A man of letters (1915-2016)
The world of Kannada literature lost one of its outstanding stalwarts in the demise of Dr. D. Javare Gowda at the age of 101, known to his fans and the literary circuit simply as De Ja Gow. The prolific writer who was also a pioneering educationist, served as the Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University after joining the University as a Kannada professor in the year 1946.
Hailing from a village named Chakkere in Channapatana district of Karnataka, he passed out with a Masters degree in Kannada from the Mysore University, and thereafter embarked on a career as a teacher creating new benchmarks in the field of education. During his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University he was instrumental in the university being entrusted with the prestigious project of bringing out encyclopedias in Kannada. As a writer he was influenced by the likes of K. V. Puttappa (Kuvempu) and T.N. Srikantaiah, and specifically opted for Kannada literature as his main subject for graduation as Kuvempu taught the subject and Gowda was keen to be his student. Later, he was to hail Kuvempu as the driving force behind his academic and spiritual enrichment.
De Ja Gow served as the Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University consecutively for two terms from 1969-1975, and during this period he brought into the curriculum several new disciplines like Sciences, Criminology, Law and Journalism (Post Graduate courses), that had hitherto not been taught in the university. The litterateur had a penchant for penning biographies and published nearly forty biographies including inter alia those of eminent personalities like the architect of the Indian Constitution.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the famous socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, freedom fighter Motial Nehru, social reformer Basaveshwara and several others. He also endeared himself to the younger generation by writing books on the great scientist Albert Einstein, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Nobel Prize winning poet Dr Rabindranath Tagore, scientist and Nobel laureate Marie Curie etc. His autobiography in two parts written in Kannada titled Sahithigala Sankadalli Horatada Beduku and his anthology of poems Nenapini Butthi added considerably to his popularity as a writer. Among his notable works were Kannada Kanmani, Kulapathi Sadhanagalu, Lakshmishana Jaimini Bharata, Kanakadasare Nalachantri and Andayyana Kabbigara Kavya. A marked feature of his biographies and his books (he wrote more than 130 books) were that they were all extremely well-researched and documented. He also recounted his experiences with Kuvempu in a book titled Soundarya Yogi Kuvempu.
The writer was a relentless crusader for the right of Kannada to be declared as a classical language, and often crossed swords with the establishment over the issue, and it is in no small measure to his efforts that Kannada was conferred the status of a classical language. Gowda also was responsible for the introduction of Kannada as a medium of instruction in schools across Karnataka. A documentary on the writer brought out to commemorate his centenary titled Kannada Kattaalu made by Kesari Haravoo highlighted the contribution of Javare Gowda to the language and its literature. Javare Gowda was the recipient of several state and national honours during his lifetime. Apart from the Padma Shri conferred on him by the Government of India in 2001, he was also honoured with the Karnataka Ratna, Kannada Rajyotsava Award, Pampa Prashasti Award, Sahitya Academy Puraskar, Nadoja Award, Gorur Award and many others. A number of prestigious doctorates were also conferred on him.
A simple man with spartan habits, Javare Gowda was an inspiration to several writers of his generation and his works have always been bestsellers. His son Shashidar Prasad followed his father’s footsteps as an educationist and like his father also became the Vice Chancellor of Mysore University. Kannada literature has seen a number of outstanding writers like Kuvempu, Shivarama Karanth, Ananthamurthy, Poornachandra Tejaswi and so on. Dr. Javare Gowda who served both the language and its literature with great distinction too, should find his name in this august list.