Reading Bhyrappa. Together.
Three books. One year. A shared journey into the work of one of Kannada's most powerful storytellers — through the English translations that carry his novels to readers beyond Kannada.
Why this reading?
“The best position of our old literature contains lessons for life, eternal human points of view, great human values and the interesting world of multifaceted relations and conflicts… and, more than all, contains those quintessential elements which educate and sanctify our hearts.”
Starting with Vamshavriksha in 1992, nineteen of Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa's twenty-six novels have so far been translated into English. Through years of quiet, exacting labour, his translators have carried this literature to a wider Indian and global readership.
2026–27 reading year
Three books. One year.
Translators
The work behind the words.
Translations are not simply bridges between languages; they are acts of sustained literary labour. L. V. Shanthakumari — translator of Sakshi and Gruhabhanga, and co-translator of Mandra, Bhitti and Niraakarana among others — has spoken of how Bhyrappa's novels sharpen a reader's sensibility, widen the reach of consciousness, and offer a larger vantage point on the workings of the human mind.
About Saṃvācana
Reading together.
Saṃvācana, literally “reading together,” rests on a simple idea: we read better when we read, reflect and engage with ideas as a community. Started in 2016, Saṃvācana has taken different forms over the years, but the mission remains the same — to turn reading from a solitary habit into something we experience with people who care about books and ideas.