Re: Reference to caste in tyAgarAja kIrtanalu

Prabhakar Vissavajjhala (vissavajjhala@yahoo.com)
Tue, 14 Apr 1998 10:37:47 -0700 (PDT)


Prasad chOdavarapu wrote
>when you hear "duDuku gaLa nannE dora koDuku >brOcurA...", aren't you 
>surprised at the 'duDuku' of tyAgayya when he says >"teliyani naTa
viTa 
>SUdrula vanitalu svavaSamauTa kupadeSiMci, >saMtasilli...."? why this 
>reference to caste here? esp. when he is acknowldeging >that his 
>arrogance stopped him from finding god, how can he be >so arrogant as
to 
>look down upon some of his own god's creation? 

I can't say for sure, whether he looked down at them or we are trying
to visualize it that way. It could be either way. 

>also, are there any more kIrtanalu where tyAgayya >refers to castes?

Can't refer to any to the best of my knowledge with reference to caste
at this moment. However, similar highly probable, and questionable
quotes could be brought upon, *if one wishes to*.

In one kIrtana  'samayamu  telisi  puNyamu lArjincani'
he refers to 
'turaka  veedhini,  vipruniki  panaka  pUja;  
cEsi  Emi,  ceyyakunDi  Emi?'  
This could be raised to the level of communal disparity/discrimination.

In the same kIrtana, he says
'cAreDEsi  gruDDi kannulu  bAgugA;  
teraci  Emi, teravakunDi  Emi?'  
This could be found objectionable as 'handicapped abuse/blind abuse'
also. 

With regards,
Prabhakar Vissavajjhala

P.S.: (1) Afterall, it seems 'dwaita' prevails by and large in the
world. We are 'what we think of ourselves', on one hand; and 'what
others think of us' on the otherhand. 
(2)Sometimes, straight forward truths, when hit the minds of humans;
they tend to bend. So, when people say them back we don't know whether
they are 'reflecting' or 'refracting what they learnt'. This all
depends on the state of mind of that individual at that moment, which
could be different at some other time for the same person.








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