Hyderabad :
Imagine poetry being ‘sold’ off the streets. Yes, you heard that right! With a noble mission to revive Telugu poetry in the two states, 50-year-old Sheik Sadiq Ali is seen pushing around his cart which doesn’t sell vegetables, but poetry!
“The declining state of Telugu poetry has always bothered me. So I decided to take it to the masses and what better way to do it than a pushcart,” Sadiq explains. While most people lecture on the need for reviving the Telugu poetry from air-conditioned auditoriums, he decided to do stay connected with lovers of literature. Though he doesn’t have shortage of resources to hold book exhibitions, the 50-year-old decided to use a push-cart for his mission. To buttress his argument for adopting this unconventional method to promote Telugu poetry, he says: “Pusharts are something that people feel comfortable with. They have been a part of our culture for ages. It will be inappropriate for a non-traditional object to promote traditional poetry”.
Sadiq now takes his pushcart around town, one area at a time, holding forth on poetry and inviting people to read books. With over 135 titles on his pushcart, Sadiq literally carries a mobile bookstore to your doorstep. “What surprises me is the kind of response I receive from people of all age groups. Those who are new to Telugu poetry spend some time reading a book and end up buying it. These are small steps towards the bigger mission,” says an earnest Sadiq.
A native of Kalluru in Khammam distruct and a postgraduate in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Sadiq has books by various Telugu poets on his cart. The cart – ‘Thopudu Bandi’ – adorns pictures of famous Telugu poets like Sri Sri, Arudra and Maqdoom Mohinuddin. “People on Facebook started seeing what I am doing and sent in their books. So if someone buys the book, the poet gets the money, which in a way encouraging poetry,” he elaborates.
Sadiq, who was a journalist with a Telugu daily, Udayam, which was shut down long ago – embarked on his his ‘literary’ journey on February 22 when he travelled from Ramnagar to People’s Plaza in the city. Ever since, he has been travelling to one part of the city everyday promoting Telugu literature in his own unique way. And he does not intend to stop until he covers all the districts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. “There is a lot to be done and there is not much time. All I want is to bring back the golden era of Telugu poetry,” he says with an air of determination. His initiative has reached many through social networking sites and people like Chukka Ramaiah, a well-known educationist, have heaped praise on him for this unique initiative.
But Sadiq, who left his marriage bureau business, isn’t pushing around the 200-kilo cart full of poetry for fame or money. “I have enough to make ends meet. What I am doing isn’t for a living. It is out of passion. It is for the love of Telugu poetry,” he says with a broad smile and a sense of pride.
A fifty-year-old man pushes his cart on the roads of Hyderabad. He isn’t selling vegetables or trying to earn a living with the cart, but he is a man on a mission to revive Telugu poetry in the two Telugu speaking states.
Meet Sheik Sadiq Ali, who gave up his business to revive the art of Telugu poetry in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
While most people talk about reviving Telugu poetry from air-conditioned auditoriums with an ‘intellectual’ audience, Sadiq decided to do exactly the opposite. “The declining state of Telugu poetry has always bothered me. So I decided to take it to the masses and what better way to do it than a pushcart,” he explains.
Despite the availability of funds, the 50-year-old decided to use a cart over an exhibition or a display truck. And the reason: “Carts are something that people feel comfortable with. Carts have been a part of our culture for ages. It will be incorrect to a non-traditional object to promote traditional poetry,” elaborates Sadiq.s
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Bhavneet Singh, TNN / March 03rd, 2015