Literature from lived expertise: Ramesh Nayak
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Past the constraints and diktats of the city middle-class creativeness of literature, there lies an abundance of Indian vernacular literature that explores the uncared for margins of our society. A consultant of the Banjara tribe in Telangana, Ramesh Karthik Nayak, 26, is one such voice. He comes from the tribal thanda of Vivek Nagar within the Jakranpally mandal of the Nizamabad district.
Nayak is the youngest and the primary Telugu creator to be honoured with the celebrated Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2024 for his assortment of brief tales Dhavlo (Music of Lament, 2021). His literary journey spans 4 books – three brief story collections and one assortment of poetry – all written within the Banjari language in Telugu and English scripts. Apart from garnering a number of awards and options in worldwide and nationwide publications, his writing has been included in college curricula throughout establishments in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Reflecting on his personal lived experiences, he depicts the truth of the indigenous nomadic neighborhood of the Banjaras, also referred to as Lambadas, who’re initially from Rajasthan however are actually scattered throughout the nation.
“I used to scribble poems behind my faculty notebooks since I used to be a baby, and scorned by my academics who typically tried to cease me from writing. However I knew my calling; I wished my Banjara neighborhood to have a voice,” recollects Nayak. After passing Class X at SVSHS Bodhan, he undertook a number of odd jobs equivalent to catering, distributing leaflets, promoting books at occasions, and even repairing ACs, earlier than his foray into writing. “As soon as my first assortment of poems Balder Bandi was revealed in 2018, there was no trying again,” he says.
‘Fragmented identification’
Nayak is the primary author to open a window into the Banjaras’ lifestyle, their tradition, and heritage for modern readers. His work explores the politics of identification and belonging, the innate fantastic thing about the nomadic panorama, and the myriad challenges confronted by the tribal neighborhood.
“The Banjara identification is extraordinarily fragmented, our festivals are hybridised, the colorful and flamboyant attires are actually slowly fading, and the oral historical past is more and more misplaced in translation. I need to seize the essence of our neighborhood, as we’ve remained hidden from mainstream literary areas for a very long time,” he emphasises.
Whereas his award-winning Dhavlo (2021), in Banjari , delves into the nitty-gritty of Banjara life, his assortment of Banjari poems Chakmak (2023), written in English digs deeper into the displacement and crises that nomadic tribes expertise. Right here, Nayak questions the idea of an ‘origin’ and evokes the loneliness that comes with being uprooted.
By way of his work, he goals to throw mild on the expertise that lies within the shadows. “This award [Sahitya Akademi] and media protection are attracting extra consideration towards my tribe and different tribal communities within the Telugu states; it’s also a uncommon occasion of tribal expertise being recognised. Now the nation can see the expertise that lies within the margins and in self-taught artists who come from little to no privilege,” he says.
