About amaraavati kathalu - part 3 (renDu gangalu)
V. Chowdary Jampala (cjampala@quark.dayton.net)
Fri, 21 Nov 1997 10:00:17 -0500 (EST)
About amaraavati kathalu - part 3
(continued from previous posts)
I will start with renDu gangalu, one of my all time favorites (some of
you who have been around for a while may excuse me for being
repetitious). This is not a story in the traditional sense. Vasu
probably may even cite this as an example of a 'plotless plot'. An
eighty year old 'Sastri gaaru' is besieged by the grandchildren
clamoring for a bedtime story, and begins telling a story. It wasn't
really much of a story. One evening, in his freshly married youth, the
narrator was walking home from the fields and gets caught in a
downpour. After some initial fretfulness, he began to enjoy the rain.
(I apologize; reading in RTS does not make this or the other
following passages adequate justice. The best way to enjoy these
passages is to read them to yourself or somebody aloud.)
"ippudu varsham naameeda kurustOndi. naalOnchi kurustOndi.
jallujallugaa kurustOndi. bhaLLubhaLLugaa kurustOndi. varshapu
challadanam Sirassununci paadaaladaaka paaki SareeraMlOni
sarvaaNuvulni kaDigEStOndi. aa challadanam naranaraallOki paruguletti
vecchagaa undi. adi enni snaanaala peTTu! enni munakalu daaniki deeTu!
varshamantaa naameedE paDaalani_pinchindi. nannu
muncheyyaalanipinchindi. aa samayamlO nEnu naDavTam maanEsi, vorEy! aa
Donka madhyalO niTaarugaa nunchunnaaraa!"
A while later, he makes his way to the riverbank and, he stands
transfixed by the spectacle of the rain on the river; somebody finds
him in that state and reminds him to go home. What was the scene that
so fascinated him?
"...rangaavajhalavaari chEnu daaTi alaa kRUshNa voDDuki
vastinigadaa -
vare vare vare! adee varsham.
anta goppa pravaahamlO santata dhaaragaa vaanapaDipOtOndi. neeLLalO
neeLLu! dhaaralO dhaara! pravaahaMlO pravaaham! vaanachinukulu
kRUshNalO paDutunTE peddakka prEmagaa hattukunTE voLLU
jaladarinchinaTTu, aa pravaaham meeda O jaladarimpu, O pulakarimpu.
siggutO navvinappuDu buggameeda soTTalaa chinuku paDDAchOTa
chinnagunTa. antalO aa gunTa maayam. maLLee chinuku maLLee gunTa.
maLLee maLLee chinukulu. antalO maayamayi maLLee maLLee gunTalu.
kRUshNantaa chinukulu. kRUshNantaa pulakarintalu. isakameeda
chinukulu. kasakasa chinukulu. rENurENuvukee chinukulu. visavisa,
sarasara chinukulu. rivvumani, rayyimani chinukulu. oopulaa chinukulu.
taapulaa chinukulu. ChaLLUmani, feLLUmani, dabhillumani, peThillumani
chinukulu - chinukulu - kRushNaninDaa, isaka ninDaa, nElaninDaa -
chinukulu chinukulu - renDu gangalu kalisipOyinaTTu, ningee nElaa
okaTE annaTTu. ee jagattulO neeLLu tappa inkEvee lEnaTTu. anniTikee
neeLLE aadhaaramannaTTu vaana, varsham, gangamma, kishTamma, sandram -
adEdO daaniki nuvvE pErainaa peTTukO"
At this point in narration, Saastrigaaru pauses. All the grandchildren
have fallen asleep except for the oldest grandson, now in college, who
says, "varsham aagipOyindani cheppaku taatayyaa!". No, the rain was
still continuing. Sastri remembered his new bride, a city girl who is
at risk of developing a cold if exposed to all this rain, and hurried
home. Once there, he couldn't find her anywhere in the home, began to
search for her frantically, and finally found her. Where was she, and what
was she doing?
"...gabagabaa doDlOkostE doDDi chivara aarubayaTa kRUshNavaipu tirigi
nunchuni kanpinchindi. varsham kRUshNalO kalustunTE, kRUshNa varshaMlO
kalsustunTE, varshaMlO tanu kalisipOyi, chEtulu vippaarchi tala
mulakalugaa haayigaa taDustOndi."
End of story.
I, of course, gave you only three small passages from a story that ran
four printed pages in a 5.5 x 8.5 format. Is there a plot here? What
about the style of writing and linguistic abilities? Does the style
fit the plot? Does he paint a huge canvas in front of our eyes with
his words? Aren't there new images here that we haven't really seen
before? Was there anybody else that described the rain falling on a
river more beautifully? Read again that part where he watches the rain
falling on the river. Look at the words; their cadence, their
balance! They make me experience the entire scene in its complete
magnificience; I can feel the rain touching me and soaking me; I can hear
the thunder and see the lightning and watch the rain falling on
the river. Is this prose or poetry?
(Some other excerpts from the story)
"aakaaSamantaa nallamEghaalE. nalla cheera kaTTukunna aaDadaani mollO
baakulaagaa aa nalla mEghaala madhya O merupu,..."
"...unnaTTunDi mabbulu peddapeTTuna urimaayi. varsharaanI
teevravEgaMtO ratham naDipisutnE rayyina praugettE ratha chakraala
dhvanilaa undi aa urumu. aa urumu alaa dooramavutoonTE
adilinchinappuDu aa rathaaniki poonchina gurram sakilimpulaa undi.
allantalO mabbullO goppa merupu. adi varsharaaNi kireeTaMlaa undi.
kireeTamE kaLLU mirumiTlu golpitE aa raaNi elaa untundO! alankaraalu
chooDDaanikE ee kaLLu moosukupOtunTE inka aakaaraalelaa kanpistaayi?"
The story that comes closest to this in style is chalam's classic, 'O
poovu poosindi'. That also has a 'plotless' plot and a narrative style
that fits the plot perfectly. Both these stories are written with a
force and imagery that makes us wonder about the distinction between prose
and poetry.
What about the 'technic' in this story? How much does the author tell
us about this couple? What kind of people are they? What is the
relationship between them? How did they lead their life from that
point on? How does this compare with that of the other Telugu greats?
Besides the chalam story that I already mentioned, I see a
parallel with one of chasO's stories, 'tummula katha'. This story also
reminds me of mallaadi, Sreepaada and buccibaabu.
(To be continued)
Regards -- V. Chowdary Jampala