World Telugu Writers Conference begins in Vijayawada

World Telugu Writers Conference begins in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The second World Telugu Writers Conference began here on Saturday with writers, poets, teachers, artists and representatives of various publications, including media, greeting one another and pressing for proper implementation of Telugu as official language in the State.Well-known poet and Jnanpith Awardee, Dr C Narayana Reddy, formally inaugurated the three-day convention emphasising the need to protect the language and culture. He regretted that the language is being neglected by the government on one side and the educational institutions on the other. 

He recalled an incident where a student was humiliated by the class teacher for speaking Telugu and expressed concern over the increasing obsession for foreign languages, particularly English. He also said the influence of Western countries was more on Telugu people than others in the country.

He took exception to the neglect of implementation of Telugu as official language in the State. He said the government had failed to promote the Official Language Committee on par with other bodies of the government. He regretted that the use of Telugu in government offices was not satisfactory and favoured better patronage. 

Eenadu Group chairman Ch Ramoji Rao, who was the chief guest, felt that the language should serve the socio-economic requirements of the people. The language should be useful in education, communication and employment for the people to promote it.

He said that the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra had taken steps to promote and protect their respective languages, while Andhra Pradesh was turning into ‘Angla’ (English) Pradesh. Even countries like China, France and Germany give importance to their mother tongue rather than English and still they have proved their mark. He wanted Telugu people to have similar love for their language so as to keep it alive. 

He also favoured some research work to find new Telugu words for scientific names.Industrialist KE Varaprasada Reddy wanted the writers and poets to rise up to the demands of the younger generation. Stating that the English fiction, Harry Potter, had become the hottest story book for children and the young, he wanted the Telugu writers and poets to come up with such books for the younger generation.

Andhra Jyothi editor K Srinivas wanted a panel to keep adding and developing new words like the English who update their dictionary with new words.

Writer Ms Malathi Chandoor said that the language would get patronised only if the rulers had love for it. She cited the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to protect and promote the Tamil language and wanted similar leadership. She asked the organisers to make the government understand the importance of the language and initiate steps to protect and promote it.

The three-day conference is organised by Krishna District Writers Association, whose president Mandali Buddha Prasad is the organising committee chairman.