Sessions
Gangadhar V Chittal: Commemorating a Centenary
S Diwakar and Rajendra Chenni
State Matters: Kannada Sub-Nationalism and State Formation
Rajendra Chenni with SN Sridhar
Bio
Literary and cultural critic, Rajendra Chenni was Professor of English at Kuvempu University, Shivamogga, and is presently Director, Manasa Centre for Cultural Studies, Shivamogga. He writes in Kannada and English. He has authored 12 books in Kannada and four in English. He has received several honours including the Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi Lifetime Achievement Award (2012), Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi Award (1987 & 2003), V M Inamdar Award (2019), D S Max Sahitya Sri Award (2016), GSS Award (2009), BA Sridhara Award (2012) and Vardamana Udayonmukha Award (1992). He was part of the prestigious delegation which discussed the repercussions of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem in Israel in 2012.
He has actively participated in several people’s movements in Karnataka − to protect the Baba Budan Giri shrine, against mining at Kudremukha, and for saving the Tunga River. Presently, he is convenor of Dakshinayana Karnataka, a collective of writers and artists against fascism.
His abiding interest has been in classroom teaching and research, and he has kept himself involved in classroom activities by engaging with students and researchers across the country.