HYDERABAD: Peeved over literary organisations indiscriminately awarding titles such as Kavi Samrat and Kavi Chakravarthi, a 70-year-old retired Telugu teacher and poet Kandi Sankarayya started an indefinite fast and went into self-isolation late on Friday night.
However, scores of his disciples and friends intervened and prevailed upon Sankarayya to withdraw his indefinite fast by Saturday afternoon. The title Kavi Samrat was bestowed on Viswanatha Satyanarayana and Kavi Chakravarthi was given to another famous poet Gurram Jashuva long back.
Both the literary stalwarts — Viswanatha and Jasuhva — are Sankarayya’s favourites. He objects to literary organisations giving the same titles to newbie poets, who struggle to write a sentence or even a word in chaste Telugu.
"I started an indefinite fast last night and went into selfisolation to protest the attitude of some organisations. But my friends advised me to call off the fast," Sankarayya told Express on Saturday. He was also upset over a literary organisation inviting theses from the public saying they would be presented with doctorates by the Governor.
Sankarayya worked as a Telugu teacher in a Warangal school and settled in Hyderabad after retirement. He runs a blog Sankarabharanam (kandishankaraiah.blogspot.com) since 2008. Language lovers from across the globe send in Telugu metered poetry (chandassu) every day to this popular blog.