One seldom finds literati whose passion for their art drives them beyond the monetary or material benefits. K Prabhakar, an established Telugu poet for last four decades fits into this rare club.
“What you write should satisfy your inner-self first, otherwise, you cannot pen good poetry. I believe Telugu language has rich literary tradition and it’s time to unearth some of those literary forms which have been buried due to our over-emphasis to imbibe western culture in the name of globalisation,” he feels.
His new book Sugandalabharane is a testament that brings to fore a dormant literary form – romantic poetry – which was widely used in Telugu literary firmament earlier. Another significance is that the poems in this book are presented in the form of couplets that are widely used in Urdu Ghazals.
The book is a collection of poems on love, romance interspersed by sorrow, dismay, yearning and endless suffering. Though based on Ghazal style, which forms the core of Urdu poetry, he gives it a refreshing charm by bringing in the Telugu idiom.
Prabhakar, himself well-versed in English, Urdu and other languages, says,“The couplets, specifically used in Urdu Ghazals, has evidenced that they are tailor-made to present the agony that pervades the romantic poetry in a best way."
In Telugu there are hardly any couplets that represent the complex poetic themes, he says. “There were cases of Urdu couplets being translated into Telugu. Notable among them are Dasharathy Krishnamacharyulu’s work Galeeb Geethalu and a translation of Omar Khayyam’s couplets by poet Duvvuri Ramireddy. But in present times there is hardly any well-known collection of poems using this poetic expression,” he said.
Prabhakar is also credited with more than 10 published-books on different topics. Of those Mannavulam (1980), which was released by eminent Telugu poet Sri Sri, and Erra Mandaram which was published in 2011 are widely appreciated. The present book is expected to be released by Sahitya Akademi Award winner and writer K Siva Reddy soon.