the inclusion of the northern part of Kasaragod district (to the north of the Chandragiri river) into Karnataka. He founded the Kasargod Merger Action Council (Kasaragod Vileeneekarana Kriya Samithi) in the year 2002 to work towards this goal.Describing the goals of this council Rai has said that the linguistic minorities in the district were not against the Malayalis or Kerala State, per se, but were demanding the implementation of the Justice Mahajan Commission report, vis-a-vis the fulfilment of promises made by the former Chief Ministers, E. M. S. Namboodiripad
, C. Achutha Menon
and Pattam Thanu Pillai, in this regard. In recent years he has also lent his hands for the demand of a separate Tulu Nadu
state for the Tulu
speaking population of India
.
Indian independence activists
This is a listing of people who campaigned against or are considered to have campaigned against foreign domination and cultural imposition on the Indian sub-continent...
,author, poet
Kannada poetry
Kannada poetry is poetry written in the Kannada language spoken in Karnataka. Karnataka is the land that gave birth to eight Jnanapeeth award winners, the highest honour bestowed for Indian literature...
and a former journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Early life
Rai was born on March 29, 1915 in a TuluTulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
speaking Bunt
Bunt (community)
Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...
family to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai
. His given name stands unique since it includes the Kannada alphabet
Kannada script
The Kannada script is an alphasyllabary of the Brahmic family, used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages of southern India and also Sanskrit in the past. The Telugu script is derived from Old Kannada, and resembles Kannada script...
'ಞ' (a palatal consonant pronounced nasally as "nya"), which is used very rarely in the written Kannada
Kannada script
The Kannada script is an alphasyllabary of the Brahmic family, used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages of southern India and also Sanskrit in the past. The Telugu script is derived from Old Kannada, and resembles Kannada script...
of today and is absent in the English alphabet which often leads to various other transliterations of his given name such as Kinyanna and Kinnanna.Rai first learned Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
in school. Later he published his first handwritten journal, Susheela, at the age of 12. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
and also participated in the freedom movement of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. During this period he married Unyakka and is a father to eight children.
Career
Rai started his career as a secondary school teacher. He also delved into journalism and contributed his writings to newspapers like Swabhimana, Madras MailThe Madras Mail
The Mail, known as The Madras Mail till 1928, was an English-language daily evening newspaper published in the Madras Presidency from 1868 to 1981.- History :...
and The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
. He received the National Award for Best Teacher in the year 1969. He is a prolific writer and poet who has written books on theatre, grammar and children. Some of his famous poems are Shreemukha, Aikyagana, Punarnava, Chethana and Koraga. He has written a biography of Govinda Pai, the famous Kannada poet from whom he was highly influenced. His other important works are Malayala Sahitya Charithre (History of Malayalam literature
Malayalam literature
The term Malayalam literature refers to Literature written in Malayalam language. Malayalam is the language spoken by around 35 million people, mainly the inhabitants of the state of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep Islands in India. Malayalam is a Dravidian language and thus has close...
),which is a translation of an original work by P. K. Parameshwaran Nair and Sahithya Drushti. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Mangalore University
Mangalore University
Mangalore University is a public university located in Konaje, Karnataka State of India. Ranked with a four star by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in June 2000, this young university offers higher education and conducts research in various fields...
in the year 2005. He also chaired the 66th Akhila Kannada Sahitya Sammelana
Kannada Sahitya Sammelana
Kannada Sahitya Sammelana is the premier gathering of writers, poets and kannadigas. It is held with the aim of preserving and developing Kannada language, its literature, arts, culture and music. It was started in 1915 and held at Bangalore for the first time. It used to be inaugurated by...
(Kannada Literature Conference) which was held at Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
. Some of his poems have been used as songs for the Kannada film, Paduvaaralli Pandavaru
Paduvaaralli Pandavaru
Paduvaaralli Pandavaru is a Kannada language movie directed by renown director Puttanna Kanagal.The film was distributed by noted distributor R.N. Mandre....
which was directed by the renowned film director, Puttanna Kanagal
Puttanna Kanagal
Puttanna Kanagal was one of the most prominent Kannada film directors of the 1960s and the 70s. Although the majority of his films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, he endeared himself to both the critics and ordinary film goers alike. He also directed a handful Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and...
. In 1980, he also stood for elections in Kasargod to the Kerala Legislative Assembly but was unsuccessful.
Later Activism
Rai has been a vigorous campaigner for the merger of Kasaragod districtKasaragod district
Kasaragod District is one of the districts of the Indian state of Kerala. Kasaragod District was organised as a separate district on 24 May 1984...
into Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. One of his main goals is to seek the implementation of the Mahajan Committee Report, which urged the inclusion of the northern part of Kasaragod district (to the north of the Chandragiri river) into Karnataka. He founded the Kasargod Merger Action Council (Kasaragod Vileeneekarana Kriya Samithi) in the year 2002 to work towards this goal.Describing the goals of this council Rai has said that the linguistic minorities in the district were not against the Malayalis or Kerala State, per se, but were demanding the implementation of the Justice Mahajan Commission report, vis-a-vis the fulfilment of promises made by the former Chief Ministers, E. M. S. Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, , popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. As the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world...
, C. Achutha Menon
C. Achutha Menon
Chelat Achutha Menon was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India . He was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. Achutha Menon is widely considered as the best Chief Minister...
and Pattam Thanu Pillai, in this regard. In recent years he has also lent his hands for the demand of a separate Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu is a Tulu-speaking region spread over to parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River...
state for the Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
speaking population of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Awards
Rai has been conferred with the following awards an honours:- Karnataka Sahitya Academy award - 1969
- National Award for Best Teacher - 1969
- Honorary Fellowship by Manipal Academy of Higher Education (1970).
- Pejawar Award in literature - 2004
- Alva's Nudisri Award - 2005
- Adarsha Ratna Award - 2006
- Nadoja (Teacher of the State) Award - 2006
- Karnataka Ekikarana (Unification) Award - 2007
- Honorary Fellowship by the Kannada Sahitya ParishatKannada Sahitya ParishatKannada Saahithya Parishath is an Indian non-profit organisation that promotes the Kannada language. Its headquarters are in the city of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, India. It strives to promote Kannada through publishing books, organising literary seminars and promoting research projects...
- 2009
Quotes
- "Benki biddide namma manege... O bega banni, Kannadada gadi kayona banni, Kannadada nudi kaypona banni..." - ("Our house is on fire... Oh come fast, lets safeguard the boundaries of Kannada, lets save the Kannada language...")
- "Language and culture transcend geographical barriers and people who want to disseminate culture and language are not bound by borders."
- "It is meaningless for the Karnataka Government to observe Suvarna Karnataka [the Golden Jubilee of the formation of the state of Karnataka] if the problems faced by the State are not solved."
External links
- An interview recorded with Kayyar Kinhanna Rai by Sampada on January 13, 2010.