VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan inaugurated the 33rd edition of Vijayawada book festival in the city on Thursday. The book festival which has been organised by Vijayawada Book Festival Society in the government Polytechnic college grounds, has 216 stalls that offer various types of books.
The 33rd Vijayawada Book festival was named after late Sri Ravikrindi Ramaswamy, popularly known as ‘Vikram’ Ramaswamy, in recognition of his service to the Book Festival Society, the main dais of the Book Fair has been named after late Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, writer and actor of Telugu films known for his literary contribution to All India Radio (AIR). Speaking on the occasion, Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said that he has gained a better understanding of the richness of Telugu language since the time he took over as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
He said it is a matter of great pride for the Telugu people that Kavi Samrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana, who hailed from Vijayawada, had won ‘Jnanpith’ award, the highest Indian literary award for his epic novel ‘Veyi Padagalu’ and the fact that it was translated into Hindi language by Prime Minister late PV Narasimha Rao, speaks volumes of the litterateurs' greatness.
He further added that Telugu language is spoken by 810 lakh people across the world, and it is the fourth most spoken language in India. Recalling old days while serving jail term during emergency period, the Governor said he had availed the great resources for writing books such as Rana Pratap, Maru Bataas, Manasi and other books in Odia language.
He advised youngsters and parents that every child must be moulded primarily to love the mother tongue, before one learns other language. “During my childhood, we were encouraged to read great epics and moral stories in our mother tongue,” he recalled. The Governor further suggested parents to encourage their children to read books from an early age.
“They will be as empowered with knowledge as they grow up reading books,” he stated. He further expressed his happiness that EMESCO and Visalandhra Book House are the doyens of the publishing industry in the State and that they have been felicitated by the State government with ‘YSR LifeTime Achievement Award.’ Botcha Satyanarayana, N Lakshmi Parvathi, Sri Vijay Babu, president of Vijayawada Book Festival Society Manohar Naidu and others were present.