Palya Lankesh was an Indian poet, fiction writer, playwright, translator, screenplay writer and journalist who wrote in the Kannada language. He was also an award-winning film director.

Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city is popularly nicknamed the "Gateway of Malnad". The population of Shimoga city is 322,650 as per 2011 census. The city has been selected for the Smart Cities project, standing in the fourth position in the state and 25th in the country as of November 2020.