Telangana Poet Ande Sri laid to rest with state honours

Hyderabad, Nov 11 (PTI) Renowned Telangana poet Ande Sri, who died following a brief illness, was laid to rest with police honours at Ghatkesar near here on Tuesday.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy carried the bier and took part in the burial as a mark of respect. He was accompanied by several ministers who paid floral tributes to the poet and consoled his grieving family members.

Earlier, Reddy, state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and other leaders participated in the funeral procession.

Leaders from various parties, fans and well-wishers attended the funeral, raising slogans in praise of the poet.

Speaking to reporters, Reddy described Ande Sri’s death as a personal loss and said the state government would write to the Centre recommending the Padma Shri award for him.

“The state government had written to the Centre last year requesting the Padma Shri for Ande Sri, but no positive response was received,” he said, urging Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar to support the proposal.

Reddy announced that ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’ would be included in the school curriculum. The government will also set up a park in Ande Sri’s memory and provide a government job to one of his family members, he said.

Describing the poet’s work ‘Nippula Vaagu’ as “a guide like the Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran for those fighting for Telangana’s people,” Reddy said 20,000 copies would be published and distributed to libraries across the state.

Ande Sri, the author of Telangana’s iconic state song ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’, died in Hyderabad on Monday at the age of 64.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and other leaders condoled his death.

Kishan Reddy and several leaders paid floral tributes to the poet on Monday. PTI SJR SSK