| Shantinath Desai | |
| Native Name: | ಶಾಂತಿನಾಥ ದೇಸಾಯಿ |
| Birth Name: | Shantinath Kuberappa Desai |
| Birth Date: | 22 July 1929 |
| Birth Place: | Haliyal, Karnataka, India |
| Death Place: | Kolhapur |
| Resting Place: | Kolhapur |
| Occupation: | Writer, Professor |
| Language: | Kannada and English |
| Education: | MA, PhD |
| Alma Mater: | Karnataka University Dharwad |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Movement: | Navya |
| Notableworks: | Mukti and Om Namo |
| Spouse: | Sumitra Desai |
| Children: | Sucheta, Rashmi, Madhavi, Deepti (Oldest to Youngest) |
| Awards: | Sahitya Akademi Award 2000 |
| Years Active: | 1955-1998 |
Shantinath Kuberappa Desai (ಶಾಂತಿನಾಥ ದೇಸಾಯಿ, 1929–1998) was one of the leading modern authors of the Navya (modernist) movement in Kannada Literature.[1] [2] [3]
In most of his novels, short stories, and essays, Desai explores the challenges of a changing society and its drift from traditional values.His first novel, Mukti (1961), narrates the protagonist's quest for an independent identity, liberation from the influence of a friend and his infatuation with the friend's sister. The second novel, Vikshepa (1971), tells the story of a village youth from northern Karnataka, who attempts to flee from his traditional environment by studying English in Bombay and later relocating to England. He was one of the best known writers in the genre of short stories in Kannada literature, which includes other prominent writers like U. R. Anantha Murthy, Yashwant Chittal, P. Lankesh, Ramachandra Sharma, Rajalakshmi Rao, and K. Sadashiva.
His novel Om Namo (Obeisance) won the Sahitya Akademi Award. Desai's important works include Mukti (Liberation) and Beeja (The Seed).
Shantinath Desai was also a professor of English at Shivaji University in Kolhapur, and later became the first vice chancellor of the then newly founded Kuvempu University in Shimoga.[4] He has written seven novels and eight short story collections of which Rakshasa (1977) received the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award. His novels and stories have been frequently translated into various regional languages. He also published a book of critical works in English.
Shantinath Desai is remembered for his works such as Mukti, Om Namo, Srishti and Beeja (Novels) and short stories like Kshitija, Naanan Tirthayatre, Ganda Satta Mele, Manjugadde, Dande, Parivartane, Kurmavatara, Rakshasa, Nadiya Neeru, Hero, Bharamya Hogi Nikhilanagiddu, Digbhrame and other works. His readers and admirers feel that he deserved more honours and recognition than he actually received. He got Sahitya Akademi Award posthumously for his novel Om Namo in 2000. He is considered as one of the important writers in modern Kannada literature.