G.S. Shiva-rudrappa was often referred to as Samanvaya Kavi (a poet of reconciliation). But Shivarudrappa refused to allow any label to stick, including this one, on him, as it were.
He often said that in his poetic journey he had travelled through all the literary movements — from Navodaya (pre-modern) to Navyottara (post-modern). He had not submitted wholly to any one of the movements, though he was open to them all and took the best from them.
It is, however, his poems — the most iconic of them being “Ede thumbi haadidenu” (I sang with all my heart) — that have been loved by people of all age groups for their lyrical quality and the manner in which they delve deep into the world of human emotions. His poems, “Vedanti Helidanu” and “Haadu Haleyadadarenu Bhava Navanaveena”, were adopted by Puttanna Kanagal for his landmark film “Manasa Sarovara”.
The plight of the underprivileged was also a strong underpinning in many of his poems. Like the other Kannada poets in the liberal tradition, Shivarudrappa valued human relationships. He was markedly secular and his notion of god was deeply touched by his humanist values.
On several occasions, Shivarudrappa mentioned “Udugana Vestita” and “Ede Tumbi Haadidenu” as his two favourite poems. While the former was composed by Padmacharan and rendered by H.R. Leelavathi, the latter was composed and rendered by Mysore Ananthaswamy.
Shivarudrappa was elated when he heard “Udugana Vestita” from a radio in a small coffee house in Tarikere, while on his way to his native place. In “Ello Hudikide Illa Devara Kallu Mannugala Gudiyolage”, he writes how human beings, in vain, search for the supreme spirit in places of worship without realising that god dwells inside a person as love, compassion and understanding.
