Plea to name Telugu University after poet Somanatha

Palakurthy (Jangaon): Office-bearers of the Somanatha Kalapeetham have urged the State government to name Telugu University in Hyderabad after the famous Telugu poet Palakuriki Somanatha Maha Kavi.

An appeal in this connection was made to Palakurthy MLA Errabelli Dayakar Rao and the district collector Aallamaraju Devasena, the Kalapeetham’s honorary president R Satyanarayana, president Rapolu Shoba and general secretary Tammi Dileep Kumar said here on Thursday.

They wanted the statues of Somanatha Kavi to be installed on Tank Bund in Hyderabad and at all the district headquarters in Telangana as a mark of respect to the poet. The MLA and the collector have promised to take their appeal to the notice of the government.

Marking the World Telugu Conference (WTC)-2017, a ‘Spoorthy Jyothi Yatra’ was launched by the collector Devasena at Palakurthy by lighting a torch. The yatra is being organised jointly by the Kalapeetham, Telangana Writers Association, Sri Someshwara Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Temple Committee and Jangaon district administration.

Writer Amphasayya Naveen, Nagilla Rama Sastry of Kaloji Foundation, ex-MLC Ch Ramaiah, Jangaon municipal chairperson G Premalatha Reddy, the temple executive officer D Sadanandam and others attended the lighting of the torch programme.

After the torch reached Bammera village, tributes were paid to the renowned poet Bammera Pothana at his grave at the village. From there, the yatra moved forward and would reach the WTC venue in Hyderabad by Friday.

Addressing the gathering at Bammera, Ramaiah asked the government to name Telugu University in Hyderabad after the poet Pothana. He wanted the government to launch measures to propagate the poems of the poet among the younger generation.

The poems written by Pothana should be published in the form of small booklets to facilitate students to read them frequently. Competitions must be conducted every year to render the poems and give prizes to the winners to motivate students to learn them, he suggested, Ramaiah also wanted Bommera village to be developed as a tourist attraction.

He lauded Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s initiative of organising the WTC for the first time in Telangana and described the conference as a cultural summit.

Events like the WTC would greatly help to educate the current generation about the significance of Telugu language and its culture. Parents should take care in teaching Telugu to their children, suggested the MLA Dayakar Rao.