Masti Venkatesha Iyengar

Maasti was born in 1891 at Hungenahalli in Kolar district of Karnataka in a Tamil speaking Sri Vaishnaviate Iyengar Brahmin family. He spent his early childhood in Maasti village. He obtained a master's degree in English literature (Arts) in 1914 from Madras University. After joining the Indian Civil Service (Known as the Mysore Civil Service in the days of the Maharaja of Mysore), he held various positions of responsibility in different parts of Karnataka, rising to the rank of District Commissioner. After 26 years of service, he resigned in 1943, as a protest when he did not get the post equivalent to a Minister, which he felt that he deserved, and a junior was promoted ahead of him. He wrote some pieces in English and then switched to writing in the Kannada language. He often used the pen name Srinivasa. ==Works==

He published his first work, Rangana Maduve in 1910. His last work was Maatugara Ramanna, from 1985. and 17 in English, over the course of seventy years. He won the Jnanpith Award in 1983 for his novel Chikka Veera Rajendra. The story was about the last Rajah of Kodagu. ==Demise==

Masti Venkatesh Iyengar died on his 95th birthday in 1986. ==Commemorations==

Since 1993, an award in his name, the "Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Award" is presented to well-known writers from Karnataka. His house is located in Basavanagudi area in Bangalore. His house, located in Maasti village, Maluru Taluk (Kolar District) has been converted into a library and maintained by the Government of Karnataka. Masti Residential School was started in his memory in 2006–07, at a nearby location. ==Bibliography==