Veteran writer and translator Chandrakanth Kusnoor died of age-related illnesses in Belagavi on Saturday night. He was 90. His last rites were conducted in the early hours of Sunday.
A multi-faceted personality, he earned fame as a writer, translator, novelist, poet, playwright, painter, art critic, and institution builder. He was among the few artistes to have won awards from the Karnataka Nataka Academy, Karnataka Lalitha Kala Academy, and Karnataka Sahitya Academy.
A polyglot, he worked as a cross-translator between Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, and Urdu. His translations of the works of U.R. Ananthamurthy and Srikrishna Alanahalli into Hindi were well-received.
He is hailed by literary historians as the first person to introduce the Haiku format of poetry into Kannada.
He was also among the pioneering abstract writers in Kannada. His plays such as Dindi, Vidushaka, Ratto Ratto Rayara Magale, and Ani Bantu Ondu Ani were widely performed. His biographical novel Gohar Jan chronicles the growth of professional theatre music tradition.
He was also an abstract painter and had converted his home in Channamma Nagar into a mini-art gallery. He continued to paint till the very end, said artist Balu Sadalage. He hailed from Kalaburagi, where he worked as a college professor for some years. He settled in Belagavi after his retirement as the Deputy Director of Kannada and Culture.
Along with friends, he founded the Ranga Madhyama in Kalaburagi and the Gulmohar Belgaum Arts Group in Belagavi.
The State government honoured him with the Karnataka Rajyotsava award.
