A Word from Me 9
April 2009
Lately, I have not been able to post new stories and articles regularly on this site. Part of the reason
is I am running out of stories to translate. Not that there are no good Telugu stories to translate. The
problem is the accessibility to the stories and contact information of original authors. A second
reason is my Telugu blog. I started my Telugu blog, http://teluguthulika.wordpress.com in December
2007. The blog has been a bigger success than I could ever imagine which made me spend more
time on my stories and articles in Telugu.
Nevertheless, I assure you this site, thulika.net, is my first love and I will continue to work on this to
the best of my abilities.
The two stories uploaded today are from two highly reputed writers of the previous generations. The
story, “Waiting for Bhagavantam,” by Tripura reminded me of “Waiting for Godot,” by Samuel
Beckett. Like in Beckett’s play, the protagonist in “Waiting for Bhagavantam” reflects on his life and
the people around him while waiting for a person called Bhagavantam. The author’s style is mystical
as appropriate for this kind of theme. The questions, “Who is this Bhagavantam?” and “Why the
narrator is anxious to meet him?” are left to the reader’s imagination, thus opening a wide arena for
discussion.
In regard to the author's intention, I received the following message from him:
"The title of Becket's Play indeed fascinated me but the story had nothing to do with the play itself. It
was written long ago but I remember to have written it with no definite purpose in my mind, and that
it ran on its own steam stoked by a few images stored in my mind over a period of time. There is no
message of any sort, and if someone finds in it a message, it must be that all messages can only be
puerile and are available at a dime-a-dozen price. " (Email from JAYANTHI FAROOQI, dated 24 April
2009.)
The second story, “A Creator,” illustrates the sad state of affairs for a carpenter, Gangayya, who is
highly skillful in creating beautiful furniture. The original title, viswakarma, refers to the caste of wood-
workers who take pride in their work. The author succeeds in depicting the protagonist’s mental
anguish as he is forced to accept a job outside his calling in exchange for a morsel of food. The
author’s respect for Gangayya’s profession underscores the final question “What is death to a
creator?” Once a creator, always a creator, he says.
For those who are interested in my Telugu stories, please, visit my blog, http://tethulika.wordpress.
com, or click on the image in the right column.
Thanks for your continued support,
Malathi Nidadavolu
23 April 2009