Twenty literary and cultural organisations joined hands to pay rich tributes to noted social reformer and poet Gurajada Appa Rao here on Sunday.
At the 150 birth anniversary celebrations at Maris Stella College, the speakers urged the government to celebrate the event which falls on September 21 as ‘Modern Literature Day’.
People forgot the life history and works of the great poet though he became immortal with his books. His birth anniversary should be included in the list of anniversaries observed by the government, they said. They also sought steps to publish his works, which were almost on the verge of extinction.
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To hand over the rich literary legacy to posterity, Gurajada’s works on social reformation should be highlighted as they were relevant even to today’s world. As a reformer, he spoke against child marriages too.
Except for Telugus, everyone speaks in his/her mother tongue, irrespective of the place they reside at, HMTV chief K. Ramchandra Murthy said. “It is only Telugus who prefer to speak in English,” he said.
The participants recalled that Gurajada was a great humanitarian, who spread democratic ideologies and wanted to democratise not only the language and literature but also society. The writings of Gurajada had an undisputed uniqueness, they opined.
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His popular drama ‘Kanyasulkam’ was a historical masterpiece that not only brought fame to the poet but also to the Telugu people, they said. It was the right time to give wide publicity to his writings, they added.
Poet and literary critic Addepalli Rammohana Rao released a book titled ‘Gurajada moodu yabhaila pratyeka sanchika’. ‘Maha Gurajada’, a book of essays written by Sri Sri, was also released.
Prajasahiti representative Kothapalli Ravibabu spoke.