Masti Venkatesh Iyengar | |
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| Born | (1891-06-06)6 June 1891 HungenahalliMalur taluk,Kolar district,Kingdom of Mysore |
| Died | 6 June 1986(1986-06-06) (aged 95) Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Pen name | Srinivasa |
| Occupation |
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| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Subject | Kannada literature |
| Literary movement | Navodaya |
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer inKannada language. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with theJnanpith Award,[1] the highest literary honor conferred in India.[2] He was popularly referred to asMaasti Kannadada Aasti which means "Maasti, Kannada's Treasure". He is most renowned for his short stories. He wrote under the pen nameSrinivasa. He was honoured with the titleRajasevasakta by thenMaharaja of MysoreNalvadi Krishnaraja Wadeyar.
Maasti was born in 1891 at Hungenahalli inKolar district ofKarnataka in aTamil speaking SriVaishnavaiteIyengarBrahmin family.[3][citation needed] He spent his early childhood inMaasti village. He obtained a master's degree inEnglish literature (Arts) in 1914 fromMadras University.[4] After joining theIndian Civil Service (Known as the Mysore Civil Service in the days of the Maharaja of Mysore), he held various positions of responsibility in different parts of Karnataka, rising to the rank of District Commissioner. After 26 years of service, he resigned in 1943, as a protest when he did not get the post equivalent to a Minister, which he felt that he deserved, and a junior was promoted ahead of him.[4] He wrote some pieces in English and then switched to writing in the Kannada language.[4] He often used the pen nameSrinivasa.[5]
He published his first work,Rangana Maduve in 1910. His last work wasMaatugara Ramanna, from 1985.[5]Kelavu Sanna Kathegalu (Some Short Stories) was his first notable work in modern Kannada literature. Maasti also crafted a number poems on various philosophic, aesthetic and social themes. He composed and translated several important plays and was the editor of the monthly journalJivana (Life) from 1944 to 1965.
A prolific writer, he wrote more than 123 books in Kannada[5] and 17 in English, over the course of seventy years. He won theJnanpith Award in 1983 for his novelChikka Veera Rajendra. The story was about the lastRajah of Kodagu.
Masti Venkatesh Iyengar died on his 95th birthday in 1986.
Since 1993, an award in his name, the "Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Award" is presented to well-known writers from Karnataka.[6] His house is located in Basavanagudi area in Bangalore.[7] His house, located in Maasti village,Maluru Taluk (Kolar District) has been converted into a library and maintained by theGovernment of Karnataka.[8] Masti Residential School was started in his memory in 2006–07, at a nearby location.[9]
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Epics
Novels
Stories and Anthologies
Plays
Autobiography
Other
Quotations related toMasti Venkatesha Iyengar at Wikiquote
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