S. L. Bhyrappa Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About S. L. Bhyrappa

• When he was young, his mother and brothers contracted the Bubonic plague and died.

• He did various odd jobs to pay for his school fees.

• During his school days, he liked reading the writings of Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar.

• According to his school records, his birth date was 20 August 1931, which, according to him, was not the same as his real birth date.

• Bhyrappa grew up and completed his primary schooling in Channarayapatna taluk.

• After that, he moved to Mysore to complete his further education.

• In his autobiography ‘Bhitti’ (Wall), he mentioned that he took a break during high school to travel for a year with his cousin.

• He moved from Mysore to Mumbai, where he worked as a railway porter. There, he met some saints and followed them to find mental peace.

• After travelling with these saints for a few months, he went back to Mysore to continue his studies.

• After completing his formal education, he worked as a Logic and Psychology lecturer at Sri Kadasiddheshwar College in Hubli, Sardar Patel University in Gujarat, NCERT in Delhi, and the Regional College of Education in Mysore until his retirement in 1991.

  

  An old picture of S. L. Bhyrappa while reading a book in a library

• During his teaching period, he wrote several books in English, Kannada, and Sanskrit. He also researched Indian Studies and Western Philosophy.

• His first novel, Bheemakaya, was published in 1958.

• He has written twenty-four novels in more than fifty years.

• Many of his books, such as Vamshavruksha, Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane, Matadana, and Nayi Neralu, were converted into films, which received praise.

• In 1966, his book Vamshavruksha received the Kannada Sahitya Academy Award.

  

  The cover of the book Vamshavruksha

• In 1975, the book Daatu (Crossing Over) won both the Kannada and Kendra Sahitya Academy Awards.

• His highly praised novel is ‘Parva,’ which tells about the society, values, and morality from the Mahabharata. He explained in the book that the Mahabharata used ideas from society and human behaviour.

  

  The cover of the book Parva

• In 1993, his novel Tantu was published in Kannada, and the word ‘Tantu’ means ‘cord’ or ‘links.’ The book was translated into English in 2010 by Niyogi Books.

• After that, he wrote Saartha, which was published in 1998.

• Many of his novels have been translated into other Indian languages and English.

  

  An old picture of Bhyrappa at his Saraswathipurm house in Mysore

• After that, he became the top-selling Kannada author in India.

• Reportedly, his novel, Aavarana, sold out before the release date, and it set a record by being reprinted ten times within five months of release.

  

  The cover of the book Aavarana

• In August 2014, his novel Yaana (Journey) was published.

• In 2017, he published ‘Uttarakaanda,’ a novel based on the Hindu epic Ramayana.

• After that, he announced in the media that ‘Uttarakaanda’ would be his last novel because he is too old to start new projects.

• Sahitya Bhandara, a publishing house in Bengaluru, Karnataka, published all of his novels.

• He was often criticised for the themes and views he mentioned in his books.

• Many of his popular novels, such as Vamshavruksha, Tabbaliyu Neenaade Magane, Parva, and Saartha, are based on old Indian philosophy.

  

  S. L. Bhyrappa (left) and Prakash Belawadi (right) while discussing the making of a theatrical play on the novel Parva, in 2020-21

  

  Addanda Cariappa, the director of Karnataka’s most coveted theatre repertoire, Rangayana, produced the play, ‘Parva,’ directed by actor and theatre practitioner Prakash Belawadi

• These novels received strong criticism from Navya writers and others.

• When N. R. Narayana Murthy played a musical version of the Indian national anthem at an event, the media and public criticised him for doing so, but Bhyrappa supported him.

• He supported N. R. Narayana Murthy during the Kaveri water dispute. He claimed that protests and riots would not solve the issue.

• Once, Bhyrappa participated in a public debate with Girish Karnad on the national channel Vijaya Karnataka. They debated about the religious perspective of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of 18th-century Mysore.

• In his novel Aavarana, Bhyrappa mentioned that Tipu Sultan was a religious devotee who did not accept Hindus in his court.

• Bhyrappa used many historical Indian sources to support this idea. In the book, he mentioned the use of the Arabic word ‘bin’ (meaning ‘son of’) in official records.

• He claimed that this practice started under the rule of Tipu Sultan and still continues in Karnataka.

• He believed that this was one of the ways Tipu Sultan implemented Islamic rule over Hindus.

• The book also spoke about the other ways in which Tipu Sultan tried to convert Hindus to Islam.

• Girish Karnad, an Indian playwright and actor, criticised Bhyrappa’s views and showed Tipu Sultan as a secular ruler in his theatre plays.

• Bhyrappa said that Karnad did not show Tipu Sultan correctly in his theatre plays.

• Another critic of his novels was U.R. Ananthamurthy. In his book ‘Bhitti,’ Bhyrappa mentioned Ananthamurthy and essays from Naaneke Bareyuttene.

  

  The cover of the book Bhitti

• In Aavarana, Bhyrappa mentioned the historical facts about how Islamic rule affected ancient Indian culture and society, attracting criticism.

• Some people blamed him for being a Hindu nationalist who wanted to divide society with history. Bhyrappa replied to the criticisms through various respected sources.

• Ananthamurthy called his book Aavarana ‘dangerous’ and criticised his work. He said that Bhyrappa often worked like a debater rather than a true storyteller.

• Ananthamurthy claimed that Bhyrappa did not understand the Hindu religion well. He also stated that Bhyrappa did not know how to write novels.

• Bhyrappa replied that he wrote the novel with honest research for truth and facts, and he had no hidden motives.

• He requested the critics to read the reference books mentioned in his novel before judging it.

• Later, his first short story, ‘Avva’, was published in Kasthuri magazine.

• His Kannada novel, Vamshavruksha, was translated into English as ‘Scion’ by R Ranganath Prasad and was published by Niyogi Books in 2023.