Champa: Activist-writer known for his politics and wit

Dharwad: Professor Chandrashekhar

Patil

, the pro-Kannada writer, poet and teacher who launched Bandaya Sahitya and did jail time during the Emergency died on Monday. He was 82.Patil, known as Champa in literary circles, was loved for his sarcastic, witty style.His plays Gokarnada Goudashani, Kodegalu, Kunta Kurvatti and Gurtinavaru made waves in 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, some of his political moves divided his admirers. Patil was the discovery of Jnanpith awardee litterateur Dr

V K Gokak

, who was the principal of the Karnatak College in Dharwad when he enrolled as a student of English literature after completing his matriculation at Haveri in 1956.Gokak, himself a versatile writer in English and

Kannada

, honed the talents of several of his students. He used to organise poetry sessions to guide and encourage interested students. Patil was one of the beneficiaries.Although Patil studied and taught English literature, his pursuit as a writer was in Kannada, like many other English teachers.After completing his degree in Karnatak College and his post-graduation and PhD in Karnatak University, Patil taught for a while in the college before being promoted to the post-graduate department of English in Karnatak University. Patil also participated in the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan in early 1970s and for opposing Indira Gandhi’s imposition of national Emergency, he was jailed for a few days.Along with his classmate Giraddi Govindraj and Siddhalinga Pattanshetti, Patil started a Kannada literary magazine called Sankramana in 1964. The magazine promoted new writers, especially from north Karnataka and was a platform for lively and scholarly debates on controversial but relevant issues. After his friends left the magazine, Patil continued to edit and publish the magazine on his own.Patil led the Gokak agitation for primacy to Kannada in the school curriculum in early 1980s and protested against his guru Gokak too.Patil pioneered the Bandaya Sahitya or rebel literature movement in Karnataka and organised the first state-level Bandaya

Sahitya Sammelana

at Dharwad as a parallel to Akhila Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana organised by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat. However, he later headed the same Parishat and occupied the president’s chair in Akhila Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana organised by it in 2017.