Chandrashekhar Kambara

Chandrashekhar Kambara is one of India’s leading playwrights, and a poet, folklorist, novelist, researcher and filmmaker writing in Kannada, whose work draws deeply on folk traditions. He was named for the Padma Bhushan in 2021 in the field of literature and education, from Karnataka ^[1].

From Ghodgeri

Kambara was born on 2 January 1937 and went to school in Ghodgeri, in Belagavi district ^[2]. He took his master’s degree and PhD at Karnatak University, Dharwad ^[2].

Teacher and institution builder

After a short spell teaching at the University of Chicago, he taught at Bangalore University for more than twenty years ^[2]. He was the founding vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi, and has chaired both the Karnataka Nataka Academy and the National School of Drama in New Delhi ^[2]. At the time of the award he was president of the Sahitya Akademi, India’s national academy of letters ^[2].

Plays, poems and films

His work includes 26 plays, 11 collections of poems, 6 novels and 16 research works, along with many articles on folk theatre and literature ^[2]. His plays have been translated and staged in several Indian languages and published in English ^[2]. He has presented papers on Indian folklore and theatre at universities in Chicago and New York ^[2].

Kambara has made five feature films and several documentaries and composed music for films ^[2]. His film Kadu Kudure was selected for the Indian Panorama in 1979 and won a National Award, and Sangeetha won a state award in 1981 ^[2].

Honours

He has received the Jnanpith Award, the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, the Kabir Samman, the Kalidas Samman, the Kumaran Asan award and the Pampa award, and the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi award five times ^[2].