INTRODUCTION

Srirangam Srinivas Rao (Sri Sri) needs no introduction to anyone who reads or writes or does both in Telugu language. Sri Sri was synonymous to the revolution that shook up Telugu poetry in many ways. Most of the latter day poets have come under Sri Sri’s influence at least once and they had to struggle to come out of it. Such is the magnetic power hidden in his poetry.

Sri Sri’s poetic diction was distinctive when compared to his contemporary poets, the tempo set in the poems was electrifying and the themes were somewhat offbeat than the most prevalent ones of that era. With all these divergent factors, Sri Sri stood apart from the others.

Though Sri Sri does not need introduction, his writings still survive as research topics. Several research papers, thesis, criticisms were written and are being written as well. Avakaaya.com is glad to share an insightful series on Sri Sri wherein his poems, film songs have been translated into English and some of the contemporary critics and writers have penned their views/opinions/observations about Sri Sri.

Dr. Kallury Syamala, retired faculty of Humanities Dept. at IIT, Delhi has put in an excellent effort to do the translations and also to compile the essays written on Sri Sri.

We extend our gratitude and sincere thanks to her for choosing Avakaaya.in to publish this literary work. We are sure that our esteemed readers will find this work as enticing and educating.

Editorial Team

Avakaaya.in

Download eBooks – Selections from Sri Sri

SELECTIONS FROM SRI SRI AND OTHER ESSAYS

COMPILED, TRANSLATED EDITED BY: DR. SYAMALA KALLURY

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT: DR. ADDEPLLI RAM MOHAN RAO

SRI SRI AND TELUGU POETRY AT HIS TIMES

The themes that Sri Sri chose, made him the champion of the downtrodden- “What matters most is not the palanquin the king rode on, but the people who carried the king in the palanquin! He also asked pertinent questions like “Who are the coolies that carried the stones while a Taj Mahal was being built?”

His concern was for the farmer who tilled the land, the factory worker who had to sweat it out in the kharkhanas. He became a role model for the generation of poets who followed him immediately after. 

The progressive movements that shaped the course of Telugu poetry were given their first impetus by Sri Sri’s school of thought. If Gurajada was the father of Modern Telugu poetry, Sri Sri was definitely seen as the architect who shaped and moulded the course of literary movements covering the entire century, a force behind all the progressive movements that Telugu literature witnessed during the 20^th century after the thirties.

It is said that while poets like Viswanatha and Krishna Sastry wrote with a subjective experience and imposed their sorrows on the world, Sri Sri took upon himself the burden of the sorrows of the world.

His poetry reflects his concern for the common man. Prior to the Mahaprasthanam period, Sri Sri was an ardent admirer of poets like Devulapalli and it cannot be denied that though he took to writing with a political ideology as the basis after the thirties he was basically a romantic at heart. The film songs that Sri Sri penned till the end of his life gave him ample scope to articulate his romantic fervour. 

In addition to Mahaprasthanam he published another collection of poems Khadgashrushti, which won the Soviet Land Nehru Award for poetry. Khadgashrishti, Creartions of the Sword, was a collection of poems written during 1940-45 but published only after 1965. 

SRI SRI’S POETRY FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

When one looks at the times of Sri Sri’s advent with a historical perspective, one has to point out here two of the most important landmark events that marked the beginning of the twentieth century.

One is the very well known and significant Spoken Word Movement in Andhra led by scholars like Sri Gidugu Srirama Murthy. His active and tireless efforts touring the whole of Andhra region advocating for the release of Telugu literature from the shackles of the highly Sanskritised diction and promoting the use of spoken dialect as a medium for creative expression, brought in a much needed paradigm shift in the writing of the times in Telugu. 

The second most important event was the advent of Gurajada on to the literary scene. In many ways Gurajada’s foot print is often referred to as the one that led the way. He, not only actively believed in the spoken word as literary medium as advocated by Gidugu Ramamurthy, but was also one of the leading figures who spearheaded the social reform movements like abolition of child marriages and widow remarriages. His well known literary compositions the poem Puttadibomma, Purnamma and the play Kanyasulkam stand testimony to this. 

However, though Gurajada’s was the first voice of modernity, immediately after Gurazada there emerged a group of strong voices whose poetry represented an altogether new trend in literature. The new influences cast by familiarisation with English literature, especially the great romantics of English poetry, the award of first Nobel Prize to Asia and the emergence of Tagore as a major influence in all the Indian literatures changed the course of poetry in Telugu. A strong subjective element dominated the poetry for almost half a century. 

These were the predecessors of Sri Sri who were his first major influences before he turned to Marxism. Thus, in addition to Sri Sri, Viswanatha Satyanarayana and  Devulapalli Venkata Krishna Sastry, who preceded Sri Sri and Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak who wrote just after Sri Sri are often cited as some of the others who made their mark in Telugu Poetry in 20^th century. 

THE DISTINCTIVE LITERARY VOICES DURING SRI SRI’S TIME

Each of them had a distinctive voice of his own, Viswanatha believed in the Sanathana Dharma of the Hindu religion and wrote extensively and effectively on his beliefs. He was awarded the renowned Jnanapeeth award for his epic Ramayana Kalpavriksham. This was the first Jnanapeeth for a Telugu poet. 

Krishna Sastry was perceived as a poet of the Gandharva world for his highly aesthetic and refined romantic poetry. Urvasi was the divine nymph who was the heroine of his dreams and many of his generation were swept of their feet by his romantic outbursts in poetry. He wrote on love, separation and resultant sorrows.

Apart from the themes, Krishna Sastry’s poetry was known for its aesthetic grandeur and sublime poetic sensibility marked by extreme subjectivism. It was referred to as ‘atmashraya  poetry’ by the critics of the day. The oneness that the poet felt with his inner sensibilities was so absorbing that the lovers of poetry easily identified themselves with his passionate poetry which also displayed an extreme refinement in diction. 

There are others like Addepalli, Endluri, Jayaprabha, and Hymavati who have been writing with commitment to one school of thought or other and maintaining literary aesthetics at the same time. Sri Sri too, like many of his time, was carried away by this romantic whirlwind. But then he made a conscious effort to break away from this tradition and this called for an extraordinary quest for an alternative and the effort resulted in his lifelong passion and dedication for poetry for common man.

His long monologue poem dedicated to his muse Kavita! O, Kavita reflects his struggles to identify a distinct voice of his own. The poem talked of the search, the heartaches, and the breakup caused in his poem Kavita! O Kavita. 

Sri Sri took advantage of the monotony of the stereotyped poetry that was prevalent and while his language still remained highly Sanskritised, his purpose of writing set a new paradigm. He started writing for the common man.

SRI SRI’S THEMES

His themes were not the sweethearts of the imaginary world but the workers and farmers who toiled day and night for fulfilling the bare necessities of life. He thus started a new trend in poetry and how his poetry changed the tenor of writing is something that needs to be re-examined. His times not only demanded his breaking away from the established poetic traditions, but also demanded of him an equally passionate belief which can replace the powerful trends that dominated the era. 

Sri Sri successfully created through his search a viable and equally powerful alternative for the existing and dominant poetic trends of  contemporary Andhra. Thus historically Sri Sri forms a bridge between the classical and romantic trends represented by poets like Viswanatha and Krishna Sastry; and progressive trends represented by the Dalit and feminists writers of the later eighties. He spearheaded the revolutionary movements of the in-between seventies.

However, today in literary circles it is widely believed with full justification that Sri Sri who advocated progressive thought in every sphere was strangely silent about feminist movement which began to take shape during that time. 

While he had within him the heart and the passion of a romantic, the language and the imagery were drawn from the traditional world which he rejected in his themes. Some of his well known poems on a lost traveler, an old woman reveal his intense identification with the plight of the people who form the core of his concern.

The humanism that latter day Telugu poetry reflects, finds its seeds in these concerns. Sri Sri is thus a fountainhead whose poetry contained most of the modern trends the 20^th century Telugu poetry witnessed after the 40s. 

In a way this falls in line with the contemporary literary trends in the rest of India. Many poets in the Indian subcontinent were influenced by the Progressive Writers Association which made its mark during the first half of the 20^th century.

PROGRESSIVE WRITERS ASSOCIATION

A group of young intellectuals started this movement with the aim of addressing the needs of the common man in the context of the changing political, economic and social conditions. They believed such a concern for the societal needs expressed through art and literature can shape a nation in its formative years and guide its destiny through a progressive path.

Spearheaded by English poets like Stephen Spender and  W.H Auden it was successful in generating vibrant debates in cultural and literary circles of the times. Initially Indian writers who chose to write in English, writers like Mulk Raj Anand, Jyoti Ghosh, Pramod Sen Gupta and M.D. Tasir, taking advantage of his stay in England where this association held its first meetings, brought the debates and introduced the ideas of the Progressive Writers association in Indian literary circles. 

This movement was not just witnessed by Urdu literature alone though it was one of main languages which was benefited by it, but many other Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu literatures as well charted their future course of writing. 

The draft of the manifesto of the Progressive Writers Association (PWA) was first formulated in London’s Denmark Street in 1935 and was later circulated in Indian literary circles in England and India and amongst both Indian English writers and the writers of Indian languages.

Undoubtedly it shaped the future of Indian literature as well as Indian writing in English. The manifesto talked mainly of six resolutions, namely, to establish writers associations in various Indian literatures, to initiate steps to publish magazines and hold conferences in collaboration with other organisations to develop cooperation between various literary organisations of varying ideologies, to work for the acceptance of a common link language across the country, to protect the rights of the writers and to assist them in publishing their work and finally, to work for freedom of expression. 

In more ways than one, PWA had close similarities with Marxist literary movements across the globe and its concerns emanated from the socio-economic depressions caused by First World War and the rise of capitalist economies and the resultant rise of Communism in the global scenario. It was for this reason many writers stayed away from this movement as they saw it as a protest movement. 

In Telugu literature while one can definitely assert that Sri Sri was familiar with the progressive movements that were sweeping India and the world there were many others who did not join this movement both in Hindi and in other Indian literatures. Though towards the end of his literary life Sri Sri claimed that he was not familiar with Marxism as socialist ideology at the time of writing Mahaprasthanam the contemporary events thus tell us a different story. 

He was widely read and appreciated due to the sheer novelty of his themes, his extraordinary sense of rhythm and his command over his literary heritage and language of his land. If there were hundred people who read him there were hundred others who were wary of his ideas.

His poetry did not give him his daily bread too. Like many writers of his times, who were members of PWA, turned to writing for films for survival; Sri Sri too started writing lyrics for films. That kept him in the public domain as a poet constantly, though what he wrote for film was not akin to his avowed political ideology.

There was criticism against him that a poet who promised to usher in a whole new world by bringing down the heaven bound chariot wheels of Lord Jagannatha to earth, forgot his dream and started singing laurels for a heroine who sleeps in his heart and provokes him in his dreams. 

There were others too in PWA who resorted to writing for films for survival. The industry gave them the daily bread and poet Gulzar in Hindi cinema, unlike Sri Sri, continued to bring literary anthologies even after entering Bollywood as a lyricist and director. Sri Sri never turned to any other form of creativity other than writing songs in films. And he did not write anything as spectacular as Mahaprasthanam after entering the cinema industry.  

Some of his Mahaprasthanam poems were also used in films like Jayabheri, Aakali Rajyam and Pratighatana. He also wrote lyrics for Alluri Sitarama Raju based on the life of the well known revolutionary of the Manyam region who challenged the might of the British. The songs have an inspirational and nationalist fervor and it is easy to get carried away by the reformatory and revolutionary zeal of his poetry.

Sri Sri like many of his generation started writing for cinema purely for survival and his film songs too were marked for his unusual lyrical quality. Even the most popular one he wrote for the film Araadhana which euthe heroine of the hero’s dreams, stood the test of time and is fondly remembered even today though in theme imagery and language it is quite uncharacteristic of Sri Sri to pen such a song.

The love who sleeps in his heart and who eulogised challenges him in his dreams thus mesmerizes the lovers of music even today. Sri Sri’s hold on public imagination continued to charm the Telugu poetry lovers because of his entry into cinema field.  

SRI SRI IN POPULAR CULTURE

It is not out of place here to go briefly into Sri Sri’s journey into the world of popular culture.

Though as a poet, Sri Sri mainly focussed on writing poetry based on his passion for poetry for common man, in cinema world Sri Sri exhibited a tremendous versatility and genius in writing lyrics for a variety of themes, situations, and scenes. It is easy to believe that his innate romantic fervour must have found expression while he was writing songs for films.

The contemporary literary critics however did not appreciate his shift to writing lyrics for films. Though some of his Mahaprasthanam poems were used in films, at times verbatim, in movies like Aakali Rajyam and Swarajyam (Nenu saitam– I too contributed), Palleturu, (polaalananni halaaladunni-after the fields are run through with  ploughs), Kanyasulkam (aanandam arnavamaite – if happiness is a canyon).

In films like Padandi Mumduku Ranabheri (Maroprapancham The other world) and Ummadi bratukulu (Sramaika jeevana – beauty of labour) one finds the textual changes in the old songs probably done to suit the needs of cinema.  

In addition to these, he wrote memorable lyrics for family-oriented movies like Todi-kodallu, Co-sisters in law (naluguru kalisi panichestumte, if people work together); Bhaagyadevatha, Goddess of Fortune (madini haayi ninde -my heart is filled with comfort); Abhimaanam, Affection (tallini mimchina daivam-not all, No God greater than mother) and so on. Maangalya balam, the power of marriage thread, Iddaru mitrulu, Two friends, are some of the other family-oriented movies.  

His songs for mythological movies include Nartanashaala, The Dance Hall; Krishnatulabhaaram Weighing Krishna and nationalist songs appeared in historical films like Alluru Seetharamaraju (Teluguveera, levaraa!, Teluguwarrior, arise!); Pettandarlu, Feudal Lords and Bobbili Yuddam, The War at Bobbili.

SRI SRI AND FREEDOM MOVEMENT

The poet who was never a part of the ongoing freedom movement or who never claimed any allegiance to Gandhian thought  penned songs like Ahimsaye ayudhamu, satyagrahame saadhanamu, Ramarajyame asayamu (non violence is the weapon, satyagraha is the way and ramaraajya is the goal) and one whose addiction to alcohol claimed his health in his later life preached kallu maanamdoyi baabayya, kallu terichi saagiraarandi baabayya (Give up the drink fathers, open your eyes and march forward in life, fathers). 

A LIFE OF DUALITIES

One can only say Sri Sri’s life was an example of the dualities of life which he was constantly writing about in poetry. Whatever the compulsions behind writing these innumerable songs for films, it adds value to the corpus of Sri Sri’s literary writings.

The centenary year, celebrated in 2010, brought out every single facet of his literary life including film lyrics. Special mention should be made of one non-film song O Mahatma! O Maharshi a beautiful poem which effectively brings out through brilliant contrasting images dualities that surround the man in this world full of conflicts.  

SRI SRI AND LITERARY MOVEMENTS

In late sixties and seventies Sri Sri guided the literary movements by giving his moral and vocal support to Digambara poets and the revolutionary poets. Many a time, as he grew older there were a number of people who used his name to be recognized as poets.

He had another collection of poems named Khadgashrishti which cannot be described as a match to his first collection of poems. As mentioned before, he engaged himself in encouraging young poets and was instrumental in the birth of movements like the ‘Digambara Movement and ‘Revolutionary Writers movement’ in Andhra Pradesh during the 70s.

Many young poets dreamed of writing like Sri Sri with his inspiration. In this context Sri Sri’s era can be described as one of the most defining moment for Telugu poetry during the 20^th century.

SRI SRI AND A.I.R. (ALL INDIA RADIO)

In addition to poetry he also wrote a number of radio plays Vidushakuni Atmahatya being the most notable one, A Comedian’s Suicide.

All his letters and other prose writings too were compiled and republished by the shashtyabdipurti (60^th birth day celebrations committee) committee. Vi ra sam (Viplava Rachayitala Sangham) the revolutionary writers’ association also published the poet’s complete works.

Not many people are aware of his writings other than poetry. However one should have no hesitation in saying that poetry was his first love and his beloved muse. One ardent admirer of Sri Sri, Mr. P Ashok Kumar plans to bring out a hundred volumes of and on Sri Sri out of which forty have so far released.

There is a relook at his writing with the celebration of his birth centenary and as many thinkers and academician paid tributes  and called his poetic genius there was also a new insight into his poetry as the historic distance provided the necessary objectivity in way his work and times are thus far perceived.

It can be observed that the aesthetic structures created by Sri Sri still stand erect even after the collapse of his political ideology. It in a way reasserts the poet’s faith in poetry as his most beloved muse who gave sense and direction to his writings. His uncompromising and unconditional prioritization of aesthetic values over the political philosophy is the reason for his poetry standing the test of time. He never compromised on these literary values though he used his poetry as a vehicle to communicate his belief in Marxist philosophy. 

SRI SRI AND MARXIST IDEOLOGY

During his life time Sri Sri never admitted that his poetry was written consciously to communicate his belief in Marxist ideology. In fact in the introduction to his reading of Mahaprasthanam for Videsaandhra Prachuranalu he clearly stated that in those days he was not aware that there was something called Marxist philosophy.

On hind sight one might find it hard to believe that his poetry is not an outcome of a conscious socialist thought. While his first collection paved the way for a new poetics, it continues to influence the literary tastes of the youth even now. It is fitting here to recall the introduction that a contemporary like Gudipati Venkata Chalam wrote for Sri Sri’s Mahaprasthanam.

Like Sri Sri Chalam was also a radical thinker and revolutionary writer. He was known more for his radical writings on women’s liberation and caste hierarchies in Hindu society. An atheist to the core, he began writing vehemently criticizing the superstitions in and around him but during the later part of his life be became an ardent believer in the spiritual greatness of the well known south Indian saint Ramana Maharshi and spent his life in the ashram of the guru in Arunachala hills.

He wrote the introduction for Mahaprasthanam which was called  a ‘certificate of merit’. It was as critically acclaimed as the Mahaprasthanam itself, if not more. At one time Sri Sri believed that it was mistake to ask Chalam to write an introduction to his first collection of poems. Sri Sri felt that the foreward has attracted more critical attention than his work . 

SRI SRI AND CHALAM

What is it then that Chalam said about Sri Sri that merits the title ‘The Certificate of  Merit?’

According to him he was alerted to the impact of Sri Sri’s poetry by another poet, “when the whole world is swept off its old dust by the new wave poetry of Sri Sri, what are you doing here in this dark corner, pining for women?” Till then Chalam was unaware of Sri Sri’s poetry, an unforgivable crime indeed!

He read the poetry and loved it for its straight forward thought and vehemence. This poetry was variously defined by Chalam as ‘a battle cry that a poet makes till he achieves a compromise between his inner self and the world around him’, ‘With blood and tears Sri Sri’s created his new poetry as a tonic to the ailments of the world’. ‘The poems are the streams of blood flowing directly from the poet’s heart to those of the readers’.

Like Chalam, Sri Sri was humane, and believed in atheism during the early part of his life. Like Sri Sri Chalam abhorred the caste discriminations.

One thing that Chalam had and Sri Sri did not have was his sensitivity for women’s suffering.

Similarly one thing that Sri Sri wrote constantly and Chalam was silent about was the socialist dream of  classless society and the a faith in the assertion of the proletariat. Yet, if one reads Chalam’s certificate of merit one is immediately drawn to the many inspiring qualities of Sri Sri’s poetry highlighted by Chalam.

It is widely believed and once admitted by the poet himself that at one time Sri Sri was even jealous of the popularity of Chalam’s introduction and was worried that it would surpass even the merit of his poetry and it could perhaps be the reason that in the later addition of the Mahaprasthanam this preface was not included.

One should read it also to know and recognize how the poet’s of Sri Sri’s generation read one another and had no hesitation in appreciating the merit of a contemporary poet which a disappearing quality in today’s literary circles.

SRI SRI – A CLASS APART

Many poets and critics who followed Sri Sri believed that in order to appreciate Sri Sri they should condemn the poetry of his contemporaries like Devulapalli and Viswanatha.  However, there is no doubt that Sri Sri stands out as a stalwart amongst his contemporaries because of his courage to chart out a distinct path to himself and by the  courageous way he stood for his convictions that poetry should address the concerns of the common man.

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