Veteran writer and literary critic Dr G S Amur died on Monday due to age related ailments. He was 95 and he passed away at his residence in Bengaluru, his family members said. The literateur, known for his proficiency in both Kannada and English, was a recipient of several prestigious honours, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Rajyotsava Award and Bharatiya Bhasha Award.
GS Amur was born in Bommanahalli of Dharwad district in 1925. He had a long career as an English professor at various universities in Maharashtra and Karnataka. His much acclaimed books in Kannada include 'Are Kannada Kadambariya Belavanige', 'Arthaloka', 'Vyavasaya' and 'Kaadambariya Swaroopa'. Amur's English works included 'Forbidden Fruit, Views on Indo-Anglian Fiction' and 'Colonial Consciousness in Commonwealth Literature'.
In his condolence message, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said Amur got his doctorate for his thesis on 'The Concept of Comedy: A Re-statement’. "Amur had equal command over English and Kannada. He was the leading figure in critiquing the modern Kannada literature," he said.
As a noted critic of English literature, he wrote extensively about the works of late RK Narayan and Raja Rao, both hailing from the state. His works on the poetry of Jnanapeetha awardee, the late Da. Ra. Bendre, and on the works of AN Krishnaraya, Sriranga and on the evolution of the Kannada novel are highly acclaimed and enjoy a vast readership even to this day.
He received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1996 and the highest literary award of Kannada, the Pampa award, in 2006. Recently, he was chosen for the Nrupatanga award for lifetime work in literary criticism.