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{{Short description|Indian film director and writer (1935–2000)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_name = Palyada Lankeshappa
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1935|3|8}}
| birth_place =Konagavalli, [[Shimoga]], [[Karnataka]], India
| image = P.LankeshImg.jpg
| notable_works = ''Kereya Nerannu Kerege Chelli'' (1960)<br /> ''Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga'' (1978)<br /> ''Kallu Karaguva Samaya'' (1990)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2000|1|25|1935|3|8}}
| death_place = [[Bangalore]], Karnataka, India
| occupation ={{hlist |[[Writer]]|[[film editor|editor]]|[[filmmaker]]|[[poet]]|[[playwright]]|[[teacher]]}}
| spouse = Indira Lankesh
| children = [[Gauri Lankesh]], [[Kavitha Lankesh]], [[Indrajit Lankesh]]
| awards = [[National Film Award for Best Direction]]: 1976<br /> [[Sahitya Akademi Award]]: 1993
}}

'''Palya Lankesh''' (8 March 1935 – 25 January 2000) was an Indian poet, fiction writer, playwright, translator, screenplay writer and journalist who wrote in [[Kannada]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khajane |first=Muralidhara |date=8 March 2015 |title=A journalist, poet, filmmaker and actor |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/a-journalist-poet-filmmaker-and-actor/article6970565.ece |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He was also a film director.

== Early life and education ==

Lankesh was born in Konagavalli, Shimoga, Karnataka. After graduating with a degree in English from Central College in Bengaluru, Lankesh completed a Master of Arts degree in English at Maharaja's College, Mysore.

== Work ==
His 1976 film ''[[Pallavi (1976 film)|Pallavi]]'', a cinematic narration, told from the female protagonist's point of view and based on his novel ''Biruku'', won the National Award for Best Direction (Swarna Kamal).<ref>{{cite news|title=Elitist double standards?|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19770915-1976-national-film-awards-mrinal-sens-mrigaya-selected-for-golden-lotus-award-823873-2014-08-30|access-date=3 December 2017|work=India Today|date=15 September 1977}}</ref> Lankesh quit his job as an assistant professor in English at [[Bangalore University]] in 1980 and started Lankesh Patrike, the first Kannada tabloid, which influenced Kannada culture and politics.<ref>''Manake Karanjiya Sparsha''. Compiled by Gauri Lankesh. Lankesh Prakashana.Bengaluru(2010) page i</ref>

Lankesh's first work was the collection of short stories ''Kereya Neeranu Kerege Chelli'' (1963). His other works include the novels ''Biruku'' ("The Fissure"), ''Mussanjeya Kathaprasanga'' (A Story at Dusk), ''Akka'' (Sister); the plays ''T. Prasannana Grihastashrama'' ("The Householder-hood of T.Prasanna"),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dutta|first1=Amaresh|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, Volume 2|date=1988|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788126011940|page=1244|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&q=P%20Lankesh%20death&pg=PA1244|access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref> ''Sankranti'' ("Revolution"),<ref>{{cite news|title=Lankesh's works hailed|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/lankeshs-works-hailed/article3121932.ece|access-date=7 December 2017|work=The Hindu|date=20 June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lasting innovations|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/lasting-innovations/article3198559.ece|access-date=7 December 2017|work=The Hindu|date=26 August 2006}}</ref> Nanna Tangigondu Gandu Kodi ("A Groom for my Sister")<ref>{{cite news|title=Found in Translation|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/found-in-translation/article3202344.ece|access-date=7 December 2017|work=The Hindu|date=4 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Theatre festival|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/theatre-festival/article3201570.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=7 December 2017|date=21 October 2006}}</ref> and ''Gunamukha'' ("Convalescence"); the short story collections, ''Umapatiya Scholarship Yatre'' ("Umapati's Scholarship Trip"), ''Kallu Karaguva Samaya'' (When the Stone Melts; winner of the 1993 Sahitya Akademi Award), ''Paapada Hoogalu'', the translation of [[Charles Baudelaire]]'s ''[[Les Fleurs du Mal]]'' and ''Dore Oedipus mattu Antigone'', translation of Sophocles' ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]'' and ''[[Oedipus Rex]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mahadevan-Dasgupta|first1=Uma|title=Moments of epiphany|url=http://www.thehindu.com/mag/2005/01/30/stories/2005013000380400.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171202155756/http://www.thehindu.com/mag/2005/01/30/stories/2005013000380400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2017|access-date=7 December 2017|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=30 January 2005}}</ref>

== Lankesh Patrike ==
Lankesh was the Editor of ''[[Lankesh Patrike]]'' from 1980 until his death in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=S|first1=Bageshree|title=Indomitable spirit|url=http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/indomitable-spirit/article9855087.ece|access-date=7 December 2017|work=Frontline|publisher=The Hindu Group|date=29 September 2017}}</ref> A socialist and [[Ram Manohar Lohia|Lohia]]ite, he was known for his secular, anti-caste and anti-[[Hindutva]] views.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kondajji|first1=Mohan Kumar|title=Remembering Lankesh, Gauri, and 'Lankesh Patrike'|url=http://www.bfirst.in/lankesh-patrike/gaurilankesh/iamgauri/lankesh-gauri-lankesh-patrike-370752|access-date=7 December 2017|work=bfirst.in|date=24 September 2017|archive-date=7 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207140846/http://www.bfirst.in/lankesh-patrike/gaurilankesh/iamgauri/lankesh-gauri-lankesh-patrike-370752|url-status=dead}}</ref> Before starting Lankesh Patrike, he and friends [[Poorna Chandra Tejaswi|Tejaswi]] and K.Ramadas had toured the length and breadth of Karnataka, mobilising people to vote for their new socialist party Karnataka Pragatiranga Vedike<ref>{{cite book|title=Short History of Young Socialist League|publisher=Lohia Today|pages=28–29|url=http://lohiatoday.com/SocialistMovement/SHYSL.pdf|access-date=7 December 2017|archive-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912191545/http://lohiatoday.com/SocialistMovement/SHYSL.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> This trip, he recounted in one of his editorials, which took him to the remotest parts of Karnataka opened his eyes to the plight of the poor, the Dalits and the Muslims and made him realise his responsibility as a writer and an intellectual towards the society.<ref>{{cite news|title=K. Ramadas passes away|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/K.-Ramadas-passes-away/article14780056.ece|access-date=7 December 2017|work=THe Hindu|date=20 June 2007}}</ref>
<br />
Lankesh Patrike was significant that It had no Advertisements.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/the-economics-of-a-tabloid/articleshow/60398433.cms | title=Lankesh Patrike and the Economics of an ad-free tabloid }}</ref> Outsourcing the printing to BS Mani of [[Sanjevani]] Kannada Daily, his unique thought was His Weekly Magazine must cost as much One Idli, One Vade & One Coffee. Lankesh built a new crop of reporters, writers and freelancers, many of whom would go to set-up their own magazines.

After his death Lankesh Patrike was split into two, one edited by his daughter Gauri Lankesh and the other managed by his son Indrajit Lankesh.<ref>{{cite news|title='Lankesh Patrike' family splits|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Lankesh-Patrike-family-splits/articleshow/1022189.cms|access-date=7 December 2017|work=Times of India|date=15 February 2005}}</ref> Lankesh's other daughter is the film director Kavita Lankesh.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rawat|first1=Vidya Bhushan|title=Murder of Gauri Lankesh: An Attack on Media or Ideology?|url=http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article7482.html|access-date=7 December 2017|work=Mainstream Weekly|date=23 September 2017}}</ref>
''Lankesh Patrike'', as the first Kannada tabloid, had a huge impact on Karnataka politics and culture. It led to the setting up of other tabloids like ''[[Hai Bangalore]]'' and ''Agni'' which concentrated more on crime and political scandals.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ajjampura|first1=Manjunatha|title=ಪಿ ಲಂಕೇಶ್ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರೇ ವಿಸ್ಮಯ [The Name Lankesh Itself is a Marvel]|url=https://kannada.oneindia.com/literature/people/2010/0125-p-lankesh-10th-death-annivarsary-tributes.html|website=Kannada, One India.Com|access-date=7 December 2017|date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

== Death ==
Lankesh died of a heart attack on 25 January 2000, aged 64.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sabharwal|first1=Gopa|title=India Since 1947: The Independent Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D9gvCgAAQBAJ&q=Kannada+writer+P+Lankesh+passes+away&pg=PT351|publisher=Penguin UK|access-date=7 December 2017|isbn=9789352140893|date=29 August 2017}}</ref>

17 years later, his daughter [[Gauri Lankesh]] was murdered in front of her residence in south Bengaluru as she arrived home by three unidentified gunmen. No motive has been found.

==Awards==

* National Award for Best Direction for [[Pallavi (1976 film)|Pallavi]]. (1976)

* Sahitya Akademi Award for ''Kallu Karaguva Samaya Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (1993).

* Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Honorary Award (1986).

* B.H. Shridhara Prashasti.

* Karnataka Rajya Nataka Akademi Prashasti.

* Aryabhata Sahitya Prashasti.

*[[Filmfare Award for Best Film – Kannada]] for [[Ellindalo Bandavaru]] - 1980

== Bibliography ==

Only two of his books are available in English translation, ''When Stone Melts and Other Stories'' (translation of ''Kallu Karaguva Samaya'') <ref>{{cite book|title=When the Stone Melts and Other Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13BkAAAAMAAJ&q=P+Lankesh+books|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|access-date=7 December 2017|date = January 2004| isbn=9788126011384 }}</ref> and ''Sankranti''.<ref>{{cite web|title=P Lankesh Profile|url=http://www.museindia.com/Museindia/ViewAUTAuthorsProfile|website=Muse India|access-date=7 December 2017}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> His works have also been translated into [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Hindi]].

===Collection of short stories===

* ''Kereya Nirannu Kerege Chelli Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (1963).

* ''Nanalla Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (1970).

* ''Umapathiya Scholarship Yatre Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (1973).

* ''Kallu Karaguva Samaya Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (1990) (Sahitya Akademi Award for 1993).

* ''Ullanghane Mattu Ithara Kathegalu" (1996).''

* ''Manju Kavida Sanje Mattu Ithara Kathegalu'' (2001).

===Novels===
* ''Biruku'' (1967).
* ''Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga'' (1978).
* ''Akka'' (1991).

===Plays===
* ''T. Prasannana Gruhasthashrama'' (1962).
* ''Nanna Thangigondu Gandu Kodi'' (1963).
* ''ಪೊಲೀಸರಿದ್ದಾರೆ, Eccharike!'' (1964).
* ''Teregalu'' (1964).
* ''Kranti Banthu, Karanti'' (1965).
* ''Giliyu Panjaradolilla'' (1966).
* ''Siddhate'' (1970).
* ''Biruku'' (1973).
* ''Sankranti'' (1971).
* ''Gunamukha'' (1993).

===Translated plays===
* ''ದೊರೆ Oedipus'' (''[[Oedipus Rex]]'') (1971).
* ''Anthigone'' (1971).

===Collection of poems===

* ''Bichchu'' (1965).

* ''Talemaaru'' (1973).

* ''Akshara Hosa Kavya'' (Collected and Edited) (1970).

* ''Paapada Hoogalu'' (1974) (a translation of Charles Baudelaire's ''[[Les Fleurs du Mal]]'').

* ''Chitra Samooha'' (1999) [Collection of Complete Poems].
* "Avva" [Mother]

===Autobiography===
* ''Hulimavina Mara'' (1997).

===Critical and other essay collections===
* ''Prasthutha'' (1970).
* ''Kandaddu Kanda Haage'' (1975).
* ''Teeke-Tippani'', volumes 1 and 2 (1997).
* ''Teeke-Tippani'', volume 3 (1998).

===Posthumous publications===
* ''Neela Kavya'' (vols 1, 2, and 3) (2007, 2009, 2010).
* ''Sahiti Sahitya Vimarshe'' (2008).
* ''Mareyuva munna collected vol 1'' (2009).
* ''Mareyuva munna collected vol 2'' (2010).
* "Bittu Hoda Putagalu - 1".
* "Bittu Hoda Putagalu - 2".
* "Bittu Hoda Putagalu - 3".

== Filmography ==
* ''[[Pallavi (1976 film)|Pallavi]]'' ([[National Film Award for Best Direction]], 1976).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234415/|website=IMDb|access-date=3 December 2017|title=Pallavi}}</ref>
* ''Anuroopa'' (1978).
* ''[[Khandavideko Mamsavideko|Khandavide Ko Maamsavide Ko]]'' (1979).
* ''[[Ellindalo Bandavaru]]'' (1980).

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web|title=P. Lankesh Bio|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0486897/bio|website=IMDb|access-date=7 December 2017}}
* {{cite web|title=ಪಿ.ಲಂಕೇಶ್ ೧೯೩೫-೨೦೦೦|url=http://kanaja.in/?p=9668|website=Kanaja.in|publisher=Kanaja: Antarjaala Kannada Jnanakosha|access-date=7 December 2017}}
* [http://www.anukriti.net/shortstories/SSNew/S11.html A Girl Called Stella], short story translated by [[B. C. Ramchandra Sharma|B.C. Ramchandra Sharma]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140316182541/http://www.museindia.com/viewarticle.asp?myr=2006&issid=10&id=499 A Door – a short story by Lankesh]
* [http://kanaja.in/?p=9668 P. Lankesh Bio in Kannada]. Kanaja.in
* [https://sites.google.com/site/kavanasangraha/Home/pi-lankes/nilu Neelu Kavya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020093432/https://sites.google.com/site/kavanasangraha/Home/pi-lankes/nilu |date=20 October 2020 }} (in Kannada)

{{National Film Award Best Direction}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lankesh, P.}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:Best Director National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Film directors from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:Kannada people]]
[[Category:Kannada-language writers]]
[[Category:People from Shimoga district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Writers from Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Novelists from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Poets from Karnataka]]

P. Lankesh - Revision history

RogerLazzarini9 at 17:59, 29 April 2026