Viswanatha Satyanarayana, a legendary littérateur had great diversity in his writings and the conviction of thought was the first and foremost quality in his works which would impress readers instantaneously. His works included poetry, novels, drama, short stories and speeches, covering a wide range of subjects such as analysis of history, philosophy, religion, sociology, political science, linguistics, psychology and spiritualism.
1. Viswanatha Satyanarayana was born on 10 September 1895 in Nandamuru, Unguturu Mandal, Krishna District.
2. His father was a philanthropist and a devotee of Lord Shiva. In 1902, he brought an idol of Siva Linga from Benares and built a temple dedicated to Lord Siva in Nandamuru. Thus, Lord Sri Visweswara became their family Deity.
3. After his schooling in the village, Satyanarayana had his early education at the National College, Machilipatnam. He obtained the master's degree in Sanskrit from the University of Madras in 1929.
4. He was a student of Chellapilla Venkata Sastry. Chellapilla was familiar to be known as Tirupati Venkata Kavulu duo, Diwakarla Tirupathi Sastry and Chellapilla Venkata Sastry. He began writing at the age of 14.
5. Satyanarayana taught in various colleges in Guntur, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam and Karimnagar. In 1961, he retired as principal of Government College in Karimnagar and devoted his time wholly to writing. Even while working as a teacher, he used to engage himself in creative writing of a very serious nature.
6. His literary works include 30 poems, 20 plays, 60 novels, 10 critical estimates, 200 Khand kavyas, 35 short stories, three playlets, 70 essays, 50 radio plays, 10 essays in English, 10 works is Sanskrit, three translations, 100 introductions and forewords as well as radio talks.
7. Some of his poems and novels have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Sanskrit. Veyipadagalu was later translated into Hindi by former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao as Sahasraphan.
8. Most of Viswanatha's novels depict evolving social conditions, and involve an in-depth analysis of culture as well as human nature and consciousness.
9. In 1964 Andhra Viswa Kala Parishat honoured him by titling as "Kalaprapoorna" and in 1970 Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan.
10. In 1971 he was awarded with Jnanpith Award for his book "Ramayana Kalpavriksham". He was the first telugu writer to receive Jnanpith Award.
11. Viswanatha Satyanarayana died on 18 October 1976 in Guntur.
Source : Wikipedia