Nationalism in Telugu Poetry

Love of the Motherland and pride in her glory are prominent in Telugu poetry. During periods of domination by foreigners, the yearning for freedom becomes an additional theme. Nannaya, who composed the Telugu Mahabharata in the 11th century, gave a glowing description of the Vengi country ruled by Raja Raja Chalukya, and, in particular, of the Parishats or gatherings of scholars where all literary and artistic work was appraised. The fertile plains watered by the Godavari were dear to this poet. In the 15th century, Srinadha composed the Bhimeswara Puranam in which he sang of Draksharama as a veritable heaven on earth. But it was his ‘Ballad of the Palnad Heroes’ that he stressed the duty of the sons of the soil to protect it from tyranny and oppression. Srinadha’s verses in honour of the mountain-fortress of Kondavidu are recited to this day with fervour.

The patriotism of the Telugu poets is not just local; their vision comprises the entire Indian continent. A phrase we frequently come across in the poetry of the Vijayanagara period is ‘Setu-seetanaga-madhyorvi’–the land between Rama’s bridge to Lanka in the South, and the cold mountain Himalaya in the North. The monarchs of ancient India–Nala, Harischandra and Dushyanta–as well as the epic heroes of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are extolled in Telugu poetry; incidents in their lives furnish themes for the Prabandhas. The Court-poets of Sri Krishnadeva Raya give expression to the people’s gratitude to the monarch for preserving the culture and the freedom of the land as against the Muslim invaders. Thus, ‘Krishnadeva Raya is not merely Lord of Karnataka and Andhra; he is the ‘Hindu Suratrana’, Sultan of the Hindus. With the Passage of time there was reconciliation between Hindu and Muslim, and a famous Telugu poet, Addanki Gangadhara, dedicated a Kavya to one of the Kutub-Shahis of Golconda.

The spread of British rule resulted in an eclipse of indigenous culture, though the people were thankful for peace and orderly administration. Towards the middle of the last century, the establishment of Colleges and Universities led to a fruitful contact with a different type of culture. The literature and science of the West brought a new vision to the intellectuals of Andhra, as it did to all Indian peoples. After the first shock ofthis impact, Telugu scholars and poets, brought up in the new atmosphere, enriched the literature of the mother-tongue. The English were a freedom loving people; Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley wafted the breath of freedom. So, the feeling grew that we could attain freedom under the aegis of England? At political conferences in the Krishna and the Godavari Districts, poets like the late Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham recited their poems detailing the benefits of British rule and urging the people to achieve political freedom. But, with the upsurge of militant nationalism in 1906, Telugu poetry took a turn definitely hostile to the foreigner. The British had robbed us of our political freedom; they exploited our wealth; they ruined our culture. As Chilakamarti put it in a short, telling stanza:

“The land of Bharat isa good milch-cow. And
while the Indians are crying for sustenance, the White
men, like astute shepherds, are making the cow, after
forcibly closing the mouths of tender calves.”

This stanza rang like a battle-cry. Chilakamarti also praised the heroes who suffered imprisonment in the freedom struggle. “To them,” says the Poet, “the prison is a palace of marble, and the handcuffs are transformed into garlands of flowers.”

The decay of Indian culture, and the utter dependence on the foreigner even in the economic sphere, were described vividly and with remarkable literary grace by Chennapragada Bhanumurti in his Bharata Dharma Darsanam. To the Telugus of that generation, Japan, which overcame the might of Russia, was the symbol of the rise of the Sun of freedom in the East, and they felt that itwas the turn of other Eastern lands to assert their freedom. In India, Bengal lighted the torch. The ‘Vande Mataram’ of Bankim Chandra was on everybody’s lips, and similar songs breathing the love of Andhradesa, its rivers and mountains? its heroes and poets, were composed by Telugu poets like Mangipudi Venkata Sarma.

But then, Andhra was only a child of Bharat; Vanga, Maharashtra, Dravida, Kerala, Karnataka and other units were Andhra’s dear sisters. This note of friendliness towards neighbouring peoples was the result of the writings and speeches of the leaders of the Andhra Movement, who viewed the linguistic re-distribution of India as a part of Indian nation-building. So, the love of Andhra and the love of Bharat have coursed through Telugu poetry throughout the centuries, like the Yamuna and the Ganga, while the love of all humanity is the unseen, yet powerfully felt, undercurrent of Saraswati. Swaraj for India, and a Province for Andhra, have been the twin-dreams of our political leaders and our literary craftsmen for over four decades. Both these dreams have formed the subject matter of Telugu Poetry in recent years.

But, inevitably, part of this literature is mere propaganda; it does not rise beyond the level of dull monotonous verse. There are, however, some gifted singers whose work is of enduring value, and deserves to rank with the noblest poetry of other lands. The late Gurazada Appa Rao was definitely a pioneer. “Love the country, O! Brother,” sings Gurazada, “but the country is not just the soil; the country is the men who dwell in it.” According to him, this love must lead to service of fellowmen in the present. And again, the love must not be tinged with hatred. “Do not look down on the Muslim as an intruder; why, if the British came yesterday, and the Muslims the day before, you came only the day before that.” The country belongs to all its children, whatever the time of our ancestors’ migration to it. Rayaprolu Subba Rao is a harbinger of the new age of Romantic Telugu Poetry. But he is also great as a poet of patriotism. “To whichever Country you go, and wheresoever your feet might tread, love the land of Bharat; there is no land like ours.” So sang Subba Rao forty years ago. The Andhra Movement inspired him, and he called on the Andhras to remind themselves of the glories of Amaravati, Warangal and Vijayanagara, to dream great dreams, and build modern Andhra after a noble pattern.

Viswanatha Satyanatayana comes a little later? In his ‘Andhra Paurusham’ he narrates the heroic deeds of the Andhras of previous ages. This book of verse brought him immediate recognition as a poet of the front rank. But he rises to greater heights in his ‘Andhra Prasasti’. The lyrical element is more pronounced here. The poet seizes on important moments and invests them with the halo of permanence. King Dipakarni of Srikakulam,¹ forerunner of the Satavahanas, discovers a boy riding a lion on the banks of the Krishna. He shoots the lion, and the lion takes on a human shape and commends the boy-hero to the king’s care. The king, being childless, adopts the boy and expresses a hope that some day he might bring together the waters of the Krishna and the Ganga. This is prophetic of the Andhra conquest of Magadha. The dedication of the TeluguMahabharata by Nannaya to Raja Raja is another moment fraught with destiny. Satyanarayana, in his ‘Andhra Prasasti’, reveals himself as a poet who combines lyrical charm with a power of dramatisation. It was the preludeto poetic achievement through diverse modes of expression.

Very close to Satyanarayana was young Kodali Subba Rao, cut off, alas! in the heyday of his success. Subba Rao’s ‘Hampi Kshetram’ is a series of cameos of life in Vijayanagara–the Court, the monarchs and marshals, the poets and artists. The memory of Vijayanagara under Krishna Raya and Timmarasu is enshrined by Subba Rao in poetry that will live as long as Telugu lives.

The ‘Rashtra Ganamu’ of Tummala Sitaramamurti Chowdari is a beautiful epitome of the patriotic feelings of the Andhras and of their dreams for the future.

The coming of Gandhi was a great event in Andhra’s cultural life. His message of truth and non-violence altered her outlook. His personality captured the imagination of her poets. The late Basavaraju Appa Rao refers to him as ‘our Gandhi’ and asks in a tone of intense affection, “What if he is clad in a loin-cloth? What if he is born as a Komati?² When he moves his foot, the entire Universe is set in motion. When his little tuft waves, it is the dance of the four Vedas.” To Nanduri Subba Rao, a cousin of Appa Rao and writer of the famous ‘Yenki Patalu’, it is Kasturi Bai who becomes dearer than even Gandhiji. She is ‘Mother Kasturi’, the partner of the Mahatma and his inspirer.

The ‘Soundara Nandam’ of Pingali Lakshmi Kantam and Katuri Venkateswara Rao is an entrancing picture of the age of the Buddha. But it is obvious that the poets owed their inspiration to the life and teaching of the Mahatma. The description of the Buddha and his disciples as they sit under the shade of trees in peace-filled ashramas, or as they wander about the cities and villages of the land bringing succor to the distressed, remind us powerfully of Sabarmati and Sevagram, and of the Mahatma’s march to Dandi or Naokhali. In his ‘Gudi-Gantalu’ (Temple Bells) Venkateswara Rao celebrates the pilgrimage of Harijans to the Lord of the Seven Hills at Tirupati. The poem calls up a vision of the Deity’s compassion for his humble devotees.

But alongside of this type of poetry charged with peace and compassion, there is the other type–aggressive, strident, and urging the people to disobedience of the foreigner. For full quarter of a century, the land was plunged in what was a war of liberation, though the war was a non-violent one. Lathi-charges, shooting, imprisonment of thousands of patriots, were common occurrences. Khaddar-clad men and women marched in battle array, and sang patriotic songs as they marched. This provided occasion for poets and song-writers to improvise verse and song. Hence, it was not literary charm that counted, but vigour of expression and the ability to rouse emotion. One Telugu song by Garimella Satyanarayana–“We do not want this White Government”–rendered the poet famous overnight, and it came to be sung from one end of Andhradesa to the other. In prison camps, the non-Telugus learnt the song and carried it to their respective homelands. Then there were songs glorifying the national flag which, according to the composer, would fly over all the continents and bring everlasting fame to India. Individual heroes like Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das of an earlier generation, and Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose were praised in song and verse. Even plays were written in which they appeared as the principal characters. The leaders of the Congress Movement in the Andhra country like Desabhakta Venkatappayya and Prakasam, Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya and Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, were mentioned in literary productions, and acclaimed as national heroes. This was literature of the hour. It served its purpose of carrying the cult of Swaraj to the Andhra people, and urging them to sacrifice and suffering. The spinning-wheel, transformed in men’s imagination into the ‘Sudarsana Chakra’ of Lord Vishnu, was reverenced as the symbol of freedom; and inspiring songs were sung about its virtues and efficacy.

Now that freedom has been won, the emphasis shifts. The younger Telugu poets dream of a brave new world where inequalities between man and man shall not exist, and the peasants and the workers will, at long last, come into their own. Srirangam Srinivasa Rao is the leader of this school. In form as well as in content, his verse marks a revolution in present day writing. He is not an avowed Marxist, though Marxism has influenced him. There is widespread discontent, political, social, and economic. Freedom has not solved all our problems, and it has raised new ones. A nation emerging into the dazzling light of freedom takes time to adjust itself to the new conditions. The administration of a modern State, in the complex situation created by internal rivalries, will tax the energies ofthe mighty among us. If poets, in common with the rest of Indian citizens give expression to the feeling of discontent and disillusionment, they are but giving literary shape to the prevailing mood. After the inevitable period of transition, a correct perspective will be reached. Then will the poetry of Andhra become the vehicle of new hope and aspiration. The poetry of the future will mirror the achievement ofpeace under difficult conditions, and the consolidation of national freedom in body, mind and spirit, as an integral factor of universal freedom. A great epic of the Gandhian era has not yet emerged in any Indian language. Andhra is rich in patriotic fervour and poetic inspiration, and may it be given to some rising poet to chronicle in noble verse the saga of Indian Freedom, recapturing the stately diction of Nannaya and the tense drama of Tikkana!
(From the Silver Jubilee Number of the
Annamalai University Journal.)

¹ A village in the present Krishna District, near Masulipatam.
² Vaisya