June 15, 2006
Dear Friends,
We write to introduce to you The Telugu Studies Initiative
which aims to make Berkeley, and by extension, the Bay Area,
a premier site for the cultivation and development of Telugu
literature, humanities, performance and social science outside
of India. The first step of this initiative is the teaching
of the Telugu language.
Well over 73 million people, the world over, speak Telugu,
and it stands second only to Hindi in India as to the number
of native speakers. Now there is a strong Telugu community
in North America, especially in California and more so in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet, in the United States
only the University of Wisconsin has a regular program in
Telugu at all levels – which, we hope, will
continue after Prof. Narayana Rao retires. There are attempts
to teach Telugu at beginning levels at other universities
such as the University of Chicago, Columbia University, the
University of Michigan, and the University of California,
Davis – but none like the rigorous program at Wisconsin.
The absence of a rigorous Telugu language instruction at the
University of California, Berkeley, the flagship university
of the State’s university system, is a major lacuna
in the nation’s curriculum. At present at the Berkeley
campus, the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
offers Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and Punjabi. Recently
Bengali has been added to this list. The University funds
Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu. Tamil is partially funded by the
university with supplemental funds from the Tamil community.
Punjabi and Bengali are completely funded by local community
funds. With the prominent role Telugu people are playing in
many walks of life in the United States (such as the medical
and IT professions), we firmly believe that Telugu language
courses must be offered to UC Berkeley Students, and through
Berkeley, to students at other universities. A recent informal
e-mail poll conducted at the Berkeley campus revealed that
there are more than 30 students interested in taking Telugu
classes – if offered on a regular basis.
The endowment raised by the Telugu Studies Initiative at the
University of California, Berkeley is essential to continue
the positive impact of the Telugu community on the United
States. This endowment will create opportunities to bring
the rich cultural and literary heritage of Andhra Pradesh
to the United States. It will bring international visibility
to Telugu and in turn contributes to a better recognition
of Telugu in its native land. Funds raised through this initiative
can be used to:
• Hire a language lecturer to teach
Telugu
• Fund scholarships for students studying Telugu
• Advance the use of state-of-the-art technology in
studying Telugu
• Fund library acquisitions and visiting professorships
• Support Study Abroad Program with universities in
Andhra Pradesh
In order to achieve these goals, the Center for South Asia
Studies needs the support of the wider Telugu community. As
Berkeley students come not just from California, we are addressing
this appeal to Telugu loving people all over the world. To
make the fund-raising effort manageable, we are approaching
this in a phased manner. Our Phase I target is $200,000 in
order to fund language instruction at the introductory, intermediate
and advanced levels. In order to start these classes
in Fall 2007, we need to have pledges for this amount by December
2006 and the checks in hand no later than May 2007.
Generous gifts from the community are essential for the success
of this program. A strong and visible Telugu program at Berkeley
will enhance the status of Telugu as a world language and
therefore its stature at home.
We enclose a pledge card. Please remember that your help at
this time will ensure the place of Telugu at an American university
forever. Your gifts can often be matched – to double,
or even triple, the impact of your generosity - by your employer.
All your contributions to UC Berkeley Foundation are tax deductible.
Should you wish to learn more details about the initiative,
or talk to us, please e-mail me at <rakaray at berkeley.edu>
or Professor Rao Vemuri at <rvemuri@ucdavis.edu>,
who is acting as the spokesperson on behalf of the Telugu
community.
We look forward to hearing from you and to the success of
this Initiative!
Sincerely,
Raka Ray
Chair, Center for South Asia Studies |
Rao Vemuri
Professor, UC- Davis |
