Shivamogga district had a special link with Jnanapith award-winning playwright Girish Karnad.
Karnad was chosen for the Jnanapith, the country’s highest literary award, in 1998 when he was busy shooting for the Kannada film ‘Kanooru Heggadathi’ based on a novel by Kuvempu at Mooduvalli in Thirthahalli taluk.
Thirthahalli hosted the first public felicitation for Karnad after he was selected for the Jnanapith award. He was in Thirthahalli taluk for more than a month for the film shooting. He had also shot the Kannada teleserial ‘Chidambara Rahasya’ based on a novel of the same name written by Poornachandra Tejaswi (Kuvempu’s son) in Thirthahalli taluk.