G P Rajarathnam

G P Rajarathnam was a Kannada author, lyricist, and poet in Karnataka, India. His ancestors belonged to Tirukkanapur Agrahara of Naga city in Tamil Nadu. Later on, they shifted to Mysore, Karnataka, in 1906, and G P Rajarathnam was born in Gundlupet, a town in chamrajnagar district, Karnataka. He loved children and composed many prominent poems about them. One of the greatest poets, K. S. Nissar Ahmed, mentioned that Rajarathnam understood the minds of children and mentioned their needs.

Some of his famous works on children are- Nayi Mari Nayi Mari (Meaning: Puppy dog, puppy dog), Bannadha Thagadina Thuthoori (Meaning: Colorful metalfoil trumpet), and Ondhu-Yeardu (Meaning: One-Two). Rajarathnam has written 230 works in 338 publications, including books such as Rathnana Padagalu (Meaning: Ratna's words), Nagana Padagalu (Meaning: Naga's words), and many lyrics as a lyricist. An award has been instituted in his name for those who contributed his might to enrich Kannada literature (unlike Rajarathnam) by engaging a vast population in reading and making a contribution in building a reading society.

This annual award was instituted in 2008, but it was 2010 that the award was presented for the first time. Ki. Ram. Nagaraj, M. Anke Gowda, and translator Dr. Nadig are the recipients of this award. He is also known by his pen name Bhramara (meaning: Bee). He was a very impactful personality in the history of Kannada, and even today, many of his works give challenges to translators while translating. Another fact about him includes- a road in Bengaluru named after him.