Ravuri gets Jnanpith

• 'Pakudu Rallu' chosen for country's most prestigious award
• Third writer from state to receive the honour

Hyderabad: Eminent Telugu writer Ravuri Bharadwaja was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith Award - highest distinction for showing literary prowess- for his magnum opus work 'Pakudu Rallu'- a novel, for the year 2012.

The 86-year-old writer has to his credit more than 37 volumes of short stories, 17 novels, 33 works on children's literature, poetry collections, 4 playlets and 5 radio plays among a total of more than 130 publications. He also wrote on science and penned essays on different subjects. From among the works Pakudu Rallu was picked up for the Award by a selection board chaired by noted Odiya poet Sitakant Mahapatra, a statement of Jnanpith Award committee on Wednesday said.

He is the third Telugu literary giant from the state to be conferred with this Award- the other two being Viswanatha Satyanarayana and Dr C Narayana Reddy. A A prolific writer, most of whose works have touched the social psyche, the octogenarian author has seen many ups and down in his life. Born in 1927 in a poor family in Moguluru village near Tadikonda of Guntur district, Bharadwaja has had his formal education only up to seventh class. But as the adage goes, he studied the world, the complexities of life, more so the disparities and the compass of understanding of people of various hues. His writings were PhD and M Phil topics in several universities.

Pakudu Rallu was splendid for its graphic description of lives behind the silver screen, their mental agony etc. Perhaps it was the first book which has come out on the subject and won critical acclaim. Jeevana Samaram, another beautiful account of people of various walks of life for which Bharadwaja spent years to study their life from close quarters.

Apart from these two, his other creations include Kadambari, Inupa Tera Venuka and Koumudi which have been translated into English and various Indian languages. He has also contributed profusely for children's literature. He joined Akashavani in 1959 after a stint in a number of journals as a journalist. He was earlier awarded Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Telugu Akademi Award, Balsahitya Parishad Award and honorary doctorates from four universities.

"Bharadwaja passed through all sorts of vicissitudes of life but continued his services to Telugu literature with perseverance. He is a poet, a playwright, a novelist of distinction and a popular science writer," Sitakant Mahapatra lauded in his statement. Bharadwaja's greatest attribute is his flair for story- telling. His works proved that a writer has a social awareness and his work a human purpose," he added.