Dr. Prasad Thotakura, one of the organizers of the TANA World Literary Forum, highlighted the vast diversity of Indian languages. He noted that every year, the Sahitya Akademi presents awards across 24 recognized languages.
Dallas, USA: According to Dr. Krithiventi Srinivasa Rao, Secretary of the Central Sahitya Akademi, Telugu literary works submitted for the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Awards are expected to receive more recognition compared to many other languages. However, he emphasized the need for a greater number of Telugu writings to be translated into English, Hindi, and various other languages. From this year, he also mentioned, writers will be allowed to submit their own entries directly for consideration in these awards.
TANA’s literary wing, Sahitya Vedike, regularly hosts a program named ‘Telugu Velugu’ on the last Sunday of each month. As part of this series, the 80th International Internet Visual Conference was held, focusing on ‘Mata Manti’ and featuring several Sahitya Akademi award recipients. At the event, TANA President Niranjan Shringavarapu extended a warm welcome to all attendees. He expressed his pleasure that many Telugu authors honored with the esteemed Central Sahitya Akademi Award had gathered on one platform and wished them continued success.
Following this, Dr. Prasad Thotakura, representing the TANA World Literary Forum, reiterated that India is home to countless languages. Among these, 24 languages receive the Sahitya Akademi awards annually. The event saw participation from eight Telugu authors who have been honored with these distinguished awards. Dr. Thotakura remarked that it was a unique and thoughtful initiative to engage in self-reflection on the works for which they were recognized.
Currently, only Indian citizens qualify for these awards. Drawing a parallel with the Padma awards, Dr. Thotakura proposed that the Akademi consider extending eligibility to writers of Indian origin living abroad, regardless of their citizenship status. He expressed optimism that such a change would encourage a richer variety of submissions in future competitions. Central Sahitya Akademi Secretary K. Chandrasekhar Rao, speaking on behalf of millions of non-resident Indians, agreed that this matter deserves attention. Dr. Thotakura urged Srinivasa Rao to look into this suggestion.
Distinguished literary personalities who participated in the event included: Dr. Gorati Venkanna, recipient of the 2021 Central Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Vallanki Taalam; Dr. Madhurantakam Narendra, awarded in 2022 for his novel Manodharma Paragam; Dr. Tallavajjala Patanjali Sastry, 2023 awardee for his collection Rameswaram Crows, Some More Stories; Dr. Elanaga (Nagaraju Surendra), honored in 2023 with the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award for Ghalib Nadu Kaalam (Telugu translation of Galib-The Man, The Times in English by Pavan Varma).
Also present were Penugonda Lakshminarayana, the 2024 award winner for his work Deepika; Pamidimukkala Chandrasekhar Azad, who received the 2024 Central Sahitya Akademi Bala Puraskar for his novel Maya Lokam; and Dr. Turlapati Rajeswari, honored in 2024 for translating the Odia novel Dadi Budha into Telugu as Eethachettu Deva. These awardees shared detailed insights about their recognized works with great enthusiasm.
