Several explanations on what makes a cATuvu are available. From kaalidaasa's
'priyah priyaayah prakarOti cATuuM' to C. P. Brown's 'prosaic' definition,
'stray verse,' appear in telugu cATu collections. The one 'definition,'
I could not refrain from laughing at is by si.naa.re. It goes like this:
" oka bhOgi cEta satkariMca baDInapuDO, oka lObhi cEta seetkariMca
baDinappuDO, aMdamaina druSyaM kanapaDinapuDO, DeMdaM gaayapaDi napuDO,
anishTam toMgi
coocinapuDO, haasyaM laasyaM cEsinapuDO, anEka saMdarbhaallO citramaina
cittavruttullO chandO roopaMlO jummani cimmukoni vaccE kavitaa roopaalE ee
cATupadyaalu." um! What a veritable mess, this is!
Some time ago, a couple of us wondered on telusaabout si.naa.re's
abilities at writing poetry, and we were castigated by the high and the medium
priests of the news group. Now, after reading the above 'definition,' I really
wonder whether he can write even telugu prose, let alone poetry. Any how,
let us
stick to the Brown definition of stray verse.
The one I chose for this post is in saMskritaM. This has acquired a lot of
baggage, as raamaaravu KannegaMTi alluded to about poems in general that float
around for some time. I say, this is an example of excess baggage
acquisition, particularly because it was verisfied in that antiquated
language, the language
of the gods!
This is in a dialogue form. Here it is:
"bhikshO maaMsa nishEvaNaM ki mucitaM?" "kiMtEna madyaM vinaa?"
"madyaM caapi tava priyaM?" "priyamahO vaaraaMganaabhi ssaha"
"vaarastree ratayE kuta stava dhanaM?" "dyootEna cauryENa vaa"
"caurya dyoota parisramOpi bhavataam?" "bhrashTasya kaa vaa gatih?"
It was not only in the language of the gods, but it was attributed to bhOjaraaja
and kaaLidaasa. Legend has it, that bhOjaraaja was angry at kaaLIdaasa ( may be
because kaaLidaasa was sleeping with the same prostitute that bhOjaraaja was
paying for!)and addressed him as 'bhrashTa'( fallen or perverted guy!) and
banished him from his kingdom. But, then he quickly repented and went out
searching
in disguise for kaaLidaasa in his kingdom which is probably not more than six or
seven blocks. bhOjaraaja found a sanyaasi in saffron colored clothes near a
badly
run inn holding meat cuts dripping water. (About the inn, the saffron color
the sanyaasis prefer, you can wrap around a lot of additional baggage! It
may sound 'contemporary' for now, but will be accepted as a part of the
legend a few years
from now. Literati of the future, I am sure, will mistakenly interpret this
excess baggage we add as some mystique around the poem!)
This is the dialogue between the king and the fake ascetic.
bhOja: You look like an ascetic. Is it appropriate for you to eat meat?
(You can
make this beef, if you like)
sanyaasi: Along with meat, if I have liquor, it would be much better!
bhOja: What? Do you enjoy liqour too?
sanyaasi: It is not fun to drink alone. If only I have a prostitute to
share, wow!
that would be fantastic!!
bhOja: That costs money. Where do you get money to go to a prostitute?
sanyaasi: Either by gambling or stealing!
bhOja: So, you have fallen that low! You steal and gamble!
sanyaasi: what else a 'bhrashTa' can do?
Now, bhOja realized that the fake sanyaasi was kaaLidaasa and begged him to come
back to his court, and the poet gladly accepted!
katha kaMcikee, manaM iMTikee!
Regards.
--Venkateswara Rao Veluri
ps: Any volunteers to add more mystique padding to the slOka for the benefit
of the future generations? Come, come, don't feel shy! I would be willing to
join you!
vrv