Basavaraju Kattimani and Niranjana. T. R. Subba Rao initially wrote short stories, although he later turned his talents to novels, which were popular. His early novels, Purushavatara and Munjavininda Munjavu, told the stories of the underprivileged, the downtrodden and the outcast. Best known among his novels—some of whose plots are centred on his native Chitradurga—are Masanada Hoovu ("Flower from a cemetery"), a story about the plight of prostitutes, and historical novel Hamsa Gite ("Swan Song"), a story about a dedicated musician of the late 18th century during annexation of Chitradurga by Tipu sultan. Marked as its influence had been, the Pragatishila wave was already in decline by the close of the 1950s. Legendary writers of the previous era continued to produce notable works in the Navodaya style. In poetry, Bendre's Naku Tanti ("Four Strings", 1964) and Kuvempu's Aniketana (1964) stand out. V.K. Gokak brought out the innate insufficiencies of the more advanced western cultures in Indilla Nale (1965). Navodaya-style novels continued to be successful with such noteworthy works as Karanth's Mookajjiya Kanasugalu ("Mookajji's visions", 1968), where Karanth explored the origins of man's faith in the mother goddess and the stages of evolution of civilisation. Kuvempu's Malegallali Madumagalu ("The Bride of the Hills", 1967) is about loving relationships that exist in every level of society. Masti's two classic novels of this era were Channabasavanayaka (1950), which describe the defeat of Bidanur's chief Channabasava Nayaka (on Karnataka's coast) by Haider Ali in the late 18th century, and Chickavirarajendra (1950), which describes the fall of the tiny kingdom of Coorg (ruled by Chikka Virarajendra) to the British East India Company. The common theme in both works is the despotism and tyranny of the incumbent native rulers resulting in the intervention of a foreign power appearing on the scene to restore order, but with its own imperialistic intentions. S. L. Bhyrappa, a charismatic young writer, first came to attention in the 1960s with his first novel Dharmasri, although it was his Vamsavriksha ("Family Tree", 1966) that put him in the spotlight as one of Kannada's most popular novelists. It is a story of a respected scholar, Srinivasa Srotri, his family and their long-held values. The protagonist's young and widowed daughter-in-law wishes to remarry, putting his family tradition at risk. Bhyrappa's best novel of the period was Grihabhanga ("Breaking of a Home", 1970), a story of a woman surviving under tragic circumstances. The characters in