Nandini Sidha Reddy wins Sahitya Akademi award

Nandini Sidha Reddy (Sidda Reddy), a strong advocate of Telangana culture and identity and eminent Telugu poet, has been selected for Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 for her poetry anthology ‘Animesha’.

Sahitya Akademi on Monday announced its annual awards for the 24 Indian languages ​​it recognizes. Mr.Reddy is among the 24 writers/poets selected for the prestigious national award.

Sidha Reddy, the first president of Telangana Sahitya Academy, was born in 1955 to Bala Sidha Reddy and Rathnamala in Bandaram village of erstwhile Medak district. His father was a Communist leader who fought against the Razakars.

Mr. Reddy completed his master’s degree from Osmania University, followed by MPhil and PhD in 1986. He worked as a Telugu lecturer and retired from Government Degree College, Siddipet in 2012.

Mr. Reddy has been active in literary circles since his student days, running study groups and editing small magazines such as ‘Rose’. He later founded the Manjeera Rachaitala Sangam (Manjeera Writers Forum) and Telangana Rachaitala Sangam and edited several literary magazines.

He published seven major collections of poetry, starting with Diviti (1974). BRS working president KT Rama Rao and BRSLP deputy leader T. Harish Rao congratulated Reddy and said his election was a moment of pride for Telangana.

KTR described him as a ‘rising literary figure’ whose work has strengthened the cultural identity of Telangana.

Former Telangana Sahitya Academy president and poet Juluru Gouri Shankar said that ‘Animesha’ depicts the suffering of migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown.