Sahitya Akademi awardee K. Siva Reddy reposes faith in the members of GenX to end the ‘cultural crisis’ as a fallout of career-mindedness among youth as liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG) become the buzzword.
The littérateur, whose ‘Mohana-o-Mohana’ won him the Sahitya Akademi award, reposed faith in the present set of Information Technology professionals, who, of late, were dissatisfied with their earnings and spending and keen to realise their own background by taking to literature in a big way.
“There seems to be de-link between the past and the present. Present should be deep-rooted in the past. Whatever that has been essential in the past should reflect in the present,” he observed in a conversation with The Hindu on the sidelines of a literary programme ‘Ongole Sahitya Sangamam’ organised by a conglomeration of cultural organisations ‘Sahitya Prakasam’ here on Saturday to kindle interest among youth on literature.
He released a book ‘Okkadu Ontarikadu’ by Elisha Yadav on the occasion.
Mr. Siva Reddy said, “There should be a sort of cultural continuity for which literature helps. Literature gives a person the confidence, faith in the future and helps him or or her flourish.”
Opining that “cultural suspicions” paved the way for the division of Andhra Pradesh, he underscored the need for dispelling them and called for greater interaction between the littérateurs from both the States .
He said Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had responded positively to the demand for setting up of the State-level Sahitya Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi to promote Telugu language, literature and culture.
He wanted Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to take a cue from his Telangana counterpart.
He said Telugu medium should be continued and the language should be made compulsory for all students up to Class X.
