Kayyar Kinhanna Rai

Kayyar Kinhanna Rai ( ) (born March 29, 1915) is an Indian independence activist,author, poet and a former journalist.

Early life

Rai was born on March 29, 1915 in a Tulu speaking Bunt family to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai. His given name stands unique since it includes the Kannada alphabet 'ಞ' (a palatal consonant pronounced nasally as "nya"), which is used very rarely in the written Kannada of today and is absent in the English alphabet which often leads to various other transliterations of his given name such as Kinyanna and Kinnanna.Rai first learned Kannada in school. Later he published his first handwritten journal, Susheela, at the age of 12. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and also participated in the freedom movement of India. During this period he married Unyakka and is a father to eight children.

Career

Rai started his career as a secondary school teacher. He also delved into journalism and contributed his writings to newspapers like Swabhimana, Madras Mail and The Hindu. He is a prolific writer and poet who has written books on theatre, grammar and children. Some of his famous poems are Shreemukha, Aikyagana,......
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