M. K. Indira

Indira was born on 5 January 1917 to T. Suryanarayana Rao, a prosperous agriculturist and Banashankaramma in Thirthahalli, in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore of British India. Her native village was Narasimharajapura in Chikmagalur district. Her formal education lasted for seven years before she got married at the age of twelve to M. Krishna Rao. She studied Kannada poetry and also had a good knowledge of Hindi literature.[1] As said in one of her books Indira met renowned writer Triveni when she was in Mandya.Triveni appreciated her writing skills which motivated her to write stories and novels and publish them in print media. She ventured into writing novels at a late age of forty-five. She died at the age of 77. M K Indira is younger sister of renowned journalist T S Ramachandra Rao, better known as TSR of Choobaana (ಛೂಬಾಣ) fame.

Indira's first published novel was Tungabhadra which was released in 1963. This was followed by other novels like Sadananda (1965), Gejje Pooje (1966) and Navaratna (1967).Gejje Pooje was made into a film by director Puttanna Kanagal in 1969. Her most well-known work is however Phaniyamma which was released in 1976. Phaniyamma is a novel based on the life of a child widow. It is a real-life story of a widow whom Indira knew during her childhood. Indira heard the story when the widow narrated it to Indira's mother.[2] This novel has been a subject matter of discussion in many books related to feminism. Phaniyamma was made into a film by the director, Prema Karanth and this film went on to win many international awards.[3] Indira's other novels to be made into films are Gejje Pooje and Poorvapara. Indira has written about forty novels.

Indira's novels, Tungabhadra, Sadananda, Navaratna and Phaniyamma have won her the Kannada Sahitya Akademi awards.[1] This annual award is given to the best Kannada literature of the year. In view of her contribution to literature, an award is constituted in Indira's name and is given to the best women writers.[4] Thejaswini Niranjana, has translated Phaniyamma to English, and this translation has won her the Sahitya Akademi of India award and more awards.

/* Novels and Stories */

• ಸದಾನಂದ
• ತುಂಗಭದ್ರಾ
• ಗೆಜ್ಜೆ ಪೂಜೆ
• ಫನಿಯಮ್ಮ
• ಗಿರಿ ಬಾಲೆ
• ಮಧುವಾನಾ
• ಮನ ತುಂಬಿದಾ ಮಡಾಡಿ
• ಹೆನ್ನಿನಾ ಆಕಾಂಕ್ಷೆ
• ತಪದಿಂದ ಟ್ಯಾಂಪೀಜ್
• ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಚಾರಿ
• ಕಲಾದರ್ಶಿ
• ಶಾಂತಿಧಾಮ
• ನವರತ್ನ
• ಅಂಬಾರದ ಅಪ್ಸರೆ
• ನಾಗಬೆಕು
• ನವಜೀವನ
• ಪಾವಡಾ
• ಕಲ್ಪನಾ ವಿಲಾಸ
• ದಶವತಾರ
• ಸುಸ್ವಗತ
• ಬಾಡಿಗೆಗೆ
• ಕಥೆಗರ
• ಆಭರಣ
• ಮಾನೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ನೋಡು
• ಕನ್ಯಾಕುಮಾರಿ ಯಾರಿಗೆ
• ರಸವಾಹಿನಿ
• ನಾಗವೀನಾ
• ಅಥ್ಮಸಖಿ
• ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್
• ತಪೋವನಡಳ್ಳಿ
• ಚಿಡ್ವಿಲಾಸ
• ಜಾತಿ ಕೆತ್ತವಾಲು
• ಸುಖಾಂತ
• ಯಾರು ಹಿತಾವರು?
• ಹೂ ಬಾನಾ
• ಪುಟ್ಟಣ್ಣ ಕನಗಲ್
• ವರ್ನಲೀಲೆ
• ಹಸಿವು
• ಬಿಡಿಜ್ ಚಂದ್ರಮಾ ಡೊಂಕು
• ಕೂಪಾ
• ಕೂಚು ಭಟ್ಟ
• ಜಾಲಾ
• ಗುಂಡಾ
• ಮುಸುಕು
• ಕವಾಲು
• ಮೋಹನಮಾಲೆ
• ಅನುಭಾವಕುಂಜ
• ನೂರೊಂಡು ಬಾಗಿಲು
• ತೆಗ್ಗಿನಾಮನೆ ಸೀಟೆ

• Dr. Kamat's Article on M.K. Indira