Thiruvalluvar to Apparao: FM's Philosopher Poets
Nirmala Sitharaman being an avid and eclectic reader, has a wide repertoire to choose from when it comes to the almost mandatory quotes from great minds to indicate or explain the direction of the union budget. Given her long association with the region, it was not surprising that she began her record eighth budget presentation on Saturday with the words of the 19th century Andhra playwright, social reformer and poet Gurajada Apparao.
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This was a budget debut for G Apparao. «Telugu is one of the sweetest languages in the world and Apparao, just like his contemporary, the Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, dreamt of a modern India,» Sitharaman told ET. «I chose him as he was a revolutionary thinker, especially on social reform and his words, 'Desamante Matti Kaadoyi, Desamante Manushuloyi' (A country is not just its soil, a country is its people) aptly expresses the focus of our government.»
In her previous budget speeches, she has drawn on voices from many Indian regions and periods, from Chanakya Niti to Basavanna, Swami Vivekananda to Manzoor Hashmi, Pisiranthaiyar to Rabindranath Tagore, Vyasa to Pandit Dinanath Kaul, Avaiyar to Kalidasa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also used the same inspirational quote-from G Apparao's patriotic poem Desamunu Preminchumanna-in 2021 while launching the Covid-19 vaccine.
