Bio
An independent scholar and translator, Vanamala Viswanatha has taught English language and
literature for over four decades in premier institutions in Bengaluru. Most recently, she was Professor of English Studies at Azim Premji University. She has translated into English well-known modern Kannada writers such as Sara Aboobacker, Lankesh, Vaidehi, and Ananthamurthy. Her translation of classical texts from pre-modern Kannada literature includes the poetry of women saint poets of the 12th century Virashaiva movement and ‘The Life of Harishchandra’, a medieval Kannada poetic classic in the Murty Classical Library of India series. Vanamala received the Best Translation award in 2020 from Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati for ‘Indira Bai’ (OUP). This year, Penguin Random House has brought out ‘Bride in the Hills’, her English translation of Kuvempu’s epic novel in their Modern Classics Series.
Photo credit: M Sreedhara Murthy