Jnanpith laureate lauds women writers' concern

hyderabad: the three-day all-india telugu women writers’ conference at the potti sreeramulu telugu university was inaugurated on friday by jnanpith laureate and renowned assamese writer indira goswami. addressing the gathering, goswami commended the efforts of women writers for their concern for social reform. goswami said writers’ conferences are venues to explore novel possibilities for creative expression.sahitya akademi secretary prof k sachidanandan said the world’s first anthology of women’s literature was therigatha, a sixth century bc compilation that featured songs on emancipation of women from servitude and paying homage the egalitarian ethos of buddhism. he said the second such creative spirit in women’s writing with an emancipatory orientation occurred during the bhakti movement. represented by women poets such as andal,auvayar and akka mahadevi from the south and lal ded, meerabai, janabhai, rami, bahinabai and gangasati elsewhere, the bhakti movement urged women to renounce worldly life for spiritual liberation, he said. the unbroken tradition of women saint poets continued from the sixth to the 19th century, he said. today, women writers share a general concern for social reform and liberation of women from evil social customs, sachidanandan said. two sessions were held on the inaugural day of the conference and the first session was chaired by university vice-chancellor n gopi. the papers presented by writers ranged from literature for women’s justice, politics in ancient novels to novels in rural setting and novels with social consciousness. the sessions was followed by a poets’ meet and cultural programme.