Cinare no more

Hyderabad: Doyen of Telugu literature and Jnanpith awardee Dr C Narayana Reddy, popularly known as ‘Cinare’ died here on Monday after brief illness. He was 86. He is survived by four daughters. He complained of chest pain in the morning and was rushed to a private hospital where he breathed his last.

The Telangana government is making arrangements to conduct C Narayana Reddy’s funeral with full state honours on Wednesday at Mahaprasthanam in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad. The noted poet, writer and lyricist was born at Hanumajipet village of Rajanna Sircilla district (which was part of Karimnagar district till recently) of Telangana on July 29, 1931.

Cinare studied in Urdu medium and mastered Telugu literature and joined Osmania University as a Telugu professor. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Telugu University and Andhra Pradesh Open University. He is known for his use of Telugu in its purest form and had penned over 3000 songs for various Telugu films.

He was awarded Padma Shri in 1977 and Padma Bhushan in 1992. His compilation of poems, titled ‘Viswambhara’ got him the Jnanpith award in 1988. He also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Official Language Commission and president of the Telangana Saraswatha Parishath.

Governor ESL Narasimhan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his AP counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreya, Y Sujana Chowdary, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy ,
former Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah were among those who condoled the death of C Narayana Reddy.

PM condoles Cinare demise

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of veteran Telugu poet C Narayana Reddy, saying his works struck a chord across generations. "The demise of C Narayana Reddy is a major loss to the literary world. His works struck a chord with the people across generations," he tweeted.