Just like how the initial words of the Vemulapalli Srikrishna-written poem Cheyyetti Jai Kottu Telugoda , written in the early half of the 20th century, fill up any Telugu speaking person with immense pride, the play of words as ‘Telugetti Jai Kottu’ as the name of a literary festival too seems apt for the changing times. The fourth edition of the three-day international literary fest organised by Telangana Sahiti at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad served as an important bridge between the glory of yesteryear literary greats and the young blood in the Telugu literary space.
After the fest’s focus on poetry, novelists, literary criticism and language in the first three editions, the platform for the fourth edition of the fest was thrown open to young Telugu research scholars to present their understanding of the legendary writers and poets that the Telugu land had produced. Over 130 researchers from the Telugu States were teeming with enthusiasm at the fest venue, exchanging interesting observations about the incidents and the ideologies that shaped the body of work of regional writers.
In a first-of-a-kind initiative, the essays contributed by the researchers on greats like Baddena, Nanne Choda, Sri Sri, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Gurram Jashuva, Chalam, Tripuraneni Gopichand, Arudra, Dasaradhi were also compiled into a book (by Ananthoju Mohan Krishna) named after the fest, serving as an important document of the rich Telugu past.
Littérateurs from South Africa, the U.S., Bangladesh and the UK had also come together at the event, that conferred on special honours to contemporary Telugu writers, while making space for several book launches, a handful of bookstalls besides being host to a poets’ meet. Several notable personalities including Nandini Siddareddy, Sahitya Akademi-award-winning Hindi poet Manglesh Dabral, Sivareddy, Telakapalli Ravi, Pulikonda Subbachari, Yakub, Pathipaka Mohan and Enugu Narasimha Reddy had graced the event and made important observations about the issues that ail regional literature.
Manglesh Dabral’s words couldn’t have been timed better. “These aren’t great times for writers and creative freedom when independent thinking isn’t appreciated. Any alternative perspective to issues is facing attacks and we must oppose it as a society. History is being altered and re-written to suit political agendas and we must rise to the occasion and revolt against such drastic moves to the preserve the diverse fabric of the country,” he had opined.
Noted literary critic Pulikonda Subbachari (the father of actor Priyadarshi) appreciated how technology has widened the reach of the Telugu word among the public, encouraging literary discussions social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Quora. However, he also was quick to point out how Telugu as a language is becoming a pawn in the hands of private players in the education space with the imposition of English and lamented at the AP Government’s decision to replace Telugu with English as the teaching medium in schools.
Poet Jupaka Subhadra had also voiced issues of English being the administrative language and the decreased importance that society gives to people who don’t know another language beyond Telugu, recollecting her experiences of working at the Secretariat (of the united AP). This is a clear attack on the freedom of an individual to stand up to their mother tongue in the Telugu land, she added.
A few sights at the venue were empowering, especially when the 88-year-old Mallu Swarajyam, a contemporary of the revolutionary leader Chakali Ailamma, who had played a key role in the Telangana Peasants Armed Struggle, took to stage to discuss the role of the Telugu song in the context of the movement. She even sang a few lines of the songs that were used to motivate people to join their struggle. The participants minced no words in sharing their views about the language in the context of politics, education and films among many other aspects.
“History lays the foundation for our present and offers us an opportunity to learn from mistakes too. We hope to have reminded our participants about our ancient roots this time and also intend to dig deeper into the significance of Telugu poems and songs in the next edition of our fest,” Telangana Sahiti’s general secretary K Anandachari said at the valedictory ceremony of the well- attended event.
