On Gaddar - Part I

Rao Veluri (rveluri@smtpgate.anl.gov)
Thu, 06 Mar 97 19:19:47 CST 

     On Gaddar - Part I
     
     "Our song is a debate. We raise a debate to find the truth.
     We find the truth and put it in practice. If you agree to 
     this, then we have a common ground to pursue."
     
     In a nutshell, that's what Gaddar started off when he was
     asked the question: What is a song? 
     
     If a common ground as above is not established, there is a clear 
     danger of veering off in wild goose chases and in weird directions,- 
     such as discussion of rare meter, prosodaical gimmics, precedence and 
     antecedence, samaasaas and alankaaraas etc. Then it might turn out to 
     be a show of academic veneration to mere words and absolute 
     indifference to sense!
     
     A lot has been written about Gaddar by fans, admirers and even his 
     detractors. Throwing my hat into the ring at this time may be 
     foolhardy; but on second thoughts my self appraisal confirmed that I 
     am none but foolhardy!
     
     When asked, "What is your most favorite song?" Gaddar responded 
     "yaalarO ee maadiga batukoo." This song is essentially biographical. 
     Gaddar went on to explain how his life,-- born as an 'untouchable 
     maadiga,' growing up as a 'maadiga,'and his political/cultural 
     activities,etc., -- is intertwined with the yaalarO ee maadiga song.  
     
     Since it is a very long song, I'll cite only a few lines of the song 
     and paraphrase (of course with some of my editorial comments, as 
     necessary) Gaddar's explanation or intended message in these lines. 
     
     yaalarO ee maadiga batukoo
     motthukunte dorakaduraa metukoo
     
     Every untouchable cries about his depraved life; but mere crying only 
     hurt one's throat; the result is zero. Gaddar adds: From Gandhi to 
     Vajpaye, everybody 'cried loud' that they are the heroes that would 
     save the Harijans, but the problem remained still the same. Mere 
     crying loud does not help.
     
     maalanna, maadiganna - neeruDanna byaagaranna
     mOcenna, medaranna - lambaDanna, ceMcanna
     
     In the class of untouchables, there are more untouchables. That's the 
     irony! Gaddar is referring to them. maala and maadiga are the majority
     in the untouchable 'class.' In the maala caste, one has neeruDu, 
     manne, mashkoor, byaagari, jangam are the subcastes. In the maadiga 
     caste, bainDla, Dakkali, mashti, mehatar, etc., are the subcastes. 
     Each subcaste consideres the other subcaste as untouchable! They fight 
     among themselves like dogs. 
     
     kulam kulam amtoo kumilopOye koolanna
     manasu vippi paaDutuna gomtu vippi vinavanna
     
     Every worker is bothered by the caste devil; from maadiga to baapana, 
     says Gaddar. After all, a coolie's caste is just coolie. One has to 
     accept that truth! He is begging with open heart to realize this 
     truth!
     
     bondalu tavvETi byaagarakku manadee
     saccina pasulu mOse maadigakku manadee
     neeLLanu kaapaDE neeruDakku manadee
     rootanu saapu cEse mehatarakku manadee
     bance batuke manabatukani
     manabatukula mannu bOsi
     balisina dOpiDi dongalu
     baaga balisi pOtunnaru
     
     The subcastes are determined by the work they do. For example, the guy 
     who watches over the pond water(he does not own it!) is neeruDoDu, the 
     guy who takes care of the dead cattle is a maadiga. Without realizing 
     the truth, they fight among themselves to preserve these make-believe 
     rights to perform these jobs! They think of these rights as their 
     birth rights; but the truth is that these 'psuedo-rights' were forced 
     on them for eons. These are slave rights;the word 'rights' is nothing 
     but a euphemism that perpetrated slavery for ages.
     
     The last line tells who is really enjoying the fruits of these slave 
     labor! The entire division into these subcastes, fomenting hatred 
     within themselves is a clever plan by the ruling classes.  
     
     bangaru panTalicce bharata gaDDa manadee
     gangamma paarETi puNya bhoomi manadee
     ganga, yamuna, brahmaputra, krishna, penna, kaavEri
     ennennO jeevanadulu pravahimcE jeeva gaDDa
     maala maadigannalakE mancineeLLu buTTayaala
     
     Gaddar makes a reference to this puNyambhoomi. One has to understand 
     this in reference to the sacredness attributed to the gangaa waters. 
     The belief in the sanctity of gangaa waters is part and parcel of our 
     cultural heritage. He questions: Is the suffering meted out to the 
     maala and maadiga folks by denying them drinking water, a part of our 
     cultural heritage?
     
     (Another daLit writer, I think it is katti padmaa raavu, who says that 
     our Culture begins with vandEmaataram and ends with jaNagaNamana!) 
     
     End of Part I - To Be Continued! 
     
     Regards.
     
     Venkateswara rao Veluri