Eminent Telugu author and scholar Dr Poranki Dakshina Murthy breathed his last at his Hyderabad residence on Saturday. He had reportedly been ailing for quite some time.
The last rites of the scholar, who is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, were performed in V V Nagar this morning.
The 85-year-old, a native of Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district, was known for his works reflecting the realities of the life and culture of his people for which he won numerous awards including the Kondepudi Sahitya Satkar.
Velugu Vennala Godavari, Mutyala Pandiri and Rangavalli were a few of his most popular works that gained both critical acclaim and popularity among readers.
The scholar had a deep knowledge of the various dialects of northern AP, Telangana and the Rayalaseema region, and often used them in his writing.
Apart from gaining fame as an author, he was also well-known for translating major works of other languages into Telugu - one of his most popular works is Oka Yogi Atmakatha, a translation of the book Autobiography of A Yogi, originally penned by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Murthy devoted his life to promoting Telugu, and researching the literature written in the language, and had served as the Deputy Director of Telugu Akademi till 1993.
His passing has left his many fans and admirers shocked.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy too expressed his grief at the writer's demise and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.
He said that the writer's passing was a great loss to the country's literary universe.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya also condoled the death of the noted Telugu scholar and lauded the latter's efforts to popularise the Telugu language.
Dattatreya also commended Murthy's efforts to bring in positive reforms to the Telugu Akademi during his stint as its Deputy Director.