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A chat with Kannada contemporary writer and gay activist Vasudhendra, whose collection of short stories is considered to be a pioneering vernacular work on homosexuality in India.

Kannada contemporary author, Vasudhendra, gave up a lucrative career in the IT industry to become a full-time writer, publisher and gay activist.

From his first published work, Maneeshe, a collection of short stories (1998), to his latest book, Tejo Tungabhadra (2019), the 51-year-old author has 15 published works to his credit, all from his publishing house Chanda Pustaka, set up in 2004. Aside from publishing works of young Kannada writers, three of whom went on to win the Sahitya Academy’s Yuva Puraskar award, Chanda Pustaka has instituted its own annual award for the best debut short story collection.

Vasudhendra’s books have explored diverse topics — from his early days and life at Sandur in Ballari, his mother, Brahmin widows and cultural crises to tales about IT professionals, gays and medieval history. His latest, Tejo Tungabhadra, is about late 15th and early 16th century India and Portugal, drawing history from the common man’s perspective to the social life of Lisbon, Goa and Vijayanagara.

Mohanaswamy, (published in 2013), a collection of short stories and a pioneering piece of work in vernacular writing on homosexuality in India, created quite a stir among Kannada readers. Its English translation in 2016 gave his writing a broader reader base. It has also been translated into Spanish, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi.

By then a popular writer, he came out openly about his sexual identity after the book’s publication. The Bengaluru-based writer has won many literary awards, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Book Prize and the Masti Katha Award. Excerpts from an interview:

You are an Engineer/IT professional
turned full-time writer. How did the shift come about?

Humans have always loved the art of storytelling and listening; both the educated and the uneducated have participated in this art. I do not think my profession has anything to do with it. I was a voracious reader from childhood. I never dreamt of becoming an author. My sexuality is the sole reason for my initial writing. Being in a closet, I was all alone, my friends were busy with marriage and family and that’s when I started writing at age 27. After about 20 years, I got the courage to quit my job and focus only on writing.

Is the readers’ response satisfactory?

Readers have always loved my books and I have been fortunate with sales. Each of my books has seen reprints, which is very encouraging. The response to Mohanaswamy was mixed; hugely positive from the gay community, especially in rural areas. Kannada publications initially hesitated to do reviews, but recognised its worth later. With its translation into seven languages, the book’s popularity soared, getting reviews in many newspapers and on social media.

Kannada literature has a rich history, from the classical to the post-modern. Your favourite period?

Each period had its own good and bad writers. But personally, I consider ‘Navodaya’ writing as the best. Kuvempu, Bendre, Masti, Karanth, DVG, all wrote in the early 20th century. They were honest and wrote prodigiously. I have not seen such quality contributions during later years in Kannada. Interestingly, in present times, there are many enthusiasts, with varied backgrounds, writing.

How do you see Kannada literature today?

Today, we have more writers than readers. Unfortunately, English is devouring Kannada day by day. Nowadays, we do not see quality Kannada medium schools. Society has lost interest in language studies and the focus is more on job-oriented courses. Hence, young readers are disappearing from the Kannada literature world. A sad state, which is not different for other Indian languages as well. That said, there are some exceptionally good writers.

What has been your experience with translations of your books?

Mohanaswamy has been translated into seven languages, enhancing the book’s readership and bringing me national and international fame. A major Sri Lankan publisher has evinced interest in publishing it in Sinhalese. Soon, a major publishing company will be bringing out three books of mine in English. ‘Nammamma Andre Nangishta’ has been translated into Telugu and Konkani and another book is ready to be published in Marathi.

As for translations, I leave it to the publisher and editors; it is not my responsibility and I should not be wasting time on that.

Has the ongoing pandemic impacted the Kannada publishing industry?

Kannada publishing doesn’t have the scale of readership as English and although the population of Karnataka is over 60 million, around 1,000 copies of any Kannada book is actually sold. Well-known writers manage to sell up to 10,000 copies. Lack of agents or a system in place to help publishers get good manuscripts and poor payment to writers adds to the woes.

The pandemic has worsened the situation with all major Kannada bookstores working at a fourth of their capacity. Senior Kannada readers, who form a majority, prefer browsing in bookstores. But, online purchases are gaining pace. Even book releases have come to a standstill. All this has impacted sales.

Is there a lot of writing about gay themes in Kannada literature?

Unfortunately, no. Major authors introduced gay characters in their works with a good dose of homophobia. I am the first to openly accept my sexuality and write a book. There were many gay men and lesbians in Kannada literature, but they never dared to speak about it publicly. Perhaps the time was not ripe for them. Some heterosexual writers have lately written LGBT-supportive
books.