Chikkaveera Rajendra

By Masti Venkatesha Iyengar

Chikkaveera Rajendra is a historical novel, which is a study of a kingdom in decline. It is based on the last king of Kodagu, the notorious Chikkaveera Rajendra. This book is widely noted for its balanced handling of the subject; it neither comprises a litany of the supposed misdeeds of the protagonist, nor emerges as a tract against the British. The book is redolent with the culture and ethos of its milieu, being Kodagu in the mid-19th century. It received the Jnanpith Award in 1983.

About the Author
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar wrote under the pen name Srinivasa. He belonged to the generation which shaped the Renaissance in Kannada. He was honoured with the title Rajasevasakta by then Maharaja of Mysore Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadeyar. Poet, dramatist and critic, he is regarded as the father of the Kannada short story. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honoured with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India.