Bhitti

Bhitti – An Autobiography – Is the acclaimed autobiography of S.L. Bhyrappa, originally published in Kannada and later translated into several other languages, including English. It describes the author’s challenging early life in rural India and his eventual success as a novelist. The book recounts the author’s difficult childhood, including losing his mother at age eleven, and a sister and brother to the plague on the same day when he was nine. He faced cruelty from his extended family, which led him to run away at fourteen, begging for food and walking 600 miles to Mumbai (then Bombay) with dreams of a better life. Bhyrappa worked as a hotel waiter and cinema doorkeeper before managing to resume his education and eventually earning a Ph.D.. Reviewers note that despite being entirely factual, the gripping narration reads like a novel and has been considered a model for autobiography writing.