Here is what I always found impressive about K. P. Poornachandra Tejaswi.
Being Kuvempu’s son wasn’t a burden. He was that rare famous son, who forged his own personality and strode the Kannada literary and cultural world as a giant in his own right. He could and did easily say no to worldly positions - from professorships to MLA/MP ticket offers from all the political parties and MLC nominations until very recently - from a very early age.
Much will be written in the coming days about Tejaswi’s accomplishments as a novelist as well as that rare and gifted Kannada writer of popular non-fiction works. Tejaswi’s friends and admirers will praise his wide ranging interests, forward looking nature and more significantly, his curiosity to explore the world both in his literary works and in life. His critics will point out that his later novels weren’t as impressive as his early works and strongly criticize his formulations on globalization. I certainly found his turn away from radical politics quite troubling. More on all that later.
But in my mind, there is no doubt that his ethical self was an equally compelling aspect of his personality.
Tejaswi was my role model when I was growing up. I saw him frequently in Mysore, read everything he wrote and hung on to each word he uttered. He was that mysterious figure who would periodically show up in Mysore, only to disappear quickly. Return he did regularly, whenever he could take a break from his other preoccupation, his coffee estate. In recent times, I saw him infrequently and to my regret, didn’t engage him as much as I should have.
K. P. Poornachandra Tejaswi is no more. I wish I had gone to see him in December, as he had asked me to.
We will all miss him. It’s a sad day in the Land of Lime.
5 Comments
Yes I agree with U.
I did know KP personally or very well, so, did not have him as my role model. But, what interested me was that his sensitiveness to environment. He was one of the few Kannada writers who could talk with authority about nature, environmental issues and such. When I did listened to him once face to face, I was amazed at the simplicity of his thoughts which were very practical. Someone asked his opinion about the BabaBudangiri issue, and he blankly said that its not an issue in itself, locals (the coffee growers) have prayed their for hundres of years and its only these “outsiders” that want to create an issue of it. His solution was simple, impose a restriction that only locals can pray there. I kinda remember that vividly.
poorna chandra tejaswi was indeed a versatile literary maestro himself with his unique writing style and unlike mediasavvy authors he was in realty a true “rishi’ who actually wrote what he experienced in the ,unique beauty, enigma, wilderness of great western ghats. his rudra prayagada narbhakshaka,jugaricross will proove his unique abililty as a author other side of tejaswi is his mere adherence to socialism that is exactly he followed what he wrote , and never behind any positions,awards,being son of great KUVEMPU THE RASHTRAKAVI, THE FIRST JNANPEETI he always stood away from his shadow in reallife as well as in his style as an Author there will very few writers like tejaswi, he is just unique,just ultimate.LONG LIVE POORNA CHANDRA TEJASWI
Yes he is indeed a versatile genius .
We miss him a lot
Tejaswini my ideal person he is wonderfull life. i thing we missed a lot. lankesh not friend for us its true to done Tejaswi
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[...] Farewell to Poornachandra Tejaswi, novelist, essayist, farmer, lover of nature, and the son of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu. Tejaswi passed away in Mudigere, Chikmagalur this month. Land of Lime has a post here. In this interview, among other things, U.R.Ananthamurthy speaks of how, when he married a Christian woman, it was difficult for them to find a house on rent - and it was Tejaswi who found the couple a house in Vontikoppal: Early in the morning, Tejaswi would come home and we talk on this, that and the other. Then we would cycle off to Coffee House, he on his cycle and me on mine, with my pregnant wife on the carrier behind. And there would talk some more. [...]
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