Devanur Mahadeva, Kannada writer and social and political conscience of Karnataka

The author declared that any publisher could reprint the book and, preferably, sell it at a low price, and that the author need not be paid any royalty. 

When Devanur wrote his short stories in the early 1970s, he changed the course of storytelling itself and now, in the digital era, he has changed the course of the publishing industry. Both ventures owe their success to his creative genius.

‘RSS: Aala Mattu Agala’, a best-seller in several Indian languages

So far, 36 different publishers have reprinted the Kannada book which has sold over 1,15,000 copies till date. More than two lakh copies of the Telugu version have been sold. Translations in Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, and Urdu have been well received. 

The book is available in English under the title RSS: The Long and the Short of It, translated by SR Ramakrishna. Progressive groups and individuals have voluntarily bought hundreds of copies and distributed them to general public, political activists, and students.

Devanur, a lively social and political activist

The timing of the publication of RSS: Aala Mattu Agala was ideal. It set the tone for the anti-communal discourse in Karnataka during the pre-election months.

Anti-incumbency ire towards the corrupt BJP government in the state was on the rise. Devanur’s book provided a solid ideological perspective to secular individuals and forums, prompting especially the non-Brahmin educated class to rethink their position about the party that ruled the state with a communal agenda.

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Devanur and his tactical election campaigning

Siddaramaiah visiting Devanur and family after becmoming chief minister in 2013 (Namma Banavasi)

During May 2023, Devanur addressed election meetings in quite a few places in the Mysore district of Karnataka. He placed before the public his typical, hesitant, desi narrative in simple idiom and concluded: “This election is neither between individual leaders nor is it between parties. It is a battle between the Constitution of India shaped by Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Manu Dharma Shastra.”

Winding up his speech, he would gently ask the voters to take their decision, but refrained from asking them to vote for the Congress! The impact of his speeches on the general public was evident. Some acknowledged that his narrative was an eye-opener. A few young men who followed BJP came up to Devanur and said: ‘We are not voting BJP, sir!’

One of the founders of Sarvodaya Karnataka, a regional political party, Devanur was also busy campaigning in the neighboring district for the party candidate, Darshan Puttannaiah, a young farmers’ leader.

At the insistence of Siddaramaiah, the leader of the opposition, the Congress party supported Darshan. Interestingly, all the candidates in the constituencies where Devanur campaigned won: Siddaramaiah, the present chief minister, Dr. HC Mahadevappa, the present Social Welfare minister, Darshan Puttannaiah, and Darshan Dhruvanarayan won handsomely too.

Devanur, a rare thinker-activist and meticulous writer

Devanur (second from left) with with the legendary Kannada writer, Kuvempu (Namma Banavasi)

Devanur Mahadeva (b.1948) who turns 75 today, 10 June 2023, is one of the tallest Kannada writers, revered across Karnataka as a rare and honest thinker-activist-leader. (He sneers at people being inquisitive about his age nor does he remember his birthday.) 

An introspective, nervous speaker, he rarely attends any meeting on time as he never uses a wrist watch. Appearance and attire he never pays attention to. 

But when it comes to his writing, he pays the utmost attention — as he revises and rewrites a lot and waits until he achieves the kind of perfect standard he has set for himself. One rarely finds words, ideas or thoughts which the author has not felt deeply in his writing or speech.

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An original thinker with a perspective influenced by Gandhi, Ambedkar, and Lohia

Devanur with Jayaprakash Narayan in Mysore during the Emergency (Namma Banavasi)

Initiated into Lohiaite Socialism in his early youth, Devanur later absorbed the best in Gandhi and Ambedkar and the synthesis of these three greats make his perspective unique. 

The honesty and brevity of his expression make his presentations intimate and attractive. A natural urge for perfect structure flows as an undercurrent in his fiction, essays, and his public speeches. 

In public programs, he generally reads his written speech, judiciously using metaphors and weaving them into a tale. The craving for originality in his expressions is quite evident; he is shy about using familiar progressive phrases and leftist jargon.

Devanur’s literature, a classic case of quality over quantity

Devanur at the release of ‘Edege Bidda Akshara’. Handing him a copy of the book is the famous Kannada poet, Dr Siddalingaiah. To Dr Siddalingaiah’s left is Dr Nataraj Huliyar. Dr Chandrashekhara Kambara is between Dr Siddalingaiah and Devanur (Namma Banavasi)

A slow, meditative writer, Devanur has so far published five books which do not cross even 700 pages in total. Too meagre for a writer of his talent and stature.

But the quality, sensibility, brevity, depth, and originality of his writing and their overall impact, complemented by the aura of his personality as a public intellectual, have earned him a distinct place among the top modern Kannada writers and thinkers.

He is among the few modern Kannada writers — Kuvempu, DR Bendre, P Lankesh and Poornachandra Tejaswi being the other four – who are considered serious writers from the academic point of view and yet are popular among the larger reading public. 

Devanur stands apart as he has always defined himself as an activist-thinker and a writer who uses the colloquial in most of his narratives.

An authentic and moving chronicler of Dalit life and resilience

Devanur with Nataraj Huliyar (first from right), the author of this essay (Nataraj Huliyar)

Devanur has published a collection of stories titled Dyavanuru (containing seven short stories), Odalaaḷa (a novella), Kusumabaale (a novel), and Edege Bidda Akshara, a collection of essays. 

In Kusumabale, an epoch-making novel which has seen 25 reprints, he explored a unique Kannada realism. Edege Bidda Akshara too has run into 25 reprints and is perhaps the most influential prose work in Kannada in the 21st century.

His Odalaaḷa, a moving portrayal of Dalit humiliation, their dignity, and their amazing capacity to survive has sold more than 1,00,000 copies while Dyavanuru has seen 25 editions. Most of his works are available in English too.

Also read: Kodagina Gowramma, Kannada feminist writer inspired by Gandhi

Devanur’s consummate use of the rural idiom of Dalit and Shudra Kannada

The authenticity of Dalit life and the agony and angst of the oppressed he represents in his works have earned him large numbers of readers from most sections of society. His works are a constant feature in the Kannada syllabi of colleges and universities.

The newly-educated class of people from Dalit and Bahujan societies have identified themselves with his characters. He brought into his narrative the speech rhythm and the living idiom of rural Karnataka, which provided a picturesque quality to his descriptions. He has meticulously explored the possibilities of using the wisdom hidden in the rural dialect and the beauty and brevity of colloquial Dalit and Shudra Kannada.

A social reformer with organisational skills

Devanur with his wife, Sumitrabai (Namma Banavasi)

One of the founders of the Dalit movement and its forum, Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) in the early 1970s, Devanur later realized that the Dalit and the Farmers’ movements would have to go together. The result was Sarvodaya Karnataka, which came into existence when a faction each of the DSS and the Raita Sangha joined hands.

It is no wonder then that Devanur is among the few leading public intellectuals revered by several sections of society in Karnataka. Scholars, teachers, activists, writers, journalists, well-meaning politicians, social leaders, Dalit students and students with a liberal outlook all look to him or his books, speeches and articles for guidance. 

Some are left disappointed too, as he does not accept most invitations to be a part of public gatherings and literary or cultural programs.

Devanur, a judicious and reticent literary critic

Devanur is reasonably well-informed about the recent trends in literature and makes it a point to read the writings of the younger generation too.

Though shy about airing his literary views casually, he seems to have set a high standard when it comes to literary judgments. He is hesitant to write even a 50-word blurb for a budding writer or a friend, and he may write one only when he is thoroughly convinced of the merit of the work.

Also read: Mysore Hiriyanna, peerless scholar of Indian philosophy and aesthetics

At 75, an energetic intellectual whose work is not yet done

Devanur (second from right) with three Kannada Jnanpith awardees, UR Ananthamurthy, Girish Karnad, and Chandrashekhara Kambara (Namma Banavasi)

Devanur is busy compiling a new collection of essays at the moment and when I asked him, ‘What next?’, he said without a wink: ‘2024’. He meant the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. As several parties are striving to come together and put up a formidable front against the ruling BJP, responsible intellectuals like Devanur will have a significant role to play.

A writer who never craves any kind of political power or position, Devanur is still bubbling with energy. He has the appetite to write and talk on socio-political issues. With the positive frame of mind he has, he could definitely shape and guide thousands of sensible citizens across Karnataka for many more years.

Many critics feel he deserves the highest award in Indian literature, the Jnanpith award. I am one among them.

(Dr Nataraj Huliyar is a well-known Kannada short story writer, poet, columnist, critic and playwright. He teaches Comparative Literature at Bangalore University. The views expressed are the author’s own.)