D. L. Narasimhachar

D. L. Narasimhachar

Doddabele Lakshmi Narasimhachar was born on 27 October 1906 in Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumkur district. His father Shamayya Iyengar was a clerk in the Sub-Registrar’s office. His mother Lakshmamma was daughter of Annaswamy Iyengar who was known for his rendition of Mahabharatha (Bharathavachana). D. L. Narasimhachar spent most of his childhood at Annaswamy’s Iyengar’s house and he had mastered “Jaimini Bharatha” by the age of 12 years! His family had migrated from Salem during the Vijayanagar Empire’s reign.

D. L. Narasimhachar had his schooling at Pavagada, then at Madhugiri and Sira. He learnt Sanskrit through private tuition. While in school, he was an avid contributor to the school magazine “School Folk” which was started by Principal Krishnaswamy Iyer. His earliest articles were an English article titled “The Story of a Cotton Seed” and a Kannada article titled “Dodda Manushyaru Yaaru?” In his school years, he had read works of Raghuvamsa and Champunarayana. During these school years, B. M. Srikantaiah once paid a visit to D. L. N.’s school and took a class on “Stories from Aeneid”. This class captured D. L. N.’s attention and fostered an ardent devotion to B. M. Srikantaiah under whose aegis he would later complete his Master’s qualification. 

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