Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, the grand old man of Kannada literature, wrote under the pen-name Shrinivasa. He used prose, poetry and drama to express his world-view, but it is in the realm of the short story that he is the acknowledged master. Masti's mother-tongue was Tamil, he got a Master's degree in English but chose Kannada for his literary voice. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1969 and the Jnanpith Award for his contribution to Kannada literature in 1983.