Balivada Kanta Rao
(3 July 1927 – 6 May 2000) was a noted
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
and
playwright.
He was born in
Madapam village in
Srikakulam District of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, he worked in various capacities as civilian officer in the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
. He has to his credit 38 major and minor novels, 400 short stories, 5 major plays, host of playlets and radio plays and travelogues.
Many of his novels and stories have been translated into other Indian languages. He won several awards which include Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi, Telugu University Award, Gopichand Literary award, Ravi Shastri Memorial Award and Kalasagar Vishishta Puraskaram. He was the winner of Kendriya
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
Award in 1998 by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
.
Sahitya Akademi.Award Winners
Novels and novelettes
Balivada's published repertoire includes 38 major and minor novels. Many of his works have been translated into Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada and other Indian languages. Some of his works are:
*''Sharada'' (1947)
*''Parajayam'' (1949).
*''Annapurna'' (1950)
*''Buchi'' (1950)
*''Suguna'' (1951)
*''Godameeda Bomma'' (1953)
*''Dagapadina Tammudu'' (1957)
*''Matsyagandhi'' (1962)
*''Sampangi'' (1970)
*''Nalugu Manchalu'' (1966)
*''Punyabhumi'' (1969)
*''Ide Narakam Ide Swargam'' (1974)
*''Vamsadhara'' (1982)
*''Delhi Majlilu'' (1984)
*''Chaitra Parvam'' (1977)
*''Love in Goa'' (1984)
*''Maro Rajasekhara Charitra'' (1986)
*''Ajanta'' (1986)
*''Ellora'' (1988)
*''Ammi and Janmabhoomi'' (2003. Published Posthumously)
Apart from the novels, 400 short stories, 8 Plays, travelogues, essays have been published and staged. Many of his plays were broadcast on All India Radio and Doordarshan. Five anthologies of his stories and one anthology of six small novellas have been published
References
Further reading
*The Secret of Contentment and Other Telugu Short Stories. Translated by Sujata Patnaik., 2002.
*Monsoon Showers in Goa & The Mythical Mermaid- Two Novellas. Translated by Sujata Patnaik., 2014. Published by Sahitya Akademi.
*AVKF.Balivada Kanta Ra
20th-century Indian novelists
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu
1927 births
2000 deaths
People from Srikakulam
Telugu writers
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
People from Srikakulam district
Novelists from Andhra Pradesh
Dramatists and playwrights from Andhra Pradesh
People from Uttarandhra
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