HYDERABAD: FILMMAKER, writer, painter, photographer and theatre practitioner Bongu Narsing Rao, whose work has brought Telangana’s landscapes, dialect, folk traditions and social realities to a wider audience, will be conferred an honorary doctorate by Dr B R Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) at its 27th convocation on Wednesday.
Narsing Rao will be honoured for his contribution to Telangana’s cultural and artistic heritage. His films, including Maa Bhoomi, Maa Ooru, Daasi and Matti Manushulu, have explored the struggles of ordinary people while documenting the region’s distinctive cultural milieu. His work across cinema, literature, painting, photography, theatre, music and cultural archiving has contributed to preserving the state’s cultural memory, earning him the description ‘Telangana’s Renaissance Man’.
According to university officials, 36,145 candidates will receive degrees, diplomas and certificates at the convocation. The batch comprises 17,960 undergraduate and 18,185 postgraduate, diploma and certificate candidates. A notable feature of the convocation is the graduation of 27 prisoners — 26 men and one woman — from Central Prisons in Cherlapally, Rajahmundry and Kadapa. Rajahmundry prison inmate Nukapeyyi Suresh will receive a gold medal and a book prize after securing the highest marks in all subjects.