Thirteen Telugu poets from Krishna district were honoured on the occasion of Ugadi festival by district Collector S.A.M. Rizwi here on Friday. The 13 poets enthralled the audience with their poetry and scholarship in a ‘kavi sammellan’ conducted to celebrate the festival. Poet-scholars G.Vishnu Prasad, G.V.V.B. Sarma, Koka Vimala Kumari, Mudigonda Sitaravamma, Tata Ramesh, M Kripabhai, Muddigoda Sastry, Bhavishya, Vakkala Lanka Ramakrishna, S.Narasimha Raju, Eemani Seshayya participated in the sammellan that was moderated by noted poet Raavi Ranga Rao. District cooperative officer and poet T.H. Nagaraja Rao also had the privilege of participating in the sammellan. The Ugadi celebrations began with vedic chanting by Mantrala Kanaiah and noted astrologer Muttnuri Durga Nageswara Sastry did the ‘panchanga sravanam’. He predicted that there would be good rains this year.

The ‘kavi sammellan’ was followed by cultural programmes that portrayed the richness of Telugu culture.

Audience at the Sri Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram were treated to a scrumptious feast of various genres of Telugu Literature at the `Sahiti Vasanthotsavam,’ held here to usher in the Telugu new year, `Nandananama Ugadi.’ Be it the crisp one-liners, or spontaneous lyrics or delightful verse, the literary artistes, Jonnavithula Ramalingeswara Rao, Ramana, B. Ravi Kumar, K. Papayya Sastri and Srinivascharya delighted the audience.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Guntur, March 24th, 2012