B.R. Lakshman Rao - He deals with words, in this business town.

Romanticism is his forte. His microscopical view of romance and its nuances are well described with the beautiful lyricism and pun with the same earnest passion he has towards love through his poems. This has made him one of the prominent faces in the modern kannada literary world. His half-humored, cynical and sometimes paradoxical take on the earthly matters in his poems has brought him recognition and people have honored him with awards, and the most recent being  the Karnataka government's prestigious Rajyotsava Award. His exemplary contribution  to the kannada literature and the way he has delighted the hearts of the young and those young at heart alike has made B.R.Lakshman Rao a name synonymous to Chintamani.

B.R.Laksman Rao, also-known-as BRL, was deeply influenced by the works of great English poets Keats and Eliot during his masters in English literature. "Gopi mattu Gaandaleena,1971- Jolly Baarinalli "  link- a poem portraying an innocent boy's plight in a dance bar became widely popular. The collection of his poems "Chintamani" (dedicating to his native) and "Camera Kannu" has captured and has brought-forth the intricate and vivid pictures of life. Many reputed writers like H.S. Venkatesh Murthy, Jayanth Kaikini, etc, have written forewords to his books. He has also written a novel(Heegondhu Premakathe) and his compilations of poems "Columbus" has also been translated to English, in which there is a poem on Chintamani titled "My Native".

  Dr. Rajkumar, S.P. Balasubramaniam, Ratnamala Prakash, Sonu Nigam, Mysore Ananthaswamy, M.D.Pallavi  (Amma Ninna Yedeyaaladalli)and many other famous singers have lent their voice to his lyrics. Noted composer and singer C. Ashwath has brought out several music albums (Kengulaabi, Subbabhattara Magale, Anuraaga, etc) and were loved by the listeners and they still linger in their minds. But, listening to some of his compositions in his own inimitable voice, especially "Nimbegida thumba chanda" song is a treat. The students who went to the english classes in his Vinayaka Tutorials recollect those wonderful time when he used to sing for his students. A couple of BRL's compositions ("Baare Rajakumari" - "Baa Maleye Baa" youtube link) have been adopted to films. "Baa maleye baa" another youtube version will leave you mesmerised with its music, tune, Sonu Nigam's voice and amazing lyrics.

A poet who made his mark, and whose works originated from Chintamani, and is a proud posession of Chintamani, is now moving to Bangalore. CC wishes him and his wonderful family all the happiness and prosperity.

Here is the link to BRL's "Baare Rajakumari"  ( sorry, couldn't find this, but enjoy all the other above links)in which he candidly and yet wittily has described a couple's life in a city like Bangalore.
TV9 interview of BRL.(click here)

A musical program was arranged by C.Ashwath admirers in Chintamani. During this occasion B.R.Laksman Rao was felicitated for bringing the Rajyotsava Award to Chintamani. The music troop led by Upasana Mohan rendered many compositions of BRL. The audience thoroughly enjoyed this concert and celebrated their own fellow citizen winning an award.