Senior litterateur Prof Vasanth Kushtagi no more

Kalaburagi: Vasanth Kushtagi, 85, a veteran of Kannada literature, died of a heart attack on Friday morning.

Kushtagi earned an MA in Kannada from Hyderabad’s Osmania University and has composed 8 poem compilations, more than 30 prose compilations and more than 32 edited books.

He became a household name after his poem was made the first chapter in the new Kannada textbook printed after the 1995 syllabus revision.

His main scholarly contribution was in the field of ‘Dasa literature.’

He was awarded the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award by the then chief minister late N Dharmasingh.

He had also once chaired the Kalaburgi District Kannada Literary Conference.