Despite having rich heritage and culture, Telugus do not lay emphasis on preserving their culture, language, ethnicity and history, which will have a detrimental effect on future generations, Andhra Pradesh Official Language Commission chairman Mandali Buddha Prasad has said.
He was speaking at the release of a book, ‘The Science of Antiquity,’ at Salarjung Museum here on Wednesday. The book is a posthumous compilation of various essays and research papers contributed by eminent archaeologist late Dr VV Krishna Sastry.
Krishna Sastry was the first archaeologist to have conducted excavations near Nagarjuna Sagar during 1960s to unearth the chemistry lab constructed by Buddhist philosopher Siddha Nagarjuna in the ninth century AD. He was also instrumental in tracing the history of Keesaragutta, a pilgrimage centre on the outskirts of Hyderabad. He had contributed immensely to the archaeological sites along Visakhapatnam and Adilabad belt.
Prasad said that Dr Sastry’s active years as an archaeologist was a golden period for Telugu culture considering the enormous efforts by him to document Telugu culture dating back to prehistoric and medieval ages.
Sastry had contributed greatly to the Telangana region in terms of archaeological findings which have become study material for future generations, filmmaker B Narsing Rao pointed out.
Sastry is credited with 17 excavations, eight new discoveries and published more than 150 articles in various journals during his life time.