About: L. Gundappa

L. Gundappa M.A. (1903-1986) was professor of Kannada literature in Bangalore University and a pioneer in the Kannada literature revival, inspired by his mentor, B. M. Srikantaiah. He was an accomplished poet and writer who introduced Kannada readers to world literature by translating classics from ancient Kannada and Classic Tamil to modern Kannada. He translated short stories of Tolstoy from English, and won a gold medal for the translation of a poem by Matthew Arnold (titled Sohrab and Rustum) to Kannada. He worked on the first dictionary from English to Kannada. He wrote a definitive book on the art of translation called Kannadi Seyve (mirroring). He was honored by both the Kannada and Tamil people for his service to literature.