C Narayana Reddy, Jnanpith awardee and renowned Telugu poet, passes away at 85

Dr C Narayana Reddy, who was a renowned Telugu poet and writer passed away on Monday, 12 June. He was 85, and was rushed to a hospital following health complications, but was later declared dead.

C Narayana Reddy. Image from Twitter

Born on 29 July, 1931 in a remote village of the Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, he held a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Telugu literature from Osmania University, where he would later go on to teach at. He was also the Vice Chancellor of the Telugu University.

Navvani Puvvu, his literary debut, was a collection of poems and lyrics published in 1953. Reddy received the Jnanpith Award in 1988, and also penned 3,000 songs for Telugu films during his career. The first song he wrote was for the movie Gulebakavali Katha in 1962.

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He was also award the third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1992. Five years later, he was nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.

The work for which he received the Jnanpith Award, Visvambara, was translated into three other languages. Visvambara was his magnum opus, and he was the second Telugu poet to be honoured with the award.

Reddy was also honoured with the Padma Shri in 1977, and the Sahitya Akademi Award. He was known to be influenced by the Urdu language and literature.

His death was condoled by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.