N. Gopi

N. Gopi
Born	(1948-06-25) 25 June 1948 Bhongir, Telangana
Occupation(s)	Poet, Literary critic, Professor (Retd.)
Notable work	Praja Kavi Vemana (People's Poet, Thesis) (1978) Kaalaanni Nidra Ponivvanu (I Will Not Let Time Sleep, Poetry) (1998) Naneelu (The Little Ones, Experimental Poetry) (1998) Jala Geetham (Water Song, Epic Poem) (2002)
Spouse	N Aruna
Parents	Nakka Chennaiah (father) Nakka Lakshmamma (mother)

N. Gopi (Telugu: ఎన్. గోపి; born 25 June 1948) is an eminent Indian poet, and literary critic in Telugu and Sahitya Akademi Award recipient. He has also been in the University system as a professor and Dean since 1974, until retiring in 2008. He has also held the post of the Vice Chancellor of Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad. Gopi's poetry displays nativity and a national outlook.

He has published 57 books including 28 poetry collections, 7 essay collections, 3 research works, 6 travelogues, 5 translations, 2 commentaries, and 4 column writings, apart from 3 textbooks for schools and for adult education projects.

His poetry collections have been translated into several Indian languages and foreign like Hindi, English, Gujarati, Tamil. Malayalam, Marathi, Konkani. Dogri, Maithili, Kannada, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Odia, Sindhi, Urdu, Assamese, Manipuri/Meitei, Bengali, Bodo, Kashmiri, Santali, Rajasthani, German, Chinese, Russian, and Persian.

His notable works are ‘Kalanni Nidra Ponivvanu’ (I Will Not let Time Sleep 1998); ‘Naneelu’ (The Little Ones 1998); ‘Jala Geetham’ (Water Song - a long poem 2002) and ‘Vruddhopanishath’ (Old Age poems 2019).

He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2000 for his poetry collection, “Kaalanni Nidraponivvanu” (I will not let time sleep). He is also the recipient of 30 awards including the Freevers Front Award (1980), the Telugu University Award (1991) Delhi Telugu academy award (1999), an award for outstanding service to literature and culture by Sri Annamacharya Project of North America Chicago (SAPNA) US (2001) and ‘Kalaratna’ award by Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Early life and education

Born on 25 June 1948 in Bhongir village of Yadadri Bhongir District, Telangana State. After his schooling at Government High School, he chose to join Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad, where he did B.A. in Telugu, Sanskrit, and Linguistics group and stood with 6th rank, winning Nizam’s Gold Medal. This was followed by M.A. in Telugu, where he topped the University to win Gurajada Appa Rao Gold Medal from Osmania University in 1973. Later he did a P.G. Diploma in Applied Linguistics. Though his recorded name is Nakka Gopal, he is popularly known as N. Gopi in the literary field.

Career

His first job was Project Officer in a Non-formal Project of UNICEF for one year. Later he joined as a Lecturer in the N.B Science College affiliated to Osmania University in 1974. Later he joined the OU in 1981. He became Professor of Telugu in 1990, Chairman Board of Studies in 1992 and Head of the Department in 1994. Later he was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Telugu University (1999-2002). He was the youngest VC in India when he was chosen for the post. In 2001, he also took an additional charge as an acting VC for Dravidian and Kakatiya Universities simultaneously. After completing his term as the VC of Telugu University, he came back to his parent university, where he served as the Dean Faculty of Arts (2004-2006). After retirement in 2008, he served as UGC Emeritus Fellow during 2011-13 and 2015-17 for the second time.

Literary works

A prolific writer, Gopi has published 28 poetry collections so far.

Poetry

Year	Name of the book	Name of the book (in English)	Notes
1976	Tangedu Poolu	Yellow Flowers	Received Devulapalli Krishna Shastri Award
1982	Mylu Raayi	Milestone	Received Feeverse Front award
1989	Chitra Deepaalu	Coloured Lights	Received Telugu University Best Poetry Award
1993	Vanthena	The Bridge	Received Samatha Rachayitala Sangam Award
1998	Kaalaanni Nidraponivvanu	I Will Not Let Time Sleep	Received Sahitya Akademi Award
1998	Naaneelu	The Little Ones	A trend setter poetic form adopted by nearly 1000 poets. So far 300 collections of this form have been published
2000	Chutta Kuduru	Circular Rest on Head
2002	Enda Poda	Trace of Sunshine
2002	Gopi Naneelu	Gopi's The Little Ones
2002	Jala Geetham	The Water Song	A celebration of water as a prayer to water in the Vedic mode - bears testimony to this. It has been described as path breaking and translated into 11 languages, including Persian
2004	Maro Aakaasham	Another Sky
2005	Aksharallo Dhagdhamai	Blazed Alphabets
2007	Deepam oka ekantham	Lamp - A Solitude
2008	Goa lo Samudram	Sea in Goa
2009	Vana Kadigina Cheekati	Darkness Washed by Rain
2010	Maa Vuru Maha Kaavyam	My Village an Epic
2011	Rathi Keratalu	Rocky Tides
2013	Hridaya Rashmi	Lustre of The Heart
2014	Malli Vithanamloki	Back to the Seed
2015	Purivippina Oopiri	An Unwinding of the Breath
2016	Akashamlo Matti	Soil in the Sky
2017	Jeevana Basha	Language of life
2018	Evari Dukhamo Adi	Whose sorrow is that
2019	China Padyalu	China Poems
2019	Vridhopanishat	Old Age poems
2020	Prapancheekarona	Prapancheekarona
2021	Manishini kalisinattundaali	It should be like meeting a man
2023	Kriya Oka Jeevana Laya	Action is a rhythm of life

Travelogues

• Nenu Chusina Mauritius (1996)
• Naa Cyprus Yaatra (2001)
• America lo Telugu Yaatra (2002)
• England lo 25 Rojulu (2004)
• Germany lo Kavitaa Yaatra (2015)
• Chinalo Kavitaa Yaatra (2019)

Literary criticism

• Vyasa Navami (1986)
• Gavaaksham (1992)
• Niluvettu Telugu Santhakam Sinare Vyaktitvam (1992)
• Saalochana - Peethikalu (1998)
• Vyaasa Kalasham (2012)
• Vyaasa Jignaasa (2016)

Other than these he wrote four travel books and many Translations

Research

• Vemana Vaadam - commentary (1979)
• Prajaakavi Vemana (1980)
• Vemana Padyaalu - Paris Prathi 1730 AD (1990)
• Toli Parishodhakulu (1998)
• Vemana Velugulu - commentary (2012)

Gopi's Ph.D thesis (1978) on ‘Saint Poet Vemana’ is a monumental work and is rated as the best research work among 20 of that kind in Telugu. This book has had 6 reprints till date.

Major editing

• Jnanpith Awardee "Dr. C. Narayana Reddy Samagra Sahityam" (Complete Works of CNR) (2001)
• Founder Editor of ‘Telugu Parishodana’, a research quarterly (1987)

Translations (into Telugu)

• Gnaana Devudu (1985)
• Tanmaya Dhooli (2012)
• Maa Oori Nadi (2016)
• Paagi (2016)
• Vidyapati Pranaya Geetaalu (2016)

Other writings

• Telugu Vaachakam - text book (1982)
• Prayojana Vaachakam - adult literacy (1983)
• Akshara Yaanam - column in India Today (2005)

Father of Naneelu

Gopi's sixth poetry collection ‘Naneelu’ (1998) (Epigrams like Hykus), means ‘The Little Ones’. This is a poetic form invented by N.Gopi, widely discussed and followed by hundreds of poets. More than 1000 poets penned Naneelu and more than 500 poets published anthologies of Naanee collections. This 25 years old poetry form is a trendsetter in Telugu literature. Gopi’s Naneelu have been translated into 12 languages, including Russian.

Awards and honours

Courtesy of his literary work and his service to Telugu literature, Gopi is a recipient of more than 50 awards. The following are some of his most recognized awards:

• Sahitya Akademi Award in 2000 for his poetry collection, ‘Kaalanni Nidra Ponivvanu’ (I Will Not Let Time Sleep)
• Jaini International Foundation Award for Jalageetham-Long Poem Rs.1 lakh Cash Award, 2018.
• Dr. Prof. Kothapalli Jayashankar Award with 1 lakh cash prize, a prestigious award instituted by Bharat Jagruthi-2023
• Krittitwa Samagra Samman Award (2023) by Bharatiya Bhasha Parishat, Kolkata
• Freeverse Front award in 1980 for his poetry collection, ‘Mylurayi’ (Milestone)
• Telugu University Award (1991)
• Delhi Telugu Akademi Award (1999)
• Award for outstanding service to literature and culture by Sri Annamacharya Project of North America, Chicago (SAPMA), USA (2001), and ‘Kala Ratna’ award by Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (2009)

Gopi has also served as an elected member of various literary bodies across India. Some of the most coveted positions include:

• Member of A.P. state Sahitya Akademi (1984)
• Telugu Advisory Board member, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (2002–03)
• Telugu Advisory Board member, National Book Trust of India, New Delhi (2006 onwards)
• Jury Member, Feature Films, Nandi Awards Committee A.P. Govt. (1996)
• Chairman, Jury, T.V. Nandi Awards Committee, A.P. Govt. (2011)
• Convener, Telugu Advisory Board and Member, Executive Council, Central Sahitya Akademi (2013 onwards)

Reception and influence

Gopi's literary essays are considered original and are widely quoted. His commentaries to Vemana’s poems are considered comprehensive and modern. His prolific columns in various newspapers and magazines on subjects such as literature and current affairs were very well received. He is an orator and much sought after Personality among Telugu Literary and cultural Organizations.

Gopi's extensive work on Vemana's poetry and his large poetry collection have been the subjects of various academic research.

Research on Gopi’s works

So far, 5 Ph.D.s and 4 M.Phils have been awarded in various universities for research work on Gopi's literature.

Books on Gopi’s works

• Gopi Kavithanusheelana - Articles by various critics (1998)
• Gopi Kavithanusheelana by Dr. Dwana Sastry (2001)
• Gopi Sahitya Vivechana - Collection of Essays by different scholars edited by Dr. S. Raghu (2010)
• Jala Deepika - Essays on Gopi’s Jala Geetham, Edited by N. Aruna (2008)

Translations of Gopi’s poetry

Name of the book	Translated into	Translation name	Translated by
Jala Geetam	Hindi	Jalgeet	Prof. P. Manikyamba (Hyderabad)
	English	Water Song	Prof. Alladi Uma, Prof. M. Sridhar (Hyderabad)
	Marathi	Paan˜yaacha Gaan˜a	Niranjan Uzgare (Mumbai)
	Gujarati	Jalgeeth	Ramanik Someshwar (Kutch)
	Urdu	Nagma-e-Aab	Prof. Rahamat Yusuf Zai (Hyderabad)
	Kannada	Jalageethe	Dr .Markandapuram Srinivasa (Bengaluru)
	Malayalam	Jalageetham	L. R. Swamy (Vishakhapatnam)
	Punjabi	Jala Geet	Swaranjit Savi (Ludhiana)
	Persian	Nagma-e-Aab	Azeezuddin Ahmed Usmani (Delhi)
	Sanskrit	Jala Geetham	M. Narayana Sharma (Hyderabad)
	Odiya	Jala Gitto	Bangali Nanda (Bhuvaneshwar)
Naaneelu	Hindi	Nanhe Muktak	Prof. P. Vijaya Raghava Reddy (Hyderabad)
	Hindi	Gopi Ke Nenhe Muktak	Prof. B. Satyanarayana (Hyderabad)
	Marathi	Naaneelu - Muktak Manika	Suresh Ganga Khedkar (Hyderabad)
	English	Naaneelu - The Little Ones	P. Jayalakshmi (Hyderabad)
	Sanskrit	Naaneelu - Nava Mouktikah	Prof. M. Vijayasree (Hyderabad)
	Tamil	Naanigal	Dr. Nalimela Bhaskar (Karim Nagar)
	Kannada	Nanna Ninnau	Prof. K. G. Narayana Prasad (Hyderabad)
	Russian	Chikat Vorniye Miniyachuri	Prof. Vinay Totavar (Hyderabad)
	Gujarati	Naaneelu	Dr. Urvish Osavada (Junagadh)
	Urdu	Nanhi Nazmein	Prof. Fatima Begum (Parveen) (Hyderabad)
	Malayalam	Nanee Kavithakal	L. R. Swamy (Visakhapatnam)
	Punjabi	Nanhe Muktak	Dr. Chandar Trikha (Chandigarh)
Kalanni Nidraponivvanu	Hindi	Samayko Sone Nahidoonga	R. Shantha Sundari (Hyderabad)
	English	I Will Not Let Time Sleep	Dr. J. Bhagyalakshmi (Delhi)
	Gujarati	Samayne Suva Naahi Doun	Ramanik Someshwar (Kutch)
	Tamil	Kalathai Uranga Vidamatten	Dr. Shiripi Balasubramaniyam (Coimbatore)
	Malayalam	Samayate Urangan Anuvadhikkukayilla	L. R. Swamy (Vishakhapatnam)
	Marathi	Kaalala Zopu Denar Nahi	Dr. Kanchan Jatkar (Hyderabad)
	Konkani	Kallak Nihidunk Dinvchonam	Ramesh Veluskar (Goa)
	Dogri	Samen Gi De`ng Nie Souna	Prakash Premi (Uddhampur)
	Maithili	Samayken Suta Nai Debai	Kavita Kumari (Mumbai)
	Kannada	Kalavannu Nidrisalu Bidenu	Dr. Divakarla Rajeshwari (Bengaluru)
	Punjabi	Main Samey Nu Son Nahi Devange	Dr. Vanita (Delhi)
	Sanskrit	Kaalam Na Nidrapayaani	Prof. G.S.R. Krishnamurthy (Tirupathi)
	Sindhi	Waqt Khe Sumhan N Dedus	Srichand Dube (Junagadh)
	Urdu	Waqt Ko Sone Nahee Doonga	Prof. Rahamat Yusuf Zai (Hyderabad)
	Nepali	Samayalai Needavan Deenechaina	Siddharth Roy (Darjeeling)
	Odia	Samayaku Soibaku Debini	Bangali Nanda (Raipur)
	Assamese	Samay Tomak Shuboloy Nidyu	Purabi Bora (Guwahati)
	Meitei	Matambu Eina Toomhanloi	Salam Tomba (Imphal)
	Bengali	Somay Ke Ghamate Debona Aami	Mandara Mukhopadhyay (Kolkata)
	Kashmiri	Ba Dim-na Waqtas Thami Gatch-na	Ranjoor Tilgami (Telagam Pattan, Kashmir)
	Bodo	Bubli Khou Futuli	Uttam Chandrabrahma (Goneshpo Aathar, Karbee (Assam))
	Santali	Oktobanjapid Ochhovaama	Damayanthi Bisra (Mayur Bhanj (Odisha))
	Rajasthani	Mai Bagat Me Jakni Levanadoolaa	Dr. Chandra Prakash Deval (Ajmer, Rajasthan)
Other Translations	Urdu	Gopi Ki Sow Najme	Prof. Ghiyas Mateen (Hyderabad)
	Hindi	Gopi Ki Kavita	R. Shantha Sundari (Hyderabad)
	English	Another Sky	Prof. C. Vijayasree, Prof. Subbarayudu (Hyderabad)
	Hindi	Goa, Mai Aur Samudr	R. Shantha Sundari (Hyderabad)

See also

• Naneelu
• N.Gopi's poetry is available to read online at https://www.kahaniya.com/ca6049608cfee0ed2e88c0822ceadc