Re: Poet KaLoji is no more.
V. Chowdary Jampala (cjampala@dayton.net)
Wed, 13 Nov 1996 03:00:31 -0500 (EST)
On Wed, 13 Nov 1996, TRADE & BUSINESS CONTROLS 13-Nov-1996 1245 +0800 wrote:
> Poet KaLoji died on 11 Nov 96. He is also a freedom fighter.
On 11/11/1996 at about 6 a.m. (4.30 p.m. IST), Jayaprakash Narayan
and I were waiting for his plane at O'Hare. We began talking about
kaaLOjee (kaaLOjee naaraayaNa raavu), a veteran poet, freedom fighter,
and people's man. I first saw kaaLOjee in mid 70s when CVN Dhan (Ravi
College) organized a poetry reading by kaaLOjee in Guntur. JPN recounted
his recent meetings with kaaLOjee in Hyderabad. We talked about various
anecdotes one hears about kaaLOjee. (kaaLOjee is known for his propensity
to break into tears of sorrow whenever he hears anything that touches his
heart). JPN remarked about how fit kaaLOjee is despite his 80 plus years.
Little did JPN and I knew that as we were speaking about a favorite poet
and man, he might have been on his deathbed at that time.
Regards. --- V. Chowdary Jampala
P.S.: kaalOjee, an institution unto himself in Warangal, took an active
part in the freedom struggle, Andhra Mahasabha movement and Telangana
movement. His 'naa goDava' is his signature poetry anthology.