I even mused loudly in my earlier blog that i haven’t been seeing Tailor-bird for last many years and lo the Tailorbird lands just into my frame when i was focusing on vultures at Ramanagaram. It was such a pleasant surprise that it took me sometime to gather the fact it indeed is Tailorbird. A rufous cap and dark spots on sides of the neck –noticeable when puffed up-was enough, strident piercing calls and an erect tail confirmed it further that this little green bird is indeed the famous Tailorbird (though it doesn’t give any indication of its fame!!). They have a rather long and sharp bill for a reason; these adeptly used to sew the leaves that form cradle to its nest which is then filled with soft materials. Two big leaves could be sown or it could be cluster of smaller leaves. The thread used could be from cobweb or silk of cocoon or cotton, these are held by the beak and insertion is made into the leaf and a knot sees to it that doesn’t slip out...quite incredible..try doing that with your mouth next time!!
Tailorbirds are the kind of bird you will see if you are observant otherwise it will just hop away, and you wouldn’t even realise that you missed the opportunity of watching an amazing specimen of nature. So keep your eyes wide open you never know what you miss!
Arudra
I always wanted to come to Vishakhapatnam, have passed this place quite often (the railway station is one of the best), even this time too Vishakhapatnam was not on the itnery it so happened i am supposed to be go
ing Agartala but couldn’t get any reservation (tatkal is a scam) so slowly moving up city by city, on road, in general compartment and so on. The idea is to get down the city you fancy and spend some time and move on (i hope the money lasts). So here i was in Vishakhapatnam, very soon found myself on Beach road. It is a beautiful place ‘where every prospect pleases’, had ‘Apollo fish’-a spicy dollop spread on fried chilly (when Andhraite met God. God must have said ‘thou shall find salvation in chilly’, it’s fiery even by Kerala ‘kallu shop’ standards). I was quite upset not finding tandoori fish on the menu; I expect that on the beach. I always thought government-tourism dept- should take initiative in training chefs at the street level and help create menu for them. Some of these innovations and presentation doesn’t need much expense. I went for a walk and came across statues of luminaries (if Seemandara becomes a separate state Vishakhapatnam could be the Capital city), politician, social workers, poets, singers, even a muscle man –who it is claimed stopped the train engine with ‘single hand’!. Poets include Srirangam Srinivasa Rao, Puripanda Appla Swamy, Adivi Bapiraju, Arudra...must add here that statues are done well unlike shoddy work one come across these days. Now having seen the statues of these greats my next step was to find more about them...it is a shame that I didn’t know much...frankly my understanding of Telugu is rather limited (eastern Andhra had strong influence of Budhism, Telugu has similarities to Sinhala). Vishakhapatnam Public Library is a new building and does have some collection of books but no works of the above mentioned poets in English-I believe Sahitya Akademi could work closely with Public libraries across the country and provide. There should be Sahitya Akademi section in each library.
ing Agartala but couldn’t get any reservation (tatkal is a scam) so slowly moving up city by city, on road, in general compartment and so on. The idea is to get down the city you fancy and spend some time and move on (i hope the money lasts). So here i was in Vishakhapatnam, very soon found myself on Beach road. It is a beautiful place ‘where every prospect pleases’, had ‘Apollo fish’-a spicy dollop spread on fried chilly (when Andhraite met God. God must have said ‘thou shall find salvation in chilly’, it’s fiery even by Kerala ‘kallu shop’ standards). I was quite upset not finding tandoori fish on the menu; I expect that on the beach. I always thought government-tourism dept- should take initiative in training chefs at the street level and help create menu for them. Some of these innovations and presentation doesn’t need much expense. I went for a walk and came across statues of luminaries (if Seemandara becomes a separate state Vishakhapatnam could be the Capital city), politician, social workers, poets, singers, even a muscle man –who it is claimed stopped the train engine with ‘single hand’!. Poets include Srirangam Srinivasa Rao, Puripanda Appla Swamy, Adivi Bapiraju, Arudra...must add here that statues are done well unlike shoddy work one come across these days. Now having seen the statues of these greats my next step was to find more about them...it is a shame that I didn’t know much...frankly my understanding of Telugu is rather limited (eastern Andhra had strong influence of Budhism, Telugu has similarities to Sinhala). Vishakhapatnam Public Library is a new building and does have some collection of books but no works of the above mentioned poets in English-I believe Sahitya Akademi could work closely with Public libraries across the country and provide. There should be Sahitya Akademi section in each library.
So I was back in the Net, and thought of writing about Arudra (who was born in Vishakhapatnam, though couldn’t find much of his poems on the Net). Arudra, his real name was Bhagavatula Sadashiva Shankara Sastry (1925-1998) started his career as band boy in Airforce later he worked as editor of `Anandavani' magazine for two years. Joining the cine field in 1949, he wrote lyrics and dialogues for many films. He was a member of the Andhra Progressive Writers Association since 1943. While on other jobs, he pursued writing and published a number of books on varied literary subjects. A multifaceted personality he wrote poems, essays, short stories, dramas, translations, film songs, detective stories and a book on Chess. He also translated the Tamil treatise Tirukkural into Telugu.
Tvamevaaham written in 1948 is considered a masterpiece. It was based on violence and lawlessness during Razakar movement in Telangana. The Razakar atrocities were sponsored by the Nizam against his own people who wanted to overthrow him in favor of democracy and join the Indian Union. In this poem Death speak to a human "you and I are the same (tvamEvaahaM)". An imaginary sand clock and a water clock were used by the poet to depict time in Tvamevaham. The `hours' are a symbol of the rich and affluent, the `minutes' denote the attitude of the middle class and the `seconds' are likened to the mentality of the working class. A stop watch was depicted as an instrument to measure `revolution'. The `key' fanned revolution, while the `alarm' was a warning of the prevailing situation. First published in 1949, it has gone through five editions. This a writing by his daughter in her blog (http://lalitalarking.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html)
“My favourite part of the kaavyam is the section nimishaalu - Minutes. Written as a monologue, with acid unpunctuated prose commentary alternating with supposed free but tightly written verse, this section mirrors middle class mentality, the woes, aspirations and traps thereof. There is a rhythm to the monologue and the mutters of commentary that is achieved partly by eschewing punctuation and partly by the rhythm of spoken language itself. The leitmotif of 'mamu brOchuvaaru' and how it evolves, using images evoked by Carnatic kritis is masterly.
The Water Clock is one of the few segments that can be translated at all and that famous line is from here:
The Water Clock is one of the few segments that can be translated at all and that famous line is from here:
the train you intended to board
is always a lifetime late
unwilling to wait for ages
you board any that comes along
your luggage of ideals
is excess, will say the T.I.C.
trunk-loads of your hopes and desires
consigned to the brake van of dreams
the train will set off before
you can load all your baggage
so, leave some behind
with the heroes that you idolise
that train won't reach your destination
during your lifetime
bemoan in god's name
and stay put where you are.
Maybe one day I will have a go at translating the other sections, but TvamEvaaham should be read in Telugu and aloud, to experience it best”.
is always a lifetime late
unwilling to wait for ages
you board any that comes along
your luggage of ideals
is excess, will say the T.I.C.
trunk-loads of your hopes and desires
consigned to the brake van of dreams
the train will set off before
you can load all your baggage
so, leave some behind
with the heroes that you idolise
that train won't reach your destination
during your lifetime
bemoan in god's name
and stay put where you are.
Maybe one day I will have a go at translating the other sections, but TvamEvaaham should be read in Telugu and aloud, to experience it best”.
The other works of Arudra include: Gayalu-Geyalu (a collection of poems and lyrics), Arudra Naatikalu (collection of plays), Nenu Cheppanuga (short stories), Kondagali Thirigindi (collection of selected lyrics from the poet's 25 years of film career), Gurajada Gurupeetam (a study and evaluation of works of Gurajada Appa Rao) and Vemana Vedam (critical commentary on selected poems of Vemana). His lifelong research resulted in -- Samagra Andhra Saahithyam, history of Telugu literature in 13 volumes. One of the memorable occasions in Arudra's life was his 61st birthday celebrations held in Madras. His lyrics were sung by all the playback singers in a recital which lasted for two-and-half hours
Cricket match
To tell the truth, I cannot play cricket
Yet, for every match, I buy the ticket
Between Umrigar, Borde and Desai, I cannot tell the difference
Not even when I’m close by.
That’s why, when our team is fielding
I shout aloud, “Milka Singh”
He wears a turban and a beard
That’s how I remember him well.
