Siddalingaiah (poet) explained

Honorific-Prefix:	Dr.
Siddalingaiah
Birth Name:	Siddalingaiah
Birth Date:	3 February 1954
Birth Place:	Manchinabele, Mysore State (presentday Karnataka), India
Death Place:	Bangalore, India
Education:	M. A. and Ph.D in Kannada
Alma Mater:	Bangalore University
Period:	1954–2021
Genre:	Dalit-Bandaya Movement
Movement:	Dalit-Bandaya movement
Notableworks:	Holemadigara Haadu, Saviraaru Nadigalu and Meravanige
Awards:	Padma Shri (Posthumous)

Siddalingaiah (1954 in Magadi, Bangalore – 11 June 2021), was an Indian poet, playwright, and Dalit activist, writing in the Kannada language. He is credited with starting the Dalit-Bandaya movement in Kannada and with starting the genre of Dalit writing. He is one of the founders of the Dalita Sangharsh Samiti along with B. Krishnappa.

In 1988, at the age of 34, he became a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, serving till 2001 and, in 2006, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, a post with Cabinet rank that he held until 2008.

He has been head of the Department of Kannada at Bangalore University and a member of the University Syndicate of Kannada University, Hampi. He is acknowledged as a symbol of the Dalit movement and a leading public intellectual and Kannada poet.^[1]

Death

Siddalingaiah died on 11 June 2021, in Bangalore, due to a COVID-19 illness.^[2]

Works

Poetry

Holemadigara Haadu (Songs of the Holeya and Madiga, 1975)
Saaviraaru Nadigalu (Thousands of Rivers, 1979)
Kappu Kaadina Haadu (The Song of the Black Forest, 1982)
Aayda Kavithegalu (Selected Poems, 1997)
Meravanige (Procession, 2000)
Nanna Janagalu mattu Itara Kavitegalu (My People and Other Poems, 2005)
Kudiva Neeliya Kadalu (2017)
Ooru Saagaravagi (2018)

Autobiography

Ooru Keri-1 : Atmakathana (1997)
Ooru Keri-2 : Atmakathana (2006)
Ooru Keri-3 : Atmakathana (2014)
Ooru Keri - An Autobiography (Sahitya Akademi, 2003)
A Word With You, World : The Autobiography of a Poet (Navayana, 2013) Translated by S.R. Ramakrishna (Excerpt)
Satyanarayana, K & Tharu, Susie (2013) From those Stubs Steel Nibs are Sprouting: New Dalit Writing from South Asia, Dossier 2: Kannada and Telugu, New Delhi: HarperCollins India.

Plays

Panchama
Nelasama
Ekalavya

Criticism and essays

Hakkkinota
Gramadevathegalu
Avataragalu
Jana Samsakruthi
Aa Mukha Ee Mukha

Accolades

2019 - Pampa Award, highest literary award in Kannada, presented by Karnataka Government^[3]
2018 - Nrupatunga Award by BBMP^[4]
2015 - Chaired the 81st Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held in Shravanabelagola^[5]
2007 - Nadoja Award by Hampi University
1998-99 -Karnataka State Film Award for Best Lyricist for his song "Hasivininda Satthoru" from the movie Pratibhatane
1986 - Rajyotsava Award by Karnataka Government
2022 - Padma Shri Award (Posthumous) for Literature and Education by Government of India^[6]

Notes and References

Book: Satyanarayana and Tharu. From those Stubs Steel Nibs are Sprouting: New Dalit Writing from South India Vol II. 2013. Harper Collins India. New Delhi. 978-93-5029-376-8. 151–155.
News: Kannada poet Dr. Siddalingaiah died due to Covid. News 18. 11 June 2021. 11 June 2021.
Web site: ಕವಿ ಸಿದ್ದಲಿಂಗಯ್ಯಗೆ ಪಂಪ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ. 4 Feb 2020. 11 Sep 2020. Prajavani.com.
Web site: ಬಂಡಾಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಮೂಲ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತ ಅಲ್ಲ. 8 September 2018. 12 August 2019. kn. Nrupatunga Award for Poet Siddalingaiah.
Web site: Siddalingaiah to chair 81st Kannada lit fest. 20 December 2014. Deccan Herald.
January 25, 2022 . Late CDS Bipin Rawat, Kalyan Singh and Ghulam Nabi Azad among Padma awardees Full list here. 2022-01-25. India Today. en.