Book Reviews

“Ripples in the Lake” by C. L. Khatri printed at Raja Barqui press, Bareilly­–Price Rs. 60/-

This is the second book of poems by the poet, the first being “Kargil” which won him Michael Madhusudhan Academy award and felicitations by International Society of Greek writers and Arts, Greece.

To the poet, poetry can be a “fight against the dehumanizing forces” and when poetry “humanizes, spiritualizes and sensitizes a soul” as the poet says, then it has served a great purpose on this earth.

As the poet rightly puts it “Ripples in the Lake” some times enables us to listen to the echoes of our own ripples.

The book makes an interesting reading with a variety of themes uniquely presented.

The poet’s heart was a lake, “dreaming in tranquility”. But the world threw “pebbles, stones, rocks one after another”.

“I couldn’t hold ripples
They filled in my pages
Critics called them verse”

To quote from another poem “Children”

“Children, they are the future of the nation.
They are not children who work in your homes, chemical factories.
Yes they aren’t.
They are waste particles of the factory
They are dust of your dust bin”.

Again, perhaps referring to another type of unfortunate ones, gone astray,

“These gun wielding adolescents
They are not humans
Yes they aren’t.
Open all windows and doors.
They may get their open sky.
They will he humans once again”.

Though written some two years ago they have become prophetically relevant to what is happening in the world today.

The poems dealing with a variety of subjects depict various moods of life and national life.
In “Bapu” the poet says,

“Godsey was better than these cap bearers
Godsey killed you once, they kill you every day”

The poem, “Invitation” is touching and shows the charm of a simple life and humanity of rustic mind.

“My hut is my temple
Better than your metallic castle

It has a heart that weeps and smiles”

Poems like “English Ghost”, “Galloping Grave” etc., are absorbingly interesting.

The book “Ripples in the Lake” with depth of thought and feeling and presented in a superb style of simplicity and uniqueness combined, is a worthy contribution towards the world of thought and poetry.­

Poetry seems to flow from C. L. Khatri’s pen with such natural ease - to quote his own lines,

“………………………….As wind blows
As bees buzz, as flowers spread fragrance”

The book is a treat to the mind of the readers.
Ms. A. Satyavathi

A Bite of Paradise: Dr. O. P. Arora, Mahamaya Publishing House, 12-h, Shantivan Marg, opp. Traffic Kotwali, Daryagunj, New Delhi – 110002; pp +103, Rs. 190.

This novel by Dr. Arora is a daring exposure of the ‘imported’ ultra-modern culture among our young people and the reality behind their private romantic lives. The truth of the matter is that there is hardly any ‘love’ involved in the true sense of the term, in their premarital sexual encounters. Simply put, it is infatuation for the opposite sex and an ‘ever drifting’ indulgence in sex and fun, a bite of paradise. They have finally come to believe in living life just for the ‘moment’, with no thought or concern for a consistent long-term relationship, which alone can bestow lasting peace and happiness on the partners while imparting strength and stability to society.

Sexual morality among our contemporary youth has now touched an all time low. This is a disastrous social crisis and, if it continues to go unchecked, could eventually lead society to a total chaos and confusion. The irony of it is that we are eagerly gathering up what the west has just begun to reject, after their centuries-long indulgence in it, only to witness a massive collapse of their precious family fabric.

Dr. Arora deserves hearty congratulations for choosing a contemporary topic of crucial social significance as the central theme for this exciting novel, which should serve as an eye opener for the present day young and old alike.
Kambhampati Krishna Prasad

Love Teaches Even Asses to Dance:P. Raja. Publishers: Busy Bee Books, D-88, Poincare St., Olandai-Keerapalayam, Pondicherry - 605004, October 2006, pages 210, Price: Rs.250/- Euro 15/-. ISBN 81-87619-12-0
Love Teaches Even Asses to Dance is a collection of fifty-two essays by P. Raja, a poet-critic, whose mastery of words, or sound and sense, convinces me that like poetry, prose too needs to be written (and read) carefully and thought about considerably for continuing rewards in experience and understanding. The essays are readable and memorable because the writer, like Walter Benjamin, knows, “work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an architectonic one when it is built, and a textile one when it is woven.”

P. Raja evinces these characteristics in his brief, simple, unaffected pieces that have poetic felicity and intellectual intensity. Whether he communicates information or talks about the ordinary business of living, he seeks to construct a sense and a perception of life, widening and sharpening our contacts with existence. Whatever his concern in a context literary, academic, social, cultural, etc. P. Raja writes with experience. He is motivated by the inner need to live more deeply and fully, and with greater awareness to know the experience of others. He shares with readers his observations and evaluations, and thus, creates new experiences for them, well-formed and focused.

P. Raja uses his literary skills – sarcasm, irony, wit, humour – as a gear to step up the intensity and increase the range of everyday experience, analyzing, synthesizing, and clarifying it. His success lies in letting us participate in his personal experiences and viewpoints rooted in humanity.

P. Raja appeals to me as one of the few excellent essayists in India today. He is unpretentious, neat, and convincing, whatever his chosen theme: man, woman, mother, godhead, animal, trees, nature, history, religion, mind, anger, desire, fear, smile, sincerity, patience, love, women’s liberation, kolam, folklores, epitaphs, book-reading, story-telling, or use of English in public domain etc. He writes with feeling, commitment, and maturity.

Reading P. Raja’s essays - personal and serious - with sprinklings from the Bible, the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Mahabharata, Panchatantra, Thirukural, Indian and European history, and literary tomes is an enlightening experience. One comes across wit and wisdom aimed at promoting human values and moral behaviour based on dharma.

With its quality paper, flawless printing and attractive get-up, Love Teaches Even Asses to Dance competes with the best from any multinational press.

Prof. R. K. Singh, Dhanbad.

Light & Twilight: An Autobiography of a Retired Principal by K.Y. L. Narasimha Rao. Self-published by the author residing at 401, Saikiran Apartments, Padmaraonagar, Secunderabad – 500 025. Price. Rs. 100, pp 172.

Eminent educationist Mr. K.Y.L. Narasimha Rao (b.1924) besides being a noted writer- his Manudharmasastram in Telugu is considered a standard work - is an eloquent speaker – his speeches on the Vedas and Indian culture are well recorded.  The fact of his being an all round theatre man - playwright, actor, producer and director - only underscores his versatile personality. He had the distinction of winning the Golden Nandi in 2001 for the best play for his Mahakavi Kalidasu. However, the artist in Rao is eclipsed by the mundane of him in this autobiography by him.

Indeed, the raison d’etre of this autobiographical account seems to be his perceived injustice at being denied the principalship of a private college in Khammam when it was taken over by the state government and his viewing his eventual occupation of the crown, albeit owing to his tireless effort, as a sort of poetic justice of his life. Given that this account seeks to portray Rao’s merits to justify his aspiration for the coveted post in contrast to the demerits of the detractors, this work is inherently one sided.

Rao’s autobiographical account dramatically begins thus: At last I zoomed into light out of the dark tunnel and went to Khammam with a bang on April 26, 1971. It was a dramatic finale to a twelve-year battle against the Government. It was a Trojan war, fought undaunted, not for a beautiful princess, but for a prime post offered to me on a golden platter, but lost after a year following a conspiracy of the local politicians and my own colleagues, who praised me earlier as the doyen of the college. It was the return of not a prodigal son, but of a valiant ruler, dethroned but not driven out, by a force of circumstances.

In the same vein is another excerpt from the book–I appealed against the government’s order. I met Director Bullayya. He scoffed at me and said, “You don’t have a ghost of a chance to become the Principal”. I met Pattabhirama Rao and very politely presented my case. He did not ask me to sit. I drew a chair and sat. He looked daggers at me and said, “You will never become the Principal, at least as long as I am here. You are young and ambitious, you don’t know manners.” I left the place unruffled and unperturbed. Pride goeth before a fall. He was not long in power or on the earth after that. I am.

Some photographs featuring a remarkably handsome Rao and a few artistic sketches drawn by him embellish the book.
B. S.  Murthy

Narayana Rao: (Novel) Adivi Bapiraju; (Tr. M.V. Chalapati Rao) Dravidian University, Srinivasavanam, Kuppam, 517425. p. 235. Rs. 150/- US $ 15/-

Adivi Bapiraju was a great a1rounder–an eminent novelist, a noted painter and sculptor, a scholarly researcher on art and history, especially of the Satavahana period, a singer, a lecturer and principal , an editor of a Telugu daily, an art director of films and above all–he was an aesthete to the core.

He has several outstanding novels and numerous paintings to his credit, and was affectionately called Bapi bava, with whom he came into contact.

This novel won the prestigious award of the Andhra University in the very first year of its institution. It had a wide canvas of political events of the Twenties and the thirties as a drop with a vivid portrayal of the turbulence of those days, the aspirations of the youth, the various political currents and cross currents, the freedom struggle, the free-love society, etc., The notable parts of the novel appear to be the commentary on the sculptures of the famous spots of Ajanta, Ellora, Sanchi, Konark, Bhubaneswar and the contribution of Andhra sculptors. So also the description of the various historical and religious places visited by the hero and his friends of towns of North India.

The story line is simple. A Zamindar of an estate and MLA of the then Madras Presidency, chooses a commoner Narayana Rao as son-in-law for his second daughter, as he was not happy with the first aristocratic one. His wife and other members of the his family are not as enthusiastic of the alliance, though they do not openly oppose. The young and impressionable mind of Sarada, the bride undergoes vacillation and they were not able to consummate the marriage. The hero, like the author, is a highly sensitive man and does not want to force the issue on her and would rather wait till things sort themselves out. The plot is laced with friends and family members of the Zamindar as well as Narayana Rao, the hero. They are of different hues and likes and dislikes and fill in the canvas with rich and lively colours and interesting episodes. 

To beat frustration the hero undertakes a tour of the places of interest in other parts of India and in the description of these, Bapiraju exhibits his authority on matters of art and literature. The couple are, ultimately united after a long and eventful wait.

The original novel of Bapiraju has been ably condensed and translated by M. V. Chalapathi Rao, whose translation is smooth and gives one the feeling of reading the original itself.

However, one finds in recent translations a tendency to stray into the present tense, while narrating all through in the past tense, to which this is not an exception. Happily such instances are rare. The Dravidian University would be well advised to take more care in the proof reading and avoidance of printing errors, which at times convey an altogether different meaning or no meaning at all. This has been observed in all its recent publications, which does not add elegance to the publications which is so necessary for a University publication.

Narayana Rao, like Bapiraju’s other novels is an engrossing and gripping reading. One would find nostalgic reminiscences of the yester years while going through the novel.

The Dravidian University deserves our thanks for its commendable efforts of helping classics of one language reach out to other Indian languages, through its eminently valuable translations.
Vemaraju Narasimha Rao