The Department
of Posts (DoP) has released a commemorative postage stamp on
K. Shivarama Karanth. The stamp is in the denomination of Rs.5/-
Dr. Kota Shivarama
Karanth was an educationist, freedom fighter, social worker
and reformer, artist, author, playwright, painter, musician,
poet, environmentalist and a patron of the arts.
Born in 1902 in
the little village of Kota, Karnataka, young Karanth, influenced
by Mahatma Gandhi and the Arya Samaj, left college in 1922 to
dedicate his life to the freedom struggle and then to society.
His experiment
with education resulted in "Balavana" a nature school with a
zoo at Puttur and a method of learning called "Oduva Aata" (Game
of Reading). His prolific literary output, translated into Indian
and European languages, included novels, plays, encyclopaedias,
travelogues, art critiques and autobiographies. Two of his novels
became subjects of movies, the film "Chomana Dudi" winning a
national award. Supporting environmental movements, he educated
the masses about environmental degradation.
His contribution
to reviving Karnataka’s vibrant folk art, Yakshagana, received
national and international recognition. The Sangeet Natak Akademi
and the Sahitya Akademi conferred Fellowships on him and he
received the Jnanpith Award (1978) for his novel "Mookajjiya
Kanasugalu". In 1975, he returned the Padma Bhushan conferred
on him by the Government of India in protest against the imposition
of emergency in the country.
The First Day Cover
alongwith the information sheet will be available on sale at
all Philatelic Bureaux/Counters and at selected Post Offices.
