EDITORIAL –September 02
A PORTRAYAL OF TELUGU WOMAN
IN HISTORY AND FICTION
The theme for this issue is the finer elements in a characterization. You can see that the incidents in these stories are not earthshaking. They just bring out the individual characters in bold relief. Put the characters together, we have a cross-section of Telugu family.
I grew up with the stories of Ravi Sastry garu. Racakonda Viswanatha Sastry (well-known as Ra.Vi. Sastry) (1922-1996) was a decade and a half older than I. We were living on the same street. I used to watch him everyday go to court in a rickshaw past my home and flatter myself that I knew a great writer! I know it sounds silly but that was the kind of respect I developed for him and his stories.
Marigolds are the national flower of Telugu people. They are easy to grow, often they grow on their own and quite an eyeful to view. The story in “Marigolds” is a very ordinary event- growing marigolds. Sastry takes this ordinary event and showcases the class distinction. The persons in the main house, the owners dictate the terms and the persons in the outhouse, the tenants and also from lower middle class, are required to acccept them. It is just as simple as that. I am not going into the details here. You will find the finesse of Sastry’s talent as you read the story. As one of my friends put it, Sastry chisels each and every word with the precision of a scultor.
The story, “Vultures” by Vasireddy Sitadevi portrays two women from modern times. Janaki, an educated woman from a middle class family shouldering the family responsibilities represents the the flip side of educated woman’s position in modern society. This is one of the topics prominently featured in their fiction by the 1960s female writers. The second woman Zarina represents the woman who misuses the freedom to step outside and into the world. She uses her freedom to feed on vulnerable women. Zarina makes us wonder if the Indian women have not progressed and, if they did, in which direction?
“Moments Before ...” delineates a strong female character from the royalty. The story throws light for non-native speakers on the intricacies of interpersonal relationships in Indian heirarchy. Mallamma, a queen, and the messenger, Venkaya address each other, sometimes befitting their social status, and sometimes, he as an older brother and protector, and she as the younger sister and accepting his status as the protector. Please see the critique of Satya Pappu in the Reader’s Forum.
Historically the story belonged to the mid-18th century. The incident narrated in the story follows the famous “Bobbili yuddham” fought in 1757 by the prince Venkata Ranga Rao of Bobbili and prince Vijaya Rama Rao of Vijayanagaram, backed by the French troops. After the prince Rangarao of Bobbili lost the battle, he sent his envoy, Venkaya to kill the queen, Mallamma, the customary way of protecting her honor. The fully-charged questions queen Mallamma raises with the envoy reflect the way women felt at the time. Subrahmanya Sastry, by using a contemporary imagery in the title, boarding the plane, converted the theme to modern times. In all probability Subrahmanya Sastry is raising the questions on behalf of all the women.
Tulasi’s story portrays the pride or self-esteem a Telugu woman evinces in her demeanor. The title in Telugu, “hundaa” is hard to translate. It includes all the shades of self-esteem, pride, class, confidence, and discipline.
The smart older sister uses her intelligence and energies to help her siblings to get education and in to higher strata of the society. What she has earned in the process equals nothing to the success of those siblings’ accomplishments in the material world. However she would not exchange what she has earned for anything. Was she right in doing so?--is a question we have to ask ourselves.
My story “jeevana maadhuryam” (in Telugu in e-Telugu Patrika) takes a step further. While “hundaa” displays the enormous fortitude of the woman, “jeevana maadhuryam” addresses the complexities that arise out of such display of one’s individuality.
The two non-fiction articles: Saipadma, a physically disabled, young woman from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, is working towards making the world a better place for the disabled and for all of us. She has degrees in Commerce, Law and working toward a third, a degree in Accounting. You will have to read her article to see her high spirits.
My article tracing the history of female writing in the past eleven centuries adds to the character portrayal in these five articles. Having said that, I must ask myself, would these stories hold if the characters were replaced with males?
I came across an autobiographical essay of Battula Kamakshamma garu (b. 1886- ) while researching for another paper. I was taken in as much by her candid portrayal of herself and the social conditions of her time as her fortitude, determination and courage to bring about change. It is significant in that she represents the changing times during and immediately after Veeresalingam period. See my article on female writers in this issue for further explanation. I could not publish the translation but I strongly urge Telugu readers to read this short 4-page article. The original article, smruthulu, anubhavamulu in Telugu was published in Yugapurushudu: Veeresalingam published by Kandukuri Veeresalingam Smarakostavamula Sangham, Hyderabad, probably in the late 1950s.
For those of you who are not familiar with the times here is a brief note: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kandukuri Veeresalingam had launched several movements, and the women’s movement was the dominant one. With unprecedented dynamism, he set out to initiate programs for women’s education, widow remarriage, and eradication of prostitution. Battula Kamakshamma was a young teen widow during the last two decades of Veeresalingam’s lifespan. In that sense, I could see her as a link representing the social changes that were taking place at the time. Her fortitude, determination and enthusiasm come through in her article against the backdrop of her seeming conformation to family values. I could visualize her as one definitive Telugu female character. In the same spirit, I am presenting a short historical perspective of female writers from the 11th through mid-20th centuries.
Please post your views, comments, stories on thulikan@thulika.net.
Malathi
August 2002.
