Warriors of words

The Telangana movement across decades spawned innumerable poets, who worked to translate the battle discourse for the masses. And now it is time for a new mission - development of the Telangana language and literature, poetry and policy for posterity

Poetry is the lava that surges when the volcano has something to say. Poets are the chariots for words to rise and charge forward. Poetry is the flower that blooms when the buds can no longer contain their dormant emotions.

History is witness to the fact that it is poets as much as soldiers who won wars for a nation. In Telangana, three years ago, one such battle was won. A historical battle that changed not just geographical and political outline of a region but also its social, cultural, and literary landscape.

The Telangana movement rode to its culmination on the million verses that were suffused with anger, resolve, inspiration and stimulation. The last leg of the battle that began decades ago was carried on their shoulders as much by political leaders and activists as poets and artistes.

Gaddar, the renowned balladeer, gave the signature line for the battle with his legendary song “Podustuna poddu meeda nadustuna kaalama, poru telanganama (Time that walks on the edge of a new dawn, my embattled Telangana). Dozens of other poets added the might of their pen and the acid of their words to the musical, lyrical, literal saga that was the separate Telangana movement.

But, as such, Telangana has a rich history of literary achievements. The epic poem Sri Madbhagavatam was penned by the saintly Bammera Pothana, a poet of Telangana region. Palkuriki Somanatha Kavi, a poet of the 13th Century, was a pioneer in writing poetry in pure Telugu without any influence from classical languages such as Sanskrit or from any other region. Vemulawada Bheema Kavi’s Shataka poetry is popular to this day.

In fact, there were many poets in the Telangana region even in the pre-Nannayya era. Suravaram Pratapa Reddy had compiled a list of 354 Telangana poets under the title "Golconda Kavulu" to prove that Telangana had a rich history of literature and poetry. But disturbed by the low literacy levels of people in general in the region, he had started the Golconda bi-weekly which was started with the express aim of developing the Telugu language in Telangana.

"There's a slight change in the way poetry was generated at the time of the earlier movements in Telangana and the last one," says Dr Rajeswara Ankala, a historian who specialises in Udyama Sahityam (literature pertaining to Movements).

"While the earlier movements had a fight against the Muslim and British rulers and the atrocities of the Razakars, the latest movement has come to be more refined as K Chandrasekhar Rao took Muslims into the fold and made Hyderabad also part of the larger agenda. That is why we don't see traces of an emotion that was prominent in, say, Kaloji's poetry in the 1960s."

While Dasaradhi Krishnamacharylu, Dr C Narayana Reddy, Kaloji Narayana Rao, Vanamaamalai Varadacharyulu, Vemuganti Narasimhacharylu, Kovela Suprasannacharyulu et al constituted the earlier band of poets whose brilliant songs were vehicles for messages and motivational spirit and served as a clarion call to the masses of Telangana who needed a language to articulate their angst and also to become a part of the mainstream discourse.

Dasaradhi's memorable lines 'Naa Telangana Koti Ratanala Veena' is one of the most quoted lines in the region. He wrote "It gave a song to a crore brothers whose voice was silenced; it gave them poetry and might to my pen. My Telangana is a Veena that shines with a crore gems." Indeed, a song was the fuel that fired the hearts of Telanganaites.

"Poetry was converted into a literary tool towards the achievement of their own State. Every aspect of the movement was channelised into a lyrical channel. For example, look at how inspiring the traditional Batukamma songs became when they have been given a movement flavour," points out Sudhama, poet and litterateur.

"And in the last three years, the focus of even the language cultivators shifted from decrying the denigration of their language in the erstwhile State to an agenda to develop Telangana regional literature."
The State bifurcation had many factors including external ones such as globalisation and liberalisation apart from the regional sentiment, but a gradual fading of focus on Telugu language and Telugu as medium of instruction also contributed, literary historians, feel.

"There are not as many students studying Telugu literature today. And the language itself is taking a backseat when compared to other languages. Therefore, though the pitch for a separate State was on a linguistic basis, how well the language is doing is something that needs serious analysis," says a poet.

The movement saw the resurgence of poets such as Gaddar, Suddala Ashok Teja, Srinivas Deshapathi, Goreti Venkanna, Andesri, A Surya Prakash, Ammangi Venu Gopal, Amphashayya Naveen, Mahjabeen, Mamidi Harikrishna, Jupaka Subhadra, Inampudi Srilaxmi and others. There were others who have been continuously writing but maintained a low profile such as Vaddepalli Krishna and Choppagantla Chandramouli. Inampudi Srilaxmi, in fact, brought out a massive volume of biographies of poets in Telangana of today and yesterday.

"Telangana dialect is actually the purest form. Most fundamental Telugu words have all emerged from Telangana. The influence of Sanskrit has been minimised and Telangana has become the route through which even words from other languages found their place in Telugu," says Sudhama.

In fact, Hyderabad itself has a rich history of rulers with literary prowess with kings like Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah, Ibrahim Quli and poets such as Kancharla Gopanna (Ramadasu) and Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Suddala Hanumanthu, Waheed Akhtar et al.

As the State celebrates three years of its existence, the Chief Minister has announced many measures for development of Telugu language, including setting up of a Telangana Sahitya Akademi, plans to conduct World Telugu Conference, etc.

"Our idea is to bring to light the thousands of words that were buried over the time, the wonderful proverbs and the many idioms of Telangana," says Nandini Sidhareddy, Chairman of Telangana Sahitya Akademi. He admits that there is a threat from external influences to the language and emphasises on achieving a consonance between the spoken, colloquial word and the literary language.

It is time for Telangana poetry to overcome the many hurdles and become more wide-based. Sudhama says, "There has to be a comprehensive Telangana dictionary. For a clear cut Telangana language policy to be defined. The Telangana Sahitya Akademi’s mandate should be spelt out and the Akademi given all resources and powers necessary for it to fulfil that mandate. It is time for conflict to fade and coordination to emerge so that there is an extensive development of the language as a whole."

More poets must emerge, more words must flow. More poems must blossom in the literary garden. There should be awards and rewards, new additions to the Telangana curriculum to augment study and research in Telangana Telugu, say lovers of the language. And as the Chief Minister, himself a scholar and patron of language, takes more measures for the promotion and development of the language, Telangana stands on the threshold of yet another glorious literary journey.

By: Usha Turaga-Revelli