Ka Ra's 'Yagnam' is still relevant

What could be the last resort of a marginalised Dalit farmer, whose father is about to forego the family's last piece of land, the only means of livelihood, to clear the debt of a moneylender at the behest of the village panchayat? Deeply worried by the exploitative nature of the unjust lending system that forever keeps them in a debt-trap, he had warned his father against losing the land because it would push the next generation into poverty and subsequent slavery. What is the option left for the son Sitaramudu considering that his father Appalravudu's fervent plea for a reprieve fell on deaf ears of the panchayat?

Taking a pragmatic stock of the situation, we can imagine three instant options left for Sitaramudu to bail his family out of the distress: Borrowing money from relatives and friends to retain the land, requesting some for time to clear the debt or defying the diktat to take the issue to court for getting a fair deal.

Let us also take cognisance of the social setting in order to explore other possible alternatives for him. Given the influence of the peasants' armed struggle that started at Naxalbari and taking firm roots in Srikakulam, where his village is situated, the town-returned Sitaramudu could have mobilised fellow-victims to take up arms against the feudal and oligarchical panchayat and annihilate class enemies.

Instead, infuriated by the fact that his family's future will be bleak without the land, howsoever miniscule, Sitaramudu rushes home fuming and fretting, kills his son and brings the mutilated body to the panchayat in a gunny bag. He leaves everyone aghast with his reason for taking the extreme step: "Sirs, I worked like a slave as had my father. My son shouldn't be a slave (without land)... I went home and asked my son whether he would live like a slave or was willing to die. He preferred the latter and I killed him."

He announces that he is ready to go to the gallows, euphemistically declaring that landlessness is tantamount to lifelessness for lesser mortals.

This is the enigmatic climax of a magnum opus "Yagnam" penned by Kalipatnam Venkata Surya Ram Subrahmanyeswara Rao, aka KaRa Mastaru, in the primary stage of the Srikakulam peasant uprising (1967 to 1970), a watershed in the history of revolutionary armed struggles in the world. 'Yagnam', written in May 1964 and published two years later, is considered as one of the best short stories in Telugu literature. Kodavadaganti Kutumba Rao, the tallest of writers of the day, likened 'Yagnam' to the legendary writer Gurajada Appa Rao's 'Mee Peremiti?,' another timeless literary masterpiece.

KaRa Mastaru's enormous contribution to Telugu literature comes in the form of"Katha Nilayam," a treasure trove that took-off in 1997. The self-funded project collects and stores Telugu short stories published since 1920 along with the profiles of authors.

The soul-stirring 'Yagnam' had an indelible impact on the minds of readers and critics for more than five decades and its ghastly apogee is still a never-ending discussion point in literary circles.

The Sahitya Academy acknowledged that "it is very rare for a single story to attract so much discussion."Muppala Ranganayakamma, a prolific Marxist writer and critic, scrutinised various dimensions of 'Yagnam' and came up with a hard-hitting book. She has reservations about certain aspects of the story, including the climax. "Yagnam initiated a development debate in Telugu literature. It explains about how Nehruvian development model adversely impacted the downtrodden," accomplished writer Prof. Kethavarapu Katyayani Vidmahe observed.

Influenced by Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry, KaRa imbibed Marxist philosophy and used plots and characters to lay bare the inhuman practice of exploitation of farmers, workers and the marginalised sections.

'Yagnam' explains how rural poor, notably so-called lower castes, began to lose their land rights as well as identity in the new development paradigm. "The key point in 'Yagnam' is exploitation, which denied poor peasants an opportunity to 'own' property, howsoever small. The story shows how some classes of the village gained and why some lost in the practical implementation of the Five-Year plans meant for developing agriculture in rural areas," KaRa explained in an interview.

Though the story was written 57 years ago, the issues it raised hold good for the present times, and perhaps into the future. 'Yagnam' is a Hindu tradition evolved from offering oblations and libations into a sacred fire amid Vedic hymns with an aim to get specific results. The story is all about a dispute between a 70-year-old Appalravudu, a Harijan representative of the village Panchayat and Gopanna, a former moneylender, in a non-descript village Sundarapalem, situated 15-kilometres from Srikakulam on the Madras-Calcutta grand road, in 1962.

As the three-year grace period he had given has come to an end, Gopanna, approaches the village panchayat to get back Rs.2,000 (along with interest) that he had lent to Appalravudu for his agricultural activities. Both of them repose faith in the Panchayat president Sreeramulu Naidu, who discontinued law course in 1947 to serve his village.

A Gandhian, Sreeramulu Naidu is the one who transformed the face of Sundarapalem in 15 years by laying a road, constructing a school and hospital, instituting a library and ensuring electricity. The writer defines the development-propelling efforts of Sreeramulu Naidu as 'Yagnam' but it intrinsically hits the reader that a section of people or systems or institutions is reduced to ashes in the quest for progress.

The soul of 'Yagnam' indeed lies in the points raised by Appalravudu, an illiterate and hard-working honest peasant, at the fag-end of the Panchayat that was summoned to resolve the dispute between him and Gopanna. Every issue raised by the Dalit farmer fits into well-entrenched economic and development theories proposed and debated by academicians and experts.

Appalravudu explains how the six acres of land he inherited from his father 50 years ago has gradually came down to 2 acres 3 kuntas and how he was struggling to come out of the debt-trap.

"Farmers perpetually get into the vortex of debts from which they can't come out…Knowing pretty well that they are deceived, farmers relay on moneylenders….Our happy days were ruined with the introduction of commercial crops," he says, recalling the good old days of 1910s.

Even 74 years after India attained independence, ironically, the vortex of debt has been a nagging issue for Indian farmers. Scores of farmers ended their lives due to mounting debts and there is no respite in sight.

"Ippudu agriculture vallu vyavasaayam gurinchi janaalaku cheppinatle, saavukkarlu pejalaki nachhajeppavaru. (As agricultural department officials explain to people about agriculture now, merchants used to impress upon people the need to go for commercial crops)," he avers. The similar cajoling exercise is continuing unabated even now in the form of campaigns of agrochemical and agri biotechnology companies like Monsanto!

Appalravudu also laments, "When we wanted to sell our product, the rates were invariably less but when we wish to buy them, the costs are mind-boggling. Businessmen resort to a lot of tricks to deceive gullible farmers. When we questioned the injustice, businessmen used to claim that it was part of varthaka dharmam (business practice or ethics)." Alas, the same 'varthaka dharmam' of moneylenders and businessmen is still in vogue and the worst part is governments joining the bandwagon!

"Dharaleppudu padi yeppudu legisi potayo teliste baavunnanipinchinidi. kaanee raitodikeppudu avi telisi sachhevi kaavu (It will be good if we come to know when the prices go up or come down. Farmers never could figure that out). " This dialogue of Appalravudu still holds relevant considering loads of tomatoes and turmeric dumped by farmers roadside in the absence of appropriate price.

'Yagnam' highlights the prevalent caste system, the societal disadvantages of being downtrodden, the highhandedness of the dominant caste representatives, farmers gamble from assured traditional crops to risky commercial crops following the persuasion of profit-oriented merchants, the financial bankruptcies of castes like shepherds, the meteoric rise of small businessman running parallel to the downslide of small farmers, the collapse of small businessmen with the entry of big merchants, the destruction of menial jobs for the poor as a direct off-shoot of machines, the volatile prices of agricultural produce, the skyrocketing prices of commodities, and so on.

Each of these aspects continues to haunt a major chunk of today's population and the points raised during the ongoing farmers' agitation are the modern versions of the issues during Appalravudu's times. Ease of doing agriculture, the mainstay of India's economy, has been an ever more elusive!

Readers can appreciate the vision of KaRa when Appalravudu's relative prophesies: "Reppodduna dunnadaniki, oddupulaku, goppulaku, kotalaku, kodaa mesinlu raabotunnayi. Appudu choosukondi tadaakhaa (Machines are going to be used in all kinds of agricultural activities. Then imagine our fate)."The writer probably took a cue from the Green Revolution techniques and mechanisation of agriculture sector.

Appalravudu at a point observes that he was surprised to see how good was turning into bad (Babayya, manchannadi sabaraipovadam naakoo sitramgaane undi). Pearls of wisdom, indeed! The manual or labour-intensive works of yesterday are bulldozed by machine-driven technologies today at the cost of poor and marginalized. The newest technologies like Artificial Intelligence that are all set to further replace manual labour may always trouble the conscience of the likes of Appalravudu. The one question that keeps on troubling them: "is this the right kind of development?"

Explaining the ill-effects of the development paradigm in simple terms, Appalravudu also says: "kondari batukulu buggai…aa buggilelli marikondariki buvva…Yekkado tappundi. (Lives of some people are getting destroyed in flames while some are making a living from that very destruction…It is going wrong somewhere and something is amiss).

That is 'Yagnam' for you!

(The author, a PhD in Communication and Journalism, is a senior journalist, journalism educator and communication consultant)