Devanahalli Venkataramanayya Gundappa (1887-1975) was a great visionary and polymath. He was a journalist, poet, art connoisseur, philosopher, political analyst, institution builder, social commentator, social worker, and activist. He founded/edited many newspapers, wrote extensively in Kannada and English, established social organizations and guilds, and worked tirelessly for people's welfare. He lived like a sage till the last, moving easily with rich and poor, bureaucrat and laborer, scholar and unschooled. He received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967 and the Padma Bhushan in 1974.