A Look at
the Personality
He was often
termed as the GB Shaw of Kannada literature. He wrote under the pen name BeeChi
(which is also the name he preferred to go by in his daily life) and is best
remembered for his mastery of the genre of humour.
He was a
prominent member of the Kannada literary society and has been both an
inspiration and an influence for the generations that followed.
Early
Life and Childhood
Beechi was born in Harapanahalli in the Bellary
district (now in Davanagere District) of Karnataka, India, in the year 1913. He
enjoyed a relatively normal childhood and studied till he obtained his
Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) after which he discontinued his
studies and went to work in the government office as an attender. Before
eventually finding his roots as a writer, he worked for the Crime Investigation
Department (CID) for a long period of time.
There was
nothing too significant about BeeChi’s early life and it was very ordinary and
uninspired until, while on a long train journey, BeeChi was drawn towards
Kannada literature after reading a novel titled Sandyaragaby by A.N Krishna
Rao.
This novel
moved him so much that he decided that writing was where his heart lay. He
regarded Krishna Rao as his greatest influence and drew his motivation and
inspiration to write from him.
His
Significant Achievements
BeeChi’s
novels are extremely popular and they can be considered masterpieces in their
own genres. He is credited with having written sixty books over the course of
his life and though he can be regarded as a master of the genre of humour, he
did not limit himself to only writing humour based novels. Instead, he expanded
his repertoire to include dramas and various articles.
His first
novel (titled Dasakoota) was published in 1945 when he was thirty-two years of
age and was a revolutionary book that brought him much fame and introduced him
to the world as an innovative, fresh and bold writer who was not afraid to
tread on his toes and skirt around sensitive issues. BeeChi always found a way
to make people laugh at social issues while learning to appreciate their
seriousness.
His greatest
contribution to the world of Kannada literature was the character Thimma. His
novels are popular till date as they are must read pieces for any person who’s
fond of Kannada literature.
His Later
Years
BeeChi
breathed his last in the year 1980 at the age of sixty seven. He will forever
be remembered as a figurehead of Kannada literature and was even honoured by
the Indian Postal Service, which released a special and rare postal envelope in
honour of the great writer.
His
innovation, his unorthodox outlook and his refusal to conform to the
limitations of social correctness are the key factors that made him stand apart
as an icon.
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