Critic T P Ashok said writer U R Ananthamurthy (URA) was in search of the third way which went beyond both tradition and modernity critiquing both these notions, imbibing the best and leaving out the worst.
Speaking on ‘Prof U R Ananthamurthy’s Literature: Tradition and Modernity’ organised at Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra (RGPSK) and MGM College as part of the Manipal International Literature and Arts Platform (MILAP) of MAHE Prof Ashok said Prof Ananthamurthy’s life itself is one continuous exploration of tradition and modernity.
He said Ananthamurthy’s earlier works, such as ‘Samskara’ and ‘Bharatipura’, were more critical of tradition, but his later works, such as ‘Suryana Kudure’, ‘Bhava’ and ‘Divya’, were more critical of modernity.
Citing Prof Ananthamurthy’s short story ‘Clip Joint’ , Prof Ashok said one sees two characters in the story – Keshava who was fed up of Eastern tradition comes face-to-face with Stuart who was disgusted with Western modernity. They exchange their experiences and the author was perhaps hinting at going beyond these binaries for a new third way. In his style of writing, Prof Ananathamurthy made a departure from the tradition of his earlier writers and infused poetic language in his prose novels. Through Kannada, he connected with the world, Prof Ashok said.
MGM College Principal Prof Vijay stressed the need for reading habits (the book reading, and not just mobile message reading) among students. In his introductory remarks, the RGPSK Coordinator Prof Varadesh Hiregange noted that Prof Ananthamurthy was responding – both to the contemporary and beyond contemporary at the same time.
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