Their story, in short

A confluence of short-story writers deliberate the challenges and the path ahead

Telugu writers enjoying the serene environs of Coringa mangroves.

“I don’t know the technicalities of the short-story such as structure and narrative. But, I have been writing stories in Telugu for the last few years and I feel I have achieved something, as one of the stories gained entry into the ‘Katha-2015,’ an anthology of short-stories published by the Kathasahithi,” says M.S.K. Krishna Jyothi of Nellore. She represents over a dozen writers of the new generation at the day-long seminar titled ‘Kathato Okaroju,’ arranged recently on the sidelines of the release of ‘Katha-2015.’ Kathasahithi headed by Vasireddi Naveen and Papineni Sivasankar, has been publishing anthologies of short-stories every year for the last two and a half decades. This year, the literary organisation has chosen Kakinada as the destination for the release of their 26th edition and arranged day-long deliberations with the help of Kriya Society, a local NGO.

Writers, poets and literary critics of all ages and the connoisseurs of Telugu literature have turned up for the event in large numbers. The short-story writers have shared their experiences in story writing and their vision towards the literature. A schoolteacher from Nellore, Krishna Jyothi had a penchant for literature and started penning short-stories on the topics of her interest just a couple of years ago. Senior writer K.N. Malleswari feels writing is a serious business. “For me, the writer has a responsibility towards society and the works should make people think and be conscious. I would love to discuss gender sensibilities in my works,” she says.

For Vimala, the story is nothing but an extension of real life incidents. “I would like to portray the characters in realistic manner,” she points out. Literary critics Katyayani Vidmahe and Vadrevu Veeralakshmi Devi summarised the changing scenario of Telugu short-stories, while Adepu Lakshmipathi and A.V. Ramana Murthy, editors of ‘Katha-2015,’ narrated the cumbersome process they adopted to finalise 12 stories from over 2,000 entries.

While releasing the anthology, film director and writer Vamsy showered pleasantries on the Kathasahithi for brining out qualitative anthologies every year. Editor of

Chinuku magazine Nanduri Rajagopal has explained in detail the quintessence of the released one. Film and theatre artiste S.K. Misro, writer Valluri Siva Prasad and president of the Ajovibho Kandalam Foundation Appajosyula Satyanarayana highlighted the need for the story writers focusing on writing for the theatre.