Andhraratna on 'Triveni'

[This brilliant note was written by Adhraratna Gopalakrishnaiya a few days before his death, and was meant for the Editor, ‘Triveni’. But he passed away and the note was not communicated to the Editor. Sjt. G. V. Subba Rao, Secretary of the ‘Andhra Vidyapitha Goshti’, found this among the papers of the illustrious deceased and very kindly sent it on to the Editor last month. It will appear along with much other valuable material in the collected edition of the Andhraratna's writings, to be published shortly by the ‘Goshti’. The Editor is deeply grateful to the ‘Goshti’ and its devoted Secretary for their courteous permission to print this note in advance in ‘Triveni’.]

The confluence of the three rivers, ‘Triveni-Sangam’, is the point of Eternity. ‘Gnana’, the intellectual path– the pursuit of Truth, which is one of the three theoretic forms of Reality–this is ‘Sarasvati’ and it flows as antarvahini, unseen and below the surface; ‘Karma’ the ethical or moral path,–the pursuit of the Good–this is ‘Ganga’, the Ganges; ‘Bhakti’ or ‘Rasa,’–the aesthetic or devotional path–this is ‘Jamuna’ or ‘Yamuna’ the pursuit of the Beautiful; these three meet and that is the point of Eternity. To justify the name, real values of Life and Eternity are to be employed in the discussion of problems in the magazine.

The ideal of a magazine is this: to allow in its pages the play of the three methods of pursuit to reach Reality. There are only, a few of this sort in Europe. The many others have–some exhibitions style, some carnivals style, and most the crowded dusty Indian bazaar style. Bad things also have their own value for Eternity, I know; but I must note they nave so only when they empty themselves in these paths, sink, be sanctified, and lose their name and form in them. The river that gathers in all the insanitations, abominations and abortions of towns and villages that adjoin it in their thousands, does all the work of a sewage farm, a purifying fire and the bhramara-keetaka work (it is believed that bhramara, the bee, takes hold of an insect and works it into its own being), even as the ocean, that swallows up these rivers, does.

I wish your magazine strives to attain this end; for, our race, despite the terrific gale of modernisation, is yet, consciously or unconsciously, sticking to its traditional aspiration to look out for a book that endures through time. ‘Khilamu Gakundunadi Dhatri Kritiya Gana’, was the decision of Allasani Peddana, one of the greatest of Telugu poets. The only enduring thing in the world is a Kriti, literally a work of Art, of course, meaning in the passage a work composed of sound, a literary work.

Even on the summit of modernism in Europe, the tendency is to produce works of enduring value, print them on hand-made paper and preserve them forever. So it is not an unpatented ideal and is worth our while to pursue.

But the question is, "can we aim at that?" But you will perhaps say we cannot and therefore we may not; granting, however, that we ought to. I know we cannot, with so many shackles on our spirit. But doing a thing that is not this, does it not still further corrupt our taste and make us so much more weak for the coming battle of freedom? So you will agree with me, we shall do our best, and leave the rest to the Maker of things.

I am happy to note that you have pitched your ideal in a higher key. I have my own fears about journalistic effort in our country, much more about magazines, and more so of those of an idealistic bent, and still more so in Andhra. And this is the first time that an English journal of the sort has appeared in Andhra. It requires the support and blessings of all.

I do not know whether I can hope to live: my all-round weakness denies the privilege of supporting it, but my most heart-felt blessings are on ‘ Triveni’. May it justify its name!