Novelist S L Bhyrappa.
Credit: DH Photo
Mysuru: Novelist S L Bhyrappa won a legal battle over copyright on his novel in 2023 against a Hyderabad-based publisher. The publisher was penalised for translating Bhyrappa’s novel Vamshavruksa, without permission.
The Mysuru District and Sessions Court imposed a fine of Rs 5.05 lakh on Vathsala of Priyadarshini Prachurunalu for publishing the Telugu translation of Kannada novel Vamshavruksa of Bhyrappa, without availing permission, in an order issued on December 21, 2023, for violation of the Copyright Act.
The rights for translation of Vamshavruksha in Telugu was given to Sanagaram Nagabushanam and it was published as Vamshavruksha earlier. Since the death of Nagabushanam, a few years ago, the Telugu rights were not given to anybody else. Advocate O Sham Bhat had represented Bhyrappa.
Besides being made into a film in Kannada in 1971, by noted theatre person B V Karanth, Vamshavruksha was a textbook for post-graduation courses.
Philanthropy
A close associate of Bhyrappa said, the writer who faced hardships during his childhood and in his student life, was more concerned about youth. “He used to fund the education of numerous students, so that they can chart their future well. However, he never revealed that he was helping the students. A few youth used to narrate how, Bhyrappa helped them to complete their education”.
S L Bhyrappa Sahitya Pratisthana has been presenting awards to notable writers for a few years.
Politics
Bhyrappa had keen interest in politics. In an interaction with media persons on March 29, 2024, just a couple of months before the Lok Sabha election, Bhyrappa had said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely become PM again, but the BJP would manage to win just half the number of seats in the Lok Sabha poll in Karnataka, as the Congress is strong here”. Incidentally, the performance of the BJP was inferior compared to the 2019 poll.
Memorial
The Karnataka government took up the construction of 'S L Bhyrappa Art and Culture Development Centre' at his native Santheshivara, Channarayapatna taluk, Hassan district, in March 2023. The government had allotted Rs 5 crore for the development of Bhyrappa's birth place Santheshivara in 2020-21. Later, it was decided to build a study centre at a cost of Rs 5 crore, as per the wishes of Bhyrappa's family members. The building, ground plus two floors, is coming up on a site with a dimension of 120X90 feet. Most of the land is given by Bhyrappa while a small portion of it is donated by Gangegowda from the same village. The works are under progress.