Gone are the kings and their kingdoms but the literature patronised by them lives forever and Kovvali, the legendary Telugu novelist who authored 1,001 novels in the spoken language, brought out a revolutionary change reaching to the general public befitting democracy, City Commissioner of Police J. Poornachandra Rao has said. Participating in the Kovvali centenary celebration jointly organised by Kinnera Art Theatres-Hyderabad and Sahridaya Sahithi of the city here on Saturday, he also praised Kalipatnam Rama Rao whom he presented the Kovvali Puraskaram on the day, and remarked that despite the presence of many evil forces, the nation could march forward only due to such great writers such as Kovvali and Mr. Rama Rao.
Mr. Rama Rao recalled how he started listening to Kovvali books read out by his mother. “Never before did I come across readers moved by a book and so I took to Kovvali novels which during those days were found in scores in all libraries,” he said.
Noted writer Kethu Viswanatha Reddy called for more research into Kovvali’s works. Dwibhasyam Rajeswara Rao narrated a couple of happy incidents during his childhood where Kovvali’s influence was all pervading. Researcher Dwana Sastry, who presided, said Kovvali centenary celebrations were being organised all over the State with the initiative taken by Kinnera Art Theatres’ secretary Maddali Raghuram. Writers D.V. Surya Rao, Rambhatla Nrusimha Sarma, Ma Sarma spoke.
