Maasthi Venkatesha Iyengar

Born: 6 June 1891

Died: 6 June 1986

He was a well-known writer in Kannada language.
He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India.
He was popularly referred to as Maasti Kannadada Aasti which means “Maasti, Kannada’s Treasure”.
He is most renowned for his short stories. He wrote under the pen name Srinivasa.
He was honoured with the title Rajasevasakta by then Maharaja of Mysore Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadeyar.
He published his first work, Rangana Maduve in 1910.
His last work was Maatugara Ramanna, from 1985.
Kelavu Sanna Kategalu(Some Short Stories) was his first notable work in modern Kannada literature.
He also crafted a number poems on various philosophic, aesthetic and social themes.
He composed and translated several important plays and was the editor of the monthly journal Jivana (Life) from 1944 to 1965.
A prolific writer, he wrote more than 123 books in Kannada and 17 in English, over the course of seventy years.
He won the Jnanpith Award in 1983 for his novel Chikavira Rajendra.
An award in his name, the “Masti Venkatesha Iyangar Award” is presented to well-known writers from Karnataka.
His house is located in Basavanagudi area in Bangalore.