Centenary tribute to one of Kannada radio’s most-loved voices

This year marks the centenary of author, playwright, academician, voice over artiste and actor Dr. H.K. Ranganath, better known as HKR. To celebrate his work, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kalagangotri and Navachetana Trust presented Ranga Sanga, on Thursday, at Ravindra Kalakshetra, J.C. Road, an evening to remember him.

This year marks the centenary of author, playwright, academician, voice over artiste and actor H.K. Ranganath, better known as HKR. To celebrate his work, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kalagangotri and Navachetana Trust presented Ranga Sanga, on Thursday, at Ravindra Kalakshetra, J.C. Road, an evening to remember him.

Also a UNESCO consultant on using traditional media for rural development, Ranganath was a prolific writer of plays for stage and radio, besides authoring monographs on Yakshagana, Katha Kirtan and Kannada theatre. The late academician’s PhD thesis on Karnataka Theatre published in 1960 by the Karnataka University is still recognised as a valuable source book. 

He served as a drama producer in the All India Radio (Akashvani), zonal head and regional Director of the Southern Centre of Song and Drama Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, chairman and professor of the Department of Performing Arts, Bangalore University, emeritus professor and director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, honorary Director at the Gandhi Centre of Science and Human Values, and as honorary producer emeritus, Akashvani and Doordarshan. 

Apart from his immense contribution to the academic world, radio listeners were huge fans of his voice and the several programmes he presented on Akashvani. Speaking to The Hindu, B.K. Sumathi, senior announcer, All India Radio, says that some of the programmes recorded by Ranganath including a series programme called Kannadada Allegalu have had numerous repeat broadcasts and are still played on Akashvani in Karnataka. “HKR‘s contribution to Akashvani is immense. He had retired by the time I joined Akashvani, but he was frequently called to do some programmes and records for us. I had the chance to see him, work with him and voice a couple shows with him for two years“ she adds.  

“HKR’s voice was unmatchable. We have several announcers and anchors now, but the diction he had, the way he presented programmes in Kannada, and how he made the language sound beautiful is not something the presenters of this age can do. If one needs to understand the originality, history, and the importance of the Kannada language, they must listen to the works of HKR,“ says Sumathi.  

The senior Akashvani announcer also says that Ranganath had a huge fan following for his voice, and many uninvited people showed up at his wedding. “This was a story his wife told me. HKR had built a personal relationship with his listeners through a programme called Bhavadhiya, where he responded to the letters of the listeners. His response and his strong voice had won the hearts of many. He had a fan following, many people were curious to know how he looked. HKR and his wife decided to get married in a temple, and have a simple wedding, but upon knowing the news of his wedding, several fans showed up at the temple,” she narrates.

B.V. Rajaram, founder of Kalagangotri says, “We all are honoured to have had the opportunity to work with him and we want to celebrate his centenary.” The event in remembrance of Ranganath ended with the presentation of the play Amruta Varsha, written by Ranganath himself and directed by B.V. Rajaram.