Examining S.L. Bhyrappa’s Vamshavriksha & U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Samskara
Source: ILF Samanvay — YouTube Duration: 1 hr 53 min | Published: 2 Nov 2019
A panel discussion from the India Literary Festival (ILF Samanvay) examining two landmarks of modern Kannada literature:
S.L. Bhyrappa’s Vamshavriksha (The Genealogy Tree, 1965) and U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Samskara (1965) were published almost simultaneously, and together created a bit of a churning in Kannada literature through the late 1960s and 70s. Both were adapted into National Award-winning films. Bhyrappa’s novel is a defence of tradition and dharmic continuity, while URAs a critique of Brahminical orthodoxy. The panel takes a broad view of these texts: their literary and cultural influences, their reception, their place within a wider Indian cultural public sphere, and their afterlives.
Panellists
- Dr. T.S. Satyanath — Comparative Literature Scholar, former Professor, Dept. of Modern Indian Languages and Literature, Delhi University
- Rashmi Doraiswamy — Film scholar and culture critic, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia
- Prof. Rita Kothari — Translator and literary theorist, Ashoka University
| Time | Chapter |
|---|---|
| 36:53 | Cultural Public Sphere |
| 44:08 | The Indian New Wave |
| 1:11:50 | How Does Samskaara Become So Popular |
| This links a bit to Suragi, and the ongoing plan to translate Dreze’s The revolt of the upper caste (read on The India Forum) & the upcoming project for an annotated reading of Rama Bhima Soma |
- re-read the opening sections of Samskara
Last updated: 2026-03-25 10:08