Banjara Writer Bags Muse India Award
Telangana poet Nayak wins for Chakmak, his debut English poetry collection rooted in tribal identity
Hyderabad: Ramesh Karthik Nayak, the first tribal and youngest Telugu author to be honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, has now clinched the prestigious Muse India Young Writer Award-2024 in the poetry category for his English collection Chakmak.
The winners were announced on Monday.
At just 26, Nayak is carving out a niche for himself. A bilingual poet, short story writer, editor and translator from Telangana, Nayak made history when he won the 2024 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in Telugu for the short story collection 'Dhaavlo'.
He is among the first few writers in Telugu to document and celebrate the lived experiences of the Banjara community, to which he belongs.
Chakmak, his debut English poetry collection, showcases his ability to transcend linguistic boundaries. “For a long time, I doubted myself. I believed I wasn’t worthy of writing in English,” Nayak told Deccan Chronicle. “But today, receiving this award has given me the courage to overcome that fear. It has swept away my hesitation and replaced it with confidence.”
Reflecting on his linguistic journey, he added, “Interestingly, neither of these languages is truly my own. My mother tongue is Gor Boli, a beautiful oral language that doesn’t have a script. That makes this moment even more meaningful. To be recognised for my work in a language that isn’t mine by birth is both humbling and empowering.”
With six books to his credit — five in Telugu and one in English — Nayak’s writing has appeared in notable media platforms. His work has been translated into multiple Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Assamese. His poem 'Life on Paper' was recently included in the postgraduate English syllabus at Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari, Karnataka.
Nayak’s literary accolades include Kalahamsa Kavitha Puraskaram, the Tribal Young Achievers Award from the Telangana government, the Banjara Youth Icon Award, and the Ravi Sastri Katha Puraskaram. Some of his poems are now part of higher education syllabi in Telugu literature across both Telugu-speaking states.