A 25-year-old writer from the tribal community in Nizamabad, Telangana, named Nunnavath Karthik (writing under the pen name of Ramesh Karthik Nayak) was pleased to learn that his poems about the lives of tribals from Nizamabad had been included in the MA Telugu Language and Literature course at the Andhra Pradesh University.
The poetry collection by Nunnavath Karthik, titled "Balder Bandi," which was incorporated into the Andhra University's course is made up of his childhood poems. Karthik said, "Actually, those poems are my childhood poems. I haven't written much poetry after growing up as I moved into short stories. My parents thought that if I pursue a diploma I can get a good job and salary. I pretended like I was pursuing my education and used the time to go to the library. I pursued my Degree and PG through distance education. However, my parents are very happy now that I made something which other students have not," as per a report by ANI.
"I write poetry and short stories in Telugu and English. I published 3 books which include a poetry collection, a short story collection and a compilation with Professor Surya Dhananjay about Gor Banjara. I am a tribal writer who writes about the Banjara tribe. Recently my first debut poetry collection has been selected for the MA syllabus. Previously also one of my poems was inscribed into the degree syllabus in Telugu. I am very happy that my poems have been getting incorporated and getting more attention," the youth said.
Karthik added, "It is very difficult to pursue education, especially if one is living in a tribal community. But I made something better and I learned a language to express my feelings and tell the people about our community. People often have a perception that we have reservations and all the facilities from the government. We do have them, but when you look into our personal lives you see all the despair and wretched lives. So, I want people to experience those lives through my writings."
The writer said that he wants to write more stories about the lives of people. Apart from Balder Bandi, his other books are Dhaavlo and Kesula. Malikarjun, another young writer and friend of Karthik said, "In less than three years of time he has three books in his hand and he is also editing and publishing other new books. His book was nominated for Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar twice," as per ANI.