Kannada poet and film song lyricist M.N. Vyasa Rao passed away at his residence in Bengaluru on Sunday morning. He was 73.
Mr. Rao had booked a cab on Sunday morning to go to Gandhi Bazaar to attend a Kannada book release function. As the cab arrived at his house, Mr. Rao, who was having breakfast at the dining table, collapsed. Doctors confirmed later that he had suffered a massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.
He worked as a bank employee for 34 years before taking voluntary retirement from UCO Bank. Mr. Rao entered the Kannada film industry as a lyricist in 1975 in the hit film Shubhamangala , directed by Puttanna Kanagal. The songs he wrote for the film — ‘Suryangu chandrangu bandare munisu’ and ‘Nakondla naku’ — remain popular even today. He worked as a lyricist for many Puttanna Kanagal films and later expanded his repertoire to pen thousands of songs in a career spanning four decades.
Many of his poems are also popular as ‘Bhaavageete’ (light music) and many albums of his songs were made in the 1980s and ‘90s.
Mr. Rao was also a novelist and authored many detective and literary novels in Kannada, apart from short stories. He was also a recipient of the Karnataka Rajya Sahitya Academy award for his short story collection titled Maleyalli Neneda Maragalu .
His last rites will be performed on Tuesday after his daughter, who is based in the United States, arrives in Bengaluru.
