Book Reviews

Jeevana Rekhalu (Telugu) by Tallapalli Muralidhara Gowd. Published by Surya Prachuranalu, Flat No. 21, Suryasaroj Apartments, Plots No. 1 & 4, Huda Complex, Saroornagar, Hyderabad – 500 035. Price: Rs. 125 pp 160.

This compendium of Muralidhar Gowd’s insightful interviews with twenty-five noted   men of Telugu letters (literally so for the conspicuous absence of any woman writer in the exalted list) is a valuable work. Originally published in leading Telugu dailies and weeklies, and others, these interviews were carried out by Gowd in Delhi when the subjects went there in one cultural connection or the other. What sets Gowd apart as an interviewer is his skill to elicit their innate views from those interviewed as opposed to putting his words into their mouths. Besides, he has an uncanny knack of framing his questions in each case in such a way that let the subject picture his own personality. While the former trait of Gowd comes from his grasp on the art of the interview, the latter is owing to his understanding of the interviewed gained through the study of his works.

Though those who figure in this compilation are all Telugu writers, in many ways the content and character of the discourse is eminently pan literary, which makes it a valuable read even for those whose staple diet is no longer the Telugu printed word. The modern poets and men of prose that figure in this ‘collectors’ edition’ are who is who of Telugu literary world, and they are – Kaloji Narayanarao, Vadali Mandeswararao, Vemaraju Bhanumurthy, Avantsa Somasundar, Munipalle Raju, Balivada Kantarao, Samala Sadasiva, Dasarathi Rangacharya, Ilapavuluri Pandurangarao,Nagabhairava Koteswararao, Chekuri Ramarao, G.V. Subrahmanyam, Addepally Ramamohanarao, Vallmpati Venkatasubbaiah, V.V.B. Ramarao, Tirumala Srinivasacharya, Reddy Raghavaiah, Ampasayya Naveen, Toleti Jaganmohanarao, Revuru Anantapadmanabharao, Bethavolu Ramabrahmam, N. Gopi, Vaddepally Krishna, Devaraju Maharaju and Endluri Sudhakar.

B S Murthy

‘Indian Writers on Writing’ – D. Ramakrishna, Prestige Books, 3/28, East Patel Nagar, New Delhi – 110 008. Hardedition, pp 138, price Rs. 400.

D. Ramakrishna’s tryst with English literature began when he was the Chairman, Board of Studies in English at the Kakatiya University, Warangal. For well over three decades, starting from 1970s, his hands-on approach for a feel of the Indian Writing in English led to his literary engagement of Mulk Raj Anand, Nissim Ezekiel, Nayantara Sahgal, Seshendra Sarma and his spouse Indira Devi Dhanrajgir. The maiden fruit of his painstaking effort was the well-acclaimed “Indian English Prose: An Anthology” (1980) that came to be prescribed for M.A. English at some Indian Universities. Obsessive as he was with the advanced research on Edgar Allan Poe’s works all through, yet his engagement with the Indian English Writing produced “Critical Essays on Indian English Writing” in 2005 that incidentally was reviewed in the July-Sep 2005 issue of this journal.

This “Indian Writers on Writing” in the main comprises the letters exchanged between Ramakrishna, the researcher, and the above named literary luminaries. Of these literary exchanges and personal pleasantries, the ones between Mulk Raj Anand and Ramakrishna that figure from p27 to p92 make the former the mascot of the book. And these, besides Anand’s literary perspectives, amply portray his human frailties, academic struggles and mundane frustrations. Through p93 to p119, the poetic philosophy of Nissim Ezekiel comes clear while Nayantara Sahgal was engaged about her “A Situation in New Delhi” in p120 to 124. The correspondence Ramakrishna had with Seshendra Sarma and his spouse Indira Devi Dhanrajgir makes the finale.

Given Ramakrishna’s partiality towards the old guard, the fifteen-page review of the ‘Contemporary Indian English Literary Scene’ is all but cursory when it comes to the literary crops of later seasons. The following passage from the book amply illustrates this aspect.

Quote - Vasant A. Shahane says: “The Indo-Anglian novel is in many ways a haphazard growth and its fortuitous development is partly the product of lack of clear objectives. An objective like the image of India or Western reader is more often a pious platitude than a genuinely realized artistic goal.” One had only to read the novels and short stories of the authors mentioned above to see the “image of India” presented in all its significance for the Indian and the Western reader. The three major novelists Raja Rao, R. K. Narayan, and Mulk Raj Anand together have remarkably succeeded in depicting India in both the spiritual and socio-­cultural aspects. Anand’s experiments in technique are well-known. It is surprising that while mentioning even Manohar Malgonkar and Kamala Markandaya as ‘novelists of front rank, Shahane does not care to refer to the humanist even once in the whole essay. What had been marring an accurate evaluation of the Indian novelists in English is perhaps such a critical myopia. Shahane further says: “Literary critics in their enthusiasm to win recognition for the identity of Indo-Anglian fiction have fallen an easy prey to the temptation of overrating these authors, especially novelists. In retrospect, this seems to me an avoidable critical aberration”. - unquote.

Given that much water had flowed below the bridge of the Indian English writing, and that this work seeks to capture only the views of the vintage writers, one might feel that its grandiose title, “Indian Writers on Writing” is not an apt one after all.
B S Murthy

BUDS & BLOOMS: (Recollections and Reflections) by M.L. SWAMY, # 207, Arun Apartments, Red Hills, Hyderabad - 500004; pp 175.

Sri M.L. Swamy is a former Engineer-in-Chief in the Irrigation Dept. of Andhra Pradesh Government and this book is a compilation of his recollections and reflections on various issues, he wants to share with a wider readership. These contain mainly the talks given by him to the association founded by him for Senior Citizens styled “Friends On The Same Wave Length” in the India Community Centre, Sunnyvale, California, USA (where he is spending his retired life) which appears to be somewhat running on the lines of the Toastmasters. The vignettes comprise of a very wide spectrum of topics as different as Modem Science and Ancient Ethics; Love, respect and hate to anger; 9/11 and Tsunami; temples of Andhra Pradesh and astrology, old age and optimism etc., etc., These reveal the sunnier side of the author, who is a votary of active life and optimism. He being an eminent engineer and his vast scope of interaction with persons of all strata of life and his healthy outlook of life must have stood him in good stead throughout his highly successful career as a top ranking Engineer. He has been an expert on water resources and irrigation and involved in designing, and construction of projects for over five decades in several parts of India. With such a rich ground, it is no wonder that he was highly successful in whatever work he took up. The anecdotes amply reflect his robust optimism and faith in God and commitment to the ethical values of life and belief in ancient wisdom. These are written in an easy to read style, bringing out his sense of humour, his faith in humanity and above all his national pride in being an Indian and an Andhra. “That is why I love Andhra Pradesh” is a succinct account of everything that is Andhra.

One is inclined to agree that one’s association with the RSS in formative years of life taught one of oneness of all Hindus and Indians and imparted the spirit or patriotism, character; honesty and love for all mankind. Like Sri Swamy, the undersigned had the privilege of coming across great leaders like Guruji Golwalkar and other leaders.

The one recollection that strikes as unique is when the author brings round a highly self-centred and adamant Chief Minister like N. T. Rama Rao in “Historic Decisions of Progress”. The Chief Minister had already decided that the control of the Srisailam project should be transferred to the Electricity Board from Irrigation Department as there were severe irregularities and the Chief Secretary also endorsed the stand. When none of other officers concerned could dare speak against the Chief Minister’s decision, it fell to the lot of Sri Swamy to explain the details of the construction of the dam, which though strongly built, had a weak foundation and with the geological imperfections required constant vigilance by the Irrigation Department and for which the Electricity Board had no expertise. With his suave and convincing presentation the Chief Minister abandoned the proposal of transfer of control. This illustrates the saying that one man with a conviction is a majority.

Each piece in this collection is remarkable in its own way and brings the author close to the reader who empathises with him. This a remarkable achievement for a non-professional writer;

A highly recommended reading for all.
- Vemaraju Narasmha Rao

Ms Doria Lessing (U.K.) gets Nobel Prize for Literature

Persia - born British Novelist Ms Doris Lessing (87) has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature by the Swedish Academy for 2007, who was described as the “epicist of the female experience”, who with acepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny”. The prize carries a cash reward of 10 million Swedish Kronor (roughly $ 760,000). Ms Lessing is the 11th Woman awardee of Nobel prize and famous for her books “The Golden Notebook”. “Memoirs of a Survivor” and “Before the Dark”.