Pothana's statue cries for attention

Warangal: Alas! The statue of Bommera Pothana, the saint composer, who translated Sanskrit epic Srimad Bhagavatham into Telugu, besides penning many a great work such as Bhogini Dhandakam, which was removed almost nine months ago from the Adalath intersection, is still languishing on the premises of education department.

There were times, of course prior to Andhra Pradesh bifurcation, when people of Andhra and Telangana divided over the legacy and nativity of Pothana. It may be recalled here that Telangana protagonists including poets and writers made a strong case that Pothana, who believed to have lived between 1450 and 1510, had indeed hailed from Bommera village in the erstwhile Warangal district, 130 kilometres northeast of Hyderabad.

That was past. Last year, the city planning officials removed the saint poet's statue located on the left hand side of the roundabout towards Hunter Road to carry the construction work of a drain duct. Apart from Pothana's, the authorities also removed the life-size statue of Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao located opposite Nakkalagutta SBI branch, which now is known as Kaloji Junction.

The incidents then drew a lot of clamour from the poets, writers and literary connoisseurs of the city. The authorities then promised to reinstall both the statues. However, the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) which reinstalled the statue of Kaloji, ignored Pothana's.

Since then the statue is languishing on the premises of Warangal district education office. Speaking to The Hans India, Pothana Vijnana Peetham secretary Namilikonda Balakishan Rao said: "It's a huge humiliation to a poet who is regarded as the most natural poet whose skilful use of alankaras (ornamentation of

words). It's high time that civic body shrug of negligence and reinstall the statue where it was." Warangal Rachayitala Sangham (Warasam) president and general secretary Nallella Rajaiah and Dandre Rajamouli criticised the authorities for orphaning the statue. They said that the statue was not even covered,