CKN's Impact: Contributions to Various Organizations
Self Employment - 1942-1956:
In 1942, CKN joined an organization called Mutual Life Association, an organized company, as a Chief Agent representing Karnataka Region. This job was not salary based, but he used to receive commission for the work he did. He did not have difficulties to manage his family. He used to earn enough money for working hard which satisfied him. There was contentment in the family. There was no shortage of food for the family and hospitality. They use to bring two tins of butter every month from Mandya to Bangalore. It was necessary for the big family. It became easier to forget the past difficult days. He worked in this organization for ten years.
At this point, there was some unfortunate situation awaiting for CKN. When he was carrying on with his work according to the mutual agreement between him and the organization, the organization deliberately cancel the agreement. They made a false accusation stating that he owed money to the organization and initiated a court case against him. The court case went on for 25 years without any verdict. The case was finally dismissed. Due to this, it was really not useful to the organization. But CKN lost all the infatuation about working. He had received offers from other companies as he was an experienced person. But, he did not want to work under someone like a servant.
Thinking that it would be suitable for his natural abilities and personality, he tried to get a job at “Aakaashavani”, All India Radio Station in Bengaluru. He was not offered the job with an excuse that he was not a degree holder. After this, he never applied for any other jobs.
As far as his job was concerned, he approached it whenever there was an opportunity. He worked very hard as much as possible. However, luck didn't favor him as far as jobs were concerned. By nature, he was very independent, but his mental set up was less in compromising. Due to this, his struggles became unavoidable. Inspite of that, he never lost his courage when he did not have a job. This was his distinctive personality.
Social Work
It was meant to be that he had to serve many people in all walks of life instead of serving in just one organization. The several organizations he has served in various capacities attest to his multifaceted talents. One can see his involvement in several organizations given below during his lifetime.
Community Engagement: Involvement with Multiple Organizations
It was meant to be that he had to serve many people in all walks of life instead of serving in just one organization. The several organizations he has served on various capacities attest to his multifaceted talents. One can see his involvement in several organizations given below during his lifetime.
Kannada Sahithya Parishat (KSP) Organization:
1942, 1952-53, and 1956: Served as a Secretary
1949-1952: Served as a Treasurer
Like other members of Kannada Sahithya Parishat (KSP), CKN became a life member and served as an office-bearer participating in the literary activities of the organization. From 1945 to 1947, he became the regional secretary of KSP responsible for the activities of the regional committee of Mysore State. The activities he organized includ: To arrange lectures in the villages; organize to celebrate the annual Spring literary conference; establish Libraries, experiment stage plays in the villages and make villagers to stage a drama etc. At that time KSP had shortage of funds. It was a prominent time only for persons who worked hard unselfishly with passion for literature.
In 1947, Sri Maasti Venkatesha Iyengar was the Vice President of KSP. He appointed CKN as the secretary. During that time, it was prestigious for the literary stalwarts to become the office bearers for KSP. CKN felt a little hesitant because he thought he had not reached that level. After he became the secretary at KSP, he determined to study deeply and completely to become proficient in Kannada literature. This secretary position became the reason for him to achieve in depth knowledge in Kannada literature also. KSP started conducting Gamaka Vachana classes in places outside of Bangalore. As CKN had keen interest in this, he gave a great deal of importance to promote Kavya Vachana.
When Uttangi Chennappa was the President of KSP, CKN was the treasurer for one year. It was very difficult to run even the KSP newspaper because of financial difficulties. Even to spend a single penny, one had to look at the pros and cons. Even in such a situation, CKN did his best to serve the KSP.
When Sri. M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy was the President of KSP, CKN was both the Secretary and the Treasurer (1950-53). Then the work to prepare for the Kannada Dictionary progressed fast. The Karnataka Government increased its financial contribution to KSP to get the dictionary ready. When Sri. B. Shivamurthy Sastry was also the president of KSP, CKN worked as Secretary for about six months.
When Kengal Hanumanthayya was the Chief Minister of Karnataka, the Department of Culture created some very useful cultural programs for promoting Kannada literature. Gamaka Vaachana was one of them. During that time, CKN with his wife toured widely in hundreds of villages in the districts of Haasana, Shivamogga and BaLLary, to name a few. In all these places, Rajamani did the Gamaka vaachana and the narration (Vyaakhyana) for the verses she sang was given by CKN. He was also the main speaker to talk on different topics during this tour. This went on continuously for about three years.
Member of P.E.N (Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists) Organization:
This is an International Organization.
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1953 – 1957 :- Served as Organising Committee Member for All India P.E.N. headquarter.
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1960 :- Served as the Convener of Bangalore’s P.E.N. group
P.E.N. held a conference in Mysore in 1960. His contribution was huge in making the conference a success and he worked very hard for it.
He kept in contact with many organizations not only in Karnataka, but also with other state organizations in India. He knew many famous writers from other Indian languages. His literary friendship group is huge. Many of them became his very close friends.
Served in Mythic Society, Bangalore:
“A pioneering institution of Indic studies in South India, the Mythic Society was founded in 1909 by some European enthusiasts in Bangalore. F.H. Richards who was the Collector of the Bangalore Cantonment District took the initiative and a meeting was held in his residence on 5th May, 1909 and 17 members joined this new academic ‘club’ with Dr. Traverse, the first Director of the Indian Institute of Science, being its first President too. Father Tabard, the parish priest of St. Patrick church was its next President for long and he gave the slogan that ‘Mysoreans must know Mysore better’ through the Society.
The Society has a valuable library with rare books, with nearly 43,000 numbers in its racks. Dewan V.P. Madhav Rao, R. Ananda Rao, Prof. K.N.V. Shastry, Prof. Mugali, C. Hayavadana Rao, etc. are great men whose valuable collection the library has acquired.
In addition to holding regular academic lectures, the Society held seminars on royal dynasties of Karnataka like the Chalukyas of Badami, the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas of Kalyana and on subjects like Scientific Heritage of Karnataka, Date of Mahabharatha based on Astronomical Data etc. and published many papers presented in those seminars.” Source: mythicsociety.org – This is to give a little bit of interesting information about the formation of this Society.]
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1965-67: Served as Honorary Secretary
1963-71: Service as Member of organization committee
He served as an Office Bearer in Bangalore’s Mythic Society for a long period of time. The library in Mythic Society is quite huge. It has a collection of very rare and valuable books. For pundits the library is like a gold mine. But, due to some reasons the library books were disappearing. CKN should get the credit and be recognized for taking appropriate action to stop this disappearance of books from happening and protected them. He examined all the books, documented them, scientifically categorized them and prevented them from disappearing.
Basavanagudi Co-operative Society:
1948 – 1956: Served as the member of the Administration committee.
1948 –1952: Served as the Honorary Secretary.
‘Basavanagudi Cooperative Society’ is the eldest in this type of organization. He joined the society when it was in great financial difficulty. He worked very hard and made this organization financially secure and got rid of the losses.
Jayanagara House Building Society:
1953 - Served as Vice-president
1955 - Served as President
On behalf of 3,000 members of the society, Jayanagara 9th block and Padmanabhanagara layouts were formed. He had many years of experience working for the co-operative society's priorities and needs.
In the 1950s, while he was serving in Jayanagar House Building Society, the Jayanagar First Block to Eighth block layouts were planned and they became one of the successfully planned subdivisions in south Bangalore.
Government of Mysore during 1950-51:
Karnataka Government had appointed a team of experts to revise the cooperative society’s regulations. CKN served on the committee as one of the experts to work together to offer his suggestions and advice.
During the formation of the State of Karnataka (1950-51), literary writers, politicians, admirers of Kannada have worked very hard. For that purpose, “Formation of Karnataka State Conference” was held in Bangalore. The then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru had come to attend the conference. S. Nijalingappa and B. Shivamurthy Sastry were sitting in the front row. Kamaraj Nadar had also come. Mandi Rudrayya looked after the financial aspects of the conference. CKN was the Secretary of the conference. He was one of the distinguished persons who worked very hard for the unification of Karnataka.
Lokamanya Sangha:
In Bangalore, Sri T.T. Sharma established “Lokamanya Sangha”. This was formed in the memory of Bala Gangadhara Tilak, one of the leading freedom fighters.
The objective of this association was to create political awareness. The office was located in Vishweshwarapura. Since 1976 CKN served as its President.
Other notable institutions:
He was also a member of the “Adult Education Society”. When he had gone to Madras to produce a film, he was prevented from engaging in doing social work. It is notable that rest of the times he was always in contact with one or the other social institutions.
There was an association called “Mysore citizens and societal welfare sangha” which was exclusively to Bangalore. He was the vice-president of this institution from 1960 – 1985. From 1985, he had been its president. The association was dedicated to the betterment of backward communities.
Another social service organization called “Ashaktha Poshaka Sabhe” grew under “Mysore citizens and societal welfare sangha”. This organization worked hard to create awareness for the backward class and the poor. It also gave attention to their health issues.
CKN knew Telugu Language. He is proficient in reading and speaking telugu language. He actively kept in touch with Telugu literary organizations. In 1965, he was a member of the “Andhra Vishwa Sahiti salaha samithi” (International Literary advisory committee of Andhra). In 1981, he was a member of the organization committee for “All India Telugu Writers’ conference.”
CKN belonged to the subsect of the Brahamin Smartha community called Uluchukamme. There is an organization called “Uluchukamme Mahasabha” in Bangalore. The objective of this organization is to provide food and boarding and help poor students of the community with their examination fees. CKN was the Vice President for this organization from 1980 -1990. He always had the desire to provide similar facilities for all other poor students belonging to other communities.
Karnataka Sahithya Academy:
CKN was appointed by Karnataka Government as the member of the “Karnataka Sahithya Academy” from 1984-1987 recognizing the contribution he has made to Kannada Literature.
Karnataka Lekhakara Sangha (Karnataka Writers’ Association):
CKN was the founder, President and the central figure of the Association from 1960 to 1995. This Association was established in 1960 to look after writers’ interests. The main objectives of this organization are:
To unite all the writers from different languages, their literary organizations, and their art and cultural organizations in Karnataka.
To Look after the interests of the best literary works and its writers
To create a helpful and public interest environment in literary works for the awareness of the present day generation.
To create interest in common people about literature.
The objectives of this association are very good. An Association of this kind is needed also. In the state of Kerala, a similar type of association has been tried and successful. Even in Karnataka also, a few had tried to create such associations, but were not successful. Although the Association founded by CKN couldn't achieve all its objectives, it is on its way to achieve the purpose and trying to achieve it sincerely. Behind the cooperation of literary writers, the Association has published the following works: OLadani (Inner voice), compilation of short stories; Shraddhanjali (Paying Tributes), compilation of poems by several poets; Dhwani and Prathidhwani (sound and echo), an award winning book of compilation of stories. It has done its small service. By assembling the vetern literary writers, the association has conducted ‘Kavyarama’, ‘upanyasa’ (poetry reading and lectures) and several literary and cultural programs, though on a small scale, but in an elegant way. CKN served this association as its President till 1995 since its inception.
Several notable writers have actively participated in the Association's activities. They are: T.S. Subramanyam, A.B. Swamy, C.V. Jayathirtha, K.S. Sreenivasa Murthy (also known as Soolibele) and D.N. Sehsadri and others. An Association of this kind is necessary to look after literary writers’ interests. From the beginning, CKN had been an inspiration to the ‘Karnataka Lekhakara Sangha’. From 1976 to 1985, he worked as the editor for the magazine “Avalokana”, which is the mouthpiece of this Association.
CKN also had the experience working as an honorary member to many other Associations. His everlasting inspiration has been due to his public service. His age never came in his way to work hard in the public field.
CKN’s parents lived for a long time. They belong to the lineage of long living family. This has become his fortune also. Even in his old age, his activeness is witness to that. In his labour of work, waiting to take action seems like quite a lot of time. Even if the program or the work is delayed, he would not grumble. In his writing a book or publishing, this kind of self-control is clearly seen. But he takes lot of efforts in doing the work at hand by getting it done in a fitting manner.
His passion for Travel within India:
CKN was very fond of travel. In his lifetime he has travelled extensively in India and abroad. He has done enough travel all over Karnataka State from North to south and East to west, by engaging in several programs and taking interest in participating several meetings and celebrations, he would travel around the whole day. It looks as though he would never seem to get tired of attending such programs by going around. Most of the program she attended were related to Literary and cultural programs. Because of his extensive travelling, he was able to make many distinguished friends not only from the literary field, but also from different walks of life and he was able to increase his worldly knowledge. He has accustomed to easily socialize with people from different communities and cultures on an equal footing in these situations.
Public Service:
CKN never held any prominent position like some other literary writers. This resulted in his not having many students or well-wishers as his followers. Whether in the literary field or in his own accomplished fields, he did not build up his own group. That doesn’t mean he did not have any well-wishers. He has acquired his own group of admirers of literature and culture from the literary programs organized by him and also from his activities with other literary and social organizations. Due to this, his thoughtful process and intense concentration in his work have been illuminated. This has been helpful in continuing his literary activities which is dear to his heart. In this cultured group more old and less young ones are included.
CKN is an excellent organizer with his own limited resources. He had the skill in organizing programs without offending the greatness and dignity of our heritage. He exhibited his expertise in organizing big programs with the help of his friends effortlessly. He has no room for laziness. More than in his talk, we can see his individuality in his action.
He was looking distinguished physically. Whenever he attended any function or a celebration as a spectator, he would always like to sit in the first row. His usual sitting pose was leaning on to the chair, crossing his right leg over his left leg, pressing his left palm to his chin and sit upright. His spotlessly clean Khadi Punche, Jubba and the crispy Shalya on his shoulder made his personality look even more dignified. Everyone’s attention would be drawn to his customary practice of attending the functions punctually at the proper time.
CKN has participated in many functions and celebrations as either presiding over the function or as the guest. He was not famous as a public speaker, but when he spoke, he was speaking about his own personal experiences and personally witnessed incidents as an example in a very interesting manner. When he was giving the background information on historical events or talking about his experiments on dramatic arts, his lectures were very useful and informative.
Served in Organizations:
Editor of Mythic Society (1968-1971)
In Bangalore, ‘Mythic Society’ is a prominent literary and cultural organization. Its mouthpiece is ‘Quarterly Journal of Mythic Society’. It is published every three months, mainly in English and partly in Kannada. Very important writers’ notable articles and research essays are printed in it. This journal has international reputation. CKN was the editor of this quarterly journal from 1968 to 1971 and ran it very successfully. Along with his responsibility as an editor, he wrote valuable articles to this magazine.
Rotary Club Member
CKN, as a member of Jayanagar Rotary Club kept in contact with this club for many years. Participating in Club’s activities without fail was his practice. Every fortnight, an English News Bulletin called ‘Jaya’ used to be published through this club. CKN was the Editor for that News Bulletin ‘Jaya’ during 1978-79.
Karnataka Writer Association (Karnataka Lekhakara Sangha)
In Bangalore, ‘Karnataka Lekhakara Sangha’ published a newspaper called ‘Avalokana’ now and then. The purpose of this newspaper was to provide opinions about literary activities. He had been the editor of ‘Avalokana’ since 1976. CKN had the full responsibility of this newspaper.
Sudharma Newspaper: Sanskrit daily Newspaper
‘SUDHARMA’ is the only Sanskrit Daily Newspaper published in Karnataka State (in the whole wide world also). This is published in Mysore. He had been the reporter for this newspaper on a daily basis from 1973. This was carried out by him on an honorary basis. He was not taking any remuneration for this honorary work. CKN studied Sanskrit as his second language during his school and college years. This helped him to prepare the news for this paper.
CKN does not appear to look like a journalist. He is also not known as a Journalist. But for nearly 40 years, he worked in one form or the other as a journalist. He was the member of the Karnataka Journalist Association and he was Karnataka’s accredited reporter.
