Telugu Literature Work that won UNICEF Award

Telugu literature has got segmented'

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“Good literature that carries social message is always appreciated,” Athaluri Vijaya Lakshmi tells T. Lalith Singh

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Winning laurels: Writer Athaluri Vijaya Lakshmi.

Fifty-four-year old Athaluri Vijaya Lakshmi's sensitive portrayal of contemporary social issues through stories and plays has won her laurels, the latest being UNICEF Award. She is employed as Superintendent with HMWSSB

The award is under gender sensitive programme for the teleserial ‘Niveditha' written by me and telecast on Doordarshan Saptagiri channel. I wrote it five years back as a radio play and later adapted for television It narrates the story of a girl child who is cast aside by her father but through sheer grit struggles and turns success in life.

I started writing at the age of 16 years and continued for the last 38 years during which period I came up with more than 200 stories published in leading magazines and also another 200-odd plays for radio and also used for stage. My stories mostly are woven around children who are the only section that lack a voice to express their concerns, fears, agonies and travails.

Earlier literature was literature and that's all. Now, Telugu literature has got segmented with narrow demarcations such as feminism, revolutionary and Dalit, which are affecting it badly. Literature will thrive when it rises beyond such segmentation to reach out to one and all. Dividing into different groups is not going to help.

Young generation is not really into reading habit...

That is true to a large extent. May be we Telugu writers are not coming out with stories that appeals to them. Harry Potter series is read so widely by our children but perhaps we are not telling stories in the way that could catch their attention.