JOSHUVA’S POETRY: A SUBALTERN STUDY
M. R. C. Mohan Rao
At a time
Subaltern literature is making waves in the world of literary creations, it
would be rewarding to recall the poetry of the Telugu Poet, Gurram Joshuva, the
recipient of Padmabhushan (1970) from the Government of India.
To study
Joshuva’s poetry is to stand inside society as it has the sociological
component. It is not a verbal marvel of devalaya poetry or composition, which
arose from the impact of an aesthetic moment or mystic state, but poetry of
human experience. Joshuva’s poetry is a document on the predicament of
Subaltern classes, dalits and women. Dalits and, women in India form the
Subaltern classes who are subjected to the hegemony of Hindu Social order. He
says that caste, untouchability- bound social relationship is what weakened
Hindu society and enslaved Mother India. He wanted to make every man and woman
free from the thraldom of Shastras and to cleanse their minds of pernicious
notions imbibed in them over the ages. With all his bitterness towards the
caste system he never tried to antagonize other castes but only tried to reform
and integrate Hindu society with his powerful poetry. Joshuva’s poetry creates
a purgatory effect on the readers.
Joshuva was
born on September 28, 1895 in a small village, Vinukonda, in Guntur District,
Andhra Pradesh. The Caste foundation of his life forms the philosophical
foundation for the castle of his poetry. He held his pen as a weapon against
the social evils and enriched Telugu poetry with his lyrics scaling the heights
of universal humanism. He wrote many books. “Muntaj Mahal”. “Firadausi,” and
“Gabbilam,” are among his masterpieces.
“Gabbilam”
written by Joshuva is hailed as the epic of dalits in Telugu literature. In
“Gabbilam” (The nocturnal animal, BAT), one can hear the heartbeats of the
people who are perpetually condemned to live without rights and respect. It is
the voice of the mute and submissive human sector, who for no fault of theirs, are
deprived of the fruits of their labour, by the superimposition of caste in
their existence. Gabbilam is modeled after Kalidas “Meghadutam”(Cloud
Messenger). The difference between the two is Kalidasa’s hero is an angel in
love and Joshuva’s hero is a hungry cobbler. Kalidasa’s messenger is a superior
breed “cloud” while Jashuva’s messenger is a black and ugly nocturnal bird
“bat” (Gabbilam). The bat is considered a bad omen and can therefore relate to
the plight of the untouchables. Joshuva’s hero, the hungry cobbler,
makes “Gabbilam” as his messenger to God, to convey misery and indignity heaped
upon him by his fellow- countrymen. He makes a poignant plea to the bat in the
following way (translated English version of the Telugu poem by Sri. K. Madhava
Rao, former Chief Secretary of A.P)
“When you are hanging upside down in the temple
Quite close you will be to Siva’s ear
Narrate the story of my suffering to God
Making sure that no priest is around”.
The
significant turn in the poem is that he pleads with the bat (the nocturnal
being) not to convey his feelings to God in the presence of a Pujari
(Priest). The priest, in case of dalits, is an impregnable barrier and diverts
the attention of universal soul not to hear the entreaty of the
Dalits. To express his agony of being an untouchable, he writes,”
“This still
night has lulled the whole world to sleep
But it forgot the very me,
Afflicted as I am with incurable
Disease of untouchability”.
He makes fun
of the so-called charity of the people,
“Feed they
sugar to hapless ants
Offer they
milk to venomous snakes
Yet even the
Goddess of Justice
Shudders at
the very sight of this untouchable”
He also warns
the people, if this odious practice of untouchability continues, it would
destroy the Nation.
The scourge
of untouchability
Can denigrate
the country in the comity of Nations
Tears of
untouchability will burst like thunderbolts
And doom the
Nation to destruction”.
Joshuva’s
poems invaded villages and a majority of literates. They sounded like songs
with lyrical fervor and oratorical sonority. That is why they are extremely
used in dramas and films, listening to which the Telugu people wept publicly.
In the same
vein, he wrote on the other subaltern group, “Women” in Hindu society. He
studied why women who are equally responsible for the creation of history and
culture, are conditioned to take unnatural stances in life. He realized that
disruptive customs and outdated practices inculcated upon their minds are what
keeping womenfolk under perpetual lease of social slavery. He expresses his
revulsion against the treatment of women in the following way,
“You silently suffer when men treat you as a mere tool in the
kitchen
We instill fear in
wives not to challenge husband’s actions
We teach things to
kill the desires of women
We imprison women in
the jails of religious rites
We destroy all
natural talents of women”
He says that
the subjugation of woman found its manifestation in the words like “Abala”
(weak) first used against women in Rigveda. Yet in another poem, the poet
Joshuva says that a married woman who is subjected to the cruelty of in-laws,
is made to lead the life of a rotary animal without individuality, crossing
every day the bridge of swords built over the gaping gulf of time by the
orthodox society, just for the sake of a title The Most Loyal Wife. He says
that to keep her tradition-bound, ignorant and superstitious is the vested
interest of the patriarchy. When one of his Telugu poem is loosely translated into
English it means,
“What is the role of a woman as a daughter-in-law?
To submit her will
to the willful cruelty of her in-laws
What is the role of
woman married?
To be humiliated as
a widow with the death of her husband
What is the role of
a woman as wife?
To be honoured as
“Most loyal wife” for sacrificing her individuality
What is the role of
a woman as sister?
To live without a
claim to her ancestral property”.
He longed for
equality and universal brotherhood. In a poem, he says, “Not bound by ties of
caste and creed / Not kept in the cage of their self-made bars / I call myself
a citizen of the world / No matter what others prefer to call me”.
The depth of
human touch is so appealing that no one can turn a blind eye to his works. An
English Poet on some occasion said, “This is the art of uniting pleasure, with
truth by calling imagination to the help of reason.” This aptly applies to
Joshuva’s poetry. The fine art of word-coining is the unique gift of Joshuva.
He was honoured with awards like “Kavikokila”, “Kavi Chakravarthy” and
“Kavisamrat” for beauty and bounty of expression in Desi Telugu and pulsating
language. Joshuva has not only highlighted the miserable existence of the
Indian subaltern classes in Telugu literature but also immortalized himself
through his sweet and memorable poetry. He uses the same “platform of poetry”
used by the orthodox poets as a means to fight bitterly against casteism,
untouchability and suppression of women. The evils of untouchability and inequality
have reduced the subaltern classes in India to a sub-human status. Joshuva’s
poetry makes much sense when the attitudes of the cultivated cynics are put
aside.