Kannada writer, poet, critic and translator Sumatheendra R. Nadig, 83, passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
He was a close associate of poet Gopalakrishna Adiga, a tall figure in the modernist tradition (Navya) in Kannada literature, and was deeply influenced by him.
Mr. Nadig published 11 collections of poetry, the last one being Jade Mattu Chetana . He has to his credit nine collections of literary criticism, four collections of short stories, and eight works of children’s literature. His well-known poetry collection Dampatya Geeta has been translated into various languages, including English.
He published 10 translations from various languages, including Bengali. He had mastered Bengali as he taught at Viswa Bharati, Shantiniketan, as a visiting professor and he was a Fellow at Jadhavpur University too. He also taught part-time at the Department of English, Temple University, Philadelphia.
In the 1970s, Mr. Nadig used to run a bookshop at Gandhi Bazaar, after he returned from the United States, and it was a meeting point for poets, writers and intellectuals.
Mr. Nadig headed the National Book Trust from 1996 to 1999. He received the Karnataka Sahitya Academy award thrice (1994, 1997 and 1999), besides various other awards including the Karnataka Rajyotsava Prashasti, Dinakara Pratisthana Prashasti, V.M. Inamdar Prashasti, and M.V. Si. Puraksara.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Minister for Kannada and Culture Jaimala condoled his death. Writer Purushottama Bilimale said Mr. Nadig was active till his last hour. “He was dear to everyone because of his healthy sarcasm. But he was a poet at heart in a real sense. His experiment in fantasy genre made an impact on the younger generation of writers,” said Prof. Bilimale.
