Belluru Mylaraiah Srikantaiah, shortly called B. M. Srikantaiah, was a great writer and scholar of Kannada Literature. Best known as a renowned scholar and writer, he was a translator and poet. Many of his translation works are found in university texts all over the world. He gained fame as a translator.
B. M. Srikantaiah – The Great Translator from Karnataka
Srikantaiah was born on 3rd January 1884 at Sampige village belonging to Gubbi Taluk of Tumkur District. His birthplace was a part of the Mysore kingdom in British India. He was named after the family deity, Lord Srikantheshwara of Nanjangud. He was born into an illustrious family of writers. His nieces, Vani, Anasuya Shankar and Aryamba Pattabhi, are well-known fictional writers of Kannada literature. Interestingly, they were the earliest established female writers of Kannada literature.
A brilliant student in academics
His father, Mylariah, was an advocate at Srirangpatna. He grew up in the same place where he completed his education. He was a naughty kid during his childhood, and had a gang of friends sharing the same traits. Yet, he was a brilliant student and an easy learner. Special tuition was arranged at home, where he was taught Kannada and Sanskrit.
He got married soon after finishing his matriculation. His wife, Devamma, was a 12-year-old girl then. He moved to Bangalore to join graduation studies at the Central College. He continued his studies at Madras Presidency College. During those days, he developed a special liking for the English language. Though he desired to study law, following the death of his father, he returned from Chennai and took a job to financially support his family.
In the absence of his wife, he devoted most of his time to translation
His wife died during delivery after 13 years of marriage, and the child also didn’t survive. B. M. Srikantiah did not marry again and took the responsibility to bring up his three children – a blind son and two daughters. When one of his daughters lost her husband, she returned and stayed with him with her two children.
He translated Silappatikaram and Kural into English. Kannadigarige Olleya Saahitya and Kannada Kaipidi are his literary criticism works in Kannada. He was well-versed in Sanskrit and Tamil literature and was a multilingual scholar. B. M. Srikantaiah was a prominent figure of the Navodaya Movement in Kannada literature. V. Seetharamaiah and K. V. Puttappa were his prominent students.
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