On the present state of Telusa - Some ramblings (no, rather thinking aloud)
Sreenivas Paruchuri (sreeni@ktpsp1.uni-paderborn.de)
Fri, 23 May 1997 13:24:18 +0200 (MDT)
2 weeks ago I received a mail from a nettor who went through SCIT archives
and found that I saved one of the earliest threads; on the etymology of
"Rao" and asked me if I could summarize him the discussions of those days.
So, last week I was going through bundles of print-outs I made in those
years and found that soon I 'd be completing four (!) years actively posting
on net. Time really flies!
Often I am pointed at my infamous reputation of being the most prolific
poster on 'Telugu' forums on net. The excuse I have is that its the way
I keep in touch with 'telugu' in this country AND could meet almost all my
old schoolmates, friends from India who over years moved out of the country.
Also I had the great pleasure of making close acquaintances/friendships
with many few nettors. I think I haven't missed anything (I mean discussions)
that took place on WETD, SCIT, G-list, Telusa and at last Teluguvani in these
years. So, thats the qualification I have, to write the following lines,
which some may find (very) disturbing. Its not my intention to criticize
someone personally or make accusations, but just some (personal!)
observations on the state of Telugu forums; esp. Telusaa.
Why am I more interested in writing on Telusa than on SCIT and
Ghantasala-List which are, admittedly, dearer to my heart. Probably its
the love-and-hate relationship I have to this list. People who have followed
my postings on SCIT might know about my interest in Telugu culture,
literature, song, music etc. and my desire to preserve it and disseminate.
So, when Telusa was formed, in a way, I felt happy
[though I STILL believe that SCIT would be the more ideal platform. but
some found mailing lists as 'active' and Usenet NGs 'passive'. and some
prefer even more instant interaction a la Telugu Vani. Its also unfortunate
that many ignore the fact that Telusa wouldn't have come in existance
without SCIT, where most of today's active posters come to know each other]
and hoped that some thing constructive 'd (also) be carried. Like;
developing some good software for easier communication in Telugu,
a good web page on Telugu literature, a database providing e-texts,
extensive bibliographies usw, reviwing/discussing the 'latest' trends
in Telugu literature back home (fortunately we do have competent people
reading this list there also, who 'd help us) etc. etc. Also, developing
a good dictionary on 'modern Telugu', which is long due, is also one of my
dreams (perhaps you have seen the recent report in: The Hindu, where such
project is carried out in Tamil by a native Telugu!. FYI there was also
a good discussion on the language in modern text books 4 years ago on SCIT,
with good contributions by Baparao, V Kumar, Jon Srikanth, Ramarao, THK,
Ramana gaarlu. Thats IMO certainly one of the best threads!).
But all of us know what happened in the past 18 months of this list's
existance. In first 6 months there were only 2 (!) brief threads that
discussed non-prosodical matters. Then came the 'controversial' discussion
on the modern langauge/poets and if they obey the rules defined in age old
'classics' or not. Atleast it was one of the very few occasions where some
real discussion took place, followed by long silence in Fall, 96. excepting
occasional postings, introducing modern poetry (thanks to: Vasu, Veluri,
Ari and Chandrasekhar gaarlu and some reviews by Sri Jampala, Veluri and
Kanaka Prasad) its again and again the same "Chandassu" that rule(d)s the
list. What I wonder is if time were frozen for some people.
I can't help asking, whether we are afraid of criticism. A good interspersion
of literature from modern and ancient times is what I wished, but never found
here. Yes, every body does have his/her own tastes and inclinations but
regardless of this we can do so much positive work instead of calling
someone names. I really liked the recent message ( quoting from
maaLavikaagnimitram) posted by Sri Veluri. I wish that 'd be practiced here.
We are neither short of topics nor need new ones proposed. Many
queries/questions which deserve(d) an elaborate discussion never got
started. Having so many knowledgable people on its subscribers list is
the greatest asset this list has. I sincerely wish that their talents are
used to the best extent possible.
Regards,
Sreenivas 'in a preaching mood' Paruchuri
P.S. I don't know how many have noticed. In the past 3 weeks 24 people; i.e.
25%, unsubscribed Telusa.
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Die guten Leutchen wissen nicht, was es einem fuer Zeit und Muehe gekostet,
um lesen zu lernen. Ich habe 80 Jahre dazu gebraucht und kann noch jetzt
nicht sagen, dass ich am Ziel waere.
--J. W. Goethe
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