THE PEOPLE OF ANDHRA PRADESH
AND THEIR HERITAGE
A.
S. RAMAN
Formerly
Editor, “Illustrated Weekly of India”
Dr.
VISWANATHA SATYANARAYANA whose poetry has the sweep and succulence of the
classical idiom at its purest has added a new dimension to
the achievement of the Andhras by winning the highly coveted Jnanpith Literary
Prize. Interviewed by the press soon after the announcement of the Award, he is
reported to have said nonchalantly: “I’m not surprised!” Indeed, the typical
reaction of an Andhra! Whatever other virtues an Andhra may possess, and he has
many in abundance, humility is not among them. This does not mean that he is
vain and vulgar. If anything, he is too naive and impulsive. He represents a
happy synthesis of a number of desirable qualities: patriotism, generosity,
fortitude and affability. He has won Mahatma Gandhi’s admiration for his role
in the Khadi movement and the freedom struggle. Fanatical devotion to ideals in
which he has faith and which he pursues fearlessly is typical of him. One is
familiar enough with the examples set by Potti Sriramulu who died for a cause
and T. Prakasam who nearly died by baring his chest to the British bullets. And
yet, one does not know enough about the Andhras who live in India’s fifth
biggest State and speak Telugu, which is the mother-tongue of the largest
number Indians after Hindi. To the north Indians, prior to the formation of
Andhra Pradesh, the Andhras were mere Madrassis. Whenever one refers to South
India one invariably means Tamil Nadu. No doubt the Tamilian has a genius for
public relations. Karnatak music, Bharata Natyam, Dravidian architecture: these
are all associated with Tamil culture. One of the paradoxes of Karnatak music
is that it is best rendered by those who least understand its nuances. For
Telugu is the base of all compositions, and the greatest exponents of the
system are Tamilians. The result is virtuosity at the expense of empathy. As a
rule, even veteran vidwans concentrate on swara patterns and pay
little attention to bhava, and rasa.
One can have a quarrel, not with the Tamilian for overstating his case, but with the Andhra for not stating his at all. The Andhra is quite oblivious of his own heritage. Self-pity comes as naturally to him as self-praise does to the Tamilian. The Andhras hate to assert themselves in positive terms. On the contrary, they are good at flattering their heroes in other States by imitating them. The Andhra names–not surnames–reveal an intriguing diversity: such as, Tilaks, Gokhales, Gandhis, Ranades, Boses, Tagores, Nehrus, etc. Such genuinely Andhra names as Tikkana, Thyagayya, Kshetrarya, Nannaya, Vemana and Vallabhacharya are uncommon. The criticism against the Andhras is that, while emotionally they are responsive, intellectually they are lethargic and have no capacity for organization, i.e., for sustained effort and team work. It is said that as one half of an institution is busy trying to consolidate itself, the other half is already engaged in the suicidal task of demolishing it. The Andhra lacks the tenacity of the Tamilian, the sharpness of the Keraleeya and the resilience of the Kannadiga. But he has two great qualities which enable him to think big and feel big: open-mindedness and large-heartedness. Also, aesthetically speaking, he has a very acute sensibility.
The
term Andhra has a respectable ancestry. It first occurs in the Aitareya
Brahmana. The reference is to a South Indian tribe. The puranas
refer to “Andhrabhritya dynasty of kings called Satakarnis and Satavahanas.”
The various tribes described in the Ramayana are identified as the
original pre-Dravidian inhabitants of the region now known as Andhra Pradesh.
Janasthana, Kishkindha and Dandakaranya described in the Ramayana are
also believed to be synonymous with the present-day Andhra Pradesh. Geologists
claim that this territory has been the site of several quartzite implements
dating from the paleolithic age.
The
history of the Andhras actually begins only from the rise of the
Satavahanas who flourished after the fall of the Mauryan empire. The Golden Age
of the Satavahanas, who ruled from the middle of the 3rd century
B. C. to the first quarter of the third century A.D., was marked by great
literary and artistic activity and expansion of trade and commerce across the
seas. Ptolemy speaks of five ports and eighteen inland towns. He gives
a vivid account of “the trade on the East Coast.” His ‘Apheterion’ is also
known a Maisolia in the Krishna delta. The Satavahana
hegemony at its height extended from East Coast to West Coast and from Mysore
in the South to Avanti or modern Ujjain, in the North. There is ample
archaeological and epigraphic evidence in support of the theory that under the
patronage of such outstanding Satavahana rulers as Gautamiputra and Pulumayi,
there was all-round progress. Those were the spacious days of peace and plenty.
The principal centres of trade and commerce were: Dhanyakataka (Dharanikota,
near Amaravati, 250 B. C.), Kevurara, Vijayapura and Narasala. Ptolemy makes an
approving reference to the alliance by marriage (200 A. D.) between Pulumayi II
and the daughter of Rudradaman, the Western Satrap based in Malwa and Gujarat.
Buddhism received great impetus for nearly 600 years (from 300 B. C. to 300 A.
D.) under the enlightened rule of the Andhra dynasty. Actually, chaityas and
viharas were built on a large-scale with the help of the funds provided
by the mercantile community, many sections of which became monks.
The
next important phase of the rise of Andhra power dates from
the Kakatiya empire in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Kakatiyas who had their
capital at Warangal were great patrons of Brahmanical art.
Eventually, with the capture of Prataparudra who was taken to Delhi, in the
middle of the 14th century, the Muslims dominated the scene in the Deccan. The
Bahamani sultanate rose in 1347 from the ruins of the Tughlak empire.
Side
by side with the consolidation of Muslim power in the Deccan, the nucleus of a
mighty Hindu empire was taking shape on the banks of the Tungabhadra under the
guidance of a great saint-statesman, Swami Vidyaranya, the Pontiff of Sringeri.
The Vijayanagar empire served as a most effective check to the Muslim
expansionism for more than 200 years. The Vijayanagara rulers were lovers of
art and literature. The greatest of them all, Krishna Deva Raya who reigned for
twenty years (1510-1530), was virtually revered as an Avatar of the Lord
Vishnu. His spectacular career of conquest and consolidation resulted in an
unprecedented expansion and enrichment of the Vijayanagar empire, which however
was short-lived. The Battle of Talikota in 1565 led to the final and complete
collapse of the Hindu power in the Deccan and to the filling of the vacuum by
the Bahamani sultanates.
Meanwhile,
with the slackening of the authority of the Kakatiya rulers, a number of
principalities under the Reddi rulers began to make their presence felt. They
retained their ethos for more than a hundred years: from 1325 to 1448 A. D. The
Reddi rulers inherited the responsibilities of their Kshatriya predecessors,
but acquired none of the rights, because being Sudras by birth, they did not
enjoy the exalted dwija (Twice Born) status of the Kshatriyas.
Naturally, they found themselves debarred from participating in solemn Vedic
rituals, such as yajnas and kratuvus and from performing upanayanam
(the initiation ceremony for the son) to which the Kshatriyas were
entitled. There is however historical evidence to suggest that the Kshatriya
rulers of Warangal and their Reddi chieftains were united by social affinities
which occasionally expressed themselves even through inter-marriages. The term Reddi
which, according to scholars, has a very estimable percentage was more a
title denoting temporal authority than a symbol of spiritual or intellectual
stature. The Kakatiyas had 72 nayakas (feudatory chieftains) under them.
Among them were the local versions of the Montagus and Capulets: the Reddis and
the Velamas, though the Romeos and the Juliets seem to have received scant
attention from the historian and the poet.
The
Reddis of those days were a martial class rather than a tribe of feudal
tyrants. Their sense of social commitment was very lofty indeed. They were
chivalrous and considered it their duty to protect the hearths and homes of the
common folk. They were always ready to go into battle in defence of their
cherished beliefs and ideals. The resurgence of Hinduism in all its
many-splendoured sweep and sanctity was a passion with them. Of the many Reddi
kindgdoms that proliferated consequent on the fall of the Kakatiya empire, the
one at Kondaveedu was most important. It was founded by Prolaya Vema presumably
in 1320 A. D. He ruled for twelve years.
The
Reddi kings, during their 125-year long rule, marred occasionally by
internecine skirmishes, succeeded in establishing an order of stability and a
pattern of culture. There was a rapport between the palace and the populace.
The respect for the law of the land was universal. The result was that the
crimes were not many, and where they occurred, the punishment was retributive rather
than reformative. Peace and plenty set the tenor of living, which was urbane,
gracious and sedate. Creativity in the arts and literature was the rule rather
than the exception. There was a long line of kings and princes distinguished
for their achievements equally significant in all the three roles that seemed
to come naturally to them: as soldiers, statesmen and scholars. One almost
begins to wonder whether it was the ancient age of philosopher-kings come back
with a bang. Srinatha, the great Telugu poet who was also an inimitable
stylist, wrote under the patronge of the Reddi kings. He describes his chief
patron, Vema Reddi, as Sarvajnachakravarti. Kumaragiri, another Reddi
ruler, was proficient in music and dance. Peda Komati was an authority on music
and literature. He wrote a brilliant treatise on rhetoric, Sahityachintamani,
in Sanskrit, evidently under the inspiration of Mamata’s Kavyaprakasa. He
also wrote a companion volume on the aesthetic aspects of music, called Sangitachintamani.
King Veerabhadra Reddi of Rajamahendravaram was another celebrated aesthete
and scholar with definite views on music and literature.
A
major Telugu poet of the Reddi period was Vemana who lived probably in the
earlier part of the 15th century. He had no need for royal patronage, because
he was a saint. Biographical details concerning his early life continue to be
clouded by controversy. Believed born of Reddi parents in affluent
circumstances, he lived for most of the time, it appears, at Katarupalli, a
village in the Kadiri taluk of the district of Anantapur, Rayalaseema, where
his descendants are said to pray at his samadhi even today. He grew up to
remain soaked in sensual pleasures, till one day he found himself being
tortured by a feeling of guilt. He at once recoiled from the lure of lust and
luxury and followed the arduous path of a yogi. His sharp, succinct, bitter
sweet 4000 odd aphorisms in verse, reminiscent of Thiruvalluvar’s terse Tamil
epigrams, constitute the Bible of the Andhras. Whoever knows Telugu instinctively
responds to the magic of the quatrains of Vemana which are unique examples of
wisdom conveyed through the language of the heart.
The
Reddis today are engaged primarily in agriculture which gives them an advantage
over others in politics. They are to found mostly in Rayalaseema, Telangana and
in the districts of Nellore, Guntur and Ongole. The Kammas, another affluent,
village-based, land-owning community dominates the economy of three districts
which constitute the granary of the state: East Godavari, West Godavari and
Krishna. The Kammas, compared with the Reddis, are known to be urbane, astute
and sophisticated. The well-known Telugu poet, Tummala Sitaramamurti, a Sahitya
Akademi Award-winner, belongs to this progressive community.
The
Brahmin supremacy however remains unchallenged, where literary achievements are
concerned. From Nannaya to Dr Viswanatha Satyanarayana the 900-year literary
history of the Andhras is nothing but a saga of the ascendancy of the Brahmins
who belong principally to two sects, both Saivaite: the Vaidikis (priests) and
the Niyogis (professionals). No doubt there have been some outstanding writers
outside this exclusive community. But they are the exceptions that prove the
rule. The ‘transcreation’ of the Mahabharata from the Sanskrit by the
‘Big three’ of Telugu literature over a period of three centuries, Nannaya
(11th century), Tikkana (13th century) and Yerrapraggada (14th century) was the
first major literary event. All the three poets were Brahmins. They were the
greatest trendsetters in Telugu literature. Nannaya was a conformist, involved
deeply in his pursuit of excellence. Tikkana who wrote the major portion of the
Telugu Mahabharata (15 out of the 18 parvas) was a
modernist who looked as far ahead as he could. He invested the Telugu idiom
with a new richness and roundness Yerrapraggada achieved a unique synthesis
between Nannaya’s sense of exclusiveness and Tikkana’s feeling of emancipation
and assumed the responsibilities of a new path-finder. The period from 1030 to
1400 A. D. was known as the age of the Big Three. The next hundred years
(1400-1500 A.D.) were years not merely of assimilation, but of assertion.
Vyasa’s Sanskrit matrikas provided basic themes, but the Telugu
‘transcreators’ produced classics which existed in their own right: original,
authoritative and self-sufficient. Srinatha and Pothana were the outstanding
poets of this age. Srinatha wrote a number of Saivaite classics with a touch of
sensuous sublimity, reconciling his intensely spiritual vision to his muscular,
down-to-earth idiom. Pothana, in the best of traditions of the Bhakti cult, was
a great devotee of Srirama. His Mahabhagavatham is one of the finest
specimens of religious literature: lines from his immortal classic are
frequently heard on the lips of every Andhra.
If
the age of Srinatha and Pothana was the age of intellectual ferment and
spiritual quest, the one that followed was a period of technical virtuosity.
Known as the Prabandha Age, this phase began in 1500 A. D. and lasted up to
1875. The temper of the times was clearly exhibitionist. Krishnadevaraya of
Vijayanagar was the incomparable royal patron to whom writers and artistes
turned not for their material sustenance but for the fulfilment of their
literary and aesthetic urges, because the Emperor was not only a munificent
bestower of gifts but a great scholar, critic and poet. Many literary giants
adorned his court. The best known of these was Allasani Peddana, the author of
that literary tour de force, Manucharitra. Prabandha is a literary form
in which technique takes precedence over theme.
Dr
Viswanatha Satyanarayana dominates the contemporary literary scene in Andhra
Pradesh. He is the best writer by any test. But unfortunately the next best is
nowhere in sight. Dr Satyanarayana’s appeal is wholly through his writings
which are as acceptable to modern sensibility as they are to traditional
scholarship. By temperament and orientation, as a person, he is reputed to be
rigid, aloof and rough-hewn. He maintains that he is a believer, not in
contemporary fads, but in universal values. Other Andhra literary figures of
importance are: Devulapalli Krishna Sastry (poet), Rallapalli Anantakrishna
Sarma (critic and musicologist), Sri Sri (poet), C. Narayana Reddy (poet) and
Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry (short-story writer ).
Andhra
Pradesh has many delicately conceived temples. They are not as massive as the
ones in Tamil Nadu. But they draw pilgrims from all parts of the country
because of their atmosphere and sanctity. Tirupati is a famous pilgrim centre.
It lies in the Chittoor district of Rayalaseema. The Venkateswara temple here
is said to be the richest shrine in India. It runs a first-rate university with
the help of funds provided by devotees. The shrine is particularly sacred to
the Vaishnavas, though its appeal is truly non-sectarian.
Srisailam
in the Kurnool district of Rayalaseema has a great Siva temple. It is claimed
to be as ancient as Varanasi. Among those who have worshipped at the shrine of
Srisailam’s Mallikarjuna are: Sriramachandra and Sitadevi in the Tretayuga, the
Pandavas in the Dwaparayuga and Adi Sankara in the Kaliyuga. Yogi Nagarjuna had
his ashram here. In the Kritayuga, that controversial devotee of Mallikarjuna,
demon-king Hiranyakasipu, used the sanctuary as his pujagriha. Srisailam
is so-called, partly because of the surrounding abundance of the sacred bilva
(sri) trees, and partly owing to the Sri Chakra shape of the plateau on
which the sanctuary stands. The scenic splendour and the transcendental aura of
Srisaila shrine have inspired some of the finest passages in Mahabharata, the
Skanda Purana and the Sivanandalahari of Adi Sankara. Even a
glimpse of the gopuram, it is believed, will emancipate the beholder from the
inexorable cycle of births and deaths. The sculptures at Srisailam,
particularly the lyrical, little known bas-reliefs on the gopuram are
exquisite. They are simple and direct and have a distinctive feel and elan. Though
harnessed to the dogma and discipline of hieratic art, these carvings are
products of an uninhibited sense of abandon and emancipation.
Other
sacred places of importance are: Simhachalam, Mangalagiri, Annavaram,
Bhadrachalam, Daksharamam, Ahobilam, Kadiri, Vijayawada (Kanakadurga Temple),
Vontimetta and Yadavagirigutta.
There
is the unmistakable flavour of Andhra lyricism and romanticism pervading the
evocative creations in stone at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. This can be
perceived even in the Ajanta frescoes. The emphasis is, not on the remote,
rarefied beatitude of the Buddha, but on his compassion and humanism. The scale
is not monumental, but the impact is overpowering. Even a tiny medallion has a
whole world compressed into it. There is mobility on every face, emotion in
every eye. The lips quiver. One can almost hear the heart throbs of the men and
women immortalised in these friezes and medallions. Intensity, tenderness and
warmth: these are the chief qualities one associates with the Andhra School of
Sculpture. None of the stiffness of the Gandhara School, none of the severity
of the Mauryan monoliths, none of the sheer sensuousness of the Kushan
carvings.
After
Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda, we do not come across any exciting creations in
stone. When the Kakatiyas arrive on the scene, the Brahmanical art assumes a
new significance. The temples at Ramappa and Warangal have all the exuberance
and plasticity of this genre. The female figure rendered with particular
feeling and finesse has a touch of the sublime and the sensuous at the same
time. The friezes at Ramappa have the suppleness, warmth and vibrancy of the
flesh itself. They unashamedly reveal an erotic bias. The mithuna motifs,
carved with a combination of abandon and sensibility, conform to the fashion
set by the medieval sculptors elsewhere. The panels at Ramappa depicting the
Bharata Natya sequences and the bracket figurines, known as Naga Kanyas, in
black stone, are among the finest specimens of medieval sculpture: they have
simplicity, plasticity, harmony and vibrancy. The bust of Prataparudra II at
Warangal is a rare example of modelling: serene, precise and well-proportioned.
The heritage of Jain sculpture in Andhra Pradesh is not particularly
noteworthy. It can be seen here and there, but is negligible in quality and
quantity, unlike its rnanifestations in the
neighbouring Mysore State. The enormous carving in the nude of a Jain
Tirthankara on display at Danavulapadu, in the district of Cuddapah,
Rayalaseema, reminiscent of the breathtakingly massive monolith at
Sravanabelgola, Mysore, however, deserves mention.
The
Vijayanagara period is supposed to represent the Golden Age of Andhra Art and
Literature. Under the patronage of Krishnadevaraya and other rulers, a number
of temples were built throughout Andhra Pradesh. The sculptures produced during
this period are distinguished for their technical finish rather than for their
artistic finesse. Creative imagination and aesthetic sensibility are not what
the sculptor is anxious to develop. He is happily preoccupied with problems of
surface ornamentation. Design acquires overtones. The rendering of detail
becomes meticulous and mannered. Lepakshi, however, is an exception. The
sculptures and the murals on view here are worthy examples of medieval art at
its best. The figures no doubt are stylised, but they have a distinctive grace
and vitality. The colours are indigenous and the heavy ornate drapery is
consistent with local custom and fashion. The passion and abandon suggest a
generation of unspoilt artists whose agony and ecstasy match their fidelity to
detail.
Among
the minor arts, the Andhra textiles have a rich tradition. The handloom
products reveal a striking diversity and richness in design. The toys and dolls
of Kondapalli and Tirupati, the Nirmal cottage industry, the inlay work of
Hyderabad: all these are potential foreign exchange earners.
As
for the contemporary scene, many Andhra artists have arrived: S. V. Rama Rao,
Krishna Reddy, P. T. Reddy, A. Paidi Raju and several others. They are
necessarily eclectic in the sources they choose to draw freely upon, but their
basic inspiration is identifiably indigenous. They no doubt share their common
heritage. But they are equally eager to integrate it into the images and idioms
that emerge from their confrontation with the West.
The
Kuchipudi dance which has the sensuousness of Bharatha Natyam, the vigour of
Kathakali, and the directness of Yakshagana, is typically Andhra in its origin.
The Bhagavata Mela of Melattur in the district of Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, is only
a variation on it. In the past, the Kuchipudi artistes without exception were
all Brahmins and they were all males. Even today the outstanding exponent of
the style is Vedantam Satyanarayana, though a number of
girls have also distinguished themselves. This exacting genre of classical
dancing demands a mastery over music, mime, footwork, histrionics and Telugu
and Sanskrit classics.
The
contribution of the Andhras to the musical heritage of South India is well-known.
Tyagaraja, Tallapakam Annamacharyulu, Kancherla Gopanna (Bhakta Ramdas),
Kshetrayya, Munipalli Subramanyakavi (author of Adhyatmaramayanam),
Melattur Veerabhadrayya, Melattur Kasinathayya and Melattur Venkatarama Sastry:
these names are familiar to every lover of South Indian music, dance and drama.
The Karnatak musical idiom as we know it today is the gift of the Great
Trinity: Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.
What
is the contribution of the Andhras to the development of Indian
philosophy? The greatest interpreter of Indian thought living is an Andhra: Dr
S. Radhakrishnan. As for the past, the name of Nagarjuna is a familiar one: he
made the most significant contribution to Buddhism after the Buddha. But was
he an Andhra? It is difficult to say. To quote Professor T. M. P. Mahadevan:
“The participation of Andhras in India’s philosophical enterprise has been as
full as it has been pervasive. But there are only vague indications regarding
the identities of many of those who were responsible for this participation.”
Vallabhacharya, the founder of the Suddhadwaita School, and Nimbarka, the
founder of the Dvaitadwaita School, were unmistakably of Andhra origin.
The
eleven Telugu-speaking districts of the old Madras Presidency were separated on
October 1, 1953, to form the State of Andhra. With the subsequent merger of the
Nizam’s territory with the Indian Union, Telangana Comprising nine districts
was added to these. The present enlarged State of Andhra Pradesh was
thus born on November 1, 1956. There has been a redrawing of the maps of a few
districts since for administrative reasons. Indeed Andhra Pradesh
is full of hidden wealth: minerals, water resources, industrial potential. The
state comprising the rich, 400 mile long coastal belt, the developing
Rayalaseema and the neglected Telangana is no doubt uneven and presents the
facade of poverty amidst plenty. But its potentialities are immense. The will
to exploit them to the maximum is not in evidence yet. Here, as in the rest of
India, the main problem is, not lack of resources, but the absence of vision,
drive and a sense of commitment on the part of leadership.