P. V. Acharya

Padigaru Venkataramana Acharya (Kannada: ಪಾಡಿಗಾರು ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಆಚಾರ್ಯ; 15 February 1915 - 4 April 1992), popularly known as Pavem (ಪಾವೆಂ) or by his pen name Langulacharya (ಲಾಂಗೂಲಾಚಾರ್ಯ), was a noted Kannada scribe,^[1] journalist, writer and poet. He is also known for his work in Tulu language. He is widely regarded as one of Kannada’s best journalists and editors of all time. He is the first among Kannada journalists to be decorated with the prestigious B.D. Goenka award for journalism in 1992.

For his contributions to Kannada literature and journalism, the Government of Karnataka decorated him with Rajyotsava Prashasti in 1989. He was instrumental in conceptualizing Kannada’s popular monthly digest format magazine, Kasturi. He was also the founder editor of the magazine and chaired the editor’s position for 18 years from 1956-1975. He is also a recipient of Karnataka Sahitya Academy ^[2] Honorary (Gaurava) award ^[3] and Karnataka Saahitya Academy’s Diamond Jubilee Medal of Honour (Vajramahotsava Padaka).

The Media and Public Interest Foundation of Hubli has also set up "Pavem Vichara Vedike" since 2009, which presents the "Pavem Award" for lifetime achievement and upcoming talent categories in Kannada language.^[4] In 2016, Pavem's birth centenary was celebrated in Udupi on 31 January ^[5] and on 20 February in Hubli.

Biography

Early life, education & family

P.V. Acharya was born on 15 February 1915 in the town of Kunjibettu in Udupi district near Mangalore in Karnataka. He was born to Padigaru Laxminarayanacharya (father) and Seetamma (mother). He was the youngest of five children and their only son. Acharya was five years old when his father died. With some external financial help from extended family & well-wishers, he studied until high school. He passed matriculation (10th standard) with a 100 percent score in mathematics and 85 percent in English. Impressed with his results, his school’s principal offered him to get admission into Mangalore’s St. Aloysius College with full scholarship. However, Acharya could not accept the scholarship as it would have been impossible for him to manage other living expenses while studying in a more expensive city of Mangalore. He also had the responsibility of taking care of his family. He focused on career instead.

Career

Post matriculation, P.V. Acharya started his career as a primary school teacher in 1932. However, he soon realised that teaching was not his cup of tea and quit the job in 1933. After his short stint in teaching, he joined Tulunadu Press as an accountant. There, he learned a great deal about publishing, which helped him greatly in the days to come. He also had a short stint as editor of “Antaranga” (ಅಂತರಂಗ) previously.^[6] He worked as accountant at several places after that until finally joining Samyukta Karnataka Press as supervisor for jobs division in 1942. Luck came his way when H.R. Purohit, the then editor-in-chief of Karmaveera, a popular Kannada weekly magazine of that time had to take a 6 weeks long vacation for personal reasons. P.V. Acharya was asked to fill-in for H.R. Purohit. From 1947 onward he worked for Karmaveera full-time from and penned several satirical and gabby articles (ಹರಟೆ) under the pen name of Langulacharya (ಲಾಂಗೂಲಾಚಾರ್ಯ). His articles gained instant popularity with the mass and they are regarded as being instrumental in increasing the magazine’s circulation. His major contributions to Kannada literature and journalism were through the Kannada monthly digest called “Kasturi”, which he modelled after the popular English digest – “Reader’s Digest”. He graced the position of founder editor for the magazine for eighteen successful years from 1956 to 1975. During his tenure at Kasturi, the magazine saw unprecedented success among Kannada publications. Post retirement from Kasturi as editor, he continued to contribute to the magazine via a unique section called “Padartha Chintamani” (ಪದಾರ್ಥ ಚಿಂತಾಮಣಿ), which explored the origins, contextual meanings and historical references of words. Later, collection of these articles were published as two volume book series.

Bibliography

Edited Publications

• Kasturi (1956 – 1975) [ಕಸ್ತೂರಿ]
• Karmaveera (1947 – 1955) [ಕರ್ಮವೀರ]
• Antaranga (1932) [ಅಂತರಂಗ]

Collection of Poems

• Housing Colony [ಹೌಸಿಂಗ್ ಕಾಲಿನಿ]
• Pengopadeshagalu [ಪೆಂಗೋಪದೇಶಗಳು]

Collection of Stories

• Hindu-Muslim and other short stories [ಹಿಂದೂ-ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ಕಥೆಗಳು]

Linguistic Work

• Padartha Chintamani Vol-I and Vol-II [ಪದಾರ್ಥ ಚಿಂತಾಮಣಿ]

Prominent Articles, Essays and Other

• Nanna Drushtiyalli Dharma [ನನ್ನ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಧರ್ಮ]
• Manavapravrutti mattu maulyagalu [ಮಾನವಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮೌಲ್ಯಗಳು]
• Brahmanarenu Madabeku? [ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರೇನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು?]

Science

• Vijnana Vismaya [ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ವಿಸ್ಮಯ]

Awards and Recognition

National Awards

• B.D. Goenka Award, 1992

State Level Awards

• Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, 1989
• Karnataka Sahitya Academy Honorary Award, 1981
• Karnataka Sahitya Academy Diamond Jubilee Medal, 1977

References