Śatāvadhāni Dr. R Ganesh is a highly accomplished personality in the cultural and academic arena, with an interest in Philosophy (as the study of values), Indian aesthetics, Indian literature, culture, Vedic studies, philosophy, science, arts and history. His expertise in a vast spectrum can be adjudged from the sheer number of contributions by way of avadhānam performances, poetic and research writings, series of talks and workshop teaching. He is a master of the ancient art of avadhāna, a classical literary art that involves multitasking and extempore versification, both aṣṭāvadhāna and śatāvadhāna, and is credited with reviving the art of avadhāna in Kannada. Thus far, he has performed over a thousand aṣṭāvadhānas and five śatāvadhānas. He conceptualised ekavyakti-yakṣagāna and kāvya-citra-(gīta-nṛtya) art forms, which have seen more than a thousand performances to date.
He is well-versed in 14 languages – Kannada, Telugu, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Tamil, English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Greek, Latin, and Italian; and has numerous publications to his credit – including original poetry and anthologies, translations, research articles, scholarly essays, biographies and works for musical operas and dance-dramas.
‘Ṛtu-kalyāṇam’ (champū kāvyam) on seasons of Bengaluru, in Sanskrit, and ‘The Art and Science of Avadhaana in Sanskrit’ ( a book in English co-authored with Sri. B.N.Shashikiran), are two recent publications.
Educational Qualifications:
- BE (Mechanical Engineering)
- MSc (Materials Science and Metallurgy)
- MA (Sanskrit)
- DL (Kannada)
Positions held:
Lecturer (Mechanical Engineering), R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru
Lecturer (Mechanical Engineering), M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru
Director of Sanskrit Studies, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru
Research Officer, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), South Regional Centre, Bengaluru
Dean of the Human Values Cell, Jain University, Bengaluru
Visiting Professor, International Academy of Creative Teaching, Bengaluru
Hon. Visiting Professor, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru
Awards & Recognitions:
Dr. R. Ganesh is the recipient of innumerable awards in recognition of exceptional contributions, and a few notable ones are mentioned below –
- Honorary D. Litt., Tumkur University (2010)
- Senior Fellowship, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India (2006-08)
- Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman from the President of India (2003)
- Rajyotsava Award, Government of Karnataka (1992)
- Citprabhānanda Award, Royal Family of Mysore (2011)
- Rāmaviṭhalānugraha Award, Pejavara Matha, Udupi (2010)
- Nāṭyakalādhara Award, Bharat Kalachar (2005)
- Kālidāsasarasvatī Award, Kalidasa Samaroha, Ujjain (1996)
- Vidvatsammāna, Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham (1995)
- Kumārabhāratī Award, Madurai Kamaraj University (1994)
- Best Science Writer in Regional Languages Award, Baba Institute of Atomic Research (1993)
- Kāvyakaṇṭha Award, Samskrita Bharati (1988)