January 1 not only marks the beginning of the
Gregorian Calendar year, but also now marks the death
anniversary of Sree chaaganTi sOmayaajulu, one of the
best exponents of the Telugu short story, who died on
this date two years ago.
chaasO, as Sri sOmayaajulu is popularly known,
hailed from vijayanagaram. He is often described as the
father of the modern Telugu short story and as 'telugu
kathakula guruvu'. He was one of the founding fathers
of Telugu abhyudaya rachayitala Sangham and served as
its president in 1943. Srisri, Srirangam naaraYana
baabu, rONanki appalaswamy and Arudra were his
contemporaries and close associates.
His first Telugu short story, dharmakshEtram, was
published in 1941. He wrote about 80 short stories in
all, a relatively small output considering his long
career. However, each of his short stories is
considered a gem. He was known for his penetrating
insight into the relationships among people, his
observation of life, and his compassion for the
underdog. His stories like, 'enduku paarEstaanu nannaa,
empu, kunkuDaaku, bonDu mallelu, vaayuleenam,
dummulagonDi, ElureLLaali' (I can name several more)
have lived as classics for several decades now. It was
said that he would tear-up a short story if he wasn't
fully satisfied with it rather than send it for
publication. He was known to spend years polishing a
story, or agonizing months searching for the right word
for the situation. Because of this, all his stories are
like exquisitely crafted sculptures. Each line is
beautifully etched and fits perfectly. The
aforementioned 'enduku paarEstaanu nannaa', written in
1944, is one of the best Telugu short stories of all
time in my humble opinion.
Well, chasO is no more. His daughter chaaganTi
tulasi and son Sankar are prominent short story writers
in Telugu. They and other fans of chasO established a
trust for creative Telugu literature called 'chaasO
sfoorti'. The trust honors either a Telugu writer or a
Telugu short story collection every year with a Rs/.
10,000 award.
The trust also published a 160 page (8.5 x 11")
volume called 'jana neeraajanam', with several
photographs and almost 55 articles including reprints
of interviews with chasO. The volume reprints 'aaveta'
a short story by chasO, lost for almost forty years; an
English translation of 'ElooreLLali'; several critiques
of chaasO's works; and several details about chaaso's
association with Srisri et al, and about the early days
of the abhyudaya rachayitala sangham. This
commemorative volume, a collector' item, is more
informative and better produced than the raaviSaastri
commemorative volume published several months ago.
I have a few copies of 'jana neeraajanam'
available with me. They can be obtained by sending a
donation (suggested minimum $7, more would be welcome)
for chaasO sfoorti Trust. All donations (minus postal
expenses) would be forwarded to the trust. I am doing
this at the request of Ms. tulasi, chaasO's daughter.
Please write your checks to V. C. Jampala and mail to
664 Southern Belle Boulevard, Beavercreek, OH 45434.
For more information, send an e-mail to
cjampala@dayton.net
Regards. --- V. Chowdary Jampala