Fragrance of Andhra’s farmlands in songs for downtrodden

His parents, Raghavaiah and Bhulakshmi, are agricultural labourers.
Pallipattu Nagaraju being felicitated after winning the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award | EXPRESS
Pallipattu Nagaraju being felicitated after winning the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award | EXPRESS

CHITTOOR: “I Want to empower the downtrodden through my literary work,” Pallipattu Nagaraju, the winner of Kendra Sahitya Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar, said. The 35-year-old won the award for his work, ‘Yaalai Poodisindi’, a collection of 52 poems. Nagaraju was born and brought up at Ranganathapuram Mittindlu in Sathyavedu mandal of Chittoor district. His parents, Raghavaiah and Bhulakshmi, are agricultural labourers.

Now a teacher at the Zilla Parishad High School in Pedduru in Santhipuram mandal, Nagaraju took inspiration from poets Sri Sri and Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak. One aspect that stands out in Nagaraju’s literary work is the local dialect he employs to describe the daily life of rural people. “I developed my style of writing by keenly observing other poets’ works,” he explained. His poems poignantly highlights the inequality, and suppression workers face in their daily life.

Nagaraju completed his schooling in Venkatapuram and pursued Intermediate from Sathyavedu Junior College. He graduated with B.A. in Special Telugu from SVGS Arts College and later underwent training as a Telugu pandit in Kurnool. In 2013, he completed his post graduation in Telugu language from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati.

Young poet dedicates award-winning ‘Yaalai Poodsindi’ to farmer parents

“I was inspired and influenced by many poets during my college days. I regularly went to conferences attended by poets and cultural programmes conducted at Mahati Auditorium in Tirupati. Those events changed my life,” he recalled. Elated on receiving the Akademi’s honour and recognition, Nagaraju dedicated his award-winning literary work to his parents.

Besides attending literary festivals, he is an avid reader and spends most of his time in a library. After completing his Masters, Nagaraju taught at a private school, while continuing his pursuit of literature. His expertise in Telugu landed him a job at a government school in 2016. Since then, he has been working as a Telugu pandit. Kavi Sangamam Publishers in Tirupati publ ished ‘Yaalai Poodsindi’ on January 31, 2021.

Nagaraju has also received several awards in the past, including, Kalahamsa, Doctor Radheya Kavitha Puraskaram, Ugadi Puraskaram, Vinjamuri- Kavi Sandhya, Telugu Sahitya Samskritika Samithi Purasakaram, Telugu Rakshana Vedika Baasha Seva Puraskaram. Nagarajual so bagged Ummadishetty Sahitya Award, Vimalasahti Smaraka Sahitya Yu - vapuraskaram , Pothuri Manikyamma Sathiya Purasakaram, Swarna Sahiti Seva Semiti , and Kothapalli Narendrababu Smaraka Puraskaram among others.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com