A German-Kannada connection

On Bengaluru’s busy MG Road, inside a tiny, tree-filled park, stands the statue of a German missionary priest. The statue was erected to memorialise the exemplary contribution of Rev Ferdinand Kittel to the development of Kannada literature and to the language. December 18 marks the 120th death anniversary of this lexicographer and Indologist who worked with the Basel Mission in South India, mainly in Mangalore, Madikeri and Dharwad.

Although he wrote books and poems and worked on translations, Kittel is most known for his monumental Kannada-English dictionary of about 70,000 words written in the late 19th century.

Kittel was a polyglot, having learnt Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, English and, of course, German. But having come to India in 1853 and having been based largely in Karnataka, he gave himself totally to learning Kannada, along with the local customs and music. This did not go down well with the Basel Mission; he was transferred to various smaller places.

Unfazed and greatly inspired by Kannada literature and the beauty of the language, Kittel took to writing seriously. He was brave enough to proclaim that missionaries must know Kannada and study Kannada poetry and literature.

Grammar, poetry, prosody

Thankfully, taking note of Kittel’s passion for Kannada and his contribution, his superiors relieved him of missionary duties, allowing him to dedicate himself to the Kannada language.

He began work on the Kannada-English dictionary and simultaneously wrote poems, books and translations. 

His first work in Kannada was ‘Danielanu mattu avana jothegararu’ (Daniel and his followers). He also published a book titled ‘Paramaatmagnyaana’ (knowledge of the supreme spirit), brought out a collection of songs ‘Kannada sangeethagalu’ and translations from the Bible to be sung as hymns during church services. Significant among his works were: A book on Kannada grammar, a Kannada poem that presented the life of Jesus Christ in the form of an Indian musical, a translation of writer/poet Nagavarma’s work on Kannada prosody (pattern of rhythm and sound in poetry) and scores of poems and stories in Kannada.

However, Kittel is most known for his magnum opus, Kittel’s Kannada-English dictionary, one of the most important source books for students of Kannada literature. While working on this dictionary, he mingled with the villagers around Dharwad and other places, conversing with them for long periods to learn and understand Kannada words.

Commenting on the dictionary, John F Fleet, a Kannada scholar and the divisional educational inspector at Dharwad in the early 1870s, said: “Every page of it and its preface bears witness to the constant care, earnestness and thoroughness with which Mr Kittel devoted himself to the task that lay before him.”

Kittel’s famous dictionary may not be currently used much because it is voluminous and contains information that common users of modern Kannada may not require, but it is used by researchers, said Dr. Rajendra Chenni, a Shivammoga-based literary critic.

“Kittel wrote an excellent introduction to the history of Kannada literature; his periodisation is still the most widely accepted one for literary historians and his collections and translations were used as texts and also at teacher training institutions.”

Born in north Germany in 1832, Kittel is perhaps nearly forgotten in Germany, but his outstanding work in the field of Kannada literature and language is still widely recognised even 120 years after his death. 

 Kittel in his younger days. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia 

To commemorate the memory of this German priest, there are educational institutions named after him in Dharwad and Mangaluru. Austin Town in Bengaluru has been renamed Ferdinand Kittel Nagara. In November 2022, a statue of Kittel was unveiled in Mangaluru. That statue and the one in Bengaluru are reminders of this foreigner who served the cause of Kannada literature.

But as Chenni suggests, the best way to honour him is to create a research centre in his name and institute a fellowship to encourage young scholars.