Pen name Triveni Spouse S. N. Shankar Nationality Indian Died 1963 | Language Kannada Role Writer Occupation Novelist Name Anasuya Shankar Children Meera | |
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Books Sharapanjara, She who Lost and Won Movies Belli Moda, Sharapanjara, Hoovu Hannu Similar People Puttanna Kanagal, Rajendra Singh Babu, Lakshmi | ||
Anasuya Shankar (1 September 1928 – 29 July 1963), popularly known by her pen name as Triveni, was an Indian writer of modern fiction in Kannada language. She advocated the woman's point of view, spoke up for women's repressions and suppressions, dealt with mental illness and how they should be treated and was among the first of such writers in Kannada. Her novels have been made into feature films, most prominently, Belli Moda (1967) and Sharapanjara (1971) – both directed by Puttanna Kanagal and featuring actress Kalpana. Her small stories collection Samasyeya Magu won the Devaraja Bahadur Prize in 1950. Her novel Avala Mane earned the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award in 1960.
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Life
Anasuya Shankar was born on 1 September 1928 in the Chamarajapuram suburb of Mysore, in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore of British India (in present-day Mysore, Karnataka), to B. M. Krishnaswamy and Thangamma. She was also called Bhagirathi. She had a younger sister Aryamba Pattabhi, who went on to become a writer as well. Other writers in her family were uncle B. M. Srikantaiah and cousin Vani.
She graduated with a gold medal in her Bachelor of Arts degree from Maharani's Arts College in Mysore. In 1947, she was awarded the Siddegowda gold medal for excellence on political science. She married S. N. Shankar (1925–2012) in 1951, an English professor at Sarada Vilas College, Mysore. Their only daughter, Meera (b. 1963), works as a psychiatrist in the US.
Anasuya adopted the pen name Triveni out of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, whose ashes following his death, were immersed in the confluence of the three Indian rivers of Ganges, Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati, known as the Triveni Sangam. Anasuya died of asthma complications on 29 July 1963, 11 days after giving birth to Meera, at the Mission Hospital in Mysore.
Career
Triveni published her first novel Apasvara in 1953. After that, she published 20 novels and 3 short story collections. Her novels mainly contained stories based on the psychological issues faced by women, their emotions and frustrations. Her Tavareya Kola won the Sahitya Akademi Award.