Nandini Siddha Reddy

Nandini Siddha Reddy is also known as Sidhareddy or Sidha Reddy. He is a famous Indian Telugu writer, teacher, songwriter, poet, and social activist. On June 12, 1955, he was born in Bandaram village in Medak district, Telangana, India. He completed his Master’s of Arts (M.A.) degree at Osmania University, Hyderabad. After that, he took Masters of Philosophy (M.Phil) degree in “The Sun in Modern Telugu Poetry” in 1981. Later, he received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in “Modern Poetry – Reality – Surrealism” in 1986.

From 1984 to 1991, he taught in Medak and then engaged as a Telugu lecturer at Siddipet Government Degree College. In 2012, he retired from the government service. His father, Narra Balasiddha Reddy, was a farmer & communist associated with the Telangana Armed struggle activism. During Nizam’s regime, his father also fought against the Razakars. He married Malleshwari, with whom he had a daughter named Veekshana. He started writing stories and poetry from his school days. Later, he managed an organization known as Navasahiti and Medak Study Circle and a small magazine called Rose. In 2001, he founded and became president of the Telanagana Writers’ Forum.

In August 1997, he wrote a poem, “Nageti salalo na Telangana,” based on the whole culture and social life of Telangana. Later, in 2011, the poem used as a song in the film Veera Telangana or Poru Telangana. For this song, he won the Nandi Award for Best Lyricist. He also appeared in the Telugu historical drama film “Jai Bolo Telangana” in 2011. The film featured his song “Oka Puvvu Oka Navvu,” performed by Sri Krishna Story coming soon... >> Read More... and Adarshini. In 2014, he became the Telangana State Textbooks Review Committee member. And, in 2015, he was also a member of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) syllabus review committee. On May 2, 2017, he was appointed as the first chairman & president of the Telangana Sahitya Akademi. The academy was established to preserve and strengthen the Telugu language. He was the head of the panel, which in August 2017 made the selection of Kaloji Narayana Rao awardee. He also headed the committee that organized World Telugu Conference from 15 to December 19, 2017 in Hyderabad.

In 2016, he was awarded the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University’s annual Vishista Puraskaram award. Over his career, he has received many awards, such as Indore Bharathi Vari Dasharathi Award for Bhommiswapnam poetry collection (1988), Free Verse Front Award for Bhoomi Swapnam poetry collection (1986), Telugu University Award for Pranahita Poetry collection (2001), Vishwakala Peetham Vari Snehanidhi Best Poetry Award for collection of sad poems (2009), and Distinguished Award in Literature from Telugu University (2016).