Ramesh Karthik Nayak is a Telugu writer, who writes about the lifestyle of Banjara community he belongs to. His short story collection, Dhaavlo won him Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for Telugu in 2024. Prior to that he was nominated twice in 2021 and 2023 for his poetry collection; Balder Bandi and in 2022 and 20223 for Dhaavlo. He was also awarded the coveted Telangana State Literary Award in 2018 He writes in Banjari language in Telugu script, in Telugu and in English. His writings have appeared in Poetry at Sangam, Indian Periodical, Live Wire, Outlook India, Nether Quarterly, Borderless Journal and his story, ‘The Story of Birth’ was published in Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation, University of IOWA. His poetry collection Balder Bandi is taught as part of the M. A- Telugu literature curriculum (2nd Year) at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.
In an exclusive interview with Nitish Raj; Editor-in-Chief, The Literary Mirror the acclaimed author talks about his literary journey and indigenous literature.
Q.1 How does it feel to be the first tribal author to be honored with the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar?
RKN: It seems good. Happy news about this award is that people started searching for my books and about me (about the Banjara/ Lambadi tribe), asking me for my interviews and opinions about Indigenous literature. There are a few writers who wrote about other tribes including the Banjara tribe in the form of stories in one or two books like Mallipuram Jagadesh, Paddam Anasuya, Kalyani Kunja, Sammeta Umadevi, Prof. Surya Dhananjay, Dr Dhananjay Nayak. This is a super time to remember all the writers who have written and are willing to write about tribal, nomad communities.
Q.2 What was your thought-process when you were aloof from this coveted prize by a whisker as you had already been nominated consecutively for three years?
RKN: I never had any thought – process, but was thinking about it- “Okay, got nominated, good, getting an award will be the news of a single day or a week. But getting nominated will be something more than achieving it.” Every time I got nominated for this Kendra Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar, each and every time I might have made at least a few people to read or search about Indigenous literature in Telugu.
Q.3 What pain and resentment does an author have to endure after losing his unpublished manuscript as you have also lost your collection of 100 poems before publishing?
RKN: I think it happened for a good reason only. Because by the time I had written and finalized the manuscript of poems in 2014 in Telugu, each and every poem in that manuscript was not about me or my people, the themes were not about anything that I was insisting to have in literature. So it was a chance for me to know what I’m up to. What should I have to write and why was it important then.
Q.4 How do you see your journey from an AC mechanic helper and a catering steward to your poems being taught in prestigious universities?
RKN: My journey was not planned, but the work (Writing) was planned, it was my aim to achieve and to get published. To reach my aim, the journey was demanded with such twists and turns. Happy to see my poems were being taught for Undergraduates and postgraduates. This would help the students (a new generation) to understand us. The stereotypes that they have or built in their hearts by the words they came across would wash away.
Q.5 You had been nominated for Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for your debut poetry collection, Balder Bandi as well as your short story collection Dhaavlo. How tough it is as an author to switch their thought-process while writing poetry and short stories?
RKN: I was good at writing poems and was thinking about writing poems all my life. By the time Balder Bandi got published, my friends and my readers were asking me to start writing stories. I never dared writing the stories, because it demands more time, I never had such spare time for it, I was busy with my odd jobs. It was an accidental thing for me, the second wave of Corona, in which my father and I were Corona victims, it was one of the reasons that pushed me to broaden my poem into a short story.
Q.6 Was it a conscious decision to have your latest poetry collection; Chakmak to be in English language to reach a wider audience as you normally write in Telugu language?
RKN: Not a conscious decision. Actually, I have started my writing with English poems and later switched to Telugu. I can manage writing in both languages. So I thought about getting published in both languages. Of course, if we get published in English, it has its range. As you all know that we don’t have any script for our language Gor Boli, it is important for us to tell our stories in whatever languages we know, no need to think of grammar and fluency. There are people who help us to correct them, once we are ready.
Q.7 What would be your advice to the young aspiring authors?
RKN: Our voice matters. If we don’t tell our stories or talk or shout loudly, sooner or later all will turn us into history. Whatever you feel is important to record, please do it now.
