PuTiNa

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Purohita Tirunarayana Narasimhachar (commonly known as PuTiNa) is a playwright and poet of the Kannada language. He was born into an orthodox Brahmin family in Melkote, Mysore, so Sanskrit was an important part of his education and upbringing, as was English, being the primary language of instruction at the time. He was also exposed to, and learned several other languages, including French and Tamil. This background in so many languages enabled PuTiNa to expand his intellectual horizons, and he did so, studying western literature extensively.

PuTiNa's intellect was really cultivated in his college years at Maharaja College in Mysore, where he was greatly influenced by his English professor TiNamSri, who recognized his talent for poetry; the former President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who was then a professor at the college; and the renowned Indian philosophy professor, Hiriyanna. However, despite his proficiency in such a multitude of languages and varied intellectual background, PuTiNa was most interested in the local language of Kannada.

Many of his famous works are in a musical play/opera form hard to define by western standards, but they exhibit a literary mastery and a profound understanding of Indian classical music and the concepts of Raga and Laya. A few of his important works include Maledegula (Hill Temple), Gokula Nirgamana (Departure from Gokula), and Ahalye, an adaptation of the Ahalye myth that appears in the Ramayana. His many accolades include: