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M.S. Puttanna
ಎಂ.ಎಸ್. ಪುಟ್ಟಣ್ಣ
The pioneer of the Kannada novel
Years
1854 – 1930
Known as
M.S. Puttanna — the writer of the first Kannada novel
Birthplace
Karnataka
Field
Poets & Writers
“The novel is the mirror of the people's life — and the people must see themselves in it.”
— M.S. Puttanna
The Story
Born in 1854, Puttanna entered the government service and rose to a responsible position, serving as an officer noted for his honesty and simple life. In the spare hours of his official career he wrote — and his writing made him one of the founders of modern Kannada prose.
His Maddidunnu Maharaya is regarded as the first Kannada novel — a work of humour and social observation that showed the possibilities of the new form. He wrote several more novels and stories, full of the everyday life of the Karnataka household, told with a quiet wit that endeared him to his readers.
He died in 1930, honoured as the pioneer of the Kannada novel. His works are the foundation of the modern prose of the language, and his name is remembered with respect by every student of Kannada literature.
Core Ideas
The First Novel
His Maddidunnu Maharaya is the pioneer of the form.
The Humorist
His fiction delighted with its quiet wit.
The Officer
An honest and simple public servant.
The Founder
One of the founders of modern Kannada prose.
The People's Mirror
His novels reflected the life of the home.
Why it matters today
M.S. Puttanna is honoured as the pioneer of the Kannada novel — the writer whose Maddidunnu Maharaya opened the form for the language. His works are the foundation of modern Kannada prose, and his name is remembered with respect as one of the makers of the modern literature of Karnataka.