The Jnanpith Award has come to acquire an unparalleled status in the field of Indian literature. This is the only award given for the best creative literary writing of a specified period by an Indian citizen in any of the 15 Indian languages included in the VIII Schedule to the Indian Constitution. It has become the symbol of the comprehensive vision of Indian literature. This special postage stamp issued by the Department of Post pays tribute to the Jnanpith Award and to the four great writers of Kannada who were presented the Jnanpith Award by Bharatiya Jnanpith for their outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature. The stamp depicts portraits of the Jnanpith Laureates in Kannada in the following order (from top to bottom).

I) DR. K.V. PUTTAPPA:  (1904- 1994)

Dr. K.V. Puttappa was co-recipient of the Jnanpith Award for 1967 for  his outstanding work Sri Ramayanadarshanam (Kannada) during 1935-60. Sri Ramayanadarshanam, composed with great diction and style is the first epic in Kannada language. In this multi-dimensional epic, the real and reality, mundane and eternal, the ephemeral and immortal, the corporal and spiritual, all have been integrated into an accomplished work, w h an inspired finesse. This is the most prominent work of Dr. Puttappa, where the past meets the future in the present, where the divine takes devil into embrace, where the most insignificant contributes in making of the Great. In 1958, Dr. Puttappa was awarded by the National Academy of Letters in recognition of his out­ standing contribution to the Kannada literature, and his dedicated services to the nation as an educationist of eminence. The Government of India bestowed on him the prestigious title of 'Padma Bhusan' in 1958.

II) Shri D.R. BENDRE : (1896-1983)

Bendre is one amongst the  most versatile writers in Kannada. He was co-recipient of the Jnanpith Award for 1973 for his outstanding work Nakutanti (Kannada) during 1962-66.  The  poet-visionary  Bendre, in  his  writings, has  given expression  to  the  beauty  of  human  life,  its  agonies,  the balance between nature and human individuality, the rediscovery of Karnataka and India, the future  transformation  of the  World, the synthetic vision of journey through the decades, which all from essence of the Creation. Bendre is the  torch-bearer  who  has  given  expression  to  the  artisitc consciousness  of  many writers.  Through  his folk-lyrics  and intricate diction, he delighted both the educated and illiterate.

Ill) P.ROF. V.K. GOKAK : (1909-1992)

The Jnanpith Award for the year 1990 was presented to Prof. V.K. Gokak for his outstanding contribution to Indian literature during the period 1970-84.

An author of about 50 works in Kannada and about 25 in English, spread over a period of six decades and covering almost all fields of literary expression like poetry, novels, plays, travelogues, aesthetics and contemplative prose, Prof, Gokak has been a strong advocate of integral vision in all his writings. What made Gokak a legend in his own lifetime is Bharata Sindhu Rashmi, an epic running into more than 35000 lines of blank verse in Kannada. The epic recreates the vedic culture and s changing value in a way that makes it relevant to our times and to all times. Bharata Sindhu Rashmi, has indeed, acquired a place of distinction in the epic tradition of the world.

IV) DR. MASTI V. IYENGAR : (1891 -1986)

Bharatiya Jnanpith presented the Jnanpith Award for 1983 to Dr. Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, 'Srinivas' for his outstanding contribution to Indian literature during the pre-1978 period, with special mention of his novel 'Chikkaveer­rajendra.'

Masti was essentially a story teller, a master of the art of narration, whether in prose or poetry. He came to be recognised as the Father of the Kannada short story'. Masti remained in the forefront of Kannada renaissance for more than seventy years and made massive contribution to all the genres of literature. With his abiding faith in man's potential greatness, his writings reflect his inner urge to assert the supremacy of the basic values of humanity that remain firm in the face  of chaos.

The First Day Cover depicts  'VAGDEVI', the Jnanpith Award Symbol.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India