>
> Exhortation.
>
>
> I was thinking of rama's "Telugus can't write for nuts".
>
(lot deleted)
> Any takers? Do you have your list? LET US DO SOMETHING BEFORE WE
> jump on dead writers or live friends!!!!
>
> p.s. The individuals I addressed above (i.e., Rama and Veluri), hopefully
> do not take my postings as attacks on them, but as one on the content
> of what they wrote. I know both of them, and intend not to hurt either.
I do not know Kumar vaDaparti gaaru, and do not intend to
criticize, attack or hurt him. However, what he has written here concerns
me. He seems to be saying (please correct me if I got this wrong),
"Guys, I don't like you arguing about dead poets or putting down live ones.
There are some great projects out there waiting to be done. Shut the
hell up and go do them or something else that is of use!" I remember
Syaamala raavu gaaru also expressed such sentiments sometime back in the
past. I also see such exhortations from time to time in the usenet too.
There are some assumptions at work in such exhortations: 1) that
the persons arguing are doing it for the sheer fun of it and for wasting
the time of the likes of Sri Kumar; 2) The kibbitzers and kvetches (did I
get the word right, Rama?) don't do much that is socially useful other
than kibbitz and kvetch; and 3) If they stop kibbitzing and kvetching,
they will then engage in doing something useful.
It seems to me that these assumptions may turn out to be false. I
know from personal knowledge that 1) many of the participants in the current
threads are saying the things that they are saying because of their
passionate beliefs in what they are saying rather than trying to score
points, and that 2) many of these participants spend a lot of their time
(and often their money) engaging in the kind of 'useful' work that Kumar
gaaru has suggested. I will even venture to say that it is the same
passion that makes them participate in these debates that also drives
them to engage in those 'social service' activities. Take that passion
away from them, and they are not them anymore.
I also do not think that these arguments about the merits of dead
poets and live writers are totally without value. I find them
often informative. I also find them provocative in a positive sense of
that word. They often make me think a little more seriously about some
issues that I have thought about only in a superficial manner
before. Sometimes they strengthen old beliefs, sometimes they change
those beliefs. Occasionally an idea takes shape into a doable project
with concrete results. The project may not solve world hunger or achieve
world peace, but it is a humble little contribution in itself.
Let's take Kumar's posts of the last two days that followed
Rama's statement that Telugus can't write for nuts. Suddenly, I find a
discussion regarding what constitutes good writing. I start asking
myself: is hyperbole all that bad in a work of fiction or imagery? Does
creative writing need to be as precise as scientific writing? A
discussion in those lines could have helped me see the answers to these
questions a little more clearly for myself.
Also, I saw in your post today some references to good scientific
writing in Telugu, including my old favorite, nitya jeevitamlO bhowtika
Saastram. Whatever Rama's intentions were in saying what he said, it was
spawning other threads that are of interest for different reasons.
If somebody says, what good do all these threads and discussions
do, I will have to ask them what they are doing being on this listserv.
Telugu literature does not provide livelihood to any of us. We are here
because we are 'interested' in some aspects of Telugu literature. These
threads and discussions cater to such interest. If nothing else, that in
itself is enough for me. I have really enjoyed TELUSA's discussion of
dead poets (and live phenomena) in the last month. I have specially
enjoyed the posts of vEloori and Rama. Everyday, I scan my mail with
eager anticipation, for their posts.
Regards. --- V. Chowdary Jampala