Telugu pundit from France charms Andhra’s literati

Visakhapatnam: 66-year-old French national Negers Daniel, an associate professor at the department of social anthropology in the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations in Paris is on a tour of Andhra Pradesh. A specialist in Telugu, Indian Studies and languages, Daniel has been attracting the attention of the Telugu literati for his expertise in the language.
Speaking to TOI over the phone, Daniel discussed his love for the Telugu language and how he came to be an expert in folk Andhra culture.
Daniel started learning Telugu in 1986 while interacting with locals for his thesis on ‘Burrakatha and Folk Andhra Culture’. He had come to Visakhapatnam as part of an Indo-French scholarship programme and was working with Andhra University.
Upon arriving in the state, Daniel said that he settled down in Peddapuram in East Godavari district. He was being guided by Prof Thimma Reddy and Abburi Gopalakrishna, he informed.
He stayed in Peddapuram for 26 months with his wife and son and would often visit Yanam in Pondicherry (now Puducherry) to interact with folk and Burrakatha artists.
“My gurus were Malyala Jayaramayya, Devadula Brahmanandam, Allada Rama Rao, Salagrama Jagannatha Radhakrishna and Malaya Vasini. These gurus helped me learn Telugu,” he said adding that he had never had to depend on Telugu translators for his research work.
Daniel said that his research on the folk arts and culture in Andhra Pradesh earned him a PhD in 1997. Later, Daniel published a number of French and English books on Andhra Pradesh.
Talking about why he is in the state this time around, Daniel said that whenever any important Telugu programmes are held, he tries to attend them. He had come to the country to attend the Fourth World Telugu Conference held in Vijayawada. Now, he has decided to visit Peddapuram and visit old friends.