Unsung Poetry (

Unsung Poetry (Part 1)

[[Unsung Poetry (Part 1) Source: prekshaa]]

Here poetry isn’t the proverbial tough nut to crack. One need not raise their eyebrows remembering illustrious poets like Pampa, Ranna, Ṣaḍakṣarī, Harihara, Rudra-bhaṭṭa, Nāraṇappa (Kumāra-vyāsa). Our aim here is some light poetry. In these we see hints of prosody here and there; alliteration is present in a haphazard manner. The purpose here is to highlight some light compositions of people which they normally don’t highlight themselves. Since the aim here is to extol the proverbial dwarf reaching out for a coconut high up in the tree or the singer who after opening her mouth to sing ends up burping instead, it might end up being a mischief, a ramble or a tickle. One can guess the nature of the light-hearted poetry by reading the examples given here.

My revered maternal aunt

ಗುಂಡಂ ಭಂಡಂ ।
ತಿಂಡಿಕಿ ಶೂರಂ ।
ಚಂಡಾಲ ಮುಂಡೇಗಂಡಂ ॥
Gunda the rascally
Champion of gluttony
The lowly wretched rogue ¹

This was the first modern poetry I heard. That too around seventy-five years ago.

The poetess being my maternal aunt, i.e. my father’s uncle’s ² daughter. Without the relevant background one wouldn’t understand the full significance of the poem.

Before hearing this I remember in bits that I’d already heard some poems in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Marathi. My grandfather was familiar with all these languages. He also knew Farsi and Urdu. My grandfather’s younger brother had already taught me a Marathi poem which goes like this.

ಶ್ರೀ ಹಣಮಂತ ।
ಮಹಾ ಬಲವಂತ ।
ಸದಾ ಯಶವಂತ ।
ಉಡೇ ಗಗುನೀ ॥
Shri Haṇamanta ³
Extraordinarily well-built
Always triumphant
Flew in the sky

I don’t remember any other poems. My maternal aunt’s poem was the first to extol my fame!

During those days, there used to be ten-fifteen people in my house. It was common for around twenty people to have a meal together, at a time. The reason being 1) it was the era of love and affection 2) it was the era of surplus.

The required quantity of Paddy, Toor dal, Ragi, Moong dal, Bengal gram etc was readily available to us from our fields. Toor was being cultivated in our house. That was an elaborate process. I used to regularly participate in that. Even now I can teach the whole process to interested people. Paddy was pounded to separate the husk and obtain rice. Tamarind was available in surplus. The harvest of the Honge seeds (Indian beech) were given to the Gāṇigas ⁴ (oil-mongers) and half of the oil extracted from it was received for using it to light the lamps used in our household. The remaining half was bartered for gingelly oil. Coconut’s price was fixed to either six or four per Āṇṇa[5]. We never used to buy jaggery. My grandfather’s younger brother had a money-lending business. As a substitute for the interest upon the loans which he had lent to few (two-three) of the sugarcane farmers, he used to make them supply jaggery. There were two dairy/milch cows and a buffalo always residing in our house to provide milk.

But the expenses were also likewise. There used to be around six-seven death ceremonies in a year. Because of that, Vaḍā, Sukinuṇḍe, Obbaṭṭu was not at all rare. Along with that there used to be birthdays of six-seven kids. Thus, fried items like Cakkuli, Mucchore, Koḍubaḻe and sweets like Puḻḻangāyuṇḍe etc were prepared on a weekly basis. This is the foundation of the gluttony mentioned in the above poem.

As this was the situation, I had no taste for the routine meal. My exploits invariably were in the storeroom. The process of searching for Karigaḍubu or Āmboḍe or Cakkuli would never be silent. Pots would fall and break, resulting in spillage of beaten rice or flour. When my father would become aware of that it would lead to jabs or lashes on my back. But the exploits of the pot-tiger ⁵ would go on without any remorse or shame. Thus “champion of gluttony” and “rascally” as adjectives had found their aptness. To quote the great poet Bhavabhūti,

ಲೌಕಿಕಾನಾಂ ಹಿ ಸಾಧೂನಾಂ
ಅರ್ಥಂ ವಾಗನುವರ್ತತೇ ।
ಋಷೀಣಾಂ ಪುನರಾದ್ಯಾನಾಂ
ವಾಚಮರ್ಥೋSನುಧಾವತೇ ॥

In case of the commoners and good people, their words follow the events/things. But in case of the sages who are worthy of high respect, the events/things happen according to their words.

My maternal aunt’s poem is the best example for this. Her words about gluttony and foulness still holds true.

Her poem is adorned with alliterations [which is of course lost in the translation]. First two lines can be said to be Svabhāvokti ⁶ , the third line is Utprekṣā ⁷. I was not matured enough to understand the word ‘Gaṇḍa[9]’ then. One important quality of poetry is alliteration. It is so attractive that poets are tempted to use it sometimes without caring even the destruction of the original intent of the poem. The third line here is the product of that bias towards alliteration.

My maternal aunt used to mock some of my other relatives too. Here is an example.

ಸಿಂಗಾರವಾದಳುಶಿಂಬ್ಳಪುರುಕೀ ।
ಅಂಗಡೀಲಿಕುಂತನು ಗಜ್ಜಿಬುರುಕ ॥
Made up she was, the runny-nose woman.
In the store he sat, the itchy man. ⁸

The elders of the house would sometimes be annoyed by this; but while they expressed their anger outside, within the confines of their mind they used to enjoy it too.

This is the first part of the English translation of the Eighteenth essay (Aprasiddha Kavitva 1) in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 7) – Hrudayasampannaru, translated by Raghavendra G S. The translator likes to acknowledge the timely help of Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh in translating the verses in this article.

Footnotes

Unsung Poetry (Part 2)

[[Unsung Poetry (Part 2) Source: prekshaa]]

Subbanna the Musician

Shri. Subbanna was the music teacher in the girls’ school. During those days, teachers were familiar with a bit of poetry. They were trained enough to at least recognise some of the features/attributes of poetry. When his prowess and enthusiasm was at its peak (1887 C.E.), the golden jubilee of the coronation of Queen Victoria was being celebrated. Probably during that or sometime later, to suit the situation, he composed the following song. He used to teach this for many more years to come.

ಕ್ವೀನ್ ವಿಕ್ಟೋರಿಯಾ
ಎಂಪ್ರೆಸ್ ಆಫ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ
ನೀ ಹ್ಯಾಪಿಯಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನಾಳು
ಒನ್ ಮಿಲಿಯನ್ ಯಿಯರ್ ‖

ಸುಗುಣಶಾಲಿನೀ—ಸುಜನಪಾಲಿನೀ
ಕಡಲ ರಾಣಿ—ಹಡಗ ದೋಣಿ
ರೂಲ್ ಬ್ರಿಟ್ಯಾನಿಯಾ ‖

Queen Victoria
Empress of India
You rule us happily
One million year ⁹

Endowed with virtues—Guardian of virtuous people
Queen of the oceans—sail of the ships ¹⁰
Rule Britannia

Please note that the letter ‘r’ in the word ‘year’ in the fourth line is silent so that it rhymes with ‘India’. These bilingual poems were wonders of that era. Nācana Somanātha from the ancient times has declared with pride that he is an octolingual poet.

Doesn’t the song mentioned above contain English words? In English, accent being a pronunciation constraint which governs how the words are recited/uttered and thus setting those words to our rāgas would be inappropriate—such thought never occurred to Subbanna. He made us learn this song by rote in the Noṭ style of Śankarābharaṇa-rāga. We sang multiple times; our teachers’ joy would multiply likewise! Two laḍḍus were given to people who sang and others were given only one.

Subbanna had composed many such lyrical poems. In one of those he had combined Kannada-Telugu, Śiva-Viṣṇu, Speech and Substance/Meaning.

ಪೂಲ ಚೆಂಡ್ಲಾಡಿರಿ—ಕೈಲಾಸವಾಸುಲು ।
ಪುಷ್ಪ ಚೆಂಡಾಡಿದರ್—ವೈಕುಂಠವಾಸಿಗಳ್ ‖

ನಿನ್ನನು ನಂಬಿದೆ ಸನ್ನುತಾಂಗ ।
ಎನ್ನನು ಕಾಯೊ ಪಾಂಡುರಂಗ ‖
ಬಾರೊ ಬಾರೊ ಶ್ರೀಹರಿ ।
ಭಾರವಿಳಿಸೊ ನರಹರಿ ‖

ಸಗ್ಗರಿಗರಿ ರಿಗರಿಸಾ ।
ನೀಸರೀಸ ಸಾನಿಧಸ್ಸ ‖ 1 ‖

ಪರಬ್ರಹ್ಮರೂಪಿಣಂ ।
ಬಾಲಚಂದ್ರಭೂಷಣಂ ‖
ಪಶುಪತೀ ವಂದನಂ ।
ಪಾರ್ವತೀ ವಲ್ಲಭಂ ‖

ಸಗ್ಗರಿಗರಿ ರಿಗರಿಸಾ ।
ನೀಸರೀಸ ಸಾನಿಧಸ್ಸ ‖ 2 ‖

With flower-balls they played the dwellers of Kailāsa
With flower-balls they played the dwellers of Vaikuṇṭha

My faith is in you, O well-praised one.
Save me from crisis, O Pāṇḍu-raṅga
Come come, O Śrī-hari
Unburden me, O Narahari

Sag-ga-ri-ga-ri ri-ga-ri-sā
Nī-sa-rī-sa sā-ni-dhas-sa

O the form of Para-brahma
O the crescent-moon adorned
Salutations to you, O Paśupati
O, the beloved of Pārvatī

Sag-ga-ri-ga-ri ri-ga-ri-sā
Nī-sa-rī-sa sā-ni-dhas-sa

Not only the school-going girls, but others too would sing this with panache. The mothers and grandmothers of these girls would listen to it wonderstruck. People who were well-versed in music would just smile silently. That was due to etiquette.

Shaikh Dawood Saheb

He was older than me by five-six years. He was my father’s favourite student. More than that he was Chandrashekhara Shastry’s (the headmaster) favourite student. He had completed L.S (Lower Secondary exam) in Kannada, Telugu and Urdu. During those days, it was the equivalent of D.Litt. orMaha-mahopādhyāya in our place. He also had secured a first class in all those three exams which was a rarity. Not only that, he had also gained the respect of both the Hindu and Muslim communities.

In the kingdom of Mysore, the idea of upliftment of the Harijans (Dalits) and the idea of bringing literacy and education to the citizens was already in vogue, even decades before M.K.Gandhi and Gokhale. During the tenure of Sir. Sheshadri Iyer (1897-98 C.E.), the officials had decided that two schools—a night school and a school for Dalits—should be established and had asked Chandrashekhara Shastry to select two people who were qualified to become teachers. Shastry suggested the name of a person named Rangacharya for the night school and Shaikh Dawood Saheb for the school for Dalits. That was sanctioned and Dawood Saheb had earned good reputation as a teacher.

In the present context—one afternoon, sometime before 3 pm, I’d been to school. In the headmaster’s room, in a corner, Shaikh Dawood Saheb was seated, and he was writing something. As soon as he noticed me, he said, “Oh you have arrived! I’d been waiting for you. Read this.”, so saying, he gave me the sheet of paper. The content was as follows:

ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟ-ರ-ರ-ರ-ರಾ
ಸಂತೋಷ ಮೊಂದೇ ಲಂಡನ್ ಬುರಾ

Ṭan-ṭan-ṭan-ṭan-ṭa-ra-ra-ra-rā
Attained happiness, the London city.

I couldn’t understand. “what is this?”, I asked. He explained it thus:

“Muharram is fast approaching—Shouldn’t the people of our community participate in Girole? So, they have asked me to compose some poem. Read and let me know how it is.”

‘Girole’ or ‘Girao’ is ‘Gherao’ in present political terms. This procession comprises of nine to ten people. All in uniform. White pyjamas, White banians almost reaching their knees. A Turkey Namaz cap. Among them, one would tie a Maddaḻe ¹¹ around his waist, facing upwards. Using both hands, he would proceed to beat it rhythmically. Others would go around him dancing in circles. In their right hand everyone holds a Gilike ¹², fashioned using a tin container filled with pebbles, resulting in sound when shaken. In the left hand they have a bamboo stick. It is decorated with colourful papers. When they dance around in circles, they should sing according to their movement and rhythm. This is the poetic prowess of Shaikh Dawood Saheb.

I asked him what the meaning of his composition was.

“For the first half, the words themselves are the meanings. Recite it fast and you would understand the significance of it yourself. Now the second half. In that, ‘ಸಂತೋಷ ಮೊಂದೇ’ is Telugu: It attained happiness is the meaning. Now, what or who attained it? ‘ಲಂಡನ್ (London) ಪುರ (town/city)’. Now ಪುರ/Pura becomes ಬುರ/Bura due to the rules of the Kannada ಸಂಧಿ (Union/ Euphonic junction as per Grammar). Isn’t it well known that ‘ka/ಕ’, ‘ta/ತ’, ‘pa/ಪ’ becomes ‘ga/ಗ’, ’da/ದ’, ’ba/ಬ’? kai + koṇḍu = kaigoṇḍu[5]. hiṃ + tege = hindege[6]. sukhaṃ + paṭṭanu = sukhaṃbaṭṭanu ¹³.”—he described.

Thus, Dawood Saheb giving due credit to the grammar rules, explained, “The world-famous city, London itself was so happy due to our Gherao is the intended import.”—he said, “Sing once again with panache”

ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟನ್-ಟ-ರ-ರ-ರ-ರಾ
ಸಂತೋಷ ಮೊಂದೇ ಲಂಡನ್ ಬುರಾ
ಆ ಲಂಡನ್ ಬಡಾ—ಹೋ ಲಂಡನ್ ಬಡಾ

Ṭan-ṭan-ṭan-ṭan-ṭa-ra-ra-ra-rā
Attained happiness, the London city.
Oh, that big London city! Oh, that big London city!

Wah! What heat! What a style! What a flight/run! Without these how would it even be poetry!?—there are people who subscribe to such notions. Such people would definitely enjoy Sheikh Dawood saheb’s poetry.

This is the Second part of the English translation of the Eighteenth essay*(Aprasiddha Kavitva 1)*in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 7) – Hrudayasampannaru, translated by Raghavendra G S. The translator likes to acknowledge the timely help of Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh in translating the verses in this article.

Footnotes

Unsung Poetry (Part 3)

[[Unsung Poetry (Part 3) Source: prekshaa]]

The revered Sheshappa and Subba Rao

Both Shri. Sheshappa and Shri. Subba Rao are older than me by a good number of years. Subba Rao also taught me during me school days. Both had cleared their Upādhyāya[1] exams and were preparing for Paṇḍita[2] exams.

This incident happened during one of the summer holidays, I remember I was either in fourth or fifth standard in Kannada medium. During the summer it was a routine that both Sheshappa and Subba Rao with few of their friends used to study in our veranda. Our house was a west-facing house. The platform ¹⁴ in front of the house was big. I and Sheshappa used to occupy the room in the northern portion. Subba Rao and others used to occupy the room which was towards the southern direction. In the evening, my father used to get some fruits like papaya, pomelo, pomegranate etc from the garden in the backyard, sit in between the two platforms, peel them and distribute it to everyone present there. All of us used to discuss about various books we had read and pass time.

During those days, Shri. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s writings in Bengali were being translated by Shri. B. Venkatacharya and were being published. Even our school used to get those books. Among them was one book named ‘Bhrānti-vilāsa’. This was a translation of the great playwright Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’ in Kannada in the form of a story. We weren’t aware of it then. We read it in Kannada. We felt that it was excellent. We also felt it would be great if we can write it in the form of a play in Kannada. Immediately we thought why not start the translation then and there.

For every play, the first thing which needs to be composed is a benedictory verse ¹⁵. It was decided that both Sheshappa and Subba Rao would compose it. Both went to their respective rooms with enthusiasm to compose that verse and closed the doors.

About ten-fifteen minutes passed and my father’s friend Shri. Venkatanarana Bhatta arrived. “Where are these two gentlemen, Sheshappa and Subba Rao?”, he asked my father. After hearing the context from my father, he decided to stay saying “Let me also listen to the verses composed and enjoy them”. Another five minutes passed, few more curious friends arrived and joined us.

Another five minutes passed. Venkatanarana Bhatta loudly shouted in Telugu, “Sheshappa, Are you still in labour pain? (i.e. is the verse still in process?). Who’ll complete first? You or Subba Rao?”, in the pretext of asking them. After one-two minutes, Sheshappa came out of the room and handed a piece of paper to Venkatanarana Bhatta. The contents were as follows.

ಶ್ರೀಗೌರೀಕುಚಕುಂಭಕುಂಕುಮಲಸತ್-
ಪಂಕಾಂಕಿತೋರಃಸ್ಥಲಂ ।
ವಾಗೀಶಾದ್ಯಮರೌಘವಂದಿತಪದಂ
ಗಂಗಾಧರಂ ಶಂಕರಂ …
The lord whose chest has been smeared by the vermillion marks adorning the breasts of his consort, Gaurī, whose feet are worshipped by the lord of speech (Brahmā) and other immortals (deities), who has Ganga as an ornament, who does auspicious things, … (may he protect you/us or we bow down to him) ¹⁶

By then Subba Rao also came out of his room and handed over his verse Venkatanarana Bhatta. He read that verse too. It goes as follows:

ಶ್ರೀಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀಕುಚಕುಂಭಕುಂಕುಮಲಸತ್-
ಪಂಕಾಂಕಿತೋರಃಸ್ಥಲಂ ।
ಫಾಲಾಕ್ಷಾದ್ಯಮರೌಘವಂದಿತಪದಂ
ಗೋವಿಂದನಾನಂದದಂ… The lord whose chest has been smeared by the vermillion marks adorning the breasts of his consort, Lakṣmī, whose feet are worshipped by the lord of who has an eye on his forehead (Śiva) and other immortals (deities), who is the cowherd (Govinda), who gives us bliss, … (may he protect you/us or we bow down to him)

Bhatta exclaimed “Bravo! Excellent verses! It’s apt that the Smārta among us has addressed his verse to Śiva while the Mādhva has addressed it to Viṣṇu. But both of you have wreaked havoc on the respective mother deities! Both of you have targeted the same body part to describe! What is this?”, he said.

My father was adept in laughing. Not only just the readers and listeners, the one who read the verse and the duo who wrote them, all were submerged in the sea of laughter which ensued. After this incident, for eight-ten days, wherever we went we reminisced about it again and again.

That was the end to the enthusiasm of the duo when it comes to poetry.

This is the Third part of the English translation of the Eighteenth essay*(Aprasiddha Kavitva 1)*in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 7) – Hrudayasampannaru, translated by Raghavendra G S. The translator likes to acknowledge the timely help of Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh in translating the verses in this article.

Footnotes

Unsung Poetry (Part 4)

[[Unsung Poetry (Part 4) Source: prekshaa]]

Sixty-seventy years ago, the erudite scholars of the era were blessed with an abundant vocabulary. Unfortunately, the themes on which this prowess was to be applied were not extraordinary. Shri. Tiruvengadayya of Mulbagal was a scholar in Telugu. He was an expert and an enthusiast when it comes to teaching classical poetry; pure in conduct; a true devotee of the Almighty. He was the headmaster of the Telugu middle school. Along with that he also used to teach Gamaka ¹⁷ to some of the youngsters from the Vaishya ¹⁸ community. In Telugu, as it is the case in Kannada, Prāsa ¹⁹ is an important component of poetry. Tiruvengadayya was a huge fan of that. One of his disciples composed some imitation poetry as follows:

ಅಂಡಾಂಡ ಪಿಂಡಾಂಡ
ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡ ಭಾಂಡಂಬು।
ಧಂಡಿಗಾ ಭಂಡಿಗಾ
ಮೆಂಡಿವೆಲಸೆ।।
The vessels which are the Aṇḍāṇḍa, Piṇḍāṇḍa and Brahmāṇḍa, overflowed in excess

ತೆರೆತೂರ್ಣ ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣ
ಪೂರ್ಣ ಘೂರ್ಣಿತಮಯ್ಯಿ।
ಚೂರ್ಣಂಬು ನೂರ್ಣಂಬು
ಪೂರ್ಣಮಯ್ಯೆ।।
The waves soon became full, morphed into whirlpools, were decimated, and were filled

Seeing this Tiruvengadayya asked, “What is the meaning of this?”. His disciple replied in Telugu, “I’ve just arranged the words now. I’ve not decided anything on the meanings, it is something which would be thought about later”

If Tiruvengadayya had stumbled upon a good theme, he might have written a great classic. His wish was fulfilled when the Amaldar of his place got transferred.

The Amaldar was Shri. C. Sheshadri Iyengar. He was the brother of the famous councillor Shri. C. Srinivas Iyengar. When there was a gathering to felicitate him before he left, Tiruvengadayya recited his huge literary work.

The theme of his work was two-fold (thus the work consisted of two parts).

1. The construction of the gopura of the Anjaneya-svami temple. 2. The extermination of the Nagadāḻi/Common Rue ²⁰ plants.

We can indeed consider the first one as a good theme for a literary work. In the first part, the power of Anjaneya-svami, how he resided on the flag of Arjuna, later making Mulbagal as his abode, the king who requested him to reside there, agreeing to arrange the daily pooja which consisted of adorning him with a garland of Kedage ²¹ flowers, the Deity blessing all the devotees and giving them whatever they desired in the form of through the Kedage petals and the Bhasma ²² of the Bhasmārati. Then the devotees realizing the lacuna caused by the absence of the gopura and how it diminishes the grandeur of the temple, the persistent efforts of Sheshadri Iyengar to fill in this lacuna, his devotion, the magnanimity of the general public, the magnanimity of the people who donated funds to the noble cause—all these were described.

The second half dealt with the problems caused by the Nagadāḻi plants which had grown so much without any check, the travails it had caused to the travellers, the malevolence of the thieves and bandits who used them as their hiding place, the nuisance and the danger of the frogs and snakes which resided amongst these plants, the urgent need of destroying these plants to remove all these dangers, a generous praise for all the tools which were sharpened to weed out these plants, descriptions of their previous exploits; The process proceeded as though Shri. Rāma destroyed the army of Rāvaṇa, Arjuna destroyed the army of the Kauravas, Indra cut through the wings of all the mountains, Parameṣvara, the lord of all worlds destroying the three cities ²³ — Tiruvengadayya described. In this work rhyming words, like “ಅಂದಂಬುನ ಚಂದಂಬುನಡೆಂದೆಂಬುನ” and “ಪೇರೊಂಡ್ರು ವೇರೊಂಡ್ರು ಭೇರೊಂಡ್ರು”, flowed copiously.

Listening to it, people were wonderstruck. In those days, in our country, erudition was there; so were people who knew its value.

Since Tuesday was the day when the Sante ²⁴ was set up in the town, it was a holiday for schools. Afternoon, it was a routine that all the schoolteachers would meet and chitchat in the Telugu school building which was in the town centre, while eating cucumbers and peanuts.

One day to start the proceedings, Tiruvengadayya quoted a verse written by some unknown person and explained it’s meaning as follows:

ಕನ್ನಡ ಕವಿತಲು ವೆಧವುಲ।

ಚೊನ್ನುಲ ವಲೆ ಜೋಲು ಬಡಿನ ತಿತ್ತುಲು ಗದರಾ।।

“Aren’t the Kannada poems like the sagging bag-like breasts of the widows”

After hearing it, Shri Vegamadulu Shinappa, immediately replied as follows,

ತೆಲುಗುನ ಕವಿತಲು ಕಮ್ಮಡಿ।

ಪುಲುಗುಲ ವಲೆ ಮುಂಡ್ಲನೆತ್ತಿ ಜರುಗುನು ಗದರಾ।।

“Telugu poems meanwhile are like the crawling caterpillars whose thornlike spines are always erect”

Someone in the audience exclaimed “Such a great match between those widows and these widows!”.

ಮುಂಡ್ಲು can be understood either as ‘thorns’ or as ‘widows’.

Koḻḻi Naraṣiñyācārya

Naraṣiñyācārya was the disciple of Gopinathācārya. Was a great devotee of his teacher. All his prominent poems dealt with praising his teacher.

There are many stories about Naraṣiñyācārya. They are not to be written, not to be published even if written. To give an example, I’ll narrate one story.

The teacher-student duo had been to a village in Nangali for lunch. A sumptuous meal of Huḻitovve, Hayagrīva, Hālukīru, Aṃboḍe was devoured with glee. They started their return journey by around three thirty or four in the afternoon. The heavy meal in their stomachs were dragging them down. Scorching summer heat beat them down their heads. Somehow with great effort they covered one or two miles. They were exhausted by then. They spotted a thick vegetation of the Muttuga ²⁵ trees nearby. The shade below them due to their expansive leaves felt refreshing. Gleefully ignoring the consequences, they both relieved themselves of the nature call. Then they thought of water. But alas! They couldn’t find any nearby. In such situation they did whatever anyone else could have done i.e. lifted their clothes so as to not make them dirty and walked further. There they noticed a rock which was wide and clean. Seeing it Ācārya (the teacher) turned back and said “Wow!

ಈ ಬಂಡೀ ನಾ ಕಂಡೀ।
ಎಮ ಕುಂಡೀ ಶುದ್ದಿಃ”।।
This rock I saw is clean
And so, my ass got cleansed.

The disciple continued.

ನಿಮ ಕುಂಡೀ ನಾ ಕಂಡೀ।
ಎಮ ಕುಂಡ್ಯೂ ಶುದ್ದಿಃ।।
Your ass I saw is clean
And so, my ass too got cleansed.

Something which is pure can also be a purifier is the concept here. Isn’t a lighted lamp capable of lighting another lamp?

I can’t say if the story is true or fiction. Even if it is fictitious it throws some light on human behaviour is all I can say.

This is the First part of the English translation of the nineteenth essay*(Aprasiddha Kavitva 2)*in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 7) – Hrudayasampannaru, translated by Raghavendra G S. The translator likes to acknowledge the timely help of Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh in translating the verses in this article.

Footnotes

Unsung Poetry (Part 5)

[[Unsung Poetry (Part 5) Source: prekshaa]]

Here is a verse composed by Naraṣiñyācārya, dedicated towards his teacher.

ಗೋಪೀನಾಥಗುರಂ ವಂದೇ
ಗೋಪೀಚಂದನಧಾರಿಣಮ್ ।
ಅಂಗಾರತುಳಸೀಯುಕ್ತಂ
ಆರ್ದ್ರಚಿಕ್ಕಪಟಾನ್ವಿತಮ್ ॥
I bow down to my teacher Gopīnathācārya, who bears Gopī-candana, adorned with Aṅgāra ²⁶ and Tulasī ²⁷, covered by small wet cloth.

‘Cikka’ here refers to small (washed and sanctified) cloth which is typically worn during the worship of the deities. ‘Ārdra’ signifies that it is still wet.

There are many textual variations for the second half of this verse.

ಸಗಡ್ಡಂ ಚ ಸ ಬುಡ್ಡಂ ಚ
ವಕ್ರದಂತವಿರಾಜಿತಮ್ ॥
… The one adorned with beard, and a set of crooked teeth
ಶತಚ್ಛಿದ್ರಪಟವ್ಯಕ್ತ-
ದಂಡಕಾರಣ್ಯಶೋಭನಮ್ ॥
…containing hundreds of holes, exhibiting the forest of Daṇḍaka ²⁸
ಶತಚ್ಛಿದ್ರಪಟವ್ಯಕ್ತ-
… … ದ್ವಯಮಂಡಿತಮ್ ॥
…containing hundreds of holes, endowed with a pair of …

When his teacher heard about all these “despicable variations” he said to his disciple.

“Oh Naraṣiñyā! You have thrown my reputation down the drain”

His disciple said,

“I’ve said ‘Paṭṭānvitam’, I’ve covered your modesty with clothes. All these wretched people have done this to ridicule you.”

His teacher blessed him saying “You bl**dy …”

The passion of poetry

The passion to compose poetry is like castor oil. Even a drop of it residing inside won’t stay quiet. Only after it comes out in full flow there will be tranquillity. If it remains inside it’s a pain, dangerous. Once when I gave this comparison my friend Late S. G. Shastri was quite agitated and scolded me; I remember. From that day till now, I’m yet to find a comparison which is more appropriate, and I’ve failed; I beg your pardon.

Around forty to fifty years ago, in the multitude of teachers, this disease was predominant. Around 1914-15, when Rao Bahadur M. Shamarao was the head of the education department this incident happened. When he had been to some school, a teacher there had composed five-six verses, printed them on a sheet of paper, framed it and presented it to him. The first verse was as follows:

ವರ ಶಾಮರಾಯ ನಿನ್ನಯ
ಹಿರಿಮೆಯ ನಾನೇಂ ಪೊಗಳ್ವೆ ವಿದ್ವಜ್ಜನರ- ।
ಚ್ಚರಿಯದು … …
ಕರಿನಾಡಿನ ಬಿಜ್ಜೆಗಳ್ಗೆ ನೀಂ ತವರೂರೈ ॥
O Revered Shamarao, how can I extol your great esteem, the cause of wonder in erudite folk…the origin of all the branches of knowledge of Karnataka

Deliberating upon these verses, my friend Vajapeyam Venkatasubbayya, wrote a humorous article. I published it in the “Karnataka” magazine. Two-three days after that when Shamarao and I met, he said:

“What is this! I am being hit by both the sides. The teachers won’t listen to me; they commit these mistakes. On the other hand, even you won’t leave it as it is. Someone has thrashed me in his writings. Tell me, what should I do now? Now listen to this. When I was in Shivamogga, on inspection, in one of the schools they welcomed me with a song which was as follows:

ಕ್ಷೇಮವೇ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾವ್ ಬಹಾದ್ದೂರ್
ಶಾಮರಾಯರೇ?
ಈ ಮಹೀಶೂರ ಕಲಾ-
ಧಾಮಕಾಯರೇ
Are you keeping well, Rao Bahadur Shamarao? The embodiment of all the arts of Mysore.

The students, in excitement, while singing the first line, sang thus:

ಕ್ಷೇಮವೇ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾವ್ ಬಹಾದ್ದೂರ್
ಕ್ಷಾಮರಾಯರೇ?
Are you keeping well, Rao Bahadur Kṣāmarao (king of famine)

I called upon the teacher and said, ‘please don’t do this, this isn’t right I don’t need this. You keep all these formalities when the king or the viceroy visits your school’. In reply the teacher indicated that it can be changed to, ‘ಕ್ಷೇಮವೇ ಶ್ರೀ ಮಹಾರಾಜ ಚಾಮರಾಜ ²⁹’. I told him ‘please don’t bother our beloved king, let him be spared of this embarrassment’”

Our teachers are good people by heart. Their intent is noble. We shouldn’t spoil their happiness. When rhyming words like Śāma, Kṣema, Cāma etc., incessantly flow they ignite their poetic prowess. We should just accept it with a smile.

Vajapeyam Venkatasubbayya’s habit of analysing and critiquing poetry was at its extreme. Once when we were chatting, the topic of the late Komandur Ramaswamy Iyengar came up. Ramaswamy Iyengar was a scholar, a poetry enthusiast: he had edited and published “Rāmābhyudaya-kathā-kusumamañjarī” and other poetic works in Haḻegannaḍa ³⁰. He also had written some poetry himself. A good and noble-hearted person. Here is a verse which we-mainly Venkatasubbayya-composed:

ಆಗ ಮಾಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂದು ಸ-
ರಾಗದಿಂದ ಕವಿತ್ವ ಪಾಡಿದ
ನಾಗಶಯನನ ಭಕ್ತ ರಾಮಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಬುಧವರನು ।
ಈಗಲೀ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಪುರಿಯಲಿ
ಜಾಗವನು ಮಾಡಿಹನು ರಸಿಕರು
ಪೋಗಿ ನೋಡುವುದಲ್ಲಿ ನಗುಮೊಗವುಳ್ಳ ಮಡಿಕೋಲನ್ ॥
Then, residing in Magadi, was Ramaswamy Iyengar, best among scholars, the devotee of the deity sleeping on the serpent, who melodiously sang poetry, now he resides in Bangalore, connoisseurs should go and see him, the ever smiling, Maḍikolu-like ³¹ figure.

Ramaswamy Iyengar was a tall and lean person, stick-like in personality. He was ever smiling and since he was a Śrī-vaiṣnava, the Maḍikolu, famous in their household had to appear.

Venkatasubbayya also found happiness in ridiculing Nītī-śatakas. His attempt was to make a collection of parody verses imitating them.

ಇಜ್ಜಲು ಪುಡಿಯಂ ಬೆಳಗಾ-
ಗುಜ್ಜುತ ಪಲ್ಗಳನು ಬಾಯ ಮುಕ್ಕಳಿಸುತ್ತಂ
ಕಜ್ಜಿಗೆ ಸಾಬೂನಿಕ್ಕುತೆ
ಮಜ್ಜನಮಂಗೈದು ಸುಖದಿ ಬಾಳೆಲೊ ಸುಮತೀ
Cleaning the teeth with charcoal powder, gargling the mouth, and applying soap to cure the itching, take bath early in the morning and find happiness! O wise man.

ಬಜ್ಜಿಯ ಬದನೆಯ ಕಾಯಂ
ಸಜ್ಜಿಗೆಯಂ ಸೋಜಿ ತುಪ್ಪ ಬೆಲ್ಲ ಗಳಿಂದಂ
ಗೊಜ್ಜುಗಳ ಮಾಳ್ಪ ಪರಿಯಂ
ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ಬಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಕಲಿಯೌ ಸುಮತೀ
Learn the art of preparing bajji from brinjal, sajjige using Soji, ghee and jaggery, and Gojju under the tutelage of your grandmother. O wise man.

In this article, poetry means versification.

Venkannayya being poet was most probably known only to me and no one else. He also wouldn’t agree the description of him being a poet.

But he has been quite mischievous when it comes to versifying-but in jest. He had no ill will or jealousy towards anyone for that matter. Sometimes he had the knack of making people laugh. That I believe was one of the reasons why he was dear to so many people.

Once the kannaḍa-nāḍa-hāḍu (national anthem of erstwhile Mumbai-Karnataka state.) was the subject of parody. On some occasion, after listening to the famous poet Śānta-kavi’s “Rakṣisu Karnāṭaka-devi ³²”, this was how it was modified.

ಭಕ್ಷಿಸು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದೇವೀ -ನೀ
ಭಕ್ಷಿಸು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದೇವಿ
ಅಗ್ಗದ ಜೋಳದ ಬಕ್ಕರಿಗಳನು
ಮುಗ್ಗಿದ ರಾಗೀ ಮುದ್ದೆಗಳನ್ನು
ಗುಗ್ಗರಿ ಕಡಲೇ ಹುರುಳಿಗಳನ್ನು
ಹಿಗ್ಗಿದ ಜಗ್ಗಿದ ದವಡೆಗಳಿಂದ
ಭಕ್ಷಿಸು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದೇವೀ
Eat O Karnataka devi! Eat!
Eat the cheap Rotis of jowar
Eat the musty Ragi Balls
Eat the Guggari ³³ made of Bengal gram and horse gram
Using expanded and protracted jaws
Eat O Karnataka devi!

The import of it is that the history of the nation is great, the fame of the nation is likewise. The life of the current generation seems to be not in sync with the erstwhile glory of it. We should grow to become worthy of that fame.

Once we were discussing about Citra-kavite. There is a lot of work done in Telugu in this genre of poetry. Niroṣṭhyamulu ³⁴, Nirdantyamulu ³⁵, thus making such rules, there were many people who would compose verses. During the same discussion, we created a riddle as follows:

(ಒಗಟು)
ಇಂದ್ರನುಮುರ್ವಶಿಯುಂ ಕರಿ-
ಕೆಂದೂಳಿಯ ಕೊಳುತ ಕೊಡುತ ಗೋಂದಾಗಿಸುವರ್
ರಂಧ್ರದಿ ಸೇರುತಲದು ಶೀ-
ನೆಂದು ಹರಿಧ್ಯಾನ ಮಾಡಿಸುವ ಪುಡಿ ಏನೈ Indra and Urvaśī by give and take makes this dark powder into a paste, which goes in the opening, and coming out as a sneeze makes one remember the Almighty Hari. What is it?
(ಉತ್ತರ)
ಭಗವಂತಂ ನಾಲ್ಮೊಗದಿಂ
ನೆಗಡಿಯ ತಡೆಯಲ್ಕಸಾಧ್ಯಮಾಗಿರೆ ತಪದಿಂ-
ದೊಗೆಯಿಸಿದಂ ಹೊಗೆಸೊಪ್ಪಂ
ಸೊಗಯಿಸಿತಾ ಸಸ್ಯದೊಳ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ಯಂ ನಸ್ಯಂ
Brahmā, the four faced, finding it impossible to endure cold, through penance, brought out tobacco which manifested as, and earned fame as the praiseworthy Naśya ³⁶.

After that, I raised a challenge to compose a verse on Naśya without using any nasal ³⁷ alphabets. That resulted in this.

ದ(ನ)ಶ್ಯದ ಬೂ(ಮೂ)ಗೋ ಸಗ್ಗದ
ದೃಶ್ಯವೋ ಇದು ದೇವತೆಗಳ ಬಚ್ಚಲ ಗೃಹವೋ
ಹಾಸ್ಯವ ಬಿಡು ಆ ಬು(ಮು)ದಿ ಚತು-
ರಾಸ್ಯದ(ನ)ದಾ(ನಾ)ವೇದದಾ(ನಾ)ಕುಚಿಟಿಕೆಯಿದಲ್ತೆ ³⁸
Is it the nose which already has used Naśya? Is it a spectacle from the heaven? Is it the bathhouse of the deities? Oh! shun the humour, it is the essence of the four Vedas of the old four-faced deity, Brahmā.

In the history of the Kannada literature, there was an era of humour like the tickling caused by the ropes made by the paddy grass, or the rough hair. These examples are from that era. Looks like that era is bygone now. But still it doesn’t look like it’s completely gone. Few years ago, during a wedding in one of the Ministers’ house, a famous writer wrote and recited few benedictory verses paving way for an extension of his tenure for few more years! It’s not wrong. Poetry can be used to make money, gain fame, in day-to-day business, to destroy evil and so on ³⁹. The great aesthetician Danḍī, says so and gives permission for it to be used thus.

The bygone eras and the eras which are slipping out of our memory, let us remember them for the humour, have a hearty laugh and forget them. Even after the end of those eras, the flow of Kannada literature has not stopped. It has been flowing like a torrent taking newer and newer forms. Let us be happy for that.

This is the Second part of the English translation of the nineteenth essay*(Aprasiddha Kavitva 2)*in D V Gundappa’s magnum-opus Jnapakachitrashaale (Volume 7) – Hrudayasampannaru, translated by Raghavendra G S. The translator likes to acknowledge the timely help of Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh in translating the verses in this article.

Footnotes

dṛśyavo idu devategaḻa baccala gṛhavo

hāsyava biḍu ā bu(mu)di catu-

rāsyada(na)dā(nā)vedadā(nā)kuciṭikeyidalte

sadyaḥ paranirvṛtaye kāntāsammitatayopadeśayuje॥