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Lalita Iyer
Lalita Iyer

OBIT

Cinare: A colossus of Telugu literature

Noted Telugu writer and Jnanpith awardee Dr C. Narayana Reddy, popularly known as Cinare, died on Monday morning at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He was 85.

cn-reddy-wiki C. Narayana Reddy | via Commons

Reddy was rushed to the hospital after he complained of chest pain in the early hours. He is survived by four daughters.

Born in Hanumanjipet village of Karimnagar district in 1931, Reddy had his early education in Urdu medium and was greatly influenced by Urdu literature which later helped him introduce Ghazals in Telugu. This was his signature style and it became very popular. 

Reddy, whose career spanned over six decades, was the colossus of Telugu literature. 'Vishwambhara', a philosophical musing, was his magnum opus, for which he was awarded Jnanpith in 1988.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1977, Padma Bhushan in 1992 and was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1997. His research work on modern Telugu poetry discussing the influence of tradition and experiment on it became a classic since its publication in 1967 and all his works are regarded as trend-setters. He was also honoured with several literary awards like Kala Prapoorna and doctorate degrees by various universities.

His uniqueness lies in the fact that his wide-range of works, cutting across genres, are connected with both the scholars and the common men alike. He was a household name for Telugus. Cinare epitomised a seamless blend of tradition and modernity. Many of the movie songs that he wrote were huge hits. He bridged every gap through his literary classics and hummable movie songs between 1960 and 1970.

Cinare brought Telugu literature to the common person with his simple and lucid style, thus breaking the Puritanical shackles. He was the second Telugu litterateur to have won the country’s highest literary honour, Jnanpith, after Viswanatha Satyanarayana, and the first from Telangana.

At a time when all the writers in the Telugu film industry were from coastal Andhra region, Cinare, who hails from Telangana, stormed the world of movie lyrics with his refreshing and experimental approach. He made his debut with the NTR-starrer Gulebakavali Katha in 1962. NTR personally brought him on board to write all the lyrics for the film and Cinare stole the filmgoers’ hearts with his very first lyric Nannu Dochukonduvate Vannela Dorasaani. 

There was no looking back for him after writing this evergreen romantic song which was shot on NTR and Jamuna. Reddy penned over 3,000 movie songs.

He had infinite faith in the essential goodness of humans and this formed his philosophy which dominated his works. He did not want to be categorised and did not fit into any labels. Witty, soft-spoken and affable, Cinare was highly respected and was one of the most sought-after speakers at literary events.

As vice-chancellor of Telugu University, he also introduced several reforms in the curriculum.

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Topics : #Telangana

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