Books, writers have been guiding light in times of defeat: Pawan Kalyan-OxBig News Network

Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan and members of the Vijayawada Book Festival Society going round the book stalls after the inauguration of the 35th Book Festival in Vijayawada on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

In times of defeat or other lowest moments in his life, he always turned to books for solace and strength, and without reading he could not have reached where he is today, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said, while speaking at the inauguration of the 35th Vijayawada Book Festival.

Addressing a large crowd, mostly youth who had come to see the Minister, at the sprawling grounds of the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) Stadium in the city where the annual book festival began on Thursday, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said: “The person (referring to himself) you are seeing and admiring today has become what he is because of books and writers. These two have been my strengths in turbulent times.”

Amidst loud cheers and hoots from his fans, who had earlier rudely shouted down Sahitya Akademi secretary K. Sreenivasa Rao during his speech, Mr. Pawan Kalyan reminisced about his journey with books since he was in Class VII. Apologising to Mr. Sreenivasa Rao on his fans’ behalf, Mr. Pawan Kalyan remembered how every book produced in him different emotions and opened his mind to new ways of thinking.

“To have an innovative and creative mind, to learn new things and to have an ability to imagine, reading is very important. While I do not think twice when I am asked of monetary help, I hesitate before lending my books to anyone, even to my daughters,” he said, likening the smell of a new book to the earthy smell of soil when it rains.

Recalling a few writings that stayed with him since his childhood, he pointed out how he could relate to the struggles of the protagonist in the Kesava Reddy’s ‘Athadu Adavini Jayinchadu’ and understand the travails of the people in Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s ‘Vanavasi’. He also mentioned how writers, including Srirangam Srinivasa Rao, Tripuraneni Gopichand, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak, among others, had shaped his thinking.

For the book lovers, writers’ houses are akin to temples. Therefore, he said the State government was looking at ways to preserve these places and make them tourist spots. Later, urging youngsters to become warriors to preserve Telugu, he talked about the importance of one’s mother tongue and role of a good teacher in one’s life.

Other speakers, including Mr. Sreenivasa Rao, Vijayawada Book Festival Society secretary T. Manohar Naidu, Telugu daily Eenadu’s A.P. Editor M. Nageswara Rao, underlined the importance of cultivating the habit of reading in children.

Mr. Nageswara Rao pointed out how all developed countries had one thing in common, which was including literature in their curriculum, and lamented how the reading habit was gradually coming down these days. This point was highlighted by Mr. Srinivasa Rao too.

Mr. Manohar Naidu thanked Mr. Pawan Kalyan for agreeing to their request for organising the book exhibition at the municipal stadium. The book festival was earlier scheduled to be organised at the Government Polytechnic College, like every year.

Stalls looked empty as not many people were seen on the first day, while work on arrangements were still under way. The 11-day book festival ends on January 12.