# Papineni Sivasankar

Dr. Papineni Sivasankar (born 1953), a doyen of Modern Literature in Telugu, recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, 2016 is an Indian poet, short story writer, and critic.
He has published 52 books including five poetry collections, three short story collections, five essay collections and 39 anthologies. His poetry collections and short story collections were translated into other languages such as English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
His notable works are Rajani Gandha (2013), Matti Gunde (Heart of the Soil 1992) Sahityam-Moulika Bhavanalu (Literature-Basic Concepts 1996) and Talli! Ninnu Dalanchi.

## Early life and career

Born on Vijaya Dipavali 1953 in the village Nekkallu, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. His father Venkata Krishnarao was a former and mother Santamma was a housewife. Sivasankar completed his schooling at K.V.R.Z.P.H.School, Tulluru. He did his B.A. at JKC College, Guntur and stood first in Andhra University with Prabhala Sundararamayya Pantulu Gold Medal in 1974. He received his Master of Arts degree in 1976 at Andhra University, Nallapadu branch again with Telikicherla Venkataratnam Gold Medal. His Ph.D. thesis Sahityam - Konni Moulika Bhavanalu won Tumati Donappa Gold Medal as the best thesis from Acharya Nagarjuna University in 1989. He married Gruha Lakshmi in 1977 and with her had two daughters, Srujana and Spandana. And he joined B.S.S.B. College, Tadikonda as Telugu Lecturer in 1977 and retired as principal of that college in 2010.

## Literary works

Starting with Stabdhata-Chalanam in 1984 Sivasankar published five poetry collections in which the award-winning Rajani Gandha (2013) is significant. Dr. Papineni's greatness as a poet lies in his vibrant expression, fertile imagination, grandeur of thought and finest human sensibility. His first poem in free verse Cheekati nundi Vekuvaku was published in Dipavali Special issue of Andhra Jyothi in 1980. And his first short story Kalupu Mokka was published in Prajatantra weekly, in April 1977. Mattigunde was acclaimed as one of the 100 best short stories of 20th century. And Samudram is a unique narrative experiment in second person about the loss of succession to human intellect. Dr. Papineni published three short story collections. His short stories reflect the struggles of farmers, the impact of globalisation on villages in general, and the unrest and distress of human beings in particular. He brought out five books of criticism to his credit including Sahityam-Moulika Bhavanalu. As a critic, Sivasankar evaluated the merits of the classical poetry in Telugu. And with his insights in sociological theories he evolved many a concept like Avicchinnata (Continuity), Nisargata (Spontaneity), Parayitanam (Alienation) to analyze modern Telugu literature. In his exhaustive interview with Dr. C. Mrunalini Sivasankar revealed his exploration in Telugu literature and social culture as well.

## Awards and Accolades

* The Sahitya Akademi Award, 2016 for his poetry collection Rajani Gandha
* Free Verse Front Award, Hyderabad, 16 December 1985
* Dr. Garikapati Kavita Puraskaram, Rajahmundry, 09 May 1991
* Jyeshta Sahithi Award, Visakhapatnam, 26 June 1993
* Ummidisetty Award, Tadipatri, 1993
* Dr. C. Narayana Reddy Award, Karimnagar, 26 August 1999
* Telugu University Vachana Kavitha Puraskaram (1999), Hyderabad, 30 December 2000
* Nutalapati Literary Award, Tirupathi, 15 November 2000
* Nagabhairava Kalapeetham Award, Ongole, 25 January 2002
* Andhra Pradesh Adhikara Bhasha Puraskaram, Tirupati, 28 May 2003
* Andhra Pradesh State Best Teacher Award, 05 September 2003
* Akashvani National First Prize (2004) for 'Chivari Picchika', Trivendram, 05 September 2005
* Viswakalapeetham Snehanidhi Puraskaram, Hyderabad, 01 January 2006
* Visalandhra-Sunkara Sahithi Satkaram, Ongole, 15 September 2006
* Dr. Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Katha Puraskaram, Nandaluru, 13 July 2008
* Dr. Avamtsa Soma Sundar Kavitha Puraskaram, Pithapuram, 18 November 2010
* Andhra Nataka Kala Samithi Award, Bezawada, 18 April 2012
* Navyandhra Rashtra Ugadi Visishta Puraskaram, Anantavaram, 2015
* Srujana Sahithi Puraskaram, Addanki, 16 August 2015
* Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak Puraskaram, Tanuku, 29 August 2015
* Bollimuntha Sahithi Satkaram, Tenali, 2017
* Bharathi Samithi Puraskaram, Gudivada, 12 February 2017
* G.S.V. Sahitee Puraskaram, Tanuku, 2017
* Best National Poet honor by Prasara Bharati, Varanasi, 12 January 2017
* Viswadaata Kasinathuni NageswaraRao Pantulu Award, Elakurru, 08 May 2017
* Pucchalapalli Sundarayya Kala Puraskaram, Yadlapadu, 19 May 2017
* Mahakavi Jashua Award, Guntur, 2017
* Mahakavi Tummala Kalapeetham Puraskaram, Guntur, 16 December 2019
* Addepalli RamaMohanaRao Vimarsa Puraskaram, Kakinada, 11 December 2021
* HanumaReddy Sahitee Puraskaram, Ongolu, 24 April 2022
* Jashua Sahitee Puraskaram, Guntur, 27 September 2022
* Kaviraju Tripuraneni Ramaswamy Puraskaram, Guntur, 09 January 2023.
* Ravi Sastry Puraskaram, Visakhapatnam, 30 July 2024