Onamaalu Launches ‘Telangana Kathalu’ to Celebrate Regional Culinary Heritage and Stories
Onamaalu, the pioneering community initiative that celebrates Telugu culinary and cultural traditions, launched its latest regional chapter, Telangana Kathalu, at The Culinary Lounge.
Hyderabad:Onamaalu, the pioneering community initiative that celebrates Telugu culinary and cultural traditions, launched its latest regional chapter, Telangana Kathalu, at The Culinary Lounge. Timed ahead of Telangana Formation Day (June 2), the event brought together filmmakers, poets, journalists, writers, activists, and food enthusiasts for an immersive experience celebrating the region’s cuisine, arts, and stories.
The celebration featured traditional fare such as sarvapindi, bakshalu, and jonna rotte prepared by the women of Karimnagar, makka pelalu from Kamareddy, and local fruits. Cultural performances included the Gussadi dance of the Gonds and Mahua community from Adilabad, adding a vibrant indigenous note to the event.
“Telugu isn’t one story—it can’t be narrated in a single generic tone. It’s a thousand micro-stories woven together with sub-regional diversity. We’re now building micro-regional communities for Telangana, Rayalaseema, Uttarandhra, Coastal Andhra, and Hyderabad to go deeper, listen better, and preserve what’s vanishing,” said Gopi Byluppala, CEO of The Culinary Lounge and a key collaborator in the Onamaalu movement. “This time, the journey is closer to home than ever.”
These regional communities will host monthly masterclasses and cultural discussions, giving enthusiasts a platform to explore local food, literature, and traditions. Telangana Kathalu is the first chapter in this series of focused community initiatives.
The event also featured participation from Venkat Sidda Reddy, Founder of Anvikshiki Publishers, who emphasized the synergy between culinary revival and literary resurgence:
“Anvikshiki was founded with the vision of reviving Telugu literature. We are now expanding our reach through small self-service book outlets in local businesses and libraries in film production offices. This initiative adds cultural value to everyday spaces while supporting readership and revenue,” said Venkat.
The event saw the launch of a special bookshelf of Anvikshiki at The Culinary Lounge by Venu Yeldandi, award winning director of the critically acclaimed film Balagam and Peddinti Ashok Kumar, the award-winning Telugu writer.
About Telangana Kathalu, Venu Yeldandi shared, “ It is our duty to introduce our food, culture and traditions to our children and it is important to preserve them for our future generations,
Distinguished guests include senior journalist Amar Devulapalli, Telangana Media Academy Chairman Srinivas Reddy, senior artist Laxman Aelay, actor and educationist Geeta Bhascker attended the event.
