Kuvempu was a Kannada poet, critic, playwright, thinker and novelist that was widely known as the best Kannada poet of the 20th century. His real name is actually Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa, but his pen name was Kuvempu. He was born on December 29, 1904 in Hirekodige village and died on November 11, 1994 in Mysore, Karnataka, India.