As it happens, Singh’s proficiency in Kannada is not merely an aspect of his having lived in Karnataka for a long time, but of a passion for languages. He first came to Karnataka — specifically a village called Moka in Bellary — in April 1970 as a probationary assistant commissioner. While Chiranjiv Singh’s book Yaava Janmada Maitri was published in 2021, its origins were somewhat unusual. Senior journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju, Singh’s friend and then editor of Vijaya Karnataka, approached him with the suggestion that he write his own autobiography, which Srinivasaraju would serialise for him. Story continues below this adAt present, Chiranjiv Singh is working on a Punjabi-language critique of Punjabi literature.