Karnataka - Bangalore

Far away and yet rooted

Bangalore: Naga Aithal has lived in the U.S. for the last 39 years and retired as Professor of Biochemistry from the University of Chicago. But neither his science background nor the physical distance from his mother tongue has diminished his interest in Kannada literature.

Mr. Aithal not only reads extensively despite the failing vision in both the eyes, but has also taken to serious writing since his retirement in 2001, often using a magnifying glass. The author of works on Kannada writers such as Shivaram Karanth, Kuvempu, Pu.Thi. Narasimhachar and Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, besides a memoir of his life in the U.S., is on Wednesday releasing two of his fictional works. “Kade Iruvalu Radhe” and “Ondanondu Kaladalli” will be released by well-known lexicographer G. Venkatasubbiah in Bangalore.

Mr. Aithal says that the heart always grows fonder of one’s own language when distanced from them

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