Karanth, Kuvempu, and Bendre?the trinity of modern Kannada literature; Kannadiga pride;... Shivarama Karanth's dance and music propelled Karnataka culture beyond the borders of India. No one had mastered as many art forms as Shivarama Karanth after Rabindranath Tagore. Dr. Chiranjiv Singh, former Indian ambassador to UNESCO, wrote the foreword. Shivarama, Kota Karanth was the epitome of the Renaissance Man. He was a literary giant who wrote dozens of novels, plays, children's books, autobiographies, popular science books, translations, and other works. He received the Bharatiya Jnanpith Award in 1977 for his novel Mookajjiya Kanasugalu. Karanth, however, was more than a writer. He also dabbled in journalism and filmmaking, ran a publishing company, and advocated for environmental and political causes.