He received a number of awards in his lifetime, both for his writing and for his work in conserving and propagating folk traditions.

Nage Gowda was born in Heraganahalli village in Mandya district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

[1] Starting from the 1970s, Nage Gowda wrote a number of literary works in Kannada.

In 1986, he started work Janapada Loka, a museum of the folk arts located in Ramnagaram, around 53 kilometres from Bangalore, which opened to the public in 1994.

[2] He also wrote a number of books documenting folk traditions and artforms, and organised festivals, seminars and workshops to promote them.