There is hardly any topic that is untouched by ‘Pedda Balasiksha’. The encyclopedia should adorn the shelves of every household.

With an aim to deliver this message across rural and urban areas in Andhra Pradesh and other states, the Bharatiya Telugu Samiti has embarked upon a linguistic journey to mark International Mother Language Day celebrations on Saturday.

In order to strengthen Telugu language and culture and build awareness among people, ‘Telugu Varadhi’, a chariot (specially-designed Maruti van), has been flagged off opposite Telugu Talli statue near district court. Loaded with volumes of Pedda Balasiksha along with bundles of Telugu story books, the chariot will head to different regions to spread the message. “The concept of ‘Telugu Vari Prati Inta Pedda Balasiksha’ was introduced three years ago where I used to reach out to people commuting on my two-wheeler. So far, around 5,000 copies of Pedda Balasiksha have been sold. The idea of launching Telugu Varadhi is to visit far-off places and highlight the importance of our sweet language among people. Soon we will visit Tamil Nadu to promote our culture,” says Mavuri Balasubrahmanyam, founder of Bharatiya Telugu Samiti.

With wife Padmavathi, 11 year-old-daughter Savinaya and eight-year-old son Sree Vinay, along with a group of volunteers extending support, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam is confident of accomplishing his mission that began on February 21.

Initially, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam had only 10 volunteers to support his campaign. Today, there are more than 50 volunteers from various districts teaming up for the drive.

“What remained unchanged for the last 20 years is the price of the 1,000-page book that costs just Rs.116. With a further investment of Rs.2 lakh for the new chariot, I am hopeful to connect with more Telugu people,” he adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – February 22nd, 2015