Telangana writer Nandini Sidda Reddy selected for Sahitya Akademi Award

Renowned Telangana poet Nandini Sidda Reddy has been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Animesha. Known for writing in the Telangana dialect, he played an active role in the Telangana movement and founded Manjeera Rachayithala Sangam.

Siddipet: Well-known Telangana writer Nandini Sidda Reddy has been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems titled ‘Animesha’. Sidda Reddy is widely known for his works in the Telangana dialect, with his writings reflecting the life, culture and struggles of Telangana people, particularly those living in rural parts of the State.

Sidda Reddy, a native of Bandaram village in Kondapak mandal, played a vital role in the second phase of the Telangana movement. He was a contemporary of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Rao had also honoured Sidda Reddy for his contribution to the Telangana movement by appointing him as the first president of the Telangana Sahitya Academy after the BRS formed the government in 2014.
Sidda Reddy was among the founder members of the Medak-based writers’ association Manjeera Rachayithala Sangam (MARSAM), which played a significant role in the Telangana Statehood movement. Born to Ratnavva and Bala Sidda Reddy on May 2, 1954, he completed his primary education in Bandaram and later moved to neighbouring Velkatur for his high school education. He pursued his intermediate and degree education in government colleges in Siddipet town.

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Chandrashekhar Rao was also a student at the degree college when Sidda Reddy completed his BA. While pursuing his MA in Telugu at Arts College, Osmania University, he became close to prominent poet Dr C Narayana Reddy, under whose guidance he completed his PhD in 1986. Prior to that, he was selected as a Reader in a government degree college in Medak in 1984. He later went on to become a principal and retired from service in 2012 from the Government College in Siddipet where he had earlier studied.
Apart from writing poetry, Sidda Reddy also wrote lyrics for the film industry. His song “Nageti Sallalla Naa Telangana” became a motivating force for the people of Telangana during the second phase of the movement.

While working as a government lecturer in 2001, Sidda Reddy rejected the Telugu University Best Poet Award as a mark of protest against the anti-farmer policies of the then TDP government. In 2024, he also decided not to accept an award from the Congress government to register his protest against changes made to Telangana Thalli and the removal of Bathukamma.
Members of the Manjeera Rachayithala Sangam celebrated in Siddipet after Sidda Reddy was selected for the award.