Book Reviews

ENGLISH

REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC ENTERPRISE AND PRIVATISATION (Dawn to Dusk) pages 245. Author: Prof. V. V. Ramap.adham, Publishers: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, Price: Rs.350/-

This book is unique in the sense that it is a blend of auto-biography and reflections on public enterprise and privatisation. Here is the story of a person who was born in the sleepy village of Challapalli (75 years ago) and rose to inter­national eminence as an authority on public enterprise and is currently the Coordinator of the Inter-Regional Network on privatisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As one reads the book one gets the impression that inspite of his wide-ranging contributions to public enterprise and research of high order Prof. Ramanadham’s literary and cultural interests remain undiminished.

It is interesting to study the development of his distinguished career in its successive stages - dawn to dusk.

The foundations of Dr. Ramana­dham’s brilliant future were laid firmly and well when he was a student in the Andhra University, Waltair where he attracted the appreciative notice of Dr. C. R. Reddy, an eminent Vice-Chancellor. With his remarkable versatility and his total commitment to research in Economics and Commerce, he produced path-breaking books and reports on Transport and Public Enterprise, wrote poetry and directed operas and stage plays. He did further research in the London School of Economics and held prestigious positions as Professor and Dean of Commerce in Osmania University, founder professor of the Institute of Public Enterprise and Visiting , Professor in the London Business School       (LBS) and Templeton College (Oxford) et.

The book contains miniature portraits of and interesting comments on some of the eminent men of his time - Dr. C.R. Reddy, Dr. D. S. Reddy, Prof. Plank Appleby, V. K R. V. Rao, S. S. Khera, I. G. Patel, Ghosal, K. N. Raj, La! Bahadur Shastry et., al.

Chapters - ‘Living in New York’, and ‘Technical Assistance in U.N. System’, and ‘Kenya’ show that he spent a quarter century (1) advising Missions to Governments, (2) planning and conducting workshops on various aspects of privatisation, producing and disseminating the follow-up and other material, and participating and playing an advisory role in the other international agencies.

Although Prof. Ramanadham is an Economist by Profession, he is a literary artiste by propensity and a poet at heart. All aspects considered his book is a pleasing synthesis of commerce and culture. Besides, it is written in an engaging style marked by clarity and vigour of view-point. If deserves to be on, the shelves of all libraries.

Copies of the book can be had from “Sri G. Prasada Rao, C/o Institute of Public Enterprise, Osmania University Campus, Hyderabad - 500 007.

- I.V. Chalapati Rao

My Silence and Other Selected Poems: R.K Singh (Prakash Book Depot, Bara Bazar, Bareilly - 243 003. 1994. 171 Pages Rs. 125/-).

“Apparently without a pattern, artificially arranged, and untitled, each poem is an experience independent of the rest.” Such is Dr. Ram Krishna Singh’s own description of his poems penned between 1974 and 1994. A Professor of English under the Indian sun can rarely control the desire to write poetry in English. For, the Indian experience is immensely rich (heights of exaltation and abysms of depression), something one doesn’t come across in English poetry, which of late has become pale and aimless and appears decrepit with old age.

It is true, Indian literatures have a longer history but the vast spaces in its culture remain unexplored as yet. The English language offers a challenge to master the Indian experience and channelise the results through the English language to enrich the new literatures in English.

The all-pervading corruption in the corridors of power gets a pithy recordation from Dr. Singh’s pen:

“Freedom to act
means freedom to harm as
silence stinks louder

than protest noises
lumped in chaos or monologue
quickened for a quid?”

Though the academic in Dr. Singh cannot help muddying his work often with imitative, desecratory, repetitive seximagery, when he writes well, he does write very well. The daily tragedy of the coal belt, for instance:

“Sounds turn fainter each day
with greying geometry of hope
I stand a rusted sign.

There’s something that sustains
us all in a world so perverse
it could even be worse.

I’ve passed one more year
of knowing the song of next year
goodbye is to real”.

There is, the insider’s view of our Groves of Academic where one is engaged in very despicable activity one can imagine and all of us turn a Nelson’s Eye towards its true aim which is expanding the frontiers of knowledge

“....in Dhanded the drrank worries
–no light, no water
no sugar, no oil
his notes and bickerings
and tensions and allergies
and threats and coercions
and academic conspiracies ....”

According to Dr. Singh, a poem is: “the dynamics of a culture”: hence see his verse occasionally peppered with religious symbols too. Dr. Singh is a poet of possibilities and confesses rightly:

“I prune my thoughts
to write well
to be simply understood.”

With his command over English and sense of purpose. Dr. Singh is meant for epic meditations and not for the maudlin effusions of third-rate filmy geet. He has immense worlds in our heritage waiting to be effectively unveiled to the accident through the English language, truly (in Rajaji’s words), the gift of Goddess Saraswati to India. It is time he took note to this and made a lasting contribution to Indian writing in English.

- Prema Nandakumar

TELUGU

Appa Rama Bhakti: (Vol. l) by Sri D. Seshadri, A 2, Meera Apartments, St. No. 19, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500 029, pp 253; Rs. 1,000/-.

The Saint Composer Thyagaraja, was a versatile genius, well versed in the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas and the folklore. He is called the avatar of Valmiki maharshi. Naturally be projected in his kritis the truths embodied in those works, as Valmiki did in his Ramayana, and made use of several stories in them to illustrate them.

Sri Seshadri has selected 5 kritis of Thyagaraja, covering various aspects of bhakti. He elaborates in this book, the truths and statements made in these kritis with reference to the Gita, Upanishads, and other literature and also with reference to many other compositions of Thyagaraja.

In Chapter-I, he takes up the kriti “Appa Rama bhakti” in Pantuuarali ragam. The them is bhakti prabhaua - the great merit and power of devotion as propounded in the Gita and other texts and details the various steps involved in bhakti yoga. To Thyagaraja, Rama is the Supreme Lord, and devotion to Him - by whatever name he is called - is Rama Bhakti.

In Chapter-II, he takes up “Adigi sukhamu levvaranubhavinchirira” in Madhamavati ragam. The author stresses that of all the devotees, the wisest are those who do not seek any favours from Him. For Seetha, Soorpanakha, Narada Durvasa, Devaki, the Gopikas and others sought boons from Him, but the results, the favours granted to them were different.

Chapter III deals with the kriti “Anyayamu seyakura” in Kapi Ragam. The eternal and nine-fold relationship between the Paramatma and the jeevatma is elaborated in this chapter.

Chapter IV concerns the kriti “Eemenu kaliginanduku Seetha Rama nanmame palukavalenu: in Rag Varali and power of Rama nama. Birth as a human being is far superior to that of a tree or an animal and only meditation of the Lord’s name brings the salvation.

Chapter V deals with the kriti “Endundi vedalithivo” inDurbar ragam. In this is stressed that Lord Rama, (the supreme being, the Paramatma)is trigunateeta, above the Satva, Rajo and Tamo gunas and as such he is above Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, each one of whom has one of the three gunas.

The author briefly explains the tenets of the three philosophical doctrines, the Advaita, Vasishtadwaita and the Dwaita and the concept of Lord Rama as conceived by Thyagaraja.

This commendable book, has a scholarly and erudite preface by Dr. P. Sriramachandra Murthy, a renowned Sanskrit scholar.

A good acquisition for all music lovers.

- Dr. R. L. Kameswara Rao

Buddha Darsanamu: By Dr. Ratnakaram Balaraju, Adhyatma Vidya Grandha Ratna Mala, Saketa Nilayam, 21- S.B.I. Colony, Ananthapuram, A.P. ­515001.

All the great religions of the world have changed so much from the time of their founders and so many vulgar traditions and beliefs have crept into them, that every religion as it is practised today is far from its original form preached by its founder. Unfortunately this has led to an incorrect appreciation of what the religion stands for and is in a way responsible for absence of mutual understanding and harmony between different religions.

Buddhism is no exception. The popular idea that Buddha preached ‘Atheism and Nihilism or materialism is far from truth. Buddha’s teachings clearly show that his philosophy is not against the Vedaitic Hinduism. Coming in the 6th Century before Christ, Buddha filled a need in the contemporary society and preached compassion, love, right thinking and right living. Buddha was Hindu, he lived and died a Hindu. He advocated a positive approach to life to attain perfect happiness for all men. His eight point charter as the way of peace in this strife-torn world reflects the Vedantic maxims expressed in the language of the common man. That he insisted on asceticism as a way of life for ‘Nirvana’, discarding family life and living as a ‘Sramanaka’, is only partly correct. He had many ‘Grihastha Disciples’ whom he encouraged and enjoined on them to lead a life of self-control with a positive humanistic approach.

Dr. Balaraj’s books Buddha Darsanam, - ‘The Vision of Buddha’, is a masterly work. Drawing from various texts Dhammapadam, Buddha charitam, etc., he has presented a critical evaluation of Buddha’s teachings against the -drop of Upanishads and other ancient texts to show their essential harmony in ideas, and outlook.

The first four chapters deal with Buddha’s life from birth to Nirvana. They are interspersed with the teachings of the Great Master relating them to the various chronological events of his life. The fifth chapter contains extracts of his teachings and compares them with the Upanishadic thought. Four appendices are added as the end of the book with quotations from Dhammapadam, Suttanipatham; Mahamangala Suttam, Dhaniya Suttam and Khaggavishna Suttam.

The book is dedicated to the memory of the child prodigy Sai Siva Narayana who displayed rare powers of poetic talent and religiousness in his young age and died in his 17th year.

Unfortunately every religion introduces and attributes some miracles to their founders and thinks that these enhance the glory of these great men. The protagonists probably believe that the greatness of these founders becomes incomplete without these miracles and sans these superhuman feats these great men cannot stand on the strength of their own teachings. This book is no exception. The story of Buddha’s encounter with Mara, the child of Satan, and his associates; and Buddha leading his brother Nanda to the land of Sakra, the King of Gods and showing him the celestial dance of the Divine Apsarasas in an effort to wean him away from his young bride are a few examples of these Super-human phenomena.

Buddha is a rational thinker. He introduced the rationalistic thought into religion and laid great stress on the humanistic approach to life for eternal and Universal peace.

This book is a useful addition on Buddhistic philosophy for all libraries.

-Dr. G. Lakshmipathi

AMRUTHA VARSHINI: (Devotional songs in Telugu) by Smt. A.V.S. Hemalatha (No. 8 - 283/-, Karanakamm Veedhi, Venktagiri-524132) Rs. 5/- Pages.

Dedicated to Goddess Lalitha Devi, this book contains 45 devotional songs which can be sung in different styles, in easy to comprehend and lilting language. Bhajan groups find these extremely useful.

The lyrics are in supplication to Ganapati, Durga, Shiva and Venkateswara, in addition to Shirdi Saibaba, and ends with one to Hanuman. An enjoyable contribution to devotional music.

-Dr. R. L. Kameswara Rao