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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Telugu Poets
Telugu Poets
Taallapaaka Annamayya Nannaya,
Tikkana & Errana
Gonabudda Reddy
Srinathudu
Bammera Potana
Sri Krishnadevaraya
Pingali Soorana
Gurajada Venkata Appa Rao
Unnava Lakshminarayana
Rayaprolu Subba Rao
Yogi Vemana
Kandukuri Veeresalingam
Viswanatha Satyanarayan
Nori Narasimha Sastry
Tripuraneni Gopichand
Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao
Srirangam Srinivasarao
Puttaparthi Narayanacharya
Baliwada Kantharao
Vasireddy Seethadevi
Paravastu Chinnayya Soori
Madhurantakam Rajaram
Somanaadhudu Paalkuriki
Taallapaaka Annamayya:
The Tallapaka family of poets, music composers and scholars in Telugu and Sankrit popularized the Srivaishnava faith in Andhra Pradesh in the 15th and 16th centuries. Annamacharya, the greatest of them, it is said, had a vision of Lord Venkateswara when he was 16 and then spent the rest of his life composing kirtanas and padams on him, which totalled 32,000. Of these only 14,000 are available now engraved on copper plates which were hidden for centuries in a niche of Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.Annamayya was born in 1424 A.D. in TallapAka, a village in Cuddapah district. Born with a gift for poetry and song, the boy Annamayya would improvise songs on Venkateswara and was always preoccupied by him. He ran away to Tirupati and fell asleep on a rock after and exhausting climb of the first steep hill at Tirumala. He dreamt of alamelumanga and composed a Shataka in her praise. Upon reaching the lord of Seven Hills he burst into a song of ecstatic praise.He lived in Tirumala for some time and was initiated into Sri Vaishnava faith. Sometime later his people sought him out and took him home where he was married. His marriage did not interfere with his spiritual interests and he became a disciple of the saint Shathakopayati of Ahobalam and studied all the sacred texts. Although he propitiated other deities like Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Vitthala, he viewed them as forms of Venkateswara, the Ultimate Reality. He spent the rest of his life in his service and devoting his time between Tallapaka and Tirumala. Annamayya breathed his last in 1503.
Nannaya, Tikkana & Errana (11th - 14th century):
Known as the Kavya Traya or the 'Trinity of Telugu Literature' these three poets are the composers of the Andhra Mahabharata, a replica of the Sanskrit Mahabharata. Nannaya is acclaimed as the Adi Kavi or the first poet of Telugu literature. Most of Telugu literature begins with this massive epic transcreated by these three great sage-scholars
Gonabudda Reddy (13th century):
Gonabudda Reddy is known for his Ranganatha Ramayanam which is a pioneering work on the theme of Ramayana in Telugu. The whole work comprises seven khandas (parts). The work has become a part of the Andhra cultural life and is also used by puppeteers for their shows
Srinathudu (14th century):
Sreenaadhudu (1385-1475 AD) was a born poet. He began a new era that broke away from the translation era in Telugu literature. Sreenaadhudu had authored several independent works in Telugu. Most of his works are very sensual. He worshipped sex and enjoyed life with wine and women. Maruttaratcharitra, Salivaahanasaptasati, Panditaaraadhyacharitra, Sringaaranaishadhamu, Haravilaasamu, Bheemakhanda Kaashikhandamulu, Kreedaabhiraamamu, Sivaraatrimahaatmyamu and Palnaativeeracharitramu are his works. Among these, Maruttaratcharitra, Salivaahanasaptasati, and Panditaaraadhyacharitra are not available. Sringaaranaishadhamu was a translation of Sanskrit Naishadha kaavya written by Sreeharsha. In this work Sreenaadha described the sensual story of marriage of King Nala and Damayanti.In Kreedabhiraamamu drama (the authorship of this work is disputed), he described the contemporary society as observed by two Aryan friends, one belonging to the Brahmin tribe and the other belonging to a Komati tribe, during their one-day visit to the Ekasilanagaram (Warangal city) the capital city of Kakatiya kingdom. Their visit includes various parts of the city including the red-light area (township of prostitutes). This drama gives a clear picture of the Telugu society and the culture in 14th century. In this drama, Sreenaadhudu described the vocations, tribes (castes), classes, games, Telugu cuisine and restaurants, and the culture of Telugu people during the reign of Kakatiya dynasty. Similar to modern cities like New York or Mumbai, in which ghettos and slums are common, the capital city of Kakatiya kingdom also had rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods with ghettos. Prostitution was a respected vocation with rules and regulations of the art. Brothel courts resolved the disputes among the prostitutes. Gambling, cockfights, ram fights etc., were popular entertainment in theTelugu nation. Heroic stories of Telugu heroes like warriors of Palnadu, stories of Ekaveera goddess, Parasurama, etc were very popular ballads and songs. Popular religions were Ekaveera worship, Mailaradeva worship, Bhairava worship, Chamadeswari worship, Moosanamma worship, Kumaaraswaami worship, Pandava worship, Macherla Chenna worship and so on. Telugus were interested in painting and other arts. Women used to wear red cheeralu (saries) with borders. He also described the Telugu superstitions. For example, Telugus believed that the cry of an owl in the east was auspicious; Early morning was considered auspicious time to start any new venture.In Palnaativeeracharitra (the history of warriors of Palnaadu) is the first ballad in Telugu literature. The authorship of this work is also disputed. This is a historical ballad based on the events that happened during 1181-1182 AD. During that time Vaishnavism and Shaivism were dominant rival religions. However, both religions attempted to attract various tribes (castes) and fought against tribalism. This story is popularly known as Palanti Bhaaratam. This ballad has lot of similarities to the North Indian (Aryan) story Mahabharat and is respected by Telugus as much as Mahabharat is respected.Sreenaadhudu was the Chief Education Officer in the court of king Pedakomati Vemareddi of Kondaveeti kingdom and enjoyed rich sensual and worldly pleasures for eighteen years. His duties included arranging contests and select poets and writers for awards, authoring king’s decrees and orders, reading and reciting science, literature etc., to king, and so on. He traveled in the Telugu Nation and attained several awards and titles from various kings. Sreenadhudu was certainly the beginner of a new era in the Telugu literature.
Bammera Potana (15th century):Bammera Potana (1450-1510) was born in Bammera, a village twenty miles away from Warangal, into a Niyogi Brahmin family. His father was Kesanna and his mother was Lakkasanamma. He was considered to be a natural scholar (sahaja panditha) without a teacher. Potana was a very polite gentleman. He was an agriculturist by occupation. Though he was a great scholar, he never hesitated to work in the agricultural fields.At an early age he wrote ‘Bhogini Dandakam’ a poem wrote in praise of king Sri Singa Bhoopala’s concubine Bhogini. This was his first poetic venture which had the seeds of his great poetic talents. His second work was "Virabhadhra Vijayamu" which describes the adventures of Lord Virabhadhra, son of Lord Shiva. The main theme was the destruction of a yagna performed in absence of Lord Shiva by Daksha Prajapathi.As a young man, he was a devotee of Lord Shiva. Later, Potana became a devotee of Lord Rama and more interested in salvation. His conversion from Shaivism to Vaishnavism was triggered by an incident. One early morning during a lunar eclipse, on the banks of river Godavari, Potana was meditating on Lord Shiva. At that auspicious moment, Lord Rama appeared dressed like a king and requested Potana to translate Bhagavatam into Telugu and dedicate it to him. This inspired him to translate Vyasa’s Sanskrit Bhagavatam into Telugu.The king of Warangal, Sarvajna Singa Bhoopala, wanted Potana to dedicate ‘Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu’ to him. But, Potana refused to obey the king’s orders and dedicated the Bhagavathamu to Lord Rama, whom he worshipped with great devotion. It is said that Potana remarked, ‘it is better to dedicate the work to the supreme Lord Vishnu than dedicate it to the mortal kings.’ He was of opinion that poetry was a divine gift and it should be utilized for salvation by devoting it to the God.He was quite fond of using rhythm and repetition of sounds giving a majestic grace to the style of writing. He was very skilful in using alankaras (figures of speech) like similes and metaphors. Potana imparted the knowledge of the divine to the Telugu people along with lessons in ethics and politics through Andhra Maha Bhagavatamu.Even illiterate Telugus readily quote verses from chapters 'Gajendra Mokshamu' and 'Prahlada Charitra' of his work, ‘Andhra Maha Bhagavathamu,’ the crown jewel of Telugu literature. Andhra people are greatly indebted to the most beloved poet Bammera Potana.
Sri Krishnadevaraya (16th century):
A renowned emperor of the famous Vijaynagar kingdom, Sri Krishnadevaraya is also known for his great epic Amukta Malyada (A Garland Dedicated to the Lord). The whole work of Amukta Malyada has a grand poetic style and the work blends the eternal and the temporal in a masterly fashion even as it unfolds an interesting tale.
Pingali Sooranna (16th century):
Soorana was a pioneering figure in the field of Telugu classical poetry of the medieaval age. He has to his credit mainly three works Raghavapandaviyam a dyvarthi-kavya, Kalapurnodayam (Full Blooming of Art) and Prabhavati Pradyumnam. Kalapurnodayam has been hailed as the first original poetic novel in Telugu literature.
Paravastu Chinnayya Soori (1807-1861):
Who does not know Sri Chinnayasoori among us? He was one of the most famous pandits of the 19th century. He was born in 1807 in Perambur of Chengalpattu distt. and died in 1861. He was a Saivaite. Sri Cninnayasoori was a Telugu pandit in the Govt. college of Madras. He dedicated his entire life to the progress and promotion of Telugu language and literature.Sri Chinnayasoori wrote the baala vyaakaranamu in a new style after doing extensive research on "Andhra Grammar" which is the greatest gift to all of us. One can not come across any one who has not studied his grammar on the entire Andhra soil. Other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori are: (1) Neetichandrika (2) Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu (3) Andhra Dhatumoola and (4) Neeti Sangrahamu.Chinnayasoori translated Mitra labham and Mitra Bedham from the sanskrit "panchatantram" as "neeti chandrika". Moonlight of Morals is the English meaning of the Telugu word Neeti Chandrika. Later, Veeresa lingam translated Sandhi and Vigraham . No one translated the fifth tantram, viz., kakolukeyam.Chinnayasoori's writing style is the most classical one. Several writers tried to follow his style of writing Telugu but failed desperately. The stylistic elegance in his prose is unparallel to any other known, even today. Sri Kandukuri Viresalingam and Sri Kokkonda Venkataratnam followed Chinnayasoori's style of prose writing and wrote Vigrahamu and Sandhi in a different pattern. But, they were unable to provide the depth of style of Chinnayasoori's prose writing to the readers.Many of us might have read the Neetichandrika as the text book at the high school level. Those who do not have good command over the Telugu language will also be enthusiastic to read the Neetichandrika. Chinnayasoori's intention in writing the Neetichandrika was not only to translate the honey of morals into telugu but to enlighten the readers with the cool rays of Telugu language which is ever glowing. Sri T. Balanagayyasetti was fortunate to publish this famous classic, the Neetichandrika, and above all we are more fortunate to read it. (based on Vidwan Dandipalli Venkatasubbasastri's preface from Neetichandrika in Telugu. Posted in Soc.culture.indian.telugu by PALANA.)
Gurajada Venkata Appa Rao (1862-1915):
Hailed as the father of Modern Telugu literature, G.V.Appa Rao blazed a new ttail in play-writing as also in poetry and short story Kanyasulkam (Bride-Price) is one of his outstanding plays. It was the harbringer of modernism of Telugu literature.Sri Gurajada Apparao was a social reformer, poet, writer, philosopher, and a friend. He was born in 1863 in Rayavaram of Visakhapatnam distt.. He graduated from the Maharaja's College (MR COLLEGE) of Vizianagaram, the so called VIDYANAGARAM of ANDHRA where he synthesized de novo the greatest of his writings which are superb, unforgettable, and immortal. "dESamanTE maTTika'dOy - dESamanTE manushulOy" has had been shacking the hearts of every Telugu soul, whether literate or illiterate.The style of Gurajada's poetry, neither pedantic nor enigmatic, but was the purest, crystal clear, lucid, and vivaceous. His poems awaken the weeklings even and energize them. Gurajada's intellectual creativity gave us a keepsake, historical landmark, and a precious literary diamond - "KANYASULKAM" play.It is one and the only book in Telugu in which dedication and preface were written in English (there may be others in existence, but they mushroomed afterwards). On the 13th of August, 1992, "Kanyasulkam" celebrated its 100th birthday, eversince it was staged for the first time."Kanyasulkam" centenary celebrations were held at Gurajada's residence in Vizianagaram. Poets and writers from various places in Andhra held literary discourses on Gurajada's works. On the 76th death anniversary of Sri Gurajada, Sri Jonnalagadda Somayajulu and his party performed the "Kanyasulkam" play. Sri Jonnalagadda Ramanamurty, well known for his Girisam role in the play, was honored.Sri Gurajada wrote the "Kanyasulkam" in 1869 for an excellent cause - social reformism. Girls at ten years of age were married to men of 65 years of age or older in return the girls' parents used to receive a sum of Rs 1000/- or more. This unfortunate act of selling young girls who did not either attain mental maturity or puberty to men (ready to be buried under 6 feet of mud) performed by their ignorant parents can be envisioned in this play, even now. No where in this entire world, a play like this or similar to this, was ever written.One will be surprised to know that the era of Modern Telugu Literature was born from Gurajada's pen and his "Kanyasulkam". "Kanyasulkam" was performed for the first time by the "Jagannadha Vilasini Sabha" of Vizianagaram in 1892. (Contributed by Palana)
Unnava Lakshminarayana (1877-1959):
Known for his famous novel Mala Palli (The Harijan Colony), Lakshminarayana was also an ardent freedom fighter who launched a crusade against untouchability. The novel combines within itself both social realism and spiritual idealism, a rare combination to be found in a single novel.
Rayaprolu Subba Rao (1892-1984):
Rayaprolu is hailed as one of the pioneers of modern Telugu literature.Lalitha, Andhravali, Truna Kankanam (Grass Bracelet), Kashta Kamala (Kamala in Distress), Ramyalokam (Aesthetic Perception) and Jadakutchulu (Braid Ornaments) are some of his principal works. Andhravali si considered as the watershad in Telugu literature for its modernity of themes such as naturalism, rural life, platonic love, a sense of history and fierce nationalism.
Viswanatha Satyanarayan (1895-1976):
Won the Jnanpith award for his Ramayana Kalpa Vriksham and is the author of more than a 100 works. He won the Sahitya Academy Award for his Madhyakkaras and also was conferred the title of Padma Bushan..His Veyi Padagalu (A Thousand Hoods) is the most outstanding of his novels.
Nori Narasimha Sastry (1900-1980):
N.N Sastry was a poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist, critic and translator. A versatile and prolific writer, he laid his hands on all the literary genres, but it was the novel and particularly the historical novel which brought him fame and popularity. Narayanabattu, Rudramadevi and Mallareddiare are the major novels penned by him. The uniqueness of his novels is that each novel has a great poet as its central character.
Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao (1909):
A prolific story writer, Rao produced 400 stories..His principal works are Chadvvu, Braduku Bhayam, Kalalushastriya Vijnanam, Kalabhairavudu and Karunyam.
Tripuraneni Gopichand (1910-1962):
Telugu novelist, short story writer, editor, essayist, playwright and film director, Gopichand's writings are ramarkable for an interplay of values, ideas and 'isms' -- materialism, rationalism, existentialism, realism and humanism. He is celebrated for his second novel Asamardhuni Javayatra (The Incompetent's Life Journey).This is the first psychological novel in Telugu literature.
Srirangam Srinivasarao (1910-1983):
Known for the landmark anthology Mahaprasthanam (The Great March), Srinivasarao was a pioneer of the progressive poetry in Telugu. His poetry took an amazing leap and astounding depth when he wrote the Desa Charitralu (History of Nations). He was acknowkedged as Mahakavi of the New Proletarian Age.
Puttaparthi Narayanacharya (1914-1990):
Narayanacharya was a front-ranking classical poet, literary critic, composer, musicologist, translator and polyglot. He has about 50 works of poetry to his credit.. Considered an authority on the history and literature of the Vijaynagar period, he has written in Telugu extensively on Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam literatures..He has about 3000 musical compositions in Telugu and Sanskrit to his credit and 200 of them have been notated by himself. He had the unique and ironic experience of having written a poetic work called Penugonda Lakshmi at the age of 14, prescribed as a text when he took the Vidwan examination in his thirtees. Shivathandavam (The Cosmic Dance of Shiva) is the most representative of his genius.
Baliwada Kantharao (1927):
Kantharao is the author of many works including Vamsadhara and Daga Padina Tammudu (The betrayed Younger Brother) and also hundreds of stories.
Vasireddy Seethadevi (1933):
Seetahdevi is an acclaimed writer in Telugu. She has published around 40 novels and 10 short story collections. Mattimanishi (Son of Mother Earth) is one of her best novels. The novel is a landmark in modern Telugu fiction.
Yogi Vemana :
Of Vemana's history, little is known. He was not a Brahmin but a capoo, or a farmer; a native of Cuddapah district and born, I believe, in the neighborhood of Gandicotta. He lived in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is said that in a verse he has fixed the date of birth which is believed to have been his own. This date coincides with A.D. 1652. The date is given in the cycle of sixty years; but which cycle is intended is unknown. Many verses, however, prove satisfactorily that he wrote in the latter part of the 17th century when the Mohamedans were governors of that part of India. His family was powerful, but that he renounced the world and became a sanyasee or ascetic. He calls himself a yogee.The verses communicate hardly any idea of his history or connections, and like all solitary ascetics (sanyasees or yogees) he has dropped his family name - calling himself simply "Vemana" or "Vema" at pleasure. This solitary life has led him to address all the verses to himself, which, if this be not recollected, certainly looks like the grossest egotism. This practice is far indeed from being peculiar to Vemana.The names Vema and Vemana do not appear to be used by the Telugus of the present day. Vema or Vemana in Sanskrit signify a loom. I believe these names to have been practical titles alone, without a definite meaning. Thus it is well known that the titles or names of Dante and Hafiz were not original names of those poets; the first of whom was named Durante or Durando and the second Muhammed Shemsuddin.These poems have attained very great popularity and parts are found translated into Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. Their terse closeness of expression sometimes renders them difficult to translate with elegance, but such passages exemplify the manly force of a language that in the common dialect is often weak and verbose.Of his aphorisms many have become common proverbs. Parts of them are evidently close translations from Sanskrit works, particularly the Hitopadesa and Bhagavat Gita. In a few of thes every word is pure Sanskrit.Vemana was evidently, in philosophy, of the Vedanta school, a disciple of VYASA, whom Sir William Jones has (in the Asiatic Researches, Vol. I) entitled the Plato of India. With the mystic tents of Plato, those of Vemana closely correspond while his moral doctrines as closely answer to those of DEMOCRITUS.
Madhurantakam Rajaram:
Madhurantakam Rajaram:
Madhurantakam Rajaram has been contributing to Telugu literature for more than four decades. He left no genre of literature untouched. He writes novels, plays, essays and lyrics besides short stories. Yet he is more well known as a short story writer. The author himself once said, "I am a short story writer ... it is in the short story that I could find out my medium of expression. It overwhelmed me by completely occupying my consciousness. It made me laugh. It haunted me and taunted me. It also made me shed tears ... I was in ecstasy when I realised that a writer could successfully communicate his impression as intensely as he experienced to the reader."Madhurantakam Rajaram is adept at realistic portrayal of life. He comes from Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh which has its own identity. There the life style is different, especially of the village folk, who are naive, down to earth, loving, caring yet bearing the burden of poverty as stoically as they can. Their hard life with its day to day problems has not hardened their attitudes and perceptions. All these aspects and many other nuances get reflected in Madhurantakam Rajaram Kathalu which won the Sahitya Akademi Award for 1993.The book contains 40 short stories written over a period of four decades. They truly represent the range of Rajaram's canvas. Here every story has its place, its identity, its message and adds color to the kaleidoscopic view of life that emerges out of the volume. The characters we come across in his stories are ordinary people we see in our everyday life. They are convincing and realistic and help us have an insight into human nature because of the magic touch of the author. Madhurantakam Rajaram's stories are purposeful and they have subtle message which only the discerning readers can discover; their author is never blatantly didactic. As a writer he firmly believes that literature should denounce the bad and uphold the good. He says, "Literature may not be strong enough to transform the society. But it can infuse the spirit needed into the public which can provoke a marvelous revolution of ideas. It can also describe an Utopia which is the goal for the humanity."The author confines his stories to middle class or lower middle class. He depicts life as he sees it in its various hues and dimensions. He prefers first person narration in many of the stories perhaps to bring the story near to the reader. In certain cases he uses Rayalaseema dialect just to give the story its right flavor.Madhurantakam Rajaram as a writer comments on people's weaknesses, strengths, noble and mean qualities. He gives an overview of life without any pretension of self-righteousness. In its citation, Sahitya Akademi says that "Madhurantakam Rajaram Kathalu" is recognized as a masterpiece of Indian short fiction in Telugu "for its faithful delineation of the outer and inner life of the rustic folk, its proper employment of dialect, its total comprehension of social and existential reality and its directness and force of narration."The language and presentation of Rajaram are so inimitable that they acquire a character of their own. All pervasive flavor of Rayalaseema and intrinsic naturalness reminds one of the fragrance of the wet earth, newly-cut grass and the gurgle of a brook.
Somanaadhudu PaalkurikiSomanaadhudu Paalkuriki (1160-1240 AD) :
belongs to the Trinity of Shaivite Poets, known as "Shivakavi Trayamu," and to an era of Brahmin Shaivite poets, "Shivakavi Yugamu," in the history of Telugu literature. This is considered to be the time between Nannaya and Tikkana (12th century AD). Nannechodudu and Mallikarjuna Panditaradhryudu are the remaining two poets of the Shivakavi Trayamu.Somanadhudu was an eminent litterateur and scholar in three languages, Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. He was a Shaivite missionary who spread Shaivism in Telugu and Kannada nations. Veera Shaivites believe that Somanaadhudu was an incarnation of Bhringiriti, one of the chief attendants of Lord Shiva. Unlike other Brahmin Shaivite poets who respected Brahmins, Somanadhudu derided Brahmins and mocked at their practices in his works. The purpose and goal of his life and poetry was spread of Shaivism and he was quite successful.Somanaadhudu was the first poet to write in Telugu, using native Telugu vocabulary and meter. Somanadhudu created "Ragada," another Telugu meter. His Ragada was known as Basavaragada, and was the basis for later Ragada meter in Telugu literature. This was his favorite meter after Dwipada. Dwipada is an indigenous Telugu meter. He also used several other native Telugu meters like Seesamu, Tribhangi, Krounchapadamu, Taruvoja, Vanamayuramu, Chaturvidha Kandamu, Tripaasa Kandamu, Dwipaasa Kandamu, etc.Deviating from his predecessors like Nannechodudu, he chose local Telugu stories for his works instead of stories from Sanskrit literature. His works include Basava Puranamu, Panditaaradhya Charitramu. In these works he describes the life histories of non-Brahmin Telugu people of different tribal origins. He created a great literary art out of the life stories of common Telugus like Bejjamahadevi, Godagoochi, Sangayya, Duggavva, Udumoori Kannappa, Sakalemaadiraajayya, Madivaalu Maachayya, Kummara Gundayya, Kakkarayya, etc. His major contribution to the Telugu literature was the selection of the contemporary people and their lives as his subject.His language was easy and understandable to common Telugus. He avoided difficult Brahminical Sanskrit vocabulary. Sanskrit was the language of elite, just like English is today. Popular international languages like Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi or English always fascinate Telugu elite. It is prestigious to use one of these languages in their literary endeavors. Today we see more English words than Telugu words in written and spoken language of Telugu elite. Somanaadhudu didn’t like this slavish nature of elite Telugus and was determined to establish the pride of Telugus by using Telugu vocabulary rather than Sanskrit vocabulary. It was the only way to establish Shaivism firmly in the Telugu country. He was quite successful in reaching the common man through his literature by removing the elite Sanskrit from his literature.Today, we are in dire need of another Somanadhudu to resurrect the lost glory of Telugu and to unshackle Telugus from the false pride of English/Hindi usage at home and in day-to-day social intercourse.Kandukuri VeeresalingamKandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919):
and Paravastu Chinnayasuri are considered prophets of Modern Andhra. Veeresalingam awakened Andhras out of their suffocating medieval orthodox customs and superstitions. He was not only a reformer, but also a literary activist. His literary activities were varied. He was the first to write a Telugu novel, Telugu drama, books on natural sciences and history in Telugu, and Telugu prose for women. He was considered the father of renaissance in Andhra. Veeresalingam was born into a poor Brahmin family on 16 April 1848 at Rajamundry. His father was Subbarayudu and mother was Purnamma. He lost his father at the age of four. In spite of poverty, his mother sent him to the Government District School. He finished Matriculation in 1869 and worked as a teacher in Korangi Town. Later he worked in Rajamundry City as a Senior Telugu Pundit.He was a reformist writer. His initial writings were in classical style of Prabadhas. He wrote several Satakas, such as, Gopala Satakamu, Markandeya Satakamu etc. Later he became interested in erotic literature. His sensual writings include Suddhandhra Niroshtya Nirvachananaishadhamu, Rasikajana Ranjanamu, Suddhandrottara Ramayanamu, Suddharndhra Bharata Sangrahamu etc. His Abhagyopakhyanamu is a humorous satire on the Andhra society. His novel Rajasekhara Charitram was the first Telugu novel.Veeresalingam was one of the greatest personalities and earliest reformers in India to demand for radical changes in Telugu Indian society. He had a keen insight, great courage and dynamic energy. He fought against untruth and championed the cause of progress with vigor. He fought for education for women, and remarriage of widows. He started Vivekavardini, a monthly journal, to point out and criticize the defects in the society. He also maintained several other journals like Chintamani, Sateehitabodha, Satyasavardhani, Satyavadi etc., and helped develop the Telugu literature and reformation of the society. He established in 1874 a girls school at Dhavaleswaram to encourage women's education. In 1884, he established another school for girls at Innispeta in Rajamundry. He also established an organization called Hitakarini Society and donated all his property for the social activities to improve the society and support various organizations set up by him. He ridiculed the opponents of women's education in many satires, lampoons and drama like "Brahma Vivaham." Through his writings he criticized early marriages, Kanyasulkam (price of bride) and marriages of old men with young girls.Veeresalingam developed contacts with influential British officials and other eminent citizens of Madras. He began to give seminars to convince the orthodox leaders that re-marriage of widows was not prohibited by Dharma Sastra (Scriptural Law). In these seminars he used to quote verses from scriptures to prove his point. The orthodox leaders took up the challenge and arranged special meetings and debates to counter Veeresalingam's arguments. The opponents of remarriage failed to prove their point and resorted to physical violence against Veeresalingam. He didn't back down and fearlessly established a Remarriage Association and sent his students nook and corner of the Andhra Nation to find young men willing to marry widows. He arranged the first widow remarriage on December 11, 1881. Because of these reformist activities Veeresalingam became famous even abroad. The Government in appreciation of his work conferred on him the title of "Rao Bahadur" in 1893. Later he established a Widow Home.He also fought against the system of concubines called nauch system. Keeping concubines was regarded as a status symbol. Most of these concubines were from Devadasi tribe/caste. Usually in the houses of these Davadasis the corrupt officials made illegal deals. So, it became a common practice to use these concubines to get favors from the officials. Veeresalingam attacked this sexual corruption in the society.Sir Kandukuri Veeresalingam was a multifaceted personality and he reformed the society with his literature and revolutionary activities. He was a crusader and one of the greatest leaders that India ever had.
Somanaadhudu PaalkurikiSomanaadhudu Paalkuriki (1160-1240 AD) :
belongs to the Trinity of Shaivite Poets, known as "Shivakavi Trayamu," and to an era of Brahmin Shaivite poets, "Shivakavi Yugamu," in the history of Telugu literature. This is considered to be the time between Nannaya and Tikkana (12th century AD). Nannechodudu and Mallikarjuna Panditaradhryudu are the remaining two poets of the Shivakavi Trayamu.Somanadhudu was an eminent litterateur and scholar in three languages, Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. He was a Shaivite missionary who spread Shaivism in Telugu and Kannada nations. Veera Shaivites believe that Somanaadhudu was an incarnation of Bhringiriti, one of the chief attendants of Lord Shiva. Unlike other Brahmin Shaivite poets who respected Brahmins, Somanadhudu derided Brahmins and mocked at their practices in his works. The purpose and goal of his life and poetry was spread of Shaivism and he was quite successful.Somanaadhudu was the first poet to write in Telugu, using native Telugu vocabulary and meter. Somanadhudu created "Ragada," another Telugu meter. His Ragada was known as Basavaragada, and was the basis for later Ragada meter in Telugu literature. This was his favorite meter after Dwipada. Dwipada is an indigenous Telugu meter. He also used several other native Telugu meters like Seesamu, Tribhangi, Krounchapadamu, Taruvoja, Vanamayuramu, Chaturvidha Kandamu, Tripaasa Kandamu, Dwipaasa Kandamu, etc.Deviating from his predecessors like Nannechodudu, he chose local Telugu stories for his works instead of stories from Sanskrit literature. His works include Basava Puranamu, Panditaaradhya Charitramu. In these works he describes the life histories of non-Brahmin Telugu people of different tribal origins. He created a great literary art out of the life stories of common Telugus like Bejjamahadevi, Godagoochi, Sangayya, Duggavva, Udumoori Kannappa, Sakalemaadiraajayya, Madivaalu Maachayya, Kummara Gundayya, Kakkarayya, etc. His major contribution to the Telugu literature was the selection of the contemporary people and their lives as his subject.His language was easy and understandable to common Telugus. He avoided difficult Brahminical Sanskrit vocabulary. Sanskrit was the language of elite, just like English is today. Popular international languages like Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi or English always fascinate Telugu elite. It is prestigious to use one of these languages in their literary endeavors. Today we see more English words than Telugu words in written and spoken language of Telugu elite. Somanaadhudu didn’t like this slavish nature of elite Telugus and was determined to establish the pride of Telugus by using Telugu vocabulary rather than Sanskrit vocabulary. It was the only way to establish Shaivism firmly in the Telugu country. He was quite successful in reaching the common man through his literature by removing the elite Sanskrit from his literature.Today, we are in dire need of another Somanadhudu to resurrect the lost glory of Telugu and to unshackle Telugus from the false pride of English/Hindi usage at home and in day-to-day social intercourse.Kandukuri VeeresalingamKandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919):
and Paravastu Chinnayasuri are considered prophets of Modern Andhra. Veeresalingam awakened Andhras out of their suffocating medieval orthodox customs and superstitions. He was not only a reformer, but also a literary activist. His literary activities were varied. He was the first to write a Telugu novel, Telugu drama, books on natural sciences and history in Telugu, and Telugu prose for women. He was considered the father of renaissance in Andhra. Veeresalingam was born into a poor Brahmin family on 16 April 1848 at Rajamundry. His father was Subbarayudu and mother was Purnamma. He lost his father at the age of four. In spite of poverty, his mother sent him to the Government District School. He finished Matriculation in 1869 and worked as a teacher in Korangi Town. Later he worked in Rajamundry City as a Senior Telugu Pundit.He was a reformist writer. His initial writings were in classical style of Prabadhas. He wrote several Satakas, such as, Gopala Satakamu, Markandeya Satakamu etc. Later he became interested in erotic literature. His sensual writings include Suddhandhra Niroshtya Nirvachananaishadhamu, Rasikajana Ranjanamu, Suddhandrottara Ramayanamu, Suddharndhra Bharata Sangrahamu etc. His Abhagyopakhyanamu is a humorous satire on the Andhra society. His novel Rajasekhara Charitram was the first Telugu novel.Veeresalingam was one of the greatest personalities and earliest reformers in India to demand for radical changes in Telugu Indian society. He had a keen insight, great courage and dynamic energy. He fought against untruth and championed the cause of progress with vigor. He fought for education for women, and remarriage of widows. He started Vivekavardini, a monthly journal, to point out and criticize the defects in the society. He also maintained several other journals like Chintamani, Sateehitabodha, Satyasavardhani, Satyavadi etc., and helped develop the Telugu literature and reformation of the society. He established in 1874 a girls school at Dhavaleswaram to encourage women's education. In 1884, he established another school for girls at Innispeta in Rajamundry. He also established an organization called Hitakarini Society and donated all his property for the social activities to improve the society and support various organizations set up by him. He ridiculed the opponents of women's education in many satires, lampoons and drama like "Brahma Vivaham." Through his writings he criticized early marriages, Kanyasulkam (price of bride) and marriages of old men with young girls.Veeresalingam developed contacts with influential British officials and other eminent citizens of Madras. He began to give seminars to convince the orthodox leaders that re-marriage of widows was not prohibited by Dharma Sastra (Scriptural Law). In these seminars he used to quote verses from scriptures to prove his point. The orthodox leaders took up the challenge and arranged special meetings and debates to counter Veeresalingam's arguments. The opponents of remarriage failed to prove their point and resorted to physical violence against Veeresalingam. He didn't back down and fearlessly established a Remarriage Association and sent his students nook and corner of the Andhra Nation to find young men willing to marry widows. He arranged the first widow remarriage on December 11, 1881. Because of these reformist activities Veeresalingam became famous even abroad. The Government in appreciation of his work conferred on him the title of "Rao Bahadur" in 1893. Later he established a Widow Home.He also fought against the system of concubines called nauch system. Keeping concubines was regarded as a status symbol. Most of these concubines were from Devadasi tribe/caste. Usually in the houses of these Davadasis the corrupt officials made illegal deals. So, it became a common practice to use these concubines to get favors from the officials. Veeresalingam attacked this sexual corruption in the society.Sir Kandukuri Veeresalingam was a multifaceted personality and he reformed the society with his literature and revolutionary activities. He was a crusader and one of the greatest leaders that India ever had.
కార్తీక పౌర్ణమి దీపాలు
కార్తీక పౌర్ణమి దీపాలు
కార్తీక పౌర్ణమి రోజు తెలుగునాట అంతా ఆడవాళ్ళు శివాలయంలో దీపాలు వెలిగిస్తారు.
అసలు, కార్తీక మాసం మొత్తం రెందు సంధ్యల్లో దీపాలు వెలిగించడానికి చాల విశిష్టత ఉంది అంటారు.
ఆ మాటకొస్తే, మన సనాతన జీవనవిధానంలో
దీపం వెలిగించడం, దీపారాధన, జ్యోతి ప్రజ్వలనికి ఒక ప్రశస్తమైన స్థానం వుంది.
ఙ్ఞానాన్ని మన పూర్వికులు జ్యోతితో నిర్వచించారు.
ఇలాంటి గొప్ప అలోచన, అలవాటు గురించి తెలిసి, దానిని కొద్దో గొప్పో తరచూ చూస్తూ ఉండి,
పుట్టినరోజు జరుపుకోడానికి దీపాలని అర్పివేయడం అనేది నేను ఎప్పుడూ జీర్ణించుకోలేని విషయం.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास) was a Sanskrit poet and dramatist, his title Kavikulaguru (Preceptor of All Poets) bearing testimony to his stature. Known to be an ardent worshipper of Shiva, he wrote his plays and poetry largely based around Hindu mythology and philosophy. His name means, literally, "Kali's servant".
Dating :
The exact dates of Kalidasa's life are disputed between the reign of Agnimitra and Asoka. These range from the 1st century BCE to the 5th Century CE.
Kalidasa's play Mālavikāgnimitra has as its hero the second Sunga king Agnimitra. This king is known to have ruled around 170 BC, which provides the earliest possible date for Kalidasa's life.
The Aihole Prashasti of 634 AD compares the skill of its composer to Kalidasa's. This becomes the latest date for Kalidasa. In addition, the Indian tradition associates the poet with the court of a king Vikramaditya.
Historians generally associate Kalidasa with the reigns of the Gupta kings Chandragupta Vikramāditya and his successor, Kumaragupta in the 4th century AD. Chandragupta II is known to have assumed the title of Vikramaditya and reigned over the zenith of the Gupta golden-age. It must be noted that Kalidasa does not mention any king as his patron or any dynasty other than the Sungas in his works. The fact that he named his play about Pururavas and Urvashi as Vikramuurvashiiya, replacing Pururava by Vikrama in the name and calling Pururava by that name in the play, is treated as an indirect tribute to his patron. The name of his epic Kumārasambhavam is considered a pun on the name of Kumaragupta. Kumara is another name of Kartikeya, a son of Shiva and a god of war, and his birth is tied to the birth of the Gupta king. In addition, Kalidasa's mention of Huns in Raghuvamsha is taken as veiled reference to Skandagupta's victory over them. The campaign of Raghu in the same epic is supposed to be modelled on Samudragupta's campaign. He is supposed to have composed his Meghadūta at Ramagiri, identified as Ramtek near Nagpur in Maharashtra. It is known that Prabhavatigupta, Chandragupta II's daughter was married to the Vakataka king who had his capital nearby. These clues have led historians to assign Kalidasa to the Gupta age.
However, dissent has been raised by scholars on this association based on the following issues:
Kalidasa does not mention any Guptas.
There have been many Vikramadityas and he could have been in the court of any of these, including a legendary one in the 1st century BCE.
The campaign sections of Raghuvamsha are not very reliable. It is not correct to assume that the tribes mentioned there were not known prior to the Gupta campaigns. Kalidasa's works have not been free from interpolations and such campaign sections are notorious for being tampered with as seen in case of the campaigns in the Mahabharata.
Kalidasa was a votary of Shiva and composing an epic poem celebrating the birth of Shiva's son would be a natural expression of devotion. Kumara was a popular name of the war god and it might be a coincidence that it matches the name of a Gupta king.
There seems to be no reason why Kalidasa should use Agnimitra as a hero as he was far removed from his time and not famous either. In fact, his only claim to greatness is being the hero of Kalidasa's play, otherwise he is just a name in dynastic lists in all ancient works. Kalidasa also seems to be aware of certain historical peculiarities like the fact that Agnimitra's father Pushyamitra still called himself a commander though he had become the king after usurping the throne from the Mauryas.
The dissenting scholars generally favour placing Kalidasa nearer to the age of the Sungas and the age of the legendary king Vikramaditya, that is to about 100 BC.
Biography
He was born on B.C.Ist century. He was known for his beauty and innocence.He was a member of 'Navaratna' in Vikramaditya's kingdom. A local princess Vidyotama, who vowed to marry only a man who defeated her in debate, outwitted all the scholars in the kingdom. These insulted scholars managed to present the dim-witted Kalidasa as a learned man and even got her married to him. But when the truth was discovered she was ashamed of his uneducated ignorance and coarseness. Kalidas left his home in pursuit of knowledge and to become worthy of his intellectual wife. A devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, Kalidasa is said to have called upon the goddess for help and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of wit and wealth.
When he returned, his wife asked, "Asti Kashchit Wagvisheshah" ("Is there any speciality in your language?") Kalidasa refused to continue to be the princess' husband because she has taken the place of his guru, being the one directing him to the path of knowledge. As a tribute to her utterance, he starts his various books using different parts of the above statement: "ASTHYutharasyam dishi" in the Kumarasambhavam, "KASCHIT kaantha" in the Meghadutam and "VAGArthviva samprukthou" in the Raghuvamsham.
The province of origin of Kalidasa is the subject of much debate. His loving description of the Himalayas in Kumarasambhavam have made some scholars place his birth in that region. However in the Meghaduta, Kalidasa lavishes much love on Ujjain, perhaps hinting that he may have been a resident of it.
Legend has it that he was murdered by a courtesan in Sri Lanka during the reign of Kumaradasa. But this king reigned in the 6th century AD and hence this seems to be improbable.
Works :
Plays
Three famous plays written by Kalidasa are Mālavikāgnimitram (Mālavikā and Agnimitra), Vikramorvaśīya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi) and Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Sakuntala). The last is the most famous, and was the first to be translated into English and German Mālavikāgnimitram, his first work, tells the story of King Agnimitra, who falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Mālavikā. When the queen discovers her husband's passion for this girl, she becomes infuriated and has Mālavikā imprisoned, but as fate would have it, Mālavikā is in fact a true-born princess, thus legitimizing the affair.
Kalidasa's second play, generally considered his masterpiece, is the Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) which tells the story of another king, Dushyanta, who falls in love with another girl of lowly birth, the lovely Shakuntala. This time, the couple is happily married and things seem to be going smoothly until Fate intervenes. When the king is called back to court by some pressing business, his new bride unintentionally offends a saint who puts a curse on her, erasing the young girl entirely from the king's memory. Softening, however, the saint concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala returns to him the ring he gave her. This seems easy enough--that is, until the girl loses the ring while bathing. And to make matters worse, she soon discovers that she is pregnant with the king's child. But true love is destined to win the day, and when a fisherman finds the ring, the king's memory returns and all is well. Shakuntala is remarkable not only for its beautiful love poetry, but also for its abundant humor which marks the play from beginning to end.
The last of Kalidasa's surviving plays, Vikramōrvaśīyam, is more mystical than the earlier plays. This time, the king (Pururavas) falls in love with a celestial nymph named Urvashi. After writing her mortal suitor a love letter on a birch leaf, Urvashi returns to the heavens to perform in a celestial play. However, she is so smitten that she misses her cue and pronounces her lover's name during the performance. As a punishment for ruining the play, Urvashi is banished from heaven, but cursed to return the moment her human lover lays eyes on the child that she will bear him. After a series of mishaps, including Urvashi's temporary transformation into a vine, the curse is eventually lifted, and the lovers are allowed to remain together on Earth. Vikramōrvaśīyam is filled with poetic beauty and a fanciful humor. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is similar to Vikramōrvaśīyam[citation needed].
Poetry :
In addition to his plays, Kalidasa wrote two surviving epic poems Raghuvamsha (Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (Birth of Kumar Kartikeya), as well as the lyrical Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger) and Ritusamhāra (The Exposition on the Seasons).
Other Works Attributed To Kalidasa
Kalidasa has also been credited with many minor poems and hymns. But these are generally treated by scholars as works of other poets writing under the name of Kalidasa.
In addition to being a great poet Kalidas is beileved to be a good astrologer too. "Uttara Kaalaamritam " a work on astrology is attributed to him and it is said that as a result of his worship of goddess Kali, the predictions given in this book are absolutely correct.
His other works are
Sruthabodham
Sringhara Thilakam
Sringhara Rasaashtam
Sethukaavyam
Karpuramanjari
Pushpabaana Vilaasam
Shyaamala Dhalakam
Presnotharamaala
Jyothirvidyabharanam.
Commentaries
While many commentaries on the works of Kalidasa exist in various Indian and non-Indian languages, the most famous and often studied one is the Sanjeevani by Kolachala Mallinatha Suri (15th century CE) (usually referred to as Mallinatha), written during the reign of the Vijayanagara king Deva Raya II.
Kalidasa in modern popular culture
In Koodiyattam, the only surviving ancient Sanskrit-based theatre tradition, Bhasa's plays were usually performed, but legendary Koodiyattam artist and Natya shastra scholar late Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Guru Māni Mādhava Chākyār choreographed and started to perform popular Kalidasa plays like Abhijñānaśākuntala, Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra.
The legends of Kalidasa's life have been popularized by movies such as Kaviratna Kalidasa and Mahakavi Kalidasa in Kannada and other South Indian languages. These movies are based on the legends around Kalidasa that offer ample scope for special effects and music. Also, V. Shantaram made the movie Stree based on Kalidasa's Shakuntala. Of his works, the play on Shakuntala is the one that lends easily to adaptation and hence has been filmed in virtually every major Indian language.
Mohan Rakesh's acclaimed play in Hindi based on Kalidasa's life Āshad ka ek din(A Day In The Month Of Āshad) tries to capture the conflict between the harsh realities of the times and the ethereal beauty repeatedly portrayed in his works. Kalidasa leaves behind his childhood sweetheart Mallika to go to the royal court. He wins acclaim and a life of pleasure. When he comes back to Mallika expecting an eager welcome, he discovers that in the intervening years, her life has taken the harsh road never seen in his art.
Surendra Verma's Hindi play "Athavan Sarga," published in 1976, is based on the ancient myth that Kalidasa could not complete his epic "Kumārasambhava" because he was cursed by the goddess Pārvati for obscenely describing her conjugal/amorous life with Lord Shiva in the eighth canto of this epic. The play depicts Kalidasa as a court poet of Chandragupta who faces a trial on the insistence of a priest and some other moralists of his time. The playwright, while beautifully depicting the dilemma of a writer in such a circumstance, has not only invalidated the eternal discussion of obscenity in literature but also underlined the importance of the freedom of expression & futility of censorship in art.
"Asti Kashchid Vagarthiyam", a five act play written by Dr. Krishna Kumar in Sanskrit, was first published in 1984. The story depicts a variation of the popular legend of Kālidāsā's wedding, portraying him as a mentally handicapped woodcutter who is married to Vidyottamā, a learned princess, through a conspiracy of two scholars who had been defeated by her in a discussion on the scriptures. On discovering that she has been cheated, Vidyottamā banishes Kālidāsā. She however relents, asking him to acquire scholarship and fame if he desires to continue the relationship. She further lays a condition saying that on his return she will question him by asking him, Asti Kashchid Vāgārthah" ("Is there anything special in expression?"). If she is satisfied with his answer, the matrimonial relations will be restored. Kālidāsā, in due course, not only attains knowledge and fame but becomes a famous poet as well. To prove allegiance to his wife, he composes three verses at the beginning of Kumārsambhava, Raghuvansha and Meghaduta that begin with the words Asti ("there is"), Kashchit ("something") and Vāk ("expression.") Dr Krishna Kumar's play, written in the traditional Sanskrit style, ends with the reunion of Kalidasa and his wife. The basic theme of the play is the general belief that prior to attaining fame, Kalidasa was mentally challenged and his wife was responsible for his transformation.
Legends
1 There arose a question on who was the better poet: Kalidasa or Dandi? After realising that no Sanskrit scholar of their time was capable of evaluating their competence, the pair go to the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. Upon being asked who was the greater poet, the goddess answers that it was Dandi. Disappointed, Kalidasa asks the goddess, "Am I nothing, mother?" A phrase well known to all students of Sanskrit is then uttered: "tvamēvaham" ("You and I are the same .")
2 Another legend alludes to a contest between another poet (supposedly Dandi) and Kalidasa, where a King asked both to describe the top branch of a dried tree. Dandi wrote suskam kastham tishthati agre ("dry wood resides at the top"). Kalidasa wrote nirasa taruvara purati bhate ("a lifeless part of a tree exists before us"), thus proving himself the better of the two.
3 Saraswati vandana is also attributed to Kalidasa.
Dating :
The exact dates of Kalidasa's life are disputed between the reign of Agnimitra and Asoka. These range from the 1st century BCE to the 5th Century CE.
Kalidasa's play Mālavikāgnimitra has as its hero the second Sunga king Agnimitra. This king is known to have ruled around 170 BC, which provides the earliest possible date for Kalidasa's life.
The Aihole Prashasti of 634 AD compares the skill of its composer to Kalidasa's. This becomes the latest date for Kalidasa. In addition, the Indian tradition associates the poet with the court of a king Vikramaditya.
Historians generally associate Kalidasa with the reigns of the Gupta kings Chandragupta Vikramāditya and his successor, Kumaragupta in the 4th century AD. Chandragupta II is known to have assumed the title of Vikramaditya and reigned over the zenith of the Gupta golden-age. It must be noted that Kalidasa does not mention any king as his patron or any dynasty other than the Sungas in his works. The fact that he named his play about Pururavas and Urvashi as Vikramuurvashiiya, replacing Pururava by Vikrama in the name and calling Pururava by that name in the play, is treated as an indirect tribute to his patron. The name of his epic Kumārasambhavam is considered a pun on the name of Kumaragupta. Kumara is another name of Kartikeya, a son of Shiva and a god of war, and his birth is tied to the birth of the Gupta king. In addition, Kalidasa's mention of Huns in Raghuvamsha is taken as veiled reference to Skandagupta's victory over them. The campaign of Raghu in the same epic is supposed to be modelled on Samudragupta's campaign. He is supposed to have composed his Meghadūta at Ramagiri, identified as Ramtek near Nagpur in Maharashtra. It is known that Prabhavatigupta, Chandragupta II's daughter was married to the Vakataka king who had his capital nearby. These clues have led historians to assign Kalidasa to the Gupta age.
However, dissent has been raised by scholars on this association based on the following issues:
Kalidasa does not mention any Guptas.
There have been many Vikramadityas and he could have been in the court of any of these, including a legendary one in the 1st century BCE.
The campaign sections of Raghuvamsha are not very reliable. It is not correct to assume that the tribes mentioned there were not known prior to the Gupta campaigns. Kalidasa's works have not been free from interpolations and such campaign sections are notorious for being tampered with as seen in case of the campaigns in the Mahabharata.
Kalidasa was a votary of Shiva and composing an epic poem celebrating the birth of Shiva's son would be a natural expression of devotion. Kumara was a popular name of the war god and it might be a coincidence that it matches the name of a Gupta king.
There seems to be no reason why Kalidasa should use Agnimitra as a hero as he was far removed from his time and not famous either. In fact, his only claim to greatness is being the hero of Kalidasa's play, otherwise he is just a name in dynastic lists in all ancient works. Kalidasa also seems to be aware of certain historical peculiarities like the fact that Agnimitra's father Pushyamitra still called himself a commander though he had become the king after usurping the throne from the Mauryas.
The dissenting scholars generally favour placing Kalidasa nearer to the age of the Sungas and the age of the legendary king Vikramaditya, that is to about 100 BC.
Biography
He was born on B.C.Ist century. He was known for his beauty and innocence.He was a member of 'Navaratna' in Vikramaditya's kingdom. A local princess Vidyotama, who vowed to marry only a man who defeated her in debate, outwitted all the scholars in the kingdom. These insulted scholars managed to present the dim-witted Kalidasa as a learned man and even got her married to him. But when the truth was discovered she was ashamed of his uneducated ignorance and coarseness. Kalidas left his home in pursuit of knowledge and to become worthy of his intellectual wife. A devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, Kalidasa is said to have called upon the goddess for help and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of wit and wealth.
When he returned, his wife asked, "Asti Kashchit Wagvisheshah" ("Is there any speciality in your language?") Kalidasa refused to continue to be the princess' husband because she has taken the place of his guru, being the one directing him to the path of knowledge. As a tribute to her utterance, he starts his various books using different parts of the above statement: "ASTHYutharasyam dishi" in the Kumarasambhavam, "KASCHIT kaantha" in the Meghadutam and "VAGArthviva samprukthou" in the Raghuvamsham.
The province of origin of Kalidasa is the subject of much debate. His loving description of the Himalayas in Kumarasambhavam have made some scholars place his birth in that region. However in the Meghaduta, Kalidasa lavishes much love on Ujjain, perhaps hinting that he may have been a resident of it.
Legend has it that he was murdered by a courtesan in Sri Lanka during the reign of Kumaradasa. But this king reigned in the 6th century AD and hence this seems to be improbable.
Works :
Plays
Three famous plays written by Kalidasa are Mālavikāgnimitram (Mālavikā and Agnimitra), Vikramorvaśīya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi) and Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Sakuntala). The last is the most famous, and was the first to be translated into English and German Mālavikāgnimitram, his first work, tells the story of King Agnimitra, who falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Mālavikā. When the queen discovers her husband's passion for this girl, she becomes infuriated and has Mālavikā imprisoned, but as fate would have it, Mālavikā is in fact a true-born princess, thus legitimizing the affair.
Kalidasa's second play, generally considered his masterpiece, is the Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) which tells the story of another king, Dushyanta, who falls in love with another girl of lowly birth, the lovely Shakuntala. This time, the couple is happily married and things seem to be going smoothly until Fate intervenes. When the king is called back to court by some pressing business, his new bride unintentionally offends a saint who puts a curse on her, erasing the young girl entirely from the king's memory. Softening, however, the saint concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala returns to him the ring he gave her. This seems easy enough--that is, until the girl loses the ring while bathing. And to make matters worse, she soon discovers that she is pregnant with the king's child. But true love is destined to win the day, and when a fisherman finds the ring, the king's memory returns and all is well. Shakuntala is remarkable not only for its beautiful love poetry, but also for its abundant humor which marks the play from beginning to end.
The last of Kalidasa's surviving plays, Vikramōrvaśīyam, is more mystical than the earlier plays. This time, the king (Pururavas) falls in love with a celestial nymph named Urvashi. After writing her mortal suitor a love letter on a birch leaf, Urvashi returns to the heavens to perform in a celestial play. However, she is so smitten that she misses her cue and pronounces her lover's name during the performance. As a punishment for ruining the play, Urvashi is banished from heaven, but cursed to return the moment her human lover lays eyes on the child that she will bear him. After a series of mishaps, including Urvashi's temporary transformation into a vine, the curse is eventually lifted, and the lovers are allowed to remain together on Earth. Vikramōrvaśīyam is filled with poetic beauty and a fanciful humor. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is similar to Vikramōrvaśīyam[citation needed].
Poetry :
In addition to his plays, Kalidasa wrote two surviving epic poems Raghuvamsha (Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (Birth of Kumar Kartikeya), as well as the lyrical Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger) and Ritusamhāra (The Exposition on the Seasons).
Other Works Attributed To Kalidasa
Kalidasa has also been credited with many minor poems and hymns. But these are generally treated by scholars as works of other poets writing under the name of Kalidasa.
In addition to being a great poet Kalidas is beileved to be a good astrologer too. "Uttara Kaalaamritam " a work on astrology is attributed to him and it is said that as a result of his worship of goddess Kali, the predictions given in this book are absolutely correct.
His other works are
Sruthabodham
Sringhara Thilakam
Sringhara Rasaashtam
Sethukaavyam
Karpuramanjari
Pushpabaana Vilaasam
Shyaamala Dhalakam
Presnotharamaala
Jyothirvidyabharanam.
Commentaries
While many commentaries on the works of Kalidasa exist in various Indian and non-Indian languages, the most famous and often studied one is the Sanjeevani by Kolachala Mallinatha Suri (15th century CE) (usually referred to as Mallinatha), written during the reign of the Vijayanagara king Deva Raya II.
Kalidasa in modern popular culture
In Koodiyattam, the only surviving ancient Sanskrit-based theatre tradition, Bhasa's plays were usually performed, but legendary Koodiyattam artist and Natya shastra scholar late Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Guru Māni Mādhava Chākyār choreographed and started to perform popular Kalidasa plays like Abhijñānaśākuntala, Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra.
The legends of Kalidasa's life have been popularized by movies such as Kaviratna Kalidasa and Mahakavi Kalidasa in Kannada and other South Indian languages. These movies are based on the legends around Kalidasa that offer ample scope for special effects and music. Also, V. Shantaram made the movie Stree based on Kalidasa's Shakuntala. Of his works, the play on Shakuntala is the one that lends easily to adaptation and hence has been filmed in virtually every major Indian language.
Mohan Rakesh's acclaimed play in Hindi based on Kalidasa's life Āshad ka ek din(A Day In The Month Of Āshad) tries to capture the conflict between the harsh realities of the times and the ethereal beauty repeatedly portrayed in his works. Kalidasa leaves behind his childhood sweetheart Mallika to go to the royal court. He wins acclaim and a life of pleasure. When he comes back to Mallika expecting an eager welcome, he discovers that in the intervening years, her life has taken the harsh road never seen in his art.
Surendra Verma's Hindi play "Athavan Sarga," published in 1976, is based on the ancient myth that Kalidasa could not complete his epic "Kumārasambhava" because he was cursed by the goddess Pārvati for obscenely describing her conjugal/amorous life with Lord Shiva in the eighth canto of this epic. The play depicts Kalidasa as a court poet of Chandragupta who faces a trial on the insistence of a priest and some other moralists of his time. The playwright, while beautifully depicting the dilemma of a writer in such a circumstance, has not only invalidated the eternal discussion of obscenity in literature but also underlined the importance of the freedom of expression & futility of censorship in art.
"Asti Kashchid Vagarthiyam", a five act play written by Dr. Krishna Kumar in Sanskrit, was first published in 1984. The story depicts a variation of the popular legend of Kālidāsā's wedding, portraying him as a mentally handicapped woodcutter who is married to Vidyottamā, a learned princess, through a conspiracy of two scholars who had been defeated by her in a discussion on the scriptures. On discovering that she has been cheated, Vidyottamā banishes Kālidāsā. She however relents, asking him to acquire scholarship and fame if he desires to continue the relationship. She further lays a condition saying that on his return she will question him by asking him, Asti Kashchid Vāgārthah" ("Is there anything special in expression?"). If she is satisfied with his answer, the matrimonial relations will be restored. Kālidāsā, in due course, not only attains knowledge and fame but becomes a famous poet as well. To prove allegiance to his wife, he composes three verses at the beginning of Kumārsambhava, Raghuvansha and Meghaduta that begin with the words Asti ("there is"), Kashchit ("something") and Vāk ("expression.") Dr Krishna Kumar's play, written in the traditional Sanskrit style, ends with the reunion of Kalidasa and his wife. The basic theme of the play is the general belief that prior to attaining fame, Kalidasa was mentally challenged and his wife was responsible for his transformation.
Legends
1 There arose a question on who was the better poet: Kalidasa or Dandi? After realising that no Sanskrit scholar of their time was capable of evaluating their competence, the pair go to the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. Upon being asked who was the greater poet, the goddess answers that it was Dandi. Disappointed, Kalidasa asks the goddess, "Am I nothing, mother?" A phrase well known to all students of Sanskrit is then uttered: "tvamēvaham" ("You and I are the same .")
2 Another legend alludes to a contest between another poet (supposedly Dandi) and Kalidasa, where a King asked both to describe the top branch of a dried tree. Dandi wrote suskam kastham tishthati agre ("dry wood resides at the top"). Kalidasa wrote nirasa taruvara purati bhate ("a lifeless part of a tree exists before us"), thus proving himself the better of the two.
3 Saraswati vandana is also attributed to Kalidasa.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
ఆ నవ్వు
ఆ నవ్వులో
నిన్నటి దిగులు లేదు
రేపటి బాధ లేదు
ఆ నవ్వు
హిమానీనదం అంత స్వచ్ఛంగా
హిమాలయాలంత అందంగా
ఆ నవ్వు
నిన్నని మరిపిస్తూ
రేపటిని తలపకు రానీకుండా
నేడు నా ముందు నిలచింది సాకారమై
ఆ నవ్వును
ముందెన్నడూ చూడలేదు
ముందెన్నడూ అనుభవించలేదు
ఆ నవ్వు
మనసును మారుస్తూ , మాయచేస్తూ
వేసవిలో చల్ల గాలిలా హాయిగొలుపుతూ
నా ముందు నిలచింది సాకారమై.
నిన్నటి దిగులు లేదు
రేపటి బాధ లేదు
ఆ నవ్వు
హిమానీనదం అంత స్వచ్ఛంగా
హిమాలయాలంత అందంగా
ఆ నవ్వు
నిన్నని మరిపిస్తూ
రేపటిని తలపకు రానీకుండా
నేడు నా ముందు నిలచింది సాకారమై
ఆ నవ్వును
ముందెన్నడూ చూడలేదు
ముందెన్నడూ అనుభవించలేదు
ఆ నవ్వు
మనసును మారుస్తూ , మాయచేస్తూ
వేసవిలో చల్ల గాలిలా హాయిగొలుపుతూ
నా ముందు నిలచింది సాకారమై.
Monday, November 19, 2007
CHARLES PHILIP BROWN
CHARLES PHILIP BROWN
Today we can walk into any good bookstore in Andhra Pradesh and buy a copy of vasu caritra, manu caritra, vEmana SatakaM, or any one of the other classics in Telugu literature. This privilege was made possible by one individual, that too a foreigner, Charles Philip Brown. For someone unfamiliar with his work, the long list of his contributions to Telugu language might seem unbelievable. In Brown's own words, "he came into contact with Telugu at a time when its literature was dying out with its flame glimmering in the socket." At the end of his life in 1884, practically all the classics in Telugu literature were recorded, many were published, some were translated and brought to the notice of the world, and enough materials were left behind for research by anyone interested in the language. In the words of Bandi Gopala Reddy (a.k.a BanGoRey), who did pioneering research work on Brown, "the contributions to Telugu by all the Telugu professors of the world, all the academies, and all the government-supported scholars put together do not come close to a tiny fraction of what Brown did." All this was from an employee of the East India Company that did not always look kindly at his efforts. Needless to say, enthusiasts of Telugu literature will remain forever grateful to this remarkable Englishman, Charles Philip Brown.
C.P. Brown was born in Calcutta on November 10, 1798. His father, David Brown, was an unusual man. A devout Christian who came to India to manage an orphanage, David Brown became a highly respected missionary and scholar. Unlike many of his generation, this Englishman thought that a good understanding of the religion of the natives would be helpful in spreading Christianity in India. To learn about Hinduism, he learnt Sanskrit. He also thought that speaking the language of the populace would be useful in his work. So he learnt native languages. That was quite in contrast to the average Englishman's attitude that Indians and their languages deserved no respect. Most Englishmen didn't even know that there was ancient literature in the languages of the natives.
C.P. Brown was brought up with a healthy respect for all languages. From his father he learnt some Hebrew, Syrian, Arabic, Parsi, Greek, Latin and Hindustani. He was a voracious reader and developed an appreciation for Paradise Lost by the time he was twelve. His father's death in 1812 removed Brown and his family from India and brought them back to England. While in England he was chosen for employment by the East India Company. As a part of the training for a civil service job in Madras, C. P. Brown was sent to Haileybury College where, in addition to the other subjects, he also learnt some Hindustani. At the age of 19, Brown arrived in Madras. Englishmen who came to India those days as civil servants of East India Company had to go to college and learn the local language. According to Brown, he never heard of Telugu until August 13, 1817, the day he arrived at the Madras College. The teacher who taught him the Telugu alphabet was Velagapudi Kodandarama Panthulu. Brown passed his Telugu Proficiency and the civil service tests in 1820, and was appointed as deputy to Mr. Hunbury, the collector of Cuddapah. In Cuddapah he learnt more Telugu from Hunbury, who spoke it fluently, as well as from the locals. Brown felt that books alone could not teach a living language. Whoever happened to be in the police station - the plaintiffs, prisoners, witnesses, judges or the menials - everyone became a Telugu instructor for him for the moment. However, Brown did not know much about Telugu literature while he was in Cuddapah. In 1822 he was transferred to Machalipatnam as assistant judge in the District Court. Even there he had not made a serious attempt to learn about Telugu literature until 1824. A few of his initiatives were shipwrecked because, according to Brown, the instructors he chose to learn from were interested in exhibiting their scholarship and did not understand how to introduce a non-native to Telugu literature.
In order to appreciate the efforts that Brown was to initiate in 1824 and sustain for nearly 60 years, it is necessary to understand his self-declared motives. Brown was not interested in becoming a scholar in Telugu. His experiences in learning Telugu at the Madras College -with an "insufficient grammar," "two worthless native books of exercise," "no dictionary," and "tutors who spoke English but had few notions of grammar" -were frustrating. He wanted to make it easier for people who followed him. To do so, that is, to prepare a grammar, a dictionary, a workbook etc., Brown needed considerable knowledge of the language. He made an effort to find Telugu literature that a beginner could use to build up his acquaintance with the language and slowly acquire a command of the language. In this quest he had to consult Telugu scholars who could translate poems for him and provide commentaries on them. But the scholars of the day seemed ill equipped to introduce the language to a non-native. Their commentaries were often more difficult than the poems themselves. The scholars seemed to know the grammar of Sanskrit better than that of their mother tongue. They also often directed him to study bhaarataM and bhaagavataM while Brown's interest was in finding simpler literature. The native scholars recommended learning a lot of vocabulary by rote as a method of learning the language, but Brown thought that reading a book and finding the meanings of the unfamiliar words and understanding the context in which they were used was a better method of learning a language.
It was in 1824 that Brown came upon a French translation of Vemana's poems. The French people, who were in the Telugu country before the English, also showed interest in the Telugu language and compiled a French translation for more than a thousand Telugu phrases. A missionary by the name of Le Gac apparently discovered Vemana's poems and was so impressed with them that he sent a manuscript to the library of Louis XV. It was probably this manuscript that the Frenchman Abbe Dubois had found, translated into French and published. This is thought to be the first ever publication of a Telugu work of literature and also the first translation of a Telugu work into a western language. It must have been the kind of literature that Brown was long searching for: simple, thoughtful, rustic, irreverent and profound. He began collecting hand-written and palm leaf manuscripts of Vemana's poems. It soon became an effort that mushroomed into epic proportions. He started collecting manuscripts not only of Vemana, but also of other authors. Very often he collected manuscripts in other languages also. But, his main focus was on Telugu. He paid for the manuscripts. To those who did not wish to sell the manuscripts in their possession, Brown promised to return the original along with a copy made on English paper.
In the course of collecting the Telugu manuscripts and having the poems commented upon by scholars, Brown realized that learning the prosody is very useful in appreciating the classical poetry. Having learnt prosody of Telugu and Sanskrit, he wrote an explanation of both and submitted the manuscript for publication. This book entitled "aandhra geervaaNa-chaMdamu: The prosody of the Telugu and Sanscrit languages explained," printed by the College Press at Madras in 1827, was the first published work of CP Brown. Brown subscribed to the philosophy that prosody is an instrument and not an end in itself as the scholars of the time appeared to believe.
Brown collected many manuscripts of Vemana's poems and found that there were variations between them in several poems. That proved to be the case not only with Vemana's poems but with every work of literature he collected. To prepare Vemana's poems or another piece of literature for publication, Brown used the following method: He first had a copy made of the manuscript which appeared to be the oldest or the most accurate. A scribe would sit with this copy. In front of him sat three or more scholars each in charge of five or six manuscripts that had variations with the main copy. Each verse that had variations was read out several times and the scholars commented on the differences. A consensus was reached on the most probable original version and was written down by the scribe. The opinions expressed by the different scholars in coming to the consensus were also recorded. Brown followed this practice with every manuscript he prepared for publication.
So that this work would not suffer when he was transferred from place to place in his civil service job, Brown bought a house in Cuddapah in 1828 and used it as the center where scholars and scribes came together in his employment to work on the manuscripts. Employing scholars, purchasing manuscripts and procuring writing supplies etc. cost him dearly. By 1836, manuscripts alone cost him a whopping sum of Rs. 30, 000. Brown was forced, on occasion, to borrow money both from natives and his compatriots.
The first edition of Vemana's poems was published in 1829 with 693 verses and their English translation. The book also contained a glossary and an index of the first lines of verses. Brown continued to collect manuscripts of Veman's poems. A second edition was brought out in 1839 with 1164 poems. Between the two editions, Brown was dismissed from his job in 1834 and that forced him to return to England. Being the ultimate lover of Telugu that he was, Brown used the time in England to write "The Grammar Of The Telugu Language" and prepare notes on what would become very voluminous dictionaries of Telugu-English and English-Telugu. Brown returned to Madras in 1837 as a translator of Persian for the East India Company. Soon after that he was appointed to the Madras College Board. Brown's grammar, certainly one of the best grammar books of Telugu, appeared in 1840 and his dictionaries, which he continued to work on, were published in 1854. The dictionaries are consulted as standard reference books even today.
Among the first classical poems Brown corrected and published with commentaries were the dvipada kaavyas, "Tale of Nala" by Raghava (1841) and "The Calamities of Harischandra" by Gaurana Mantri (1842). Brown's preference for simple poetry free of "wretched pedantry" was well documented. He did not however permit his preference inhibit work on the procurement and publication of other Kavyas. Nannaya's aadiparvaM was published in 1843, vasu caritra in 1844 and manu caritra in 1851. For the latter two, Brown had Zuluri Appaya write commentaries. Brown wrote that the purpose of the commentary was to make the poem understood clearly without the need for oral instruction. Brown could not suffer scholars who used the commentaries to exhibit their paanDitya prakarsha.
Brown's efforts in procuring, correcting and printing Telugu literature was soon widely known. Various individuals approached him for press-ready copies that could be published and sold for profit. Brown obliged them. Puranam Hayagreeva Sastry obtained Potana BhaagavataM and published it in 1848 duly acknowledging Brown. Similarly Puvvada Venkata Rao, of "vartamaana tarangiNi," [1] published the entire mahaabhaarataM.
In later years, especially after Brown left India in 1855, several manuscripts he left behind in the Madras Oriental Manuscripts Library were published without acknowledgment to his efforts.
Among other classical poems prepared for printing were basavapuraaNaM, panDitaaraadhya caritra, ranganaatha ramaayaNaM, uttara raamaayaNaM, vijayavilaasaM, saaraMgadhara caritra, harivaMSaM, kaaSii khaMDaM, aniruddha caritra (ushaa pariNayaM), kucElOpaakhyaanaM, raadhikaa saantvanamu, and vikramaarka caritra. It is not an exaggeration to say that every classical poem now available in Telugu was either published by Brown or prepared for publication. Brown himself wrote that he had notes appended to all the leading Telugu poems. Most were published from the press-ready manuscripts he left behind.
Among the other works Brown prepared for publication, with translation, was the sumatii SatakaM (for a wRITten text of the Satakam Click here). A. P. Sahitya Academy published it in 1973. palnaaDu veera caritra (Wars of the Palnadu) was a favorite of Brown because it was a local story of the Telugus and it was in dvipada. Brown published it in 1852. Brown's scholarly study of veeraSaiva traditions in Telugu country, which highlighted the religion's folk underpinnings and the role of aaraaDhya Brahmins in developing an elite form of the religion, considerably enhanced our understanding of veeraSaivism beyond its conventional focus on northern Karnataka-based traditions [2].
In addition to his regular job, his activities in procuring, correcting and printing Telugu literature, writing grammar and dictionaries for Telugu, Brown was also an editor of the "Madras Journal of Literature and Science." In his desire to bring the Telugu literature to the attention of Westerners, he wrote summaries of the stories of the manuscripts he prepared for printing, and published them in this journal and in "The Asiatic Journal (London)."
Brown translated raajula yuddhamulu, a story about the history of Ananthapur. The book contained folktales popular in and around Ananthapur. musalamma maraNaM, the well known kaavyaM by C. R. Reddy, was based on a story from this Brown's book. Besides translating Telugu works into English, Brown translated several works of Christian literature from English into Telugu. looka cEta vraayabaDina Subha vartamaanamu was one of them.
Given his monumental efforts to get Telugu literature published, it was only natural that he introduced a few changes into the Telugu alphabet. He changed the ra vattu, which looked like a half circle placed under the alphabet, into the shape of ‘L’ and placed it on the left side of the letter. He also introduced an alternate ra vattu that looked like a ‘9’ placed after the letter. These innovations were helpful in printing. Another innovation, for which he was hated by the Pandits of his time, was the deletion of arasunna and SakaTarEpha (banDi-Ra) from the alphabet. In the first edition of Vemana's poems (1829), he included both; but by the time second edition was printed in 1839, he decided that these two alphabets were archaic and had no use to the language. Another innovation for which the scholars despised Brown was the inclusion of spoken words in his dictionary.
Brown paid close attention to the natives' habits, their heritage, and their likes and dislikes and respected them very much. He wrote, "Telugu people are as highly civilized as any in Europe." He compared the modes of speech of Telugus with those of Italians. His knowledge of the different dialects of Telugu was such that he predicted at one time that Vemana might have belonged to the southwestern part of Telangana.
He noticed that when white examiners went to test the students at Madras College, the native instructors were not allowed to sit in their presence. Brown successfully campaigned for changing this practice.
Brown's services as an administrator and a humanist were also of great importance to Telugus. His services as an administrator at the time of the great Guntur famine in 1832-1833 were highly commended. He opened schools for native children and maintained them.
Brown's poor health forced him to leave India in 1855. After returning to England, he continued his pursuits in Telugu. Brown was appointed professor of Telugu in London University in or around 1865. He wrote an autobiographical account and published it in 1866. Brown continued to add new words to his dictionary almost till the end of his life. He passed away on the 12th of December 1884.
With the advent of post-colonial, subaltern studies, the motives of the British orientalists of colonial period, including Brown, are in question. It is claimed that Brown's compilation of vocabularies, composition of grammars, translation of texts and production of dictionaries was not an innocent exercise in aiding the communication with the natives, but an effort aimed at constructing an image of India which could then be represented to Indians as the authentic object, which, by implication, only colonialism could produce [3]. The opponents of the above school of thought find the subaltern studies paradigm not convincing, and suggest that there was a crucial dialogue between the indigenous Telugu literati and the British, and that most of the colonial cultural practices were a result of such a dialogue [4].
This legendary Telugu enthusiast gave us chronicles, ephemeries, essays, grammars, lexicons, readers, treatises and translations besides publishing Telugu classical poems. His scholarly legacy continues to serve as an important and insightful source for studying and re-conceptualizing Telugu culture. Brown left behind a vast treasure of Telugu literary/historical documents. Innumerable works are lying in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, India office library, London, and at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. It is in the interest of Telugu people everywhere to have these materials well preserved and researched not only because of their literary value, but also because they provide a valuable window into Telugu history and social life of his time.
Brown's contributions have been extensively commented upon. Click here for an account of C.P. Brown's contribution as published in The Hindu newspaper, Sunday, 15 Nov, 1998 on the occasion of the bicentennial of Charles Philip Brown.
Restless British Pandit - Legacy of the Raj
This article was published by The Hindu, Sunday, 15 Nov, 1998 on the occasion of the bicentennial of Charles Philip Brown (born November l0, 1798). This East India Company official rejuvenated Telugu literature at a time when it was moribund, writes C. V. RAMACHANDRA RAO.
Today we can walk into any good bookstore in Andhra Pradesh and buy a copy of vasu caritra, manu caritra, vEmana SatakaM, or any one of the other classics in Telugu literature. This privilege was made possible by one individual, that too a foreigner, Charles Philip Brown. For someone unfamiliar with his work, the long list of his contributions to Telugu language might seem unbelievable. In Brown's own words, "he came into contact with Telugu at a time when its literature was dying out with its flame glimmering in the socket." At the end of his life in 1884, practically all the classics in Telugu literature were recorded, many were published, some were translated and brought to the notice of the world, and enough materials were left behind for research by anyone interested in the language. In the words of Bandi Gopala Reddy (a.k.a BanGoRey), who did pioneering research work on Brown, "the contributions to Telugu by all the Telugu professors of the world, all the academies, and all the government-supported scholars put together do not come close to a tiny fraction of what Brown did." All this was from an employee of the East India Company that did not always look kindly at his efforts. Needless to say, enthusiasts of Telugu literature will remain forever grateful to this remarkable Englishman, Charles Philip Brown.
C.P. Brown was born in Calcutta on November 10, 1798. His father, David Brown, was an unusual man. A devout Christian who came to India to manage an orphanage, David Brown became a highly respected missionary and scholar. Unlike many of his generation, this Englishman thought that a good understanding of the religion of the natives would be helpful in spreading Christianity in India. To learn about Hinduism, he learnt Sanskrit. He also thought that speaking the language of the populace would be useful in his work. So he learnt native languages. That was quite in contrast to the average Englishman's attitude that Indians and their languages deserved no respect. Most Englishmen didn't even know that there was ancient literature in the languages of the natives.
C.P. Brown was brought up with a healthy respect for all languages. From his father he learnt some Hebrew, Syrian, Arabic, Parsi, Greek, Latin and Hindustani. He was a voracious reader and developed an appreciation for Paradise Lost by the time he was twelve. His father's death in 1812 removed Brown and his family from India and brought them back to England. While in England he was chosen for employment by the East India Company. As a part of the training for a civil service job in Madras, C. P. Brown was sent to Haileybury College where, in addition to the other subjects, he also learnt some Hindustani. At the age of 19, Brown arrived in Madras. Englishmen who came to India those days as civil servants of East India Company had to go to college and learn the local language. According to Brown, he never heard of Telugu until August 13, 1817, the day he arrived at the Madras College. The teacher who taught him the Telugu alphabet was Velagapudi Kodandarama Panthulu. Brown passed his Telugu Proficiency and the civil service tests in 1820, and was appointed as deputy to Mr. Hunbury, the collector of Cuddapah. In Cuddapah he learnt more Telugu from Hunbury, who spoke it fluently, as well as from the locals. Brown felt that books alone could not teach a living language. Whoever happened to be in the police station - the plaintiffs, prisoners, witnesses, judges or the menials - everyone became a Telugu instructor for him for the moment. However, Brown did not know much about Telugu literature while he was in Cuddapah. In 1822 he was transferred to Machalipatnam as assistant judge in the District Court. Even there he had not made a serious attempt to learn about Telugu literature until 1824. A few of his initiatives were shipwrecked because, according to Brown, the instructors he chose to learn from were interested in exhibiting their scholarship and did not understand how to introduce a non-native to Telugu literature.
In order to appreciate the efforts that Brown was to initiate in 1824 and sustain for nearly 60 years, it is necessary to understand his self-declared motives. Brown was not interested in becoming a scholar in Telugu. His experiences in learning Telugu at the Madras College -with an "insufficient grammar," "two worthless native books of exercise," "no dictionary," and "tutors who spoke English but had few notions of grammar" -were frustrating. He wanted to make it easier for people who followed him. To do so, that is, to prepare a grammar, a dictionary, a workbook etc., Brown needed considerable knowledge of the language. He made an effort to find Telugu literature that a beginner could use to build up his acquaintance with the language and slowly acquire a command of the language. In this quest he had to consult Telugu scholars who could translate poems for him and provide commentaries on them. But the scholars of the day seemed ill equipped to introduce the language to a non-native. Their commentaries were often more difficult than the poems themselves. The scholars seemed to know the grammar of Sanskrit better than that of their mother tongue. They also often directed him to study bhaarataM and bhaagavataM while Brown's interest was in finding simpler literature. The native scholars recommended learning a lot of vocabulary by rote as a method of learning the language, but Brown thought that reading a book and finding the meanings of the unfamiliar words and understanding the context in which they were used was a better method of learning a language.
It was in 1824 that Brown came upon a French translation of Vemana's poems. The French people, who were in the Telugu country before the English, also showed interest in the Telugu language and compiled a French translation for more than a thousand Telugu phrases. A missionary by the name of Le Gac apparently discovered Vemana's poems and was so impressed with them that he sent a manuscript to the library of Louis XV. It was probably this manuscript that the Frenchman Abbe Dubois had found, translated into French and published. This is thought to be the first ever publication of a Telugu work of literature and also the first translation of a Telugu work into a western language. It must have been the kind of literature that Brown was long searching for: simple, thoughtful, rustic, irreverent and profound. He began collecting hand-written and palm leaf manuscripts of Vemana's poems. It soon became an effort that mushroomed into epic proportions. He started collecting manuscripts not only of Vemana, but also of other authors. Very often he collected manuscripts in other languages also. But, his main focus was on Telugu. He paid for the manuscripts. To those who did not wish to sell the manuscripts in their possession, Brown promised to return the original along with a copy made on English paper.
In the course of collecting the Telugu manuscripts and having the poems commented upon by scholars, Brown realized that learning the prosody is very useful in appreciating the classical poetry. Having learnt prosody of Telugu and Sanskrit, he wrote an explanation of both and submitted the manuscript for publication. This book entitled "aandhra geervaaNa-chaMdamu: The prosody of the Telugu and Sanscrit languages explained," printed by the College Press at Madras in 1827, was the first published work of CP Brown. Brown subscribed to the philosophy that prosody is an instrument and not an end in itself as the scholars of the time appeared to believe.
Brown collected many manuscripts of Vemana's poems and found that there were variations between them in several poems. That proved to be the case not only with Vemana's poems but with every work of literature he collected. To prepare Vemana's poems or another piece of literature for publication, Brown used the following method: He first had a copy made of the manuscript which appeared to be the oldest or the most accurate. A scribe would sit with this copy. In front of him sat three or more scholars each in charge of five or six manuscripts that had variations with the main copy. Each verse that had variations was read out several times and the scholars commented on the differences. A consensus was reached on the most probable original version and was written down by the scribe. The opinions expressed by the different scholars in coming to the consensus were also recorded. Brown followed this practice with every manuscript he prepared for publication.
So that this work would not suffer when he was transferred from place to place in his civil service job, Brown bought a house in Cuddapah in 1828 and used it as the center where scholars and scribes came together in his employment to work on the manuscripts. Employing scholars, purchasing manuscripts and procuring writing supplies etc. cost him dearly. By 1836, manuscripts alone cost him a whopping sum of Rs. 30, 000. Brown was forced, on occasion, to borrow money both from natives and his compatriots.
The first edition of Vemana's poems was published in 1829 with 693 verses and their English translation. The book also contained a glossary and an index of the first lines of verses. Brown continued to collect manuscripts of Veman's poems. A second edition was brought out in 1839 with 1164 poems. Between the two editions, Brown was dismissed from his job in 1834 and that forced him to return to England. Being the ultimate lover of Telugu that he was, Brown used the time in England to write "The Grammar Of The Telugu Language" and prepare notes on what would become very voluminous dictionaries of Telugu-English and English-Telugu. Brown returned to Madras in 1837 as a translator of Persian for the East India Company. Soon after that he was appointed to the Madras College Board. Brown's grammar, certainly one of the best grammar books of Telugu, appeared in 1840 and his dictionaries, which he continued to work on, were published in 1854. The dictionaries are consulted as standard reference books even today.
Among the first classical poems Brown corrected and published with commentaries were the dvipada kaavyas, "Tale of Nala" by Raghava (1841) and "The Calamities of Harischandra" by Gaurana Mantri (1842). Brown's preference for simple poetry free of "wretched pedantry" was well documented. He did not however permit his preference inhibit work on the procurement and publication of other Kavyas. Nannaya's aadiparvaM was published in 1843, vasu caritra in 1844 and manu caritra in 1851. For the latter two, Brown had Zuluri Appaya write commentaries. Brown wrote that the purpose of the commentary was to make the poem understood clearly without the need for oral instruction. Brown could not suffer scholars who used the commentaries to exhibit their paanDitya prakarsha.
Brown's efforts in procuring, correcting and printing Telugu literature was soon widely known. Various individuals approached him for press-ready copies that could be published and sold for profit. Brown obliged them. Puranam Hayagreeva Sastry obtained Potana BhaagavataM and published it in 1848 duly acknowledging Brown. Similarly Puvvada Venkata Rao, of "vartamaana tarangiNi," [1] published the entire mahaabhaarataM.
In later years, especially after Brown left India in 1855, several manuscripts he left behind in the Madras Oriental Manuscripts Library were published without acknowledgment to his efforts.
Among other classical poems prepared for printing were basavapuraaNaM, panDitaaraadhya caritra, ranganaatha ramaayaNaM, uttara raamaayaNaM, vijayavilaasaM, saaraMgadhara caritra, harivaMSaM, kaaSii khaMDaM, aniruddha caritra (ushaa pariNayaM), kucElOpaakhyaanaM, raadhikaa saantvanamu, and vikramaarka caritra. It is not an exaggeration to say that every classical poem now available in Telugu was either published by Brown or prepared for publication. Brown himself wrote that he had notes appended to all the leading Telugu poems. Most were published from the press-ready manuscripts he left behind.
Among the other works Brown prepared for publication, with translation, was the sumatii SatakaM (for a wRITten text of the Satakam Click here). A. P. Sahitya Academy published it in 1973. palnaaDu veera caritra (Wars of the Palnadu) was a favorite of Brown because it was a local story of the Telugus and it was in dvipada. Brown published it in 1852. Brown's scholarly study of veeraSaiva traditions in Telugu country, which highlighted the religion's folk underpinnings and the role of aaraaDhya Brahmins in developing an elite form of the religion, considerably enhanced our understanding of veeraSaivism beyond its conventional focus on northern Karnataka-based traditions [2].
In addition to his regular job, his activities in procuring, correcting and printing Telugu literature, writing grammar and dictionaries for Telugu, Brown was also an editor of the "Madras Journal of Literature and Science." In his desire to bring the Telugu literature to the attention of Westerners, he wrote summaries of the stories of the manuscripts he prepared for printing, and published them in this journal and in "The Asiatic Journal (London)."
Brown translated raajula yuddhamulu, a story about the history of Ananthapur. The book contained folktales popular in and around Ananthapur. musalamma maraNaM, the well known kaavyaM by C. R. Reddy, was based on a story from this Brown's book. Besides translating Telugu works into English, Brown translated several works of Christian literature from English into Telugu. looka cEta vraayabaDina Subha vartamaanamu was one of them.
Given his monumental efforts to get Telugu literature published, it was only natural that he introduced a few changes into the Telugu alphabet. He changed the ra vattu, which looked like a half circle placed under the alphabet, into the shape of ‘L’ and placed it on the left side of the letter. He also introduced an alternate ra vattu that looked like a ‘9’ placed after the letter. These innovations were helpful in printing. Another innovation, for which he was hated by the Pandits of his time, was the deletion of arasunna and SakaTarEpha (banDi-Ra) from the alphabet. In the first edition of Vemana's poems (1829), he included both; but by the time second edition was printed in 1839, he decided that these two alphabets were archaic and had no use to the language. Another innovation for which the scholars despised Brown was the inclusion of spoken words in his dictionary.
Brown paid close attention to the natives' habits, their heritage, and their likes and dislikes and respected them very much. He wrote, "Telugu people are as highly civilized as any in Europe." He compared the modes of speech of Telugus with those of Italians. His knowledge of the different dialects of Telugu was such that he predicted at one time that Vemana might have belonged to the southwestern part of Telangana.
He noticed that when white examiners went to test the students at Madras College, the native instructors were not allowed to sit in their presence. Brown successfully campaigned for changing this practice.
Brown's services as an administrator and a humanist were also of great importance to Telugus. His services as an administrator at the time of the great Guntur famine in 1832-1833 were highly commended. He opened schools for native children and maintained them.
Brown's poor health forced him to leave India in 1855. After returning to England, he continued his pursuits in Telugu. Brown was appointed professor of Telugu in London University in or around 1865. He wrote an autobiographical account and published it in 1866. Brown continued to add new words to his dictionary almost till the end of his life. He passed away on the 12th of December 1884.
With the advent of post-colonial, subaltern studies, the motives of the British orientalists of colonial period, including Brown, are in question. It is claimed that Brown's compilation of vocabularies, composition of grammars, translation of texts and production of dictionaries was not an innocent exercise in aiding the communication with the natives, but an effort aimed at constructing an image of India which could then be represented to Indians as the authentic object, which, by implication, only colonialism could produce [3]. The opponents of the above school of thought find the subaltern studies paradigm not convincing, and suggest that there was a crucial dialogue between the indigenous Telugu literati and the British, and that most of the colonial cultural practices were a result of such a dialogue [4].
This legendary Telugu enthusiast gave us chronicles, ephemeries, essays, grammars, lexicons, readers, treatises and translations besides publishing Telugu classical poems. His scholarly legacy continues to serve as an important and insightful source for studying and re-conceptualizing Telugu culture. Brown left behind a vast treasure of Telugu literary/historical documents. Innumerable works are lying in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, India office library, London, and at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. It is in the interest of Telugu people everywhere to have these materials well preserved and researched not only because of their literary value, but also because they provide a valuable window into Telugu history and social life of his time.
Brown's contributions have been extensively commented upon. Click here for an account of C.P. Brown's contribution as published in The Hindu newspaper, Sunday, 15 Nov, 1998 on the occasion of the bicentennial of Charles Philip Brown.
Restless British Pandit - Legacy of the Raj
This article was published by The Hindu, Sunday, 15 Nov, 1998 on the occasion of the bicentennial of Charles Philip Brown (born November l0, 1798). This East India Company official rejuvenated Telugu literature at a time when it was moribund, writes C. V. RAMACHANDRA RAO.
The 18th century is a dark-age in the history of the Telugu language and literature. Because of several political and social factors during this period, it was devoid of any creative effort, and in a state of dormancy. It was deprived of the patronage it received earlier, from the kings and feudal lords, during the Vijayanagara times and later during the period of Nayaka kings, who were Telugus ruling over the Tamil land.
At that time only a few could identify, assess and enjoy a rich literary legacy that was 800 years old. Most Telugus were illiterate. Even among the literates, those interested in the perusal and study of literary works and classics, did not have easy access to them. Only a few copies of these literary or poetical classics, such as palm-leaf manuscripts, were available in the private libraries of the well-to-do and Telugu pandits.
Charles Philip Brown (1794 -1884), a civil official of the East India Company, became the "Telugu Sun," to dispel the darkness that had enveloped the language and literature and awaken Telugus to their rich literary heritage.
Brown or C.P Brown was born in Calcutta in l 798 to Rev. David Brown who was in the service of the English East India Company, and to Mrs. Francis Cowle. He had his education at Fort William College, Calcutta up to 1812. After his father died that year, he left for England along with his mother. There he was trained for two years, from 1814, at the Haileybury College to become a prospective civil servant of the English East India Company Government in the Madras Presidency.
Brown disembarked at Madras on August 4. 1817 to join the service. According to the rules, learning languages was a must, so, for three years he studied the South Indian vernaculars -Telugu and Marathi -as optional languages, at Fort St. George College. This was his first foray into Telugu, though by that time he was a polyglot -proficient in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Persian, Arabic, Syrian. French, Italian, Sanskrit and Hindustani.
After passing the examinations in 1820, Brown was appointed as assistant to Collector in Cuddapah. He had made Cuddapah the centre of his efforts to resuscitate and rejuvenate Telugu literature at a time, when, to put it in his own words, "Telugu literature was dying out; the flame was flickering in the socket". He has described the pathetic and deplorable condition in which Telugu literature was: "in 1825, I found Telugu literature dead. In 30 years I raised it to life."
In Cuddapah he bought an old bungalow where competent Telugu pandits worked to carry out his task of the discovery and recovery of Telugu literary works and poetical classics. Later, it came to be called as Brown's College.
In 10 years, Brown became a master of Telugu language and literature. He began his study of the language with the verses of Vemana, "a rustic epigrammist." He was fascinated by the easy and colloquial Telugu in which these verses were written. As a maiden effort, he translated the verses of Vemana into English and got it published in 1829. Later, with assistance, he delved deep in the study of Telugu poetical classics. From the time he landed in Madras in 1817, till his death at London in 1884, he devoted the 60 years of the 86 years of his life to the study, revival and promotion of Telugu.
There were three aspects in Brown's self-imposed and magnificent task. These were: his own writings on several aspects and in several genres of Telugu, the discovery and recovery of Telugu poetical works and classics from the oblivious state in which they were, and the printing and publication of Telugu classics -well edited with easy commentaries.
Among the works that Brown authored, we have dictionaries, treatises on grammar and prosody, Telugu readers, chronicles, tales, translations of poetical works and essays and monographs in literary journals.
A.D. Campbell, William Brown and J. C. Morris, civil servants and contemporaries of Brown had published dictionaries of the language. C.P. Brown brought out a grammar of the Telugu language in 1840 and his bi-lingual Telugu dictionaries (brauNya nighaMTus) in 1852. But at the same time it should be emphasized that all the writings of Brown on different aspects of Telugu language and literature would not match in weight and importance the services he rendered by way of discovery and "recovery" of poetical works and classics. The services he rendered by way of discovery, recovery, printing and publication alone would have been enough to ensure that he was called as the "Telugu Sun."
Brown, in his self-imposed task of the discovery and recovery of Telugu classics, collected manuscripts from all over the State, and even outside it (such as the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjavur).
He got commentaries written on poetical classics like the manucaritra and the vasucaritra, which were easy to read, by competent pandits like Juluru Appayya Sastrulu and Mulupaka Bucchayya Sastrulu. To copy the manuscripts and getting commentaries written on the texts, Brown employed 49 copy writers and 23 pandits, all of whom were paid from his earnings as a civil official. It is on record that by 1840, he got ready for print 18 critically edited texts of Telugu poetical classics and easy commentaries written on nine of these classics. Nearly all were printed by 1842.
Before Brown took up the task of printing Telugu poetical works and classics, no Telugu kaavya had been printed. Leave alone poetical works, before 1816, when the Teloogoo Grammar by A. D. Campbell was published, no Telugu work of any importance was published either from Madras, which was then the hub of all Telugu literary activities, or from any place in Andhra. Thus the credit of being the first printer and publisher of Telugu poetical works and classics in the history of Telugu language and literature goes to Brown. Brown says that when he took on the task of printing Telugu kaavyas, which were available till then only as palm-leaf manuscripts, the printing of such works was considered by Telugu scholars as profanation. It was the efforts of Brown, for nearly two decades, that awoke the Telugus to the advantages of printing.
About the state of printing, Brown wrote: "Printing has been used among the Tamils for more than a century. Among the Telugus, it commenced about 1806, but made little progress till 1830."
To facilitate printing in Telugu, Brown introduced certain changes in the letters and fonts. The following extract shows the changes that Brown brought: "In those days Telugu printing was tedious because the (crara) letter ‘R' was shaped as a cup containing another letter. To remedy this I invented two substitutes one resembling a rectangle like 'L' and the other like numeral `I'. The compositors found that this contrivance removed the difficulty. Numerals on pages, running titles, printers' stops, divisions of chapters, and, in a slight degree, space between words; all these and other innovations are coming more and more into vogue, as I perceive, in the Telugu volumes printed in the 1860s and 1870s." A few other changes were as follows:
In printing, to use only saadhu rEpha (soft 'R') and give up the SakaTa rEpha (hard 'R').
To use only the soft sounds of ‘cha' and 'ja', and give up the hard ones
Dropping of the ardhaanusvaara sign ('(') in certain Telugu words such as proper names.
In printing poems, to break each line into two at the point of Caesura (yati sthaana), and indicate the caesural letter by an asterisk (*).
These are still in vogue.
Brown collected, spending several thousand rupees, more than 2,000 Sanskrit and Telugu works which he donated to the Madras Literary Society in 1847. Later, these works were transferred to the Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library.
In retirement in England, from 1855 to 1884, because of his great love for the language, he accepted the professorship of Telugu at the London University; this enabled him to pursue Telugu studies to the last days of his life.
Bishop Caldwell, great Dravidian Indologist, met Brown on a voyage from England to India and learnt Sanskrit on board. Caldwell in his Reminiscences (published in 1894) describes C. P. Brown as "a restless Pandit, Mr. Brown." But for the pioneering, untiring and unparalleled efforts of Brown for over half a century, to resuscitate and rejuvenate the Telugu language and literature from the moribund state in which he found it, in 1825, we would not have had an integrated history of Telugu language and literature.
The writer is a senior fellow, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.
At that time only a few could identify, assess and enjoy a rich literary legacy that was 800 years old. Most Telugus were illiterate. Even among the literates, those interested in the perusal and study of literary works and classics, did not have easy access to them. Only a few copies of these literary or poetical classics, such as palm-leaf manuscripts, were available in the private libraries of the well-to-do and Telugu pandits.
Charles Philip Brown (1794 -1884), a civil official of the East India Company, became the "Telugu Sun," to dispel the darkness that had enveloped the language and literature and awaken Telugus to their rich literary heritage.
Brown or C.P Brown was born in Calcutta in l 798 to Rev. David Brown who was in the service of the English East India Company, and to Mrs. Francis Cowle. He had his education at Fort William College, Calcutta up to 1812. After his father died that year, he left for England along with his mother. There he was trained for two years, from 1814, at the Haileybury College to become a prospective civil servant of the English East India Company Government in the Madras Presidency.
Brown disembarked at Madras on August 4. 1817 to join the service. According to the rules, learning languages was a must, so, for three years he studied the South Indian vernaculars -Telugu and Marathi -as optional languages, at Fort St. George College. This was his first foray into Telugu, though by that time he was a polyglot -proficient in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Persian, Arabic, Syrian. French, Italian, Sanskrit and Hindustani.
After passing the examinations in 1820, Brown was appointed as assistant to Collector in Cuddapah. He had made Cuddapah the centre of his efforts to resuscitate and rejuvenate Telugu literature at a time, when, to put it in his own words, "Telugu literature was dying out; the flame was flickering in the socket". He has described the pathetic and deplorable condition in which Telugu literature was: "in 1825, I found Telugu literature dead. In 30 years I raised it to life."
In Cuddapah he bought an old bungalow where competent Telugu pandits worked to carry out his task of the discovery and recovery of Telugu literary works and poetical classics. Later, it came to be called as Brown's College.
In 10 years, Brown became a master of Telugu language and literature. He began his study of the language with the verses of Vemana, "a rustic epigrammist." He was fascinated by the easy and colloquial Telugu in which these verses were written. As a maiden effort, he translated the verses of Vemana into English and got it published in 1829. Later, with assistance, he delved deep in the study of Telugu poetical classics. From the time he landed in Madras in 1817, till his death at London in 1884, he devoted the 60 years of the 86 years of his life to the study, revival and promotion of Telugu.
There were three aspects in Brown's self-imposed and magnificent task. These were: his own writings on several aspects and in several genres of Telugu, the discovery and recovery of Telugu poetical works and classics from the oblivious state in which they were, and the printing and publication of Telugu classics -well edited with easy commentaries.
Among the works that Brown authored, we have dictionaries, treatises on grammar and prosody, Telugu readers, chronicles, tales, translations of poetical works and essays and monographs in literary journals.
A.D. Campbell, William Brown and J. C. Morris, civil servants and contemporaries of Brown had published dictionaries of the language. C.P. Brown brought out a grammar of the Telugu language in 1840 and his bi-lingual Telugu dictionaries (brauNya nighaMTus) in 1852. But at the same time it should be emphasized that all the writings of Brown on different aspects of Telugu language and literature would not match in weight and importance the services he rendered by way of discovery and "recovery" of poetical works and classics. The services he rendered by way of discovery, recovery, printing and publication alone would have been enough to ensure that he was called as the "Telugu Sun."
Brown, in his self-imposed task of the discovery and recovery of Telugu classics, collected manuscripts from all over the State, and even outside it (such as the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjavur).
He got commentaries written on poetical classics like the manucaritra and the vasucaritra, which were easy to read, by competent pandits like Juluru Appayya Sastrulu and Mulupaka Bucchayya Sastrulu. To copy the manuscripts and getting commentaries written on the texts, Brown employed 49 copy writers and 23 pandits, all of whom were paid from his earnings as a civil official. It is on record that by 1840, he got ready for print 18 critically edited texts of Telugu poetical classics and easy commentaries written on nine of these classics. Nearly all were printed by 1842.
Before Brown took up the task of printing Telugu poetical works and classics, no Telugu kaavya had been printed. Leave alone poetical works, before 1816, when the Teloogoo Grammar by A. D. Campbell was published, no Telugu work of any importance was published either from Madras, which was then the hub of all Telugu literary activities, or from any place in Andhra. Thus the credit of being the first printer and publisher of Telugu poetical works and classics in the history of Telugu language and literature goes to Brown. Brown says that when he took on the task of printing Telugu kaavyas, which were available till then only as palm-leaf manuscripts, the printing of such works was considered by Telugu scholars as profanation. It was the efforts of Brown, for nearly two decades, that awoke the Telugus to the advantages of printing.
About the state of printing, Brown wrote: "Printing has been used among the Tamils for more than a century. Among the Telugus, it commenced about 1806, but made little progress till 1830."
To facilitate printing in Telugu, Brown introduced certain changes in the letters and fonts. The following extract shows the changes that Brown brought: "In those days Telugu printing was tedious because the (crara) letter ‘R' was shaped as a cup containing another letter. To remedy this I invented two substitutes one resembling a rectangle like 'L' and the other like numeral `I'. The compositors found that this contrivance removed the difficulty. Numerals on pages, running titles, printers' stops, divisions of chapters, and, in a slight degree, space between words; all these and other innovations are coming more and more into vogue, as I perceive, in the Telugu volumes printed in the 1860s and 1870s." A few other changes were as follows:
In printing, to use only saadhu rEpha (soft 'R') and give up the SakaTa rEpha (hard 'R').
To use only the soft sounds of ‘cha' and 'ja', and give up the hard ones
Dropping of the ardhaanusvaara sign ('(') in certain Telugu words such as proper names.
In printing poems, to break each line into two at the point of Caesura (yati sthaana), and indicate the caesural letter by an asterisk (*).
These are still in vogue.
Brown collected, spending several thousand rupees, more than 2,000 Sanskrit and Telugu works which he donated to the Madras Literary Society in 1847. Later, these works were transferred to the Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library.
In retirement in England, from 1855 to 1884, because of his great love for the language, he accepted the professorship of Telugu at the London University; this enabled him to pursue Telugu studies to the last days of his life.
Bishop Caldwell, great Dravidian Indologist, met Brown on a voyage from England to India and learnt Sanskrit on board. Caldwell in his Reminiscences (published in 1894) describes C. P. Brown as "a restless Pandit, Mr. Brown." But for the pioneering, untiring and unparalleled efforts of Brown for over half a century, to resuscitate and rejuvenate the Telugu language and literature from the moribund state in which he found it, in 1825, we would not have had an integrated history of Telugu language and literature.
The writer is a senior fellow, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
తెలుగు సాహిత్యంలో శ్రీశ్రీ ప్రభావం సామాన్యమైనది కాదు. తాను రాసిన భావకవిత్వాన్ని 'ప్రభవ' గాప్రచురించినా, అదే పద్ధతిలో కవిత్వం కొనసాగించినా శ్రీరంగం శ్రీనివాసరావు ఏ సంప్రదాయవాదిగానో, మరోలాగో, మిగతా కవుల్లో కలిసిపోయి ఉండేవాడు. టైఫాయిడ్ జ్వరం రావడమో, తాను పడిన కష్టాలో, తన కవిత్వం ప్రజల్లోకి వెళ్లాలనో, కవిగా పేరు తెచ్చుకోవాలనో, ఎలాగ భావించినా 'మహాప్రస్థానం' వల్లనే తన ప్రత్యేకతను నిలుపుకోగలిగాడు శ్రీశ్రీ. 'మహాప్రస్థానం'లో ఉన్న భాష సరళమైంది కావడం, వస్తువు కార్మిక, కర్షక వర్గానికి చెందినదై ఉండటం, వస్తు నవ్యతతో పాటు భావ నవ్యత ఉండటం వల్లనే ఈ గేయ సంపుటి నిలిచిందని భావించలేం. 'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయాలను చదివే సామాన్య పాఠకుడు కూడా ఆ గేయాలలో ఉండే లయ వల్ల ఆకర్షితుడవుతాడు. అయితే, శ్రీశ్రీ స్వయంగా తన గేయాలను చదివితే వినేవాళ్లకు అంత ఉత్సాహం కలుగుతుందా? అని ప్రశ్నిస్తే దానికి సమాధానం భిన్న విధాలుగా ఉంటుంది. ఎలా ఉన్నప్పటికీ శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' నాలుగు విధాల ప్రస్థానానికి గురైంది.1.చేతిరాతతో అచ్చుకావడం2. ముద్రణలో రావటం3.దృశ్య చిత్రీకరణలో గేయాలుగా రూపొందటం4.వీటన్నిటికీ మించి కవే స్వయంగా చదివితే లండన్ నగరంలోని 'విదేశాంధ్ర ప్రచురణ'ల వారు రికార్డు చేసి కేసెట్ల రూపంలో విడుదల చేయడం...ఇన్ని ప్రత్యేకతలున్న శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం'లో నిజానికి ఇంకా ఎన్నో ప్రత్యేకతలు దాగి ఉన్నాయి. శ్రీశ్రీ సొంత గొంతుతో కేసెట్లుగా రూపొందించడం, సొంత రాతతో ముద్రించటం వాటిలో కొన్నిగా చెప్పుకోవచ్చు. గొప్పతనమనేది ఆయా వ్యక్తులను బట్టి, స్వభావాలను అనుసరించి, కాలమాన పరిస్థితులను, సందర్భాలను బట్టి మారుతుంటుంది. కనుక, దానికి విలువ కట్టడం కూడా కొన్నిసార్లు వ్యక్తిగతమైన అభిప్రాయాలతోనే ముడిపడి ఉంటుంది.అంటే వ్యక్తి నిష్ఠ తప్పదు కాకపోతే, 'సొంతగొంతు'లో శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రూపాంతరం చెందిన విషయాల వెనుక పెద్ద కథే ఉందని మాత్రం తెలుస్తుంది.. 'సొంతగొంతు' అనగానే 'ధ్వని' అనే అర్థం తీసుకోవటం కాదు, ఆ గేయ సంపుటి రూపొందటంలో శ్రీశ్రీ స్వీయ చొరవను కూడా పరిగణనలోకి తీసుకోవటం దీనిలో మిళితమై ఉంది.
'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయసంపుటిలో గేయాలు ఎలా ఉండాలో శ్రీశ్రీ స్వయంగా రాసిన రాతను బట్టి 'మరో ప్రపంచం' మొదలు 'రథచక్రాలు' తుది అని అనుకోవాలి. కానీ సంపుటిలో 'మహాప్రస్థానం' మొదట ఉంటుంది. దీనికి శ్రీశ్రీ ఇచ్చిన వివరణ- 'మహాప్రస్థానం' అన్నా 'మరో ప్రపంచం' అన్నా ఒకటే. 'మహాప్రస్థానం' కవితలో మొదటి పంక్తి 'మరో ప్రపంచం'. 'ఈ గీతాన్ని నేను 1934వ సంవత్సరం ఏప్రిల్ నెల 12వ తేదీనాడు రాశాను. రాయడానికి అయిదు నిమిషాల కంటే ఎక్కువ పట్టలేదు' అని శ్రీశ్రీ అన్నాడు.శ్రీశ్రీ పేరు చెప్పగానే 'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయసంపుటి ఎలా గుర్తుకు వస్తుందో, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ను గుర్తు చేసుకుంటే చలం రాసిన 'యోగ్యతా పత్రం' అలాగే గుర్తుకు వస్తుంది. కానీ, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ముందు మాటకి చలం పెట్టిన పేరు 'మహాప్రస్థానానికి జోహార్లు' అనీ, దాన్ని శ్రీశ్రీ 'యోగ్యతాపత్రం' అని మార్చుకున్నాడని పరిశోధకులు తేల్చారు. అంతేకాదు, ఆ ముందు మాటలో చలం అనుమతితో శ్రీశ్రీ కొన్ని మార్పులు కూడా చేశాడు.చలం రాసిన ముందు మాటలో 'శ్రీశ్రీ కవిత్వమూ, పాల్రాబ్సన్ సంగీతమూ ఒకటే అంటుంది సౌరిస్. ఆ రెంటికీ హద్దులూ, ఆజ్ఞలూ లేవు...' అని ఉంటుంది. నిజానికి చలం పాల్ రాబ్సన్ అని రాయలేదు, సైగల్ అని రాశాడు. సైగల్ పేరు తీసేసి ఆ స్థానంలో పాల్ రాబ్సన్ పేరును చేర్చాడు శ్రీశ్రీ.ఆమెరికాలోని నీగ్రో కవీ, గాయకుడూ పాల్ రాబ్సన్. అతడు గొప్ప గాయకుడు కూడా! వామపక్ష భావాల పట్ల అభిమాని. నీగ్రోల హక్కుల కోసం పాటను ఆయుధంగా చేసిన కంచుకంఠం పాల్ రాబ్సన్ది. వామపక్షీయుల పట్ల, వారి సిద్ధాంతాల పట్ల తనకు ఒక అవగాహన లేకపోతే సైగల్ స్థానంలో పాల్ రాబ్సన్ పేరును చేర్చేవాడు కాడు శ్రీశ్రీ. కానీ, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసేనాటికి తాను మార్క్సిస్టుని కాదనీ, తనకు మార్క్సిజం తెలియదని చెప్పుకున్నాడంటే శ్రీశ్రీ గురించి ఏమనుకోవాలి?ఏమీ అనుకోవలసిన పని లేదు!!కవులు/రచయితలు తాము రాసేవన్నీ తెలిసే రాస్తున్నారనో, చూసే రాస్తున్నారనో, ఆచరించే అందిస్తున్నారనో, తాము సిద్ధాంతాలను నమ్మి, వాటిని తమ రచనల్లో నిబిఢీకృతం చేస్తున్నారనో అనుకుంటే అది అలా అనుకునేవారి అమాయకత్వమే.ఆనందవర్ధనుడు చెప్పినట్లు 'కవి అపరబ్రహ్మ'గా కూడా మారగలడు.'అపారే కావ్య సంసారే కవిరేవ ప్రజాపతిఃయథాస్మై రోచతే విశ్వం తధేవం పరివర్తితే...' అని కదా లక్ష్యాల నుండి వచ్చిన లక్షణశాస్త్రాలు గోషిస్తున్నాయి. అయినంత మాత్రాన కవులు వాస్తవికతకు దూరంగా విహరిస్తారని కాదు, కొన్ని వాస్తవాలను కళారూపంగా మలిచి కళాజగత్తును సృష్టిస్తారు. ఆ కళను అందించేటప్పుడు సమకాలీన వ్యవస్థ స్వరూపం ప్రతిఫలించవచ్చు. తాను చదివినవీ, విన్నవీ, కన్నవీ, తనపై చూపిన ప్రభావాలు తన రచనకి ప్రేరణ కావచ్చు. అయినంత మాత్రాన ఆ కవిని/రచయితను ఓ సిద్ధాంతచట్రంలో బంధించేయటం సబబేనా? అనే వాదనలు కూడా ఉన్నాయి. అయితే, శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ఇతర రచనలలో 'రోమాంటిక్ కాన్సెప్ట్కు సంబంధించిన గేయాలు కూడా కనిపిస్తాయి కదా! దీన్ని బట్టి తేలేదేమిటంటే, సమకాలీన సమాజ ప్రభావం నుంచి తప్పించుకోవటం కవులకు అసలు సాధ్యం కాదనేది. దానికి ఆ సమకాలీన ఉద్యమాల్లో పాల్గొనాలనేమీ లేదు. ఈ సందర్భంగా చలం రాసిన ముందు మాటలో 'సైగల్' స్థానంలో 'పాల్ రాబ్సన్' పేరును చేర్చడానికి కారణమేమై ఉంటుందన్నప్పుడు కచ్చితంగా శ్రీశ్రీ.కున్న అవగాహన ప్రభావమే కావచ్చు. పైగా చలం ముందు మాట1940 జులై 17వ తేదీన రాసింది. గేయం రాసేనాడు లేని అవగాహన శ్రీశ్రీకి ముందు మాట రాయించుకునే నాటికి ఏర్పడి ఉండవచ్చు కదా!ఏ ప్రభావంతో శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసి ఉండొచ్చుననే దానికి పరిశోధకులు, పరిశీలకులు, తదితరులు రకరకాల అభిప్రాయాలను వ్యక్తీకరించారు. శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసేనాటికి మార్క్సిస్టు కాడు. ఆనాడు శ్రీశ్రీ తాను అభ్యుదయ రచయితననీ చెప్పుకోలేదు' అని కొడవటిగంటి కుటుంబరావు చెప్పారు.1970లో సృజన పత్రికకు శ్రీశ్రీ ఇచ్చిన ఇంటర్వ్యూలో స్వయంగా తానే 'మహాప్రస్థానం అన్న గీతం రాసేనాటికి నాకు మార్క్సిజం గూర్చి తెలియనే తెలియదు. నేను మార్క్సిజం తెలుసుకున్నది సాహిత్యం ద్వారానే, రాజకీయం ద్వారా కాదు' అని అన్నాడు. శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ఇంత గొప్పగా రాయటానికి గల నేపథ్యాన్ని పరిశీలించినప్పుడు- ఫ్రెంచివారి జాతీయ గీతం, హరీంద్రనాథ్ ఛటోపాధ్యాయ 'షురూ హువా హై జంగ్' అనే పాట, నజ్రుల్ ఇస్లాం విప్లవ గీతం, ఎడ్గార్ ఎలన్ పో గేయాలు, గురజాడ, కవికొండల గేయాలు ప్రభావం ఉందని శ్రీశ్రీ చెప్పిన విషయాన్ని సినారె తన సిద్ధాంత గ్రంథంలో ఉటంకించారు. లండన్ నగరంలో వెలువడిన శ్రీశ్రీ స్వీయ దస్తూరి గల 'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయ సంపుటికి 'నా మాట' పేరుతో తన అభిప్రయాలను రాస్తూ, ఆనాటి ప్రపంచ పరిస్థితులకు స్పందించాననీ- 'ఈ వాస్తవాలన్నింటికీ నేను స్పందించినా, ఇలాంటి రచనలను సామాజిక వాస్తవికత అంటారనీ, దీనికి వెనుక దన్నుగా మార్క్సిజం అనే దార్శనికత ఒకటి ఉందనీ అప్పటికి నాకు తెలియదు. ఇప్పుడొక్కాసారి వెనక్కు తిరిగి చూసుకొంటే, మహాప్రస్థాన గీతులలోని మార్క్సిస్టు స్ఫూర్తీ, సామాజిక స్పృహా యాధృచ్చికాలు కావని స్పష్టంగా తెలుస్తోంది' అంటాడు శ్రీశ్రీ. ఈ విషయాన్ని శ్రీశ్రీ 15-12-80న రాశాడు. చలసాని ప్రసాద్ గారి కూర్పు (1999) లో ఈ విషయాలన్నీ మరింత సమగ్రంగా ఉన్నాయి. దీన్ని బట్టే శ్రీశ్రీ మహాప్రస్థానాన్ని తన స్వంత గొంతుతోనూ గానం చేశారని తెలుస్తుంది. అయితే, ఆ గొంతు అందుబాటులోకి రావలసి ఉంది.అయితే ఇదే శ్రీశ్రీ స్వయంగా (సొంతరాతలో) 'కర్షక కార్మిక మహోద్యమం జయించి తీరుతుందన్న విశ్వాసం నా మహాప్రస్థానానికి ప్రాతిపదిక' అని మద్రాసులో 11-12-81న రాసినట్లు ఆధారాలున్నాయి.ఏది ఏమైనా, శ్రీశ్రీ మహాప్రస్థానం గీతాన్ని సృష్టిస్తే, మహాప్రస్థానం గీతం శ్రీశ్రీని శాశ్వతం చేసిందనటంలో అతిశయోక్తి లేదు.
'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయసంపుటిలో గేయాలు ఎలా ఉండాలో శ్రీశ్రీ స్వయంగా రాసిన రాతను బట్టి 'మరో ప్రపంచం' మొదలు 'రథచక్రాలు' తుది అని అనుకోవాలి. కానీ సంపుటిలో 'మహాప్రస్థానం' మొదట ఉంటుంది. దీనికి శ్రీశ్రీ ఇచ్చిన వివరణ- 'మహాప్రస్థానం' అన్నా 'మరో ప్రపంచం' అన్నా ఒకటే. 'మహాప్రస్థానం' కవితలో మొదటి పంక్తి 'మరో ప్రపంచం'. 'ఈ గీతాన్ని నేను 1934వ సంవత్సరం ఏప్రిల్ నెల 12వ తేదీనాడు రాశాను. రాయడానికి అయిదు నిమిషాల కంటే ఎక్కువ పట్టలేదు' అని శ్రీశ్రీ అన్నాడు.శ్రీశ్రీ పేరు చెప్పగానే 'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయసంపుటి ఎలా గుర్తుకు వస్తుందో, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ను గుర్తు చేసుకుంటే చలం రాసిన 'యోగ్యతా పత్రం' అలాగే గుర్తుకు వస్తుంది. కానీ, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ముందు మాటకి చలం పెట్టిన పేరు 'మహాప్రస్థానానికి జోహార్లు' అనీ, దాన్ని శ్రీశ్రీ 'యోగ్యతాపత్రం' అని మార్చుకున్నాడని పరిశోధకులు తేల్చారు. అంతేకాదు, ఆ ముందు మాటలో చలం అనుమతితో శ్రీశ్రీ కొన్ని మార్పులు కూడా చేశాడు.చలం రాసిన ముందు మాటలో 'శ్రీశ్రీ కవిత్వమూ, పాల్రాబ్సన్ సంగీతమూ ఒకటే అంటుంది సౌరిస్. ఆ రెంటికీ హద్దులూ, ఆజ్ఞలూ లేవు...' అని ఉంటుంది. నిజానికి చలం పాల్ రాబ్సన్ అని రాయలేదు, సైగల్ అని రాశాడు. సైగల్ పేరు తీసేసి ఆ స్థానంలో పాల్ రాబ్సన్ పేరును చేర్చాడు శ్రీశ్రీ.ఆమెరికాలోని నీగ్రో కవీ, గాయకుడూ పాల్ రాబ్సన్. అతడు గొప్ప గాయకుడు కూడా! వామపక్ష భావాల పట్ల అభిమాని. నీగ్రోల హక్కుల కోసం పాటను ఆయుధంగా చేసిన కంచుకంఠం పాల్ రాబ్సన్ది. వామపక్షీయుల పట్ల, వారి సిద్ధాంతాల పట్ల తనకు ఒక అవగాహన లేకపోతే సైగల్ స్థానంలో పాల్ రాబ్సన్ పేరును చేర్చేవాడు కాడు శ్రీశ్రీ. కానీ, 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసేనాటికి తాను మార్క్సిస్టుని కాదనీ, తనకు మార్క్సిజం తెలియదని చెప్పుకున్నాడంటే శ్రీశ్రీ గురించి ఏమనుకోవాలి?ఏమీ అనుకోవలసిన పని లేదు!!కవులు/రచయితలు తాము రాసేవన్నీ తెలిసే రాస్తున్నారనో, చూసే రాస్తున్నారనో, ఆచరించే అందిస్తున్నారనో, తాము సిద్ధాంతాలను నమ్మి, వాటిని తమ రచనల్లో నిబిఢీకృతం చేస్తున్నారనో అనుకుంటే అది అలా అనుకునేవారి అమాయకత్వమే.ఆనందవర్ధనుడు చెప్పినట్లు 'కవి అపరబ్రహ్మ'గా కూడా మారగలడు.'అపారే కావ్య సంసారే కవిరేవ ప్రజాపతిఃయథాస్మై రోచతే విశ్వం తధేవం పరివర్తితే...' అని కదా లక్ష్యాల నుండి వచ్చిన లక్షణశాస్త్రాలు గోషిస్తున్నాయి. అయినంత మాత్రాన కవులు వాస్తవికతకు దూరంగా విహరిస్తారని కాదు, కొన్ని వాస్తవాలను కళారూపంగా మలిచి కళాజగత్తును సృష్టిస్తారు. ఆ కళను అందించేటప్పుడు సమకాలీన వ్యవస్థ స్వరూపం ప్రతిఫలించవచ్చు. తాను చదివినవీ, విన్నవీ, కన్నవీ, తనపై చూపిన ప్రభావాలు తన రచనకి ప్రేరణ కావచ్చు. అయినంత మాత్రాన ఆ కవిని/రచయితను ఓ సిద్ధాంతచట్రంలో బంధించేయటం సబబేనా? అనే వాదనలు కూడా ఉన్నాయి. అయితే, శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ఇతర రచనలలో 'రోమాంటిక్ కాన్సెప్ట్కు సంబంధించిన గేయాలు కూడా కనిపిస్తాయి కదా! దీన్ని బట్టి తేలేదేమిటంటే, సమకాలీన సమాజ ప్రభావం నుంచి తప్పించుకోవటం కవులకు అసలు సాధ్యం కాదనేది. దానికి ఆ సమకాలీన ఉద్యమాల్లో పాల్గొనాలనేమీ లేదు. ఈ సందర్భంగా చలం రాసిన ముందు మాటలో 'సైగల్' స్థానంలో 'పాల్ రాబ్సన్' పేరును చేర్చడానికి కారణమేమై ఉంటుందన్నప్పుడు కచ్చితంగా శ్రీశ్రీ.కున్న అవగాహన ప్రభావమే కావచ్చు. పైగా చలం ముందు మాట1940 జులై 17వ తేదీన రాసింది. గేయం రాసేనాడు లేని అవగాహన శ్రీశ్రీకి ముందు మాట రాయించుకునే నాటికి ఏర్పడి ఉండవచ్చు కదా!ఏ ప్రభావంతో శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసి ఉండొచ్చుననే దానికి పరిశోధకులు, పరిశీలకులు, తదితరులు రకరకాల అభిప్రాయాలను వ్యక్తీకరించారు. శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' రాసేనాటికి మార్క్సిస్టు కాడు. ఆనాడు శ్రీశ్రీ తాను అభ్యుదయ రచయితననీ చెప్పుకోలేదు' అని కొడవటిగంటి కుటుంబరావు చెప్పారు.1970లో సృజన పత్రికకు శ్రీశ్రీ ఇచ్చిన ఇంటర్వ్యూలో స్వయంగా తానే 'మహాప్రస్థానం అన్న గీతం రాసేనాటికి నాకు మార్క్సిజం గూర్చి తెలియనే తెలియదు. నేను మార్క్సిజం తెలుసుకున్నది సాహిత్యం ద్వారానే, రాజకీయం ద్వారా కాదు' అని అన్నాడు. శ్రీశ్రీ 'మహాప్రస్థానం' ఇంత గొప్పగా రాయటానికి గల నేపథ్యాన్ని పరిశీలించినప్పుడు- ఫ్రెంచివారి జాతీయ గీతం, హరీంద్రనాథ్ ఛటోపాధ్యాయ 'షురూ హువా హై జంగ్' అనే పాట, నజ్రుల్ ఇస్లాం విప్లవ గీతం, ఎడ్గార్ ఎలన్ పో గేయాలు, గురజాడ, కవికొండల గేయాలు ప్రభావం ఉందని శ్రీశ్రీ చెప్పిన విషయాన్ని సినారె తన సిద్ధాంత గ్రంథంలో ఉటంకించారు. లండన్ నగరంలో వెలువడిన శ్రీశ్రీ స్వీయ దస్తూరి గల 'మహాప్రస్థానం' గేయ సంపుటికి 'నా మాట' పేరుతో తన అభిప్రయాలను రాస్తూ, ఆనాటి ప్రపంచ పరిస్థితులకు స్పందించాననీ- 'ఈ వాస్తవాలన్నింటికీ నేను స్పందించినా, ఇలాంటి రచనలను సామాజిక వాస్తవికత అంటారనీ, దీనికి వెనుక దన్నుగా మార్క్సిజం అనే దార్శనికత ఒకటి ఉందనీ అప్పటికి నాకు తెలియదు. ఇప్పుడొక్కాసారి వెనక్కు తిరిగి చూసుకొంటే, మహాప్రస్థాన గీతులలోని మార్క్సిస్టు స్ఫూర్తీ, సామాజిక స్పృహా యాధృచ్చికాలు కావని స్పష్టంగా తెలుస్తోంది' అంటాడు శ్రీశ్రీ. ఈ విషయాన్ని శ్రీశ్రీ 15-12-80న రాశాడు. చలసాని ప్రసాద్ గారి కూర్పు (1999) లో ఈ విషయాలన్నీ మరింత సమగ్రంగా ఉన్నాయి. దీన్ని బట్టే శ్రీశ్రీ మహాప్రస్థానాన్ని తన స్వంత గొంతుతోనూ గానం చేశారని తెలుస్తుంది. అయితే, ఆ గొంతు అందుబాటులోకి రావలసి ఉంది.అయితే ఇదే శ్రీశ్రీ స్వయంగా (సొంతరాతలో) 'కర్షక కార్మిక మహోద్యమం జయించి తీరుతుందన్న విశ్వాసం నా మహాప్రస్థానానికి ప్రాతిపదిక' అని మద్రాసులో 11-12-81న రాసినట్లు ఆధారాలున్నాయి.ఏది ఏమైనా, శ్రీశ్రీ మహాప్రస్థానం గీతాన్ని సృష్టిస్తే, మహాప్రస్థానం గీతం శ్రీశ్రీని శాశ్వతం చేసిందనటంలో అతిశయోక్తి లేదు.
( దట్స్ తెలుగు సౌజన్యం తో ....)
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