Jayant Kaikini

About Jayant Kaikini

Jayant Kaikini is a Kannada poet, short-story writer, columnist, and playwright—with six poetry collections, seven short story volumes, five essay volumes, and four plays to his credit. He is also a much sought-after film lyricist (of Mungaru Male fame) for Kannada films. Born in Gokarna, a biochemist by training, he worked in pharma factories in Mumbai for 25 years before moving to Bengaluru. He has made television series on literary legends and edited a literary magazine, too. He still writes longhand. He is a recipient of Karnataka Sahitya Academy book award (1974, 1982, 1989, 1996), Katha National award (1996), Kusumagraj National award (2010), Filmfare award for best lyrics (2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2022), and the DSC Prize for Best South Asian Literature for No Presents Please: Selected Mumbai Stories translated to English by Tejaswini Niranjana, Harper Perennial, 2018. Its sequel, Mithun Number Two, Westland Books, was released in 2024.