The “She” of Dr. Gopala Reddi’s
Five-Volume Poetry
D. RAMALINGAM
Dr. B. Gopala Reddi, who once declared that his literary
cultivation was only in the Rabindranath Tagore’s farms of muse and that was
all his contentment and happiness, meaning thereby that he was only a Telugu
translator of the celebrated world-renowned Bengali poet’s works, sprang a
pleasant surprise on the men of letters in Andhra by producing his own poetry
in Telugu in an abundant measure when he was about to complete his seventieth year,
and in course of five years he flung at the readers ten volumes of poetry of
which form the five volumes on “She”, comprising more than a thousand
mini poems of varying length in free verse. Each poem has a complete idea and
his independent of the other. Dr. Reddi as a composer
of these verses has exhibited total freedom in his organisation of ideas, in
choosing the apt words and in ending the poem crisply.
Explaining his late arrival at the assembly
of poesy, Dr. Reddi observed: “I am Mahatma Gandhi’s
disciple; a follower of Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajaji in public life. But it was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore
who influenced me most. My Viswa-Bharati days are a springtime in my life. The seeds then sown perhaps began
to sprout in May 1977 when I began to scribble my own thoughts in my own
language and in my own style. The reason that prompted a lover to erect a
wonderful monument like the Taj Mahal
stirred up my poetic imagination. This Lotus of Beauty took its birth in bitter
waters of separation of true lovers. My own beginnings in the realm of poetry
were thus made in the hottest days of that summer.” But May is also the month
when flowers are in full bloom and as if for the sake of these flowers, a new
poetic image in Telugu poetry took its shape under the name and style of Aame (She) which was also the title of the
first volume in this chain and then followed in quick succession. 2. Aame Jaadalu
(Her Footprints), 3. Aame Needalu (Her Shadows), 4. Aame Talukulu (Her Glamour) and 5. Aame Chenukulu (Her
Flourishes and Witticisms).
Immediately after the publication of these
five volumes, the question that was raised in the literary gatherings was “Who
is this She?”
Dr. Gopala Reddi, with a view to introduce in the modern Telugu poetry
the atmosphere of Urdu poetry both in theme and in style, wrote a few
translations of the Urdu couplets, made a few adaptations and composed mostly
his own and gave them a title “She.” In the traditional Telugu
poetry, especially of the medieval Prabandha period, it was the heroine with
her voluptuous charms that suffered from the pangs of separation from the man
whom she doted upon. But in Urdu poetry, it is quite the opposite: The lover
pines for the beloved in utter despair. The beloved is hard-hearted,
tyrannical, never keeps her promises and even flirts with the lover’s rivals in
order to arouse jealousy in him. The subjective reactions and similar
experiences are the main themes in most of the Urdu ghazal
poetry. That with the emergence of romantic poetry in Telugu, under the impact
of English romantic poets, the sentiment of love in separation and extolling
the lover as the “devotee of the Lady-Love” who was in turn elevated to the
position of “Deity of the Heart” became the order is a different story. Dr. Reddi has succeeded in recreating the atmosphere of Urdu
poetry in these “She” series. The curiosity of the readers as to the
identity of “She” was aroused by these unusual poems. A special feature
of these five volumes is that five women writers and one male writer wrote
lengthy introductions to them. But none could convincingly enlighten the reader
about the mystery that “She” was. Dr. N. Krishna Kumari
of Osmania University wrote: “She may be a mere imaginary figure, not
necessarily of flesh and blood. May be a companion who
listens to the poet’s feelings and sentiments and “She” in turn passes on the
many trends and truths about the existence to the world of letters.”
Dr. Reddi himself in his invariable preface to each volume dwelt at some length on this and these attempts at self-explanation have made the puzzle more complex and the clues to the identity have been rendered more hardy riddles. He said: “She is not one. She is the embodiment of several of them. Wherever there are themes or material for poetic treatment, she appears there.” He further added: “She may be a woman, a sweetheart, a female companion or nature. She encompasses all.” The poet denied that she was a particular person hidden in the pages of his life and was providing inspiration to him. He also told the inquiring minds that it was futile to search for her as there existed none. In the fifth volume he further clarified: “She is not the mother; she is not a sweetheart. But what she is not? She is all. She has her relationship with all. She has no boundaries and no definitions. Her’s is a transcendental form beyond personification. A symbol. Why should anyone make an attempt to perceive a transcendental form in a particular body?” But it seemed he was laughing in his sleeves that he chose a title that was not beyond doubt.
As one finishes reading these volumes, one is
reminded of one of Tagore’s dedicatory poems which he wrote in his advanced
age: “Whimsical thoughts and images come up from the bottom of the mind, wafted
by the breeze of fancy. They cross the boundary of reason and are lost. They
appear rough and ready, tumbled and twisted, in part garbed in speech and in
part painted by the brush, I now offer them all,
emptying my bag.”
These compositions are mainly Dr. Reddi’s thoughts unveiled in recollecting moods. In one
poem, the poet says: “The garlands of the musical notes of her remembrance have
caused my flute to utter a few sounds; new thoughts have sprouted; new muse has
taken the shape of buds; new poetry has blossomed. Without ‘She’ I have no
voice.”
In another verse, the
poet makes his position clear: “In the winter of the old age, the departed
recollections of the spring are calling me with their dewy fine veils and with
their gestures.”
And why this poetry at such
a late age? The poet
says: “Placing on my shoulder the collections of the desires of the youth, I am
slowly continuing the journey of my old age.”
This mood overtakes the poet at certain
situations: “When the body is
tired and desires rest, remembrances emerge and bubble up. The sweet traces of the past episodes proceed like a caravan
in the desert.”
The poet prefers the path of love because–“I
play the flute of love’s remembrance in order to forget the life’s fatigue and
decline. To cross over the thorns of afllictions, the
easiest way is love’s path.”
There are numerous descriptions of the
feminine physical form in various moods, mostly in the classical manner. Her dazzling
looks, her wide eyes, her front locks playing on her cheeks, her sidelong glances, her graceful walk, her
sports and amusements, her coquetry, her sweet words; the mischief of her
quivering lips, her laughing with gaps, the garlands of her laughter taking the
shape of heaps of foam, her bending posture, her sudden sullenness torment him
in thousand ways as: “The beauties that the eyes grazed, the heart ruminates
leisurely to
He yearns for that moment when his words and
her words join and a sweet song emerges in that symphony. But there is no
consummation of love, and he finds the reason: “He thought that sweet
sentiments were hidden behind the veil of her soft-spoken words, but found that
the stream of love had dried up in the desert of a hard heart.”
Apart from She, one finds in these
volumes many other themes–facts of this life, criticism of social attitudes and
political trends, allusions to literature and literary figures, wonders and
peculiarities of the nature, some wordly truths of
life, philosophical musings, metaphysical ideas, satire, jokes, witticisms,
fun, and even a talking point with some sprinkles of humour.
Mentioned below are some jokes on modern
new-fangled women. “In the pride of her beauty, she rejected all eligible
suitors. In her fortieth year, she became the third wife of a nobleman.”
“She roared on the stage in her capacity as a
staunch women’s lib leader. But at her house, she was her usual self–a
loving better-half.”
There are many witticisms of Dr. C. R. Reddy,
the famous educationist, referred to in these verses. One is “She is going to
commit matrimony. Hurry up, rush my sympathies to her’ –
so said Cuttamanchi
whenever he received a wedding card from a woman acquaintance.”
A plesantry about
Sarojini Naidu: “ ‘I have come to kiss your feet’ said
a gentleman of
Noorjahan spoke to her husband in the poetic images as
under: “I am the leaves of the henna plant. What is visible is the green; and
what is not visible is the red.” Another witty observation which is relevant to
our present-day order: “The Chief Minister of Brindavan,
Lord Krishna, does not often change the portfolios of his team of Ministers.
Hon. Satyabhama’s domain is adroit conversations,
pleasant sports and the lovers’ quarrel; Hon. Rukmini attends to temples,
devotional aspects and the holy basil; Hon. Radha has
the love-meditation, the sand-banks of Jamuna, the
groves of the dark Indian Beech trees (Tamala) and
rearing the peacocks; Hon. Krishna, apart from supervising all these, has kept
for himself the women’s welfare, animal husbandry and cultural affairs...”
Marked for its rare beauty and organisation
of thought, Dr. Reddi says in a verse which seems to
provide a clue to the identity of She: “In the short span of the youth,
the She of life exhibits umpteen sports. How many hopes,
disappointments, attachments and reproaches! But all of them impart splendour to her. All are her sports; her amusements. She
is the blend of wondrous play of emotions.”
Ending his last volume, the poet bids
farewell to She saying –
“With this I say, amen!
I have had enough and more of She
For a pretty long time!”