BY V. SITARAMIAH, M.A.
(Assistant Professor, Maharaja’s College, Mysore)
The Renaissance in Kannada is part and reflection
of the larger Renaissance in India and has served it. Its features and causes
are the same as in the other Indian Languages–with a modification, a stress and
a colour peculiar to our part of South India which has had a recorded literary
history of over a thousand years. After awakening from stagnation, thanks to
contact with the West through English and to the rise of the national movement
for freedom, it passed through the stages of translation, imitation and
tutelage. Then it began to exercise itself in creative self-expression.
Three features may be noticed generally in this new
birth and burst of activity and valuation–which is at once literary and of the
spirit: (1) Literature, after a history of almost total devotion to Religion,
Court colour and kingly exploit has become popular,–reflecting life and manners
and the situation of the common man. It has begun to treat with all men living
the social life in a changing environment, local and international. So, it is
secular and human; secular because it is of the here and now, and human with
all man’s aspiration, frailties and imperfections–yet with all its variety of
mood, tone and richness of content. A subject which ought to have been there
from the start has now come into our literature. (2) A spirit of curiosity and
inquiry, of criticism and freedom is the next distinguishing note. This goes into
all study of character and situation, and all analysis and exposition,–a
function of the critical temper of the age. A comparative and historical study
of all phenomena is accepted as aid for full understanding and assessment of
things. To match this, new modes of expression are used in experiments of form
and technique in prose, verse and drama. The good of the mass of men and what
is calculated to promote it, apart from traditional attitudes and solutions,
are essayed on the social, political and the economic scene. Criticism takes
all kinds of form and tone; mild and constructive, satirical or bitter,
reformist or revolutionary. The mind of many writers is courageous and is
thirsting to pierce into the heart of things. Enterprise of the spirit and an uncompromising
love of life and truth are its healthful and hopeful features, as they are part
of its essence. (3) The third feature is the patriotic note. Our literature is
at bottom patriotic in the largest sense of the term, as it is informed by the
one desire of the Indian (uttered through millions of voices in India in more
than a dozen tongues but speaking the same things) to proclaim to the world
that he has a place on its map and is determined to be there, in spirit and in
body, contributing actively to its life, sharing its tasks, in its joys and
heartaches and desiring to serve it with a character shaped by thousands of
years of his own country’s history and achievement. The new literature is
personal and individual and the emergence of this concreteness and personality
is the supreme tendency in letters today. But all express the life of the time,
and are engaged in living and evaluating it; and, though speaking different
languages, throbbing basically with the same hopes and zeals that are the matrix
of the national life all over India. It is that universal democratic surge
which motivates and sustains all our literary effort also. Modern art, thought
and science and forms of organization are supplying it with aid and insight for
doing this work effectively and well.
2
About 1920 a full expression of this change became
visible and from, then on all life and work are more or less characterised by
it.
The leaders of the movement were many, and they
laboured groaning in many corners of this unhappy part of India–which seems to
contain all the travails and disgraces of the Indian spiritual and secular
scene–its political divisions, divided loyalties and interests, communalism,
absence of integration and correlation, and a neglect of the cultural needs of
the people because it is broken into nineteen or twenty bits of marred and
shattered being with want of a well-knit homogeneous linguistic province.
About that time the leaders were Alur, Sali and
Bendre speaking from Dharwar; B. M. Srikantia, Masti anq D. V. Gundappa in
Mysore; Panje, Kamath and Govind Pai in South Kanara. Each of these has done
work of great merit, critical and creative, and done his share of work
inspiring and promoting talent near about him. Each has set a high standard of
performance and the younger generation is trying to add to their richness and
vitality.
It will take too long to go into details of the
names of persons or work; Govind Pai and Gundappa both use structural patterns
of poetical composition and put a robust reflectiveness into their writing.
Both have rendered Omar Khayyam into Kannada. Both are sturdily individual. Pai
uses blank verse and the sonnet forms and Gundappa uses the more traditional
ones to expound his vision and criticism of life. A coherent philosophy of life
goes into both of them. Never once is Gundappa’s meaning–laden with thought as
it is–unclear or loosely thrown about. Panje was an angel of sweetness and
light and his poetical and other work, if small in quantity, is exceptionally
vital both as technical achievement and for its grace and subtlety. He was a
maker of poets even as T. S. Venkannaiya was in the Mysore parts. His taste and
judgment built up many a young man’s mind and trained it for finer perception.
Masti is a master in many kinds. His poetry has quietness and depth, a rich
sensing of colour, shape and function, and a love of life, which is matched
only by his wisdom. It has introduced into poetical composition. Its humanity
and grace are informed by life with a many-sided seeing which is practically
the only whole mind of reflected in modern Kannada letters articulating all its
details. Blank verse narration, lyricism, reflection and description, sonnet
and song–almost every poetic form finds him in achievement. His gospel has been
one of sweetness, love and beauty, of the loveableness of life, and is
propounded with an affectionate understanding which can come only of the
charities and the clarities of a healthy, alert and sincere mind alive to many
points of view,–at the same time preserving values as well as adding to them.
‘Sri’s’1 work was more even as a creator
of talent than as contributor, though as contributor he is as great a seminal
influence. To him goes the credit of clearing and preparing the field, planting
the most beautiful traditions of creation and creative scholarship,–a
scholarship with little pedantry and less flourish of learned lumber but with
an eye always to essence and heartstuff. He enthused successive bands of
students, poets and critics, and himself translated from English, Greek and
Tamil, writing work which is both technically and in substance epoch-making.
Much of the modern Kannada work is being done by English-educated persons and,
until recently by University men in our parts. Behind most of it is the
inspiration and leadership directly or indirectly of Srikantia, who, alas, is
recently taken away from our midst before his vision of a united Karnatak in a
united Karnataka Province could be realised.
Bendre is the most outstanding poet of the new
time. His lyrical expression is one of the purest ever, reveling in imagery and
significance beyond the word and the situation in reference. A sort of
wizardry, as Masti once put it, is feature of his poetry. Every variety of
balladic and lyrical note finds triumphant expression in his patriotic, and
reflective poems, in his nature descriptions and in all his criticism and song
of life. His love poems and his mysticism are a unique contribution. His eagle
eye catches sight of more strands of being than one and sees the sap rising
into the tree and makes the tree itself symbol of an eternity of being and
meaning.
Sali has directness and simplicity of soul–which
loves nature and life and likes to be clothed with all the beauty, tenderness
and joy which they can give.
The next generation of poets consists of many
worthy men with a considerable body of work showing from them. Gokak, Mugali,
Betageri and Madhura Chenna in North Karnatak, Kadengodlu in South Kanara, K.
V. Puttappa, P.T. Narasimhachar, Rajaratnam and Narasimhaswamy in Mysore. Their
work is rich in variegated patterns. Our age is said to be an age of lyrics and
short pieces–which needs a complementary assertion to be wholly true: for, many
of these writers have larger, longer pieces to their credit. Nor need mere
length or size of composition be taken as test of significance or ability in
poetic creation. Gokak is perhaps the only singer of sea-songs in our
literature, even as his is the only modernist voice though harshly reactionary
to the west–expressing itself in forceful free verse, using thought, imagery,
phrasing and rhythmical patterns and dealing with matter which no writer
touched before and which no one felt would yield poetic results. A strand of
mysticism and Shelleyan fancy is also feature of his work. Mugali is singer in
a sweeter strain, if of a sadder mode. His pieces are aglow with softer passion
and his most ferocious utterance is smooth and velvety. Betageri is good at
love, patriotic and child poems and his strain is true. He has collected a
number of balads of much rare beauty and sung to tunes of haunting melody.
Madhura Chenna is a mystical and writes with what feels like consciousness of
an antaryamin self, with delicacy and yet with imaginative vigor. If his
meaning be elusive like, it is the fragrance of a violet or a mild distilled
essence. Kadengodlu is more realistic and concrete and some of his pieces have
vigour and beauty and a gem-like hardness. They are instinct with-the strength
of life.
Putappa is the largest single writer of our parts
and his lyrical range and powers of nature-description are amazing. He senses
and communicates the spirit of the woods and the elements so powerfully that
his grip never looses and his insight never fails. There is an intrepidity and
daring both in his choice of subjects and in the flights of his imagination.
His stanza patterns are audacious to a degree and he has created many such new
composite patterns;–methods pursued in English and Bengali directing the way.
His sympathy with the poor and the downtrodden and his indignation at tyranny
of all kinds are notable. His moods are many and he ranges at will over vast
continents of feeling and attitude. Everywhere he is sure of his own native
strength and no sadness or doubt clouds or darkens his vision. Indeed, his is
almost the only voice which is unbroken by the sorrows and the frustrations
which depress other strains. His use of blank verse both for narration and for
the verse-plays and the many songs put into the plays are likely to yield enduring
delight. His epic of nearly 25,000 lines, now almost complete, is bound to be
the largest single event of poetic achievement in modern Kannada.
P. T. Narasimhachar is the singer, par
excellence, of the younger group and has to his credit many poems and songs
of exceptional beauty and emotional intensity. There is devotion in his strain
and a wistful longing for those beauties and mysteries, which are deep in the
heart of things. The stars, the silences, the flowers and streams and the
aching joys of life, move him to rapturous expression. Rajarathnam is the
creator of two or three brilliant types of poetic composition. His gift for
satire as well as his gift for humorously communicating a kindly affection are
a departure in our literature. The language he uses is deliberately charivaria
but yields results of an astonishing freshness and effectiveness. His satire is
devastating and his picture of the drunk and of love comraderie of Nanji are
gems of the purest ray. His drink songs have behind them a warm inclusive
outlook on life and so are his love poems, too deep for tears. Narasimhaswamy
was until recently a poet of pure love lyrics of consummate beauty, and, like
Burns, brought off his effects as naturally, with flavour and raciness, with a
lively humour, playfulness and colour which are unique in our literature. They
are true to life and clothe ordinary events with rich glamour and romance. Of
recent date his pen has become more serious in intent and he etches as with
lightning and with a courage of feeling which seems to go far in consequence.
As vehicle of all this achievement the metrical
patterns have become rich, sinuous and varied and the old forms have yielded
place to ‘Blanks,’ to composite stanza units, to the compact sonnets and to the
architectonic of the elaborate Ode. The structural quality of some of these new
prosodic forms is of lasting value and is as rich a contribution as the
addition to its wealth of substance and meaning.
3
We have every variety of drama today in total
contrast to the past when, curiously enough, we did not have any at all! There
are translations and adaptations of new forms; social and theme pieces; satire
and mockery; symbolic bits and skits. Many create dialogue of the sharpest
kind; and plays are yoked to purpose, artistic as well as propagandist. The
element of humour and pathos is seen at its finest best in Kailasam who is the
father of the humorous social sketch, descriptive mostly of educated middle
class homes of the twenties and the thirties. It is human, humane and
beneficent in temper and glows with reverence for life. R. V. Jagirdar is a
mocker and his social criticism is of the most ruthless if of the most
irresistible kind. His dialogue and wit are today unsurpassed in intelligence
and flexibility. If there is caricature of a situation here and there, that is
just his vitality and purpose. He hides a warm heart behind the mockery but he
does not give it a chance fully to flower and fruit. Karanth’s plays are
heftier and more deliberately purposive. His anger is more obvious and main. A
desire to call things by their names and expose the sham and the shoddy is
openly in evidence. His shorter pieces, his song and shadow plays, and his
dance dramas show a fertility of invention and technique which are tribute to
his versatility and vigour. Speaking of song and dance dramas, the pieces of P.
T. Narasimhachar are in lyrical quality, sweetness and finish the exact
opposite of these one or two others mentioned above. His subjects are ancient
or ideal and his handling of theme conservative; but all is artistic and
finished with exquisite care. A. N. Krishna Rao’s plays are, as social
criticism, downright and frankly propagandistic. He exposes the falsities and
injustices of social life, and himself takes sides in the conflict. But his
plays are good stage work and play exceedingly well.
Translation and adoption from Greek and English,
from Ibsen, Hauptmann, Galsworthy, Shaw, Synge, Brieux and Pirandello, Moliere,
Chekhov and Tolstoi have been made. Some derive from the Puranas and the
Upanishads as well. Among such C. K. Venkataramaiya’s are the most noteworthy.
The adaptation of Ajax from Sophocles in ‘Sri’s’ Aswatthama can easily
be said to be the high-water mark of such endeavour.
The One-Act play has been popular and many writers
contribute to this kind. Bendre, Jagirdar, Karanth, Gokak, Mugali, Krishna Rao,
N. K., ‘Kshirasagara,’ Nagaraja Rao, and other worthies, too many to mention
here, have done work of much power and beauty.
4
Our Novels are few and true novelists of stature
are fewer. But in recent years–for about a decade now–we have seen spaciousness
and power in Karanth, K. V. Puttappa, A. N. Krishna Rao, Gokak, Jagirdar,
Betageri, Mugali, H. P. Joshi, Devudu and a few others. The historical novel,
the novel of manners, the psychological novel, the regional novel, the
character novel and the problem novel are all in the parade. Karanth’s work
seems easily the most arresting for quality and range and for full realisation
of character. Puttappa gives us a bunch of Malnad portraits in a rich
background of nature. A. N. Krishna Rao creates types of artistic personality
and one or two really beautiful human beings, while others depict character and
situation or aspects of individual and social life which crave understanding
and analysis or a voice to sponsor them.
5
The short story is easily the largest cultivated
kind. Its crop is rich but not too plentiful. The first name that comes up to
one’s mind in thinking of our short story is Masti’s. His stories are many and
each has a freshness and power of appeal different from the others. They spring
from the soil and they are lives and situations more truly real than reality
itself. An affectionate wisdom plays round his subjects. The ease, the grace
and the consummateness of the art make them equal to the greatest short stories
of the world. Ananda’s stories go into motive and analysis. His eye is that of
a painter and his sketches are Rembrandtesque. Sripathi, Betageri, Karanth, A.
N. Krishna Rao, Krishna Kumar, B. S. Venkatram, G. K. Rao, Kattimani and
writers of the stories in the anthologies, made by A.N. Krishna Rao, the ‘Mitra
Mandali’ and the ‘Granthamalas’ are many of them of real merit. The art of the
short story is gaining experience and is taking newer fields of sensing for
depiction. A kindly human note is in them; and a feeling for the common man too
long neglected. There is burning passion against exploiters of all kinds. The
young writers, particularly, are red with anger against systems which tolerate
ugliness in life calling them good form and tradition.
The sketch and the short literary essay are almost
the other bits of prose composition near to this kind. The total bulk of work
done here is not much. But A. N. Murthy Rao, N. K. Kulkarni, Kasturi, Gorur,
Hoysala, Rasi, Kallur, Ramanand, Rajaratnam, P. T. Narasimhachar have all
contributed to it. Many sketches are light and humorous or are clothed with
rainbow hues. With deeper insight and a larger experience these kinds of
composition are bound to yield much of lasting value.
The literature of travel, anecdotage, musing, diary
and pensees is not very much. S. V. Ranganna and R. R. Divakar are special
names in work of much penetrating revelation in this kind. Biography large and
small has not much showing. There are, however, full-length documented
biographies like those by D. V. Gundappa and those by C. K. Venkataramaiya.
Shorter and sharper sketches such as those by S. Krishna Sarma are there too.
The deftness of touch and brilliance of the latter’s portraits carry off the
palm in this department of prose. There is a Stracheyan edge in his observation
of men and things. Personality is vividly realised in just a few sentences.
Many women writers have written small poems, short
stories, one act plays and biographies. Their number is small but some good
work is done by Rajamma, Gouramma, Ratnamma, Shyamala, Jayalaxmi Srinivasan,
Kalyanamma, Padmamma and others. It is a pity that more of our educated sisters
are not coming forward with their dishes and delicacies into the banquet.
6
I do not here touch on the literature of
information, which though present on the map is still too little. Work seems to
be needed here most of all by a large number of men interested in the supply of
background notes–so that people may intelligently follow what is happening
around them and reported in the daily press.
Literary criticism is a young but hardy plant in
our midst. It has yielded first class foliage, flowerage and fruit. Both on the
theoretical side and in the practical, work of much distinction and acumen has
come out. Gundappa, Masti and Bendre are again brightly on the scene. M. R.
Srinivasa Murthy and Divakar have added specialist studies and C. K.
Venkataramaiya, Venkannaiya A. R. Krishna Sastri and S. V. Ranganna have made
particular contributions to criticism. Reviewing is a well done work an many
periodicals and memorial volumes bear testimony to the critical ability of many
writers who have not yet collected their works. T. N. Srikantia, D. L. Narasimhachar,
Gokak, S. Krishna Bhat, Muliya and others have produced criticism which in
quality and judgment is excellent. Scholarship, discernment, a keen
sensitiveness, refinement and taste, healthy standards,–all enter into their
assessment. And our criticism is as good as the critical work in any other part
of India.
The literature of scholarship itself is well in
evidence. Illustrious names are associated with it. R. Narasimhacharya, A.
Venkatasubbiah, Govind, Pai, ‘Sri’, Gundappa, A. R. Krishna Sastri,
Venkannaiya, M. H. Krishna Panchamukhi, D. L. Narasimhachar, S. Srikanta
Sastri, K. G. Kundanagar, N. Laxminarayana Rao, P. B. Desai, A. N. Narasimhia,
Muliya Thimmapiah, S. Krishna Bhat are chief among them. They have built up
much necessary knowledge in history, archaeology, linguistics and other
departments accessory to literature.
There is much general, miscellaneous work which
‘Sanghas’ and magazines are promoting. ‘Granthamalas’ are taking them up and
festivals of literature are presenting them for general delectation. All is
instinct with life and aspiration.
Journalism had done its best to standardise the
written form of our everyday language and much new mintage of word, phrase and
usage has come out. Their work has not been easy. But it is to their lasting
honour that many dailies, and other periodicals have not only themselves set
standards of quality in writing but have fostered talent. Some monthlies and
quarterlies, notably ‘Prabuddha Karnataka’, ‘Kannada Sahitya Parishat Patrika’,
‘Jayakarnataka’, ‘Jeevana’, ‘Jayanti’, ‘Sivanubhava,’ etc., have on record work
of lasting creative and critical merit and some editing of classics which can
establish the editors m secure reputation.
So far for the generation now grey in service. A
new generation is growing up impatient of the slow pace in progress and charged
with a zeal if for quick and total change. It distils its enthusiasm from Ism’s
of the west. Any violence and intolerance in its ways is possibly attributable
to the age composition of the writers and to a more aggressive idealism and
ideologies. The leaders of the progressive movement call peremptorily to take
over charge, and the country may see much lively work in the coming years from
this group of young writers.
There is much in this essay which is incomplete or
which is cavalierly or too briefly disposed of. The field is vast; the workers
many. Only what seem to me to be the larger tendencies are indicated here; and
those persons only are mentioned by name who have collected their work into
books or have been on the field for more than half a dozen or ten years.
1 ‘Sri’ was the pen-name of Prof. B. M. Srikantia.