MerryHarris567 at 01:56, 10 September 2025

2025-09-10T01:56:32Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian poet (1927–2007)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Gunturu Seshendra Sarma
| image =File:Seshendras.jpg
| caption = Seshendra Sarma
| birth_date = 20 October 1927
| birth_place = [[Nagarajupadu]], [[Nellore]] District, [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
| death_date = 30 May 2007
| death_place = [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]], [[India]]
| occupation = [[Poet]]
| spouse= G.Janaki, [[Indira Devi Dhanrajgir|Rajkumari Indira Devi Dhanrajgir]] }}

'''Gunturu Seshendra Sarma''' [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] [[Bachelor of Laws|B.L.]] (20 October 1927 – 30 May 2007), also known as '''Yuga Kavi''', was a [[Telugu language|Telugu]] poet, critic and [[litterateur]]. He is well known for his works ''Naa Desam, Naa Prajalu'' and ''Kaala Rekha''. He authored over fifty works which have been translated into [[English language|English]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]], [[Urdu]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Hindi]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and [[Greek language|Greek]].<ref name="museindia" />

==Early life==
Gunturu Seshendra Sarma was born on 20 October 1927.<ref name="museindia">{{cite web|url=http://www.museindia.com/showfocus2.asp?id=581 |title=Ambika Ananth - Seshendra Sharma |publisher=Muse India |access-date=2009-04-27 |author=Ambika Ananth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927045737/http://www.museindia.com/showfocus2.asp?id=581 |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
At 18 years of age, Sarma's marriage was arranged to Gunturu Janaki (née Yeddanapudi Janaki), and they had two sons and two daughters: Vasundhara (1951), Revathi (1953), Vanamaali (1956) and Satyaki (1958). Later in 1970 he married [[Indira Devi Dhanrajgir]], an Indo Anglican poet. Till his death on 30 May 2007, he lived with her at her Gyanbagh Palace. His love for his children was limitless - “an ocean of love” in his own words. His joy knew no bounds whenever he saw his children and grandchildren (see foto). In a literary biography “Seshendra velugu niidallo” written by his son Vanamali Gunturu, the author describes the literary genius and unparalleled scholarship of his father, his evolution from an everybody’s darling in a small village Thotapalliguduru till his complete maturity as author and intellectual, who was engaged in an incessant fight against the brute power of the state and was a victim of political persecution. At the same time the biography shows how his wife Janaki had to swallow the pangs of being married to such a historical person as Seshendra and the injustice being done to her.
[[File:The poet with his children.jpg|thumb|alt=poet's family |Seshendra]]
[[File:The poet with his family.jpg|thumb|alt=family and literature |Seshendra with his son and grandchildren]]

== Works ==
Seshendra Sarma is the second person to have been nominated for the Nobel Literature prize for his contribution to literary field from India, the first being [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. The West Bengal Government conferred upon him the title "Rashtrendu" (Moon of the Nation) in honour of his accomplishments. Telugu University conferred an honorary D.Litt. on him in 1994. He received the "Kalidas Samman" award from the Madhya Pradhesh government. He won a Central Sahitya Akademi fellowship in 1999. The other important awards Seshendra received are ‘Subrahmanya Bharati Ekta Award’ from the Hindi Academy, Rashtriya Sanskriti Puraskar’, ‘Ugadi Puraskar’, ‘Tilak Award’ and ‘Sahitya Ratna 2001’ from Sri Ram Sahitya Mandal, Himachal Pradesh. He has been nominated as a member to the ‘Kendriya Hindi Samithi’ by Prime Minister of India. He was selected for Hamsa Award, in 2004-05, by the Govt. of AP.

Seshendra's first work in print appeared in 1952.<ref name="museindia" /> It is the translation of [[Matthew Arnold]]'s ''[[Sohrab and Rustum]]'', which is based upon the [[Persian literature|Persian]] Epic ''[[Shahnama]]''. Initially he focused on poetry and occasionally worked on literary criticism. Seshendra's first collection of prose-poems was entitled ''Sesha Jyotsna''. He composed it in strict conformation with [[Telugu language|Telugu]] prosody which was published in 1972 in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and English. Its translations into [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] appeared separately.

His magnum opus ''Naa Desam, Naa Prajalu'' (''My Country, My People'', ''Meri Dharti, Mere Log'') brought Seshendra prominence as one of the outstanding poets of India. It led to his nomination for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 2004.

''Shodasi'', his tantric commentaries on the [[Ramayana]], and ''Swarna Hamsa'', the study of Harsha Naishadhiya Charita, are works of literary criticism. ''Kaala Rekha'', Seshendras' 1994 book, is a collection of twenty-five essays on various subjects like ancient Sanskrit drama and ancient Greek drama, comparative literature, classical poetry and [[Aurobindo]]'s [[Savitri (book)|Savitri]].

The collection of poems ''Neerai Paaripoyindi'' (literally, "Melted away") was brought out in 1976 in bilingual editions.

==Death==
Sarma died on 30 May 2007.

===Legacy===
Sarma has been a subject of various thesis dissertations for PhD in Telugu literature.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Rao
| first = Prabhakar S. S.
| title = Homage
| publisher = Social Science Research Network
| ssrn = 1032502
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title = Gunturu Seshendra Sarma Endowment lecture
| publisher = xyz.com
| url = http://202.41.85.100/admin/uploads/press_releases/Guntur%20Sheshendra.pdf
| access-date = 2009-05-13
}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Dr. Vanamali Gunturu, Seshendra velugu niidallo - nannato na anubhavalu, EMESCO 2021

==Awards and titles conferred==
*1994 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] literature for his work ''Kaala Rekha'' – won
*1994 Honorary D.Litt. by Telugu University
*1999 Central [[Sahitya Akademi]] fellowship for contribution to Telugu literature
*2001 Sahitya Ratna by Sri Ram Sahitya Mandal, Himachal Pradesh - won
*Jnanpeeth award for contribution to [[Telugu language|Telugu]] literature – nominated
*2004 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] for ''My Country, My People'' – nominated
*2004-2005 [[Hamsa Award]] by [[Andhra Pradesh]] State Government for contribution to Telugu literature - won
*Rashtrendu (''Moon of the Nation'') by [[West Bengal]] State Government
*Kalidas Samman by [[Madhya Pradesh]] State Government
*Subrahmanya Ekta Award by Hindi Academy - won
*Rashtriya Sanskriti Puraskar - won
*Ugadi Puraskar - won
*Lokamanya Tilak Award - won
*Member of Kendriya Hindi Samiti - nominated by [[Prime Minister of India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
''Dr. Vanamali Gunturu'', '''Seshendra velugu niidallo - nannato na anubhavalu''', (a literary biography of the poet) EMESCO 2021

{{SahityaAkademiFellowship}}
[https://archive.today/20131018150359/http://www.telugufirst.com/2013/10/18/in-memory-of-seshendra-sharma Story on Seshendra by his son in Telugu]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarma, Gunturu}}
[[Category:Telugu poets]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kala Ratna]]
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Nellore district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

Gunturu Seshendra Sarma - Revision history

MerryHarris567 at 01:56, 10 September 2025