Telugu Poetry in the Post-Independence Period

TELUGU POETRY IN THE
POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD

PROF. S. V. JOGA RAO, M. A., Ph. D.,
Andhra University Post-graduate Centre, Guntur

A great change in Telugu Poetry which was not even suspected by a thousand years of history has been noticed in the past twenty-five years, i.e., the post-independence period. In fact the face of the world has been metamorphosed in this twentieth century and our country followed suit. Various literatures of the world welcomed the change and ours is no exception. Time was a tortoise in the ages gone by but now a swift rodent it is.

A harbinger of the Modern Age in Andhra, Veeresalingam, blew the trumpet of reformation and the Andhra race rose from its stupor and stood in tune with the spirit of the age. Another herald of the times, Gurazada, paved the way for a new outlook. Gidugu, a staunch advocate of the popular Telugu language movement, appeared on the scene and a few young nightingales came out of their aviaries in quick succession, lisped behind the leaves and muttered the melodies of the dawn. ‘Totas’ and ‘Minas’ are unrythmic in their utterances but sweet and sound in their voices. The twin poets, Tirupati Venkata Kavulu, adepts in the varied facets of literature, poured some new wine in the old bottles and created in the people a wish and relish for new recipes in poetry. The potentialities of the age are such that Viswanatha Satyanarayana, a monitor of their school and the recent Jnanpith awardee, who is acclaimed to be the Hercules of traditionalism, displayed new exhibits of his own in the museum of antiques.

The Romantics of the West waged war against traditions and had an impact on our young collegians of the day. Rayaprolu and Devulapalli pioneered the Romantic movement in Telugu. A still more novel approach and a process with a more serious purpose were already in the offing when two valiant knights of the progressive movement, Sri Sri and Narayanababu, drew their swords and tried to smash the shackles or the age-long traditions. Sri Sri made experiments with word and phrase, metre and diction, poetic conventions and concepts with a spirit of socialism and purposeful realism. Sri Sri and Narayanababu in their craze for the new, even went to the extent of embracing surrealism. The two along with Pathabhi offered a few samples of brilliant prose-poetry in spoken Telugu. All this forms a prelude to the modern Telugu poetry.

In 1947 we achieved independence. The Romantic trend was already on its wane. Surrealism and other anarchic trends were nipped in the bud. Tradition is alive and progress blossoms. Yes, these two are the two distinct features of the poetic muse in Telugu now. A harmonious blend of the two is also discernible. The equipment of any poet naturally comprises his own experience, imagination, observation, information, taste, temperament and outlook. But today the poet’s outlook is in the front ranks of his elements, becoming responsible for differences and disputes amongst poets.

There seem to be three facets in the present traditionalism in poetry. In some poets it is almost another name for a morbid fastidiousness. In some it beams with its pristine purity, while blooming with modern techniques and novel approaches; and in others it woos the progressive school which is wedded to socialism and combats the old order in the society. The Lingo and the Kurma puranas of Molugu Chandramouli Sastry, the Mahabhagavata of Sri Rami Narasimha Murty Kavulu, the Harivamsa of Viswanatha Narasimham, the Sri Krishnatimanusha tatvam of Divi Rangacharvulu, the Bharata, the Bhagavata and the Ramavana of Bulusu Venkateswarlu and the Aswatha Bharatam may be cited as examples for the first category. At times the splendour of classical tradition is eclipsed in their work by mere traditionalism and obscurantism. Rarely do we come across a touch of originality in these works. In works like the Sankara Vijaya of Vemparala, the Andhra Purana of Madhunapuntula, the Ramayana Kalpavriksha of Viswanatha, the Mahatma Katha of Tummala, the Bhuvana Vijaya and the Bhargava Romayana of Anantapantula, the potana Charitra of Vanamamalai and in the works of Jashuva, Etukuri, Jandhyala, Indraganti, Katuri and Marupuri and the like, the traditional and the modern outlook are complementary to each other. Past masters of the traditional school, Viswanatha and others with their brilliant strokes of pen made them conducive to each other and flourish in harmony. Amongst the composers belonging to the third category, some entered the new realm of thought with all sincerity, some as a matter of fancy and fashion, some unwittingly and some with desire and hope to win appreciation from all corners. All these are harmless folk and may be styled as truce-makers between the crusaders, Dasarathi, Narayana Reddy, Sampat, Vidwan Viswam, G. Seshendra Sarma, Boyi Bheemanna, Mukurala Rama Reddy, B. V. Narasimha Rao, of the juvenile literature fame, and the poets of the “Chetanavartam” school are some or the kind.

It may not be out of place if we mention here a few things about our universities in this regard. Many poets with promise ceased to compose after they got into the universities. Pingali, Ganti, Rallapalli, Nidadavolu, Divakarla, K. V. R., Kerlapati, Ramakoti Sastry, etc., stand witnesses to the statement. But Narayana Reddy, Suprasanna, M. Ranga Rao, etc., are a few exceptions. The universities are for them nests but not cages. Pursuits in poetic research in the universities mostly pertain to the ancient classics. The books prescribed there by the Boards of Studies under the name of modern poetry are modern only in name but not in spirit. Some of their authors exist in the present but wallow in the styx of the past.

What is tradition and where is it? It lies in the consciousness of the poets, in their thought process and patterns, concepts and conceptions and in their outlook revealed through the poem. The nature of their themes, language, metres, poetic conventions and techniques and laws and standards, aims and objects naturally fall in line with the urge of their inner being. Broadly speaking, most of the themes of the traditional poems belong to the ancient times but not in all cases. Viswanatha, no doubt, husbands the Traditional Muse today, but his themes in poems like the Kinnerasani Patalu, Varalakshmi Trisati, Girikumaruni Premageetalu, etc., are quite modern in their spirit and set-up. The medium of most of the traditionalists is Classical Telugu but it differs much from Nannaya’s or Tikkana’s. Some in fact wrote in spoken Telugu. All their metres too are not old fashioned and outmoded. Viswanatha’s Kinnerasani Patalu and Kokilamma Pelli are fine poems in the modern lyrical modes. Jandhyala and others composed prose-poetry too. Tikkana was a giant amongst the architects of poetry in Telugu in the past. So also was Surana. But Viswanatha’s techniques are different from their’s, although he is a devout traditionalist. The poetic conventions and attitudes of poets like Rayaprolu, Tallavajjhala and Devulapalii are like new beats on antique drums. Rayaprolu in his testament of modern poetry called Ramyalokam asks us whether it is a matter of impossibility for the Parsi songs to be tuned on Saraswati’s Veena and for the roses to blossom in the Rishis’ ‘Neevara’ fields.

Some of the poets of the traditional school aspire for a heavenly reward (Punya) through their composition. It is a matter of blind faith. Some believe in the olden adage–“Viswa sreysh kavyam” (i.e., poetry stands for the universal well-being). It is progressive outlook. Mere okaying that everything old is true and good should not be the spirit of tradition. “Puraanamityeva na saadhu sarvam na chaapi kaavyam navamityavadyam,” (i.e., Everything, simply because it happens to be old, is not good; if a Kavya happens to be novel is not bad on that account) said Kalidasa with wise consideration. Somerset Maugham expressed in his “The Summing Up” respect for tradition but thought that it should be a guide but not a jailor to our progress. Tradition is that which makes a whole race but not a few individuals hold the head high for generations, which paints the achievement of the past on the canvas of the present and which makes the men look forward with hope for a bright future. It is the presentness or the past as T. S. Eliot rightly put it. It is certainly welcome if only it is conducive for our progress. If it is a hindrance, it should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

Let us now see what progress does mean to us. The modern age since its dawn has been responsible for a political consciousness and social enlightenment in the community. The individual and the society at large are subjected to a series or changes, some of which resulted in a positive development. The progressive writers tried to embrace the change in literature. They thought that mere reflection of things is not enough and deemed it necessary to think of positive solutions to problems and that taking refuge in socialism is the only way left open to realise the purpose. People should be roused and awakened, social evils should be wiped out, an ever new social order must come into being and all this should be a superstructure on the foundation of a sound ideology–this is their determination number one. Literature has a role to play in the shaping of the society, and in its turn it should be shaped in such a way as to suit the urge of the hour and the need of the common man–this is their determination number two. Accordingly its themes should reflect the realities of the present, its form and medium should be well within the reach of the common man, i.e., spoken dialect and lyric and prose are preferred to the classical language and metres. All other poetic conventions should match the portrayal of the modern set-up. This, in short, is the crux of their literary philosophy. The foundation for this movement was laid down by Sri Sri who for a time paced and raced in the footsteps of Gurazada. He considered tradition a hindrance, principle a fetter, and faced them with clenched fists. Tradition strengthens further, the robust poet and his poem. Principle keeps the tradition alive. But Sri Sri having seen in our country the speedy spread of the plagues of meanness, injustice and exploitation has become the angry Jove, spilling not tears, but fire from his eyes. In moments when over-powered by spite and emotion, he forgets to think and loses all temper and modesty too. But as Coleridge puts it, poetry requires that emotion should be recollected in tranquillity when the poet’s imagination is about to assume a lasting shape.

Rajasekhara is also of the same opinion as can be gathered from his Kavyamimamsa. Did Valmiki who was struck with deep sorrow at the ghastly sight of the separation of the Krauncha couple and extemporily uttered a Sloka, compose the whole of Ramayana as thus? Not at all. Emotion is something like a lightning and sudden sprouting of the heart. Recollection is like butter in its core and is the essence of the poet’s mind. Nevertheless, Sri Sri changed the role and the costume of the Telugu Muse with a sincere wish and serious hope to suit the urge of the times. The storm created by that great rebel made the rocks shiver and the gravels fly. Some of the songs of his Mahaprasthanam were composed long ago but the book such was published for the first time in the early years of our independence. During those days when the liberation movement of the Telangana was in full swing and the strength of the people facing the formidable foe, the Nizam, was in its element, some young poets having been flabbergasted rose in one voice following the example of Sri Sri. Anisetti composed his Agni Veena, Dasarathi his Rudra Veena and Agni Dhaara, Somasundar Vajraayudham, Rentala Sangarshana, Arudra Tvamevahom and so on. Allthese works kindled in the people time consciousness and a new vigour of thought and aspiration and thus paved the way for the spread of progressive literature. Every progressive writer has a searching eye for the bitter realities of the world. But there is yet another typical class of poets amidst them who peep deep into the crevices of the inner consciousness of the man and try to translate thoughts into a sort of telepathic language in a mood of self-introspection. Dr. Madiraju Ranga Rao seems to be an eminent artist who patented this type. All his works, for instance, Melkonna Aakaasam, Kirmeeraalu have a mystic touch of their own. Kesava Rao, Gopala Chakravarti, Durganand, Aripirala Viswam, Vegunta Mohan Prasad are some of the advocates and solicitors of the school. Their imagery is at times clumsy and far-fetched. Most of their expressions are echoes of distant voices. Some of them in the beginnings of their poetic career wrote in classical and modern lyrical metres but of late there is a marked shift in their poetry from the rococo to the baroque. Prose-poetry has become rather a feverish pursuit nowadays on account of these poets. Past masters of this art are Kundurti and Tilak. Tilak’s Amrutam Kurisina Raatri tops the list of progressive poems in poetic genius and in the power of expression.

A more exasperating and breath-taking change unrivalled and unknown in the history of Telugu literature came into being in early 1965 under the name of the Digambara movement. The poets of the movement are the Telugu counterparts of the Beatles and the angry youngmen of the West who hovered as vultures on a society putrified on account of the countless kinds of atrocities and exploitation of the privileged people and who wanted to shake the foundations of the society where the ghost of the past still lingers. The pen names of the Digambara poets seem symbolic, typical and characteristic. They are Jwaalaamukhi, Nagnamuni, Nikhileswar, Chera bandaraaju, Mahaaswapna and Bhairavayya–heirs of that great literary anarchist, Allen Ginsberg. Their movement is almost the foster child of the Naxalite movement and their howls and brawls are nothing but amplified cries of the great rebel. Sri Sri, who announced to the world long ago that “Himsana chana dhvamsa rachana” (i.e., destruction by violence) is his intention and revolution is his philosophy, was waiting for an opportunity and in 1970 on the eve his “Shashtipoorti”, his dreams were realised when he joined hands with the heirs of his philosophy, the Digambara poets and established the “Viplava Rachayitala Sangham”, i.e., Revolutionary Poetry Association. On that red-letter day in his poetic career, he was audacious enough in branding his own erstwhile sergents-at-arms the progressive writers, as traitors on the pretext that they were supporting the democracy in the country. He intends to steer the revolution in a novel manner. He wishes to wield the pen as sword and the words as blows. He firmly believes that “the younger generation unconditionally invites the revolution.” Evidently he is our “Literary Mao.” Perhaps he takes pride in the epithet.

Arudra gives us his own blueprint of the Digambaras as follows: “Digambaras work with vengeance against the society…their writings are not progressive. They preach the philosophy of destruction for the sake of awakening. The present set-up in their eyes is something like a state of leprosy. They entertain more animosity than pity on the helpless clutched in the set-up. As such, emotional outbursts and indecent expressions overcome the element of good poetry in them.” There are people who join with Arudra in his deliberations. Yes, the Digambaras are more aggressive than progressive. Curiously enough some of them were arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Government last year. It was really an unprecedented event in our literary history.

I have already made my position clear that essentially there are only two highways in Telugu literature at present–the Traditional School and the Progressive School. The Poetic Muse paces on one and races on the other. The influence of each is felt on the other, even if the parties wishfully do not like it or do not admit with self-conceit. One can infer by this reciprocation that the spirit is alive in both the schools. Viswanatha is the godfather of the Traditional School, whereas Sri Sri is the ring-master of the other. These two are the only poets in Telugu who can be styled as thinkers. Both parties expressly admit that the present society is stinking. Both invite major changes in its set-up and wish a state of well-being for all mankind. Their end is one and the same. Only their means differ. It is yet to be seen which way leads us to the destination. Time is the best judge.

Sluggishness in the name of tradition was already pervading or literature. Confusion in the name of progress was already rampant. But tradition saved the society from a complete doom and pandemonium. The Telugu Muse has had last year a great day of honour when Viswanatba’s Ramayana Kalpavriksha, his magnum opus and a masterpiece in Telugu literature, was awarded the Jnanpith prize. The progressive movement was chiefly responsible for the spread of a good measure of literary consciousness inthe people. It has stirred the society with agitation. It isderisive and offensive in its policies and approaches, unlike its counterpart which has to be always defensive even for the sake of its existence. It has changed the course of the poetic stream, sponsored new “ghaats” and brought the distant shores nearer. It has exhibited a wonderful novelty and variety in theme, form, medium, technique and purpose. The Poetic Muse danced in both the camps. At one camp it did delicate ‘laasya’, and vigorous ‘taandava’ at the other.

Critics with vision and understanding sincerely opine that mere ideologies and slogans do not make poetry. But it can exist in any school and can be a vehicle for any kind of thought, feeling or idea. It is something else and distinct from all these things. Poetry in my consideration is something which through its melodious medium translates a pretty thought or feeling into a kindred experience. Variety in its various aspects gives it a colourful demeanour and alluring effect. “Variety is beauty” is a thoughtful utterance of a kindred soul. Variety is afundamental law of nature. “Loko bhinna ruchih” is a perpetual truth. It is for the Sahridaya to give due consideration to all these things just to enable himself and others to enjoy poetry, first as an art and then as a vehicle for other things. Mere enjoyment may not be misunderstood as inept hedonism. Poetic enjoyment, even if it is devoid of any instruction and offers no message, is capable of making a man ‘rasajna’ and thus if the horizons of his aesthetic experience, vision and values are broadened, the strength of the brute in him gets dwindled or vanished and so he loses the ability to do anything bad, is able to behold beauty in and around him, comes out of his shell and reacts and responds to things and thus is very near to his own self and to the humanity.

History tells us that poetry and literature have so many achievements to their credit. They heralded great revolutions, brought the nations together and made the mankind what it is today.

Prosperity is the real progress and tradition should be its instrument, which a genuine poet, whatever his school, must keep in mind.

After all, both the above schools are only rivals. A lasting compromise is possible even between fast enemies. Let each school follow and propagate its own ideology and live in peaceful co-existence with the other as a neighbour in the abode of the Poetic Muse. It is gratifying to note here that today there is no longer a tussle between the Pandits’ poetry and the folk poetry and that there are people who can recognise the muse in any guise, appreciate and assess her beauty and nature. Let it be the lame case with these two schools.