In 1980, Dr C Narayana Reddy wrote Viswambhara, for which he won the Jnanpith award.
Telugu poet, lyricist and writer Cingireddy Narayana Reddy passed away on early Monday morning, reported news agency
ANI. An authority on Telugu literature, he won the Jnanpith Award in 1988. Dr C Narayana Reddy was also a play-wright, orator, educationist and communicator. Besides Jnanpith, the poet was also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1992, the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Eighty-five-year-old Dr Reddy was born on July 29, 1931, in a village of Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh.
His first work of poetry and lyrics, Navvani Puvvu, came out in 1953.
In 1980, he wrote Viswambhara - a magnum opus, for which he won the Jnanpith award.
Dr Reddy reportedly started working with the Telugu film industry in 1962 and penned over 3,500 songs.
In August 1997, he was nominated to the upper house of the Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha.
"I am deeply saddened and at a loss of words to know about the demise of Dr C Narayana Reddy, professor, poet, writer, Jnanapith awardee and former member of Rajya Sabha," said Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, as reported by the
Press Trust of India.
"Dr Reddy was a versatile genius, - one of the finest poets and lyricists produced by Telangana. He was a wordsmith having mastery over Telugu language and literature," he added.
(With Agency Inputs)