Life and Works of Sahityakusalan M. Seshagiri Prabhu

Sahityakusalan M. Seshagiri Prabhu has always been a person whom I looked up as an icon. He was a good combination of scholarship and simplicity. His depth of knowledge in subjects like linguistics, philology and grammar is manifested in his writings. Like me, for many students of literature he has been a guiding light.

Such great persons always leave some footprints for the future generations to follow. I feel there is a need of his detailed biography, but since many of the required tools are lacking, my efforts ended up in a Monograph only. Many important materials have been found in his family circles, which they were glad to share. And that precisely makes up the stuff enriching this monograph.

Several Annexures provided here reveal the profile of the multifaceted person. As a student, as a teacher, as a writer, as a scholar, as a commentator and as an educationist - he could excel in all roles. Rare are such souls to be seen around.

My special thanks goes to Aravind Prabhu and Sasidhar Prabhu, the grandsons of Seshagiri Prabhu. Their wholehearted support with many significant materials helped my attempt to roll on the path of success. Dr. V. Nithyanantha Bhat was kind enough to accept the proposal to publish this humble work without any hesitation, and I am grateful to him.

I am sure much more facts, events and achievements remain to be documented pertaining to the life of Seshagiri Prabhu.

At this juncture I can vouchsafe that the job has been only half done. Rest of the half could be only hoped to be accomplished in future, if all goes well.

This Monograph could not have been possible without the sincere support of ‘vellwishers like Srinath Prabhu, Saratchandra Shenoi, N. Balakrishna Mallya, Sachin Kamath, Rajeev S. Kamath, D. Unnikrishnan, M. Sreenivasa Pai and Anand G. Kamath. Dr. Udayakumar, Principal of University College, Mangaluru, was kind enough to provide the materials at his disposal. Institutional support received from the librarians at Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Thrissur, World Konkani Center, Mangaluru and Sukrtindra Oriental Research Institute, Ernakulam proved to be of real worth, My sincere thanks to all the above. The occasion makes us feel proud for one more reason - as a portrait of Seshagiri Prabhu enters the Hall of Fame at the World Konkani Centre, Sakthinagar, Mangaluru, a place of pride for all lovers of Konkani language and culture.

It is a matter of fact that generally Biography as a genre does not get as popular as others. However for choosy readers biographies shower guiding lights on the life path. And I hope this work satisfies such readers as well as the students of literature.

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