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Journalism of Courage
Literature gives life to philosophy and philosophy gives depth to literature.” This statement by Kannada writer SL Bhyrappa perhaps decodes the heft of literature. However, said at Loksatta Gappa — an event that allows some of the country’s sharpest minds to interact with artists and authors — the line also explains Bhyrappa’s work in a nutshell.
The celebrated author, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri, was the guest at the inaugural edition of Loksatta Gappa, held on April 2 in a hotel in Worli. At the event, Bhyrappa spoke on books, culture and philosophy and how they connect with his own life and work.
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Having studied philosophy, 84-year-old Bhyrappa spoke about how some of his professors encouraged him, making it the central theme of his writing. However, the author admitted that music, not literature, has been his first love. He said, “Music is the most powerful form of art”. Among others, it inspired Mandra, one of his most prominent works, with its plot centered around musicians and dancers.
Bhyrappa’s first book, titled Bheemakaaya, won him accolades. However, few are aware that it takes root in the subject of his thesis for his PhD, which he ironically did not complete in pursuit of a career as a writer. The thesis ‘Truth and Beauty, a study in Aesthetics’, compared art with epistemology, inspired the novel, which is about the struggle of a wrestler.
The event was attended by several renowned Marathi authors and artists, who consider Bhyrappa’s (translated) works an important part of Marathi literature. He is known for the structure and characterisation in his novels, and for writing about the caste system and issues faced by the Dalits, for instance his book Vamsha Vriksha.
When asked about Aavarana, one of his several controversial works that refers to Tipu Sultan as a religious fanatic against Hindus, Bhyrappa, tongue-in-cheek, thanked his critics “for making my book famous”. Comparing India with the US, he added that “unlike them, we are cowards who do not attempt to find out and talk about the truth in history”. “But the criticism doesn’t affect me because I wrote the book after referring to many books on history,” he added.
Touching upon another controversial subject, the Mahabharata, he said that he believes the war between the cousins did take place, “but the myths around the story were built later in order to cover up stories that are ethically unacceptable in India”. He admitted that the epic has been one of the strongest influences on his works. “It has inspired and impacted Indian literature and other art forms,” he said, adding, “History repeats itself. We need to reduce these mythological characters to actuality and they will find a way to crawl into the reality of life, which people will connect with.”
