Writers press for classical status to Telugu

Getting acquainted: Governor N.D. Tiwari greeting delegates at the three-day World Telugu Writers Conference that began in Vijayawada on Friday.

VIJAYAWADA: A three-day World Telugu Writers’ Conference began here on Saturday, with Jnanpeeth awardee C. Narayana Reddy suggesting that the conference pass a resolution demanding the Centre to accord classical language status to Telugu. Dr. Reddy felt that such a resolution would give a fillip to the ongoing efforts in this direction.

Without going into the specific demand, Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari, who was the chief guest, noted that Telugu has been in existence for more than 2,000 years. “It is one of our oldest languages and is spoken by a very large number of people. Its literature is known for its aesthetic and spiritual richness.”

Mr. Tiwari opined that Telugu could be compared to French and Italian. Calling it a “musical language”, he observed that the language had a great tradition, which would have to be preserved for the posterity. “Telugu writers have to bear the torch and lead the movement to protect their mother tongue,” he remarked.

The Governor suggested to Telugu writers to redefine their objectives and strive for another cultural renaissance. Their writings should be filled with patriotism and depict glorious cultural heritage of India. He generously quoted from Gurazada Appa Rao’s poem దేశ భక్తి (Desa Bhakti) amidst a big round of applause and recalled that Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s రామాయణ కల్పవృక్షం (Ramayana Kalpavriksham) had got worldwide recognition as it was written in a fascinating and unique style. He termed Viswambhara of Dr. Narayana Reddy “a magnificent modern poetry”.

Dr. Narayana Reddy rejected the argument that Telugu was not suitable for official correspondence. He said the Official Language Commission had prepared many dictionaries and translated a good number of English words used in official correspondence into Telugu.

Courtesy: The Hindu