Vanamala Viswanatha

Vanamala Viswanatha, scholar, translator and former Professor of English Studies, has spent over four decades teaching in premier Bengaluru institutions like IISc, Bangalore University and Azim Premji University. A bilingual powerhouse, she has translated iconic modern Kannada voices—Tejasvi, Vaidehi, Sara Aboobacker, U R Ananthamurthy and Lankesh—while also delving into classics like the vachanas of 12th-century women saints, Raghavanka’s Life of Harishchandra, Indira Bai, Kuvempu’s Bride in the Hills, and the Jaina text Vaddaradhane. Currently a Translation Fellow at Ashoka University, she is working on Lakshmisha Tolpadi’s reflections on the Mahabharata.