Kuvempu

Kuvempu was born in 1904 in Hirekodige, Koppa Taluk, Chikmagalur district of Karnataka to a Kannada speaking family. He was brought up in a place in the lush Malenadu region of Tirthahalli, called Kuppali, of Shimoga District, (central Karnataka, India). He pursued his studies in Mysore, and graduated in 1929 in Kannada. He married Hemavati on 30 April 1937. He began his academic career as a lecturer in Kannada at Maharaja's College. He went on to become a professor and a principal. Among the prestigious positions he held was the Vice Chancellorship of the University of Mysore during the period 1956-60. He was the first graduate from the University to rise to the position.
Kuvempu started his literary work in English first, with a collection of poetry called "Beginner's Muse", and later switched to Kannada.
He spearheaded Kannada as a medium for education, emphasizing the theme of "Education in Mother tongues". To cater to the needs of Kannada research, he founded the Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe (The Institute of Kannada Studies) in Mysore University. As Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University, he pioneered the study of Basic Sciences and Languages. He also championed the Publishing of "knowledge for laymen", started by G Hanumanta Rao.
In the year 1987, a new university was started near Shimoga, Karnataka in the name of Kuvempu. It is located in Jnana Sahyadri campus, 28 km from Shimoga.
His son K P Purnachandra Tejaswiis a polymath, contributing significantly to Literature, Photography, Calligraphy, Digital Imaging, Social Movements, and Agriculture.