Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Oct 16: Renowned play director, cultural organizer, and literary figure Prakash Rao Payyar passed away on October 15 night following a massive cardiac arrest at his residence in Mangaluru.
A UAE-based poet, dramatist, stage director, and social activist, Payyar had authored and published 10 books. His collection of poems ‘Uretta Kannuda Siri’, released in 2015, received widespread acclaim from readers. With a career spanning decades, he directed over 35 plays by prominent Kannada playwrights.
In 1985, Payyar founded Dhwani Pratishthana in Mumbai, which went on to organize hundreds of literary and cultural events over the next three decades. As a noted ambassador of Kannada and Tulu cultural activities in the UAE, especially from 2000 onwards, he provided opportunities to hundreds of artists from the UAE for employment and artistic exposure.
Throughout his illustrious career, Payyar received numerous accolades, including the Karnataka State Nataka Academy Award (2010), Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana Award (2015), Karnataka Sangha Abu Dhabi’s Dr Da Ra Bendre Award (2014), and Karnataka Sangha Sharjah’s Mayura Award (2010), among several other honours from India and abroad.
The final rites will be held on Thursday, October 16 at 11 am at Nandigudda cremation yard.