Karnataka declared a holiday Monday and will observe state mourning for the next three days to pay respect to Jnanpith-winning playwright Girish Karnad who died early this morning.
Karnad's last rites will be performed with full state honours, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said in a statement. "Karnad will receive the same honours by the government that other Jnanpith award winners have received," he said.
During state mourning, the national flag will fly at half-mast atop all government buildings and there will be no official entertainment programmes.