HYDERABAD: During the dark days of Emergency, when Mahakavi Sri Sri wrote a poem praising Indira Gandhi’s 20-point formula, almost everyone his writer colleagues to progressive democrats, pounced on him for what they termed Mrs Gandhi dictatorship.
One man however stood by Sri Sri. He was another famous Telugu poet and writer Ajanta (Penumarthi Viswanadha Sastry). He asked people not to criticise his colleague as Sri Sri was akin to a God who was suffering from fever (Jwaramochina demudu). On another occasion, when people made unsavoury comments about Sri Sri’s love for alcohol, this time around, another poet Kaloji Narayana Rao said, “Nuvvu raasi paresina kavithalu gubalisthonte, nuvvu thaagi paresina khaali sessala kampu nakenduku(When the poetry which you wrote emanates such fragrance, why should I bother about the stink of your empty liquor bottles?).”
Centenary celebrations of the Mahakavi are being held all over the State from Thursday. On this day, exactly 99 years ago, Sri Sri was born in Visakhapatnam.
How does one describe a poet, writer, lyricist, progressive thinker and a great personality like Sri Sri (Srirangam Srinivasa Rao)? It is best to describe him in his own words perhaps. He once said, “1930 daaka Telugu sahithyam nannu nadipinchindi. Aa tharvaatha nunchi daanni nene nadipisthunaanu (Till the 1930s, Telugu literature guided me, after that, I am guiding her).” Even after his death in 1983, Sri Sri continued to guide Telugu literature. He would continue to do so, like Mahakavi Gurazada, as long as Telugu language and literature exist.
Some of his major works include Maha Prasthanam (A Great Journey), Siprali and Khadga Srushti.
Writing an obit the next day after Sri Sri’s death in The Indian Express (June 16, 1983), D Anjaneyulu concluded the piece with these words: “He was for Andhra Pradesh what Nazrul Islam was for Bangladesh, Pablo Neruda for Latin America and Mayakovsky for Soviet Russia. He remains the poet of the revolution, the ever ephemeral herald of the future.” Noted writer and critic, K V Ramana Reddy said Sri Sri was an acknowledged and splendid alchemist who created superb and marvellous originals in Telugu; absorbing Eastern and Western poetic influences.
In this context, mention should be made of Nazrul Islam, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya in Bengal, Gurazada, Kavikondala and also Sistla to some extent in Telugu; Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Paul Eluard, Emile Verhaeren Louis Aragon in France; Mayakovsky in Russia; James Joyce, Dylan Thomas and E A Poe in English. It is indisputable that Sri Sri’s poetry possesses universal essence.
There is no other Telugu literary personality like Sri Sri, who is much discussed, criticised, talked about, admired, ridiculed, often misunderstood but held in high esteem. After all Sri Sri is Sri Sri.