Kannada Writer, Professor and activist
Taľaku Subbanna Venkannayya (1 October 1885 – 14 September 1939) was University of Mysore's first Kannada Professor. He was also a popular Kannada writer, translator, editor and teacher who nurtured many later Kannada littérateurs like Kuvempu, D. L. Narasimhachar, T. N. Srikantaiah, K. S. Narasimhaswamy, M. V. Seetharamaiah, C. K. Venkataramaiah, K. Venkataramappa, G. Venkatasubbiah and S. V. Parameshwara Bhatta. In fact, Kuvempu begins his book Sri Ramayana Darshanam with a two-page dedication to his teacher T. S. Venkannayya. T. S. Venkannayya translated the biography of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa from Bengali into Kannada for the first time in 1919. T. S. Venkannayya along with D. V. Gundappa, V. Seetharamaiah, B. M. Srikantaiah and T. N. Srikantaiah were at the forefront of the Kannada Movement from 1920s onwards and were instrumental in the founding of "Kannada Sahitya Parishat" (Bangalore) and "Kannada Sangha" (Kannada Literary Association) at Central College, Bangalore and Maharaja College, Mysore. T. S. Venkannayya was responsible for the organising of the 1931 Kannada Sahitya Sammelan (literary summit) at Mysore.
Early years.
Venkannayya was born on 1 October 1885 in Taľaku village of Chitradurga district in Karnataka, India. His parents were Taľaku Subbanna and Lakshmidevamma. Venkannayya's ancestors belonged to the Mulukanadu sect of Telugu speaking Brahmins. At a young age he was introduced to theological texts and epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.
Education.
He had his preliminary schooling in the A. V. School at Challakere where he passed his Kannada lower secondary exam in 1897 and English lower secondary exam in 1899. In his eighteenth year, he was sent to Mysore for further studies. His first year F. A. course was completed at Maharaja College, Mysore. For his second year F. A., he got himself transferred to Wardlaw college at Bellary and passed the same in 1904. Venkannayya passed his B. A. (Kannada) exam in 1908 from Maharaja College, Mysore. His attempts at completing a Law degree in Bombay were unsuccessful. He completed his M. A. in 1914 with a first class from Madras.
Academician.
Between 1910 and 1914, T. S. Venkannayya taught English, Kannada and later History in Basel Mission High School at Dharwad. After this he served as a History teacher for a year (1915) in St. Joseph's High School at Bangalore. From 1917 onwards, he served as Head Master in a Government High School at Doddaballapur. Following this he was transferred to Bangalore's Collegiate High School as an English teacher. By 1918, A. R. Krishnasastry got transferred from Central College, Bangalore to Maharaja College, Mysore. Venkannayya was offered his post at Central College. T. S. Venkannayya was appointed as an assistant professor in Kannada at Maharaja College, Mysore in 1926. A few years later, owing to the untimely demise of B. Krishnappa, Venkannayya was promoted to the post of Professor in the Kannada Department at the behest of B. M. Srikantaiah, N. S. Subba Rao and Metcalfe. He thus became University of Mysore's first Kannada Professor. Venkannayya was the founding member of the "University Teacher's Association" which later morphed into "Prasaranga".
Kannada Movement.
Venkannayya was involved in the publishing functions of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat at Bangalore. His leadership at "Prabhuddha Karnataka" led to many early writers like V. Seetharamaiah, K. S. Narasimhaswamy, G. P. Rajarathnam and P. T. Narasimhachar come to light. Similarly, he was involved in the activities of Central College - Kannada Sangha where he organised many a Kannada and Sanskrit play to be enacted on stage. Venkannayya supervised the publication of Muddanna's works and the celebration of his birth anniversary. Venkannayya impressed upon his good friend A. R. Krishnashastry to adopt D. V. Gundappa's poem "Vanasuma" as the anthem for the Kannada Sangha at Central College, Bangalore. He was also involved in the orchestration of "Kumaravyasa Jayanthi". While at Maharaja College, Mysore T. S. Venkannayya was instrumental in starting student journals "Kiriya Kanike" and "Taliru". He encouraged the staging of plays such as "Nagananda", "Saavina Samasye" and "Ashada Bhoothi". Venkannayya's organising abilities made the 1931 Kannada Sahitya Sammelan at Mysore a successful summit. Venkannayya arranged a concert by Bidaram Krishnappa and co-ordinated the staging of the famous play "Aswathaman" in this literary summit.
Legacy.
T. S. Venkannayya passed away on 14 February 1939 at Mysore. Three Felicitation Volumes were brought forth in his honour in 1970, 1986 and 2011. A library was constructed with state aid in his native village of Taľaku and dedicated to his memory. It serves as a repository of over 50,000 rare books and manuscripts. While his literary output was less, the number of future poet laureates and Kannada littérateurs ("like Kuvempu, D. L. Narasimhachar, T. N. Srikantaiah, K. S. Narasimhaswamy, M. V. Seetharamaiah, C. K. Venkataramaiah, K. Venkataramappa, G. Venkatasubbiah and S. V. Parameshwara Bhatta.") that he guided and nurtured as a mentor, remain as his lasting contribution to Kannada literary landscape.