("Fumes of Laughter", 1936), and in Karanth's Garbhagudi ("Sanctum", 1932), which decried the exploitation of society in the name of religion. The novel came of age during this period, with Karanth (Chomana Dudi, 1933), Masti (Subbanna, 1928) and Kuvempu ("Subbamma Heggadathi of Kanur", 1936) leading the charge. Significantly, writers chose to carry on from where Puttanna, Gulvadi and Kerur had left off around the start of the 20th century rather than continue with popular translations in the style of Venkatachar and Galaganath. Aesthetic concerns replaced the didactic and a sense of form developed. Devudu Narasimha Shastri distinguished himself with his Antaranga (1931) and Mayura (1928); the former was a much acclaimed work which delved into the psychology of the protagonist, while the latter was a historical novel tracing the emergence of the Kadamba dynasty. Another high point of this period is Karanth's Marali Mannige (1942), the saga of three generations of a family, reflecting the social, cultural and economic developments of over a hundred years. Literary criticism, which had its beginnings in the first quarter-century, also made significant progress. B.M. Sri's Kannada Sahitya Charitre (1947), Gundappa's Sahitya Shakti (1950), Masti's Adikavi Valmiki (1935), Bendre's Sahitya Hagu Vimarshe ("Literature and Criticism", 1932) and Krishna Shastry's Samskrita Nataka (1937) are particularly notable. The essay, another form adopted from western literature, was richly served by A N Murthy Rao (Hagaluganasugalu, 1937), Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar's ('Gorur') humorous Halliya Chitragalu (1930) and Karanth's Hucchu manassina Hattu mukhagalu (1948). Late Navodaya and the rise of the progressives As the Navodaya period waxed, the Pragatishila (progressives) movement led by novelist A. N. Krishna Rao ('Anakru') gained momentum in the early 1940s. This left-leaning school contended that literature must be an instrument of social revolution and considered the Navodaya to be the product of aesthetes, too puritanical to be of any social relevance. This movement drew both established and young writers into its fold and, while it produced no poetry or drama of special merit, its contributions to short story and novel forms were appreciable. Pragatishila was credited with broadening readers' horizons; works produced during this period dealt extensively with subjects of everyday life, rural themes and the common man. The language was less inhibited and made generous use of colloquialism and slang. Anakru himself was a prolific writer of novels but the best works of this school are attributed to T. R. Subba Rao ('Ta Ra Su'),