H.S. Shivaprakash

Born in Bangalore in 1954, poet and playwright H.S. Shivaprakash is considered one of the most influential voices in Kannada literature today. The recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, he has also received the highest awards in Karnataka for literature and drama. His literary works have been translated into most Indian languages, as well as into English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. A significant scholarly contribution is the rediscovery of the aesthetic facets of Indian Bhakti traditions. His plays are widely staged in Karnataka and other parts of India. The former editor of the Sahitya Akademi journal, Indian Literature, Prof. Shivaprakash is a professor of Theatre Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Since June 2011, he has been serving as the director of the Tagore Centre, Indian Embassy, Berlin. I Keep Vigil of Rudra, his translation of the Kannada vachanas, was published by Penguin in 2010.