Vemana and Joshua

– Katti Padma Rao

Vemana’s language is one of social revolution, it is the agitation of a philosophical life, the all consuming flame of a courageous conversation, the fire of people’s rage, a reflection of historical reality, a great living struggle of humanity. Vemana has been and continues to provide language, inspiration, consciousness, thought, concern, illumination, confrontation, fullness—to innumerable social revolutionaries. His language expresses the life world of the Telugu people. Vemana spontaneous words mark him out as the First Telugu Poet (adi kavi).

Why would an idol need a colourful garb?
Would a god ask for temples, spires, pots
Food and clothing?
Beloved of the Bounteous, Vema, listen!

In this poem he has used the (Telugu) words, ‘stone’, ‘toy’, ‘why’, ‘colour’, ‘ful’, ‘garb’, ‘temples’, ‘spires’, ‘pots’, ‘food’, ‘clothing’, ‘he’, ‘ask’, ‘god’, ‘bounteous’, ‘beloved’, ‘listen’, ‘Vema’. The ability to use so many words in such a short poem marks his genius.

The essence of the poem is ‘why does an idol require colored clothes, temples and spires?’ ‘Would god ask for food and clothes?’. His idiom combines the power of the word with the power of the imagination. A great poet is one who challenges contemporary society. A poet must without fail have a philosophical frame of mind. That philosophy must awaken a man’s mind. A tiny word must be able to evoke a great meaning. It should roll mellifluously on the tongue. We call a poet with such qualities a great poet. From a philosophical perspective, Vemana is a materialist (lokayat). His poems bear great challenges. He interrogates contemporary society. He embodies a beautiful Telugu dictionary. We learn Telugu alongside his poetry. Through his poems we understand social change and economic life.

The Brahmin class which obstructed the spread of Vemana

CP Brown of St. George College published Vemana’s poems in 1829. The printing of Vemana’s work which was a trenchant yet humorous critique of Brahmins was disliked in those days.

The College Board printed 500 copies of this book. They gave 50 copies to Brown sahib. Though the remaining copies had to be distributed across the country, it seems as if they didn’t make it out of the godown. These published pages were crumpled and thrown into the dustbin. It’s clear whose handiwork it was. Abbe Dubois has commented about the classes who did not allow the work of Vemana and others like it to see the light of day.

Dr. Pope who transcribed Dubois’ book clearly described the latter’s views. He is known to have said that Brahmins refused to recite Vemana’s poems; not only were they opposed to him, they also expressed that opposition openly.

Vemana the people’s poet

Vemana’s poetry is extremely popular among the Telugu public, but this fame is limited to the Sudras. Even among these, those who revered Hinduism have no doubt looked down upon Vemana. When his poems were included in government school text books, this opposition was stark. Teachers and students tried their best to evade the government’s orders. The inclusion of Vemana’s texts was postponed several times under various pretexts. Even after their inclusion teachers would not teach specific verses saying that their criticism of Hinduism was distasteful. The reasons the Brahmins gave for their hatred of Vemana’s poetry was his gramya (lower caste linguistic) style and obscenity (Prajakavi Vemana p 274). We can understand the extent to which Brahmins went to prevent the entry of Vemana’s verses into the curriculum.

Vemana lived a movement. Narla, who recognized him as a philosopher, stated his opinions clearly as he established Vemana’s character. One who does not try to fight contemporary social ills, one who cannot fight superstition, can never be a great poet. Society naturally rejects those who love to rebel. It creates several hurdles for them. It constrains them all the time. Vemana exposed the nature of religious and philosophical oppression in his time. He acted as an advocate of justice.

[…]

Not only do Vemana’s verses dance off the tongues of intellectuals and ordinary people, there is also a depth of meaning in them. He has given all of them an opportunity to render these meanings at their own level. Vemana made us understand that a poet should possess not only knowledge of example and analogy, but also analytical and rational thought. He nourished contemporary nouns, phrases and verbs. This alone is the inspiration for today’s Telugu dictionary. In the economic life of those days, the coins kasu, veesam, dammidi, taaramu, roka were in circulation. He constantly used all these terms.

[…]

Joshua who spoke of caste agony

When a man is accused on the basis of his color, region or language, a poet can express his agony powerfully… Joshua spoke not only of caste discrimination but also of caste agony.

In Vyasa’s divine discourse
That gave birth to the four Vedas,
Can Madigas be found?
Alas, untouchables in
Flesh and blood are primitives it seems!
From a black heart needles
Pierce their way out,
How do you bear it O my sister?

Vemana taught poem the question. Joshua brought it strength. Although philosophical interrogation of everyday issues that confront a people existed before Vemana, it was he who brought to it the thickness of Telugu language. Joshua’s asking if Madigas are present in the discourse of Vyasa who created the Vedas, and also asserting a history where Malas and Madigas are original inhabitants of the nation, shows us Vemana’s legacy in him. In his Kaandiseekudu (A Refugee) he asserts that the nation prospers only when caste and religious differences vanish.

Till the world readies itself for a relentless struggle
Toward the sense of equality,
Till the divisive disease of extreme untouchability
Disappears in all its forms,
Till the overweening pride in ones community, place and nation
Is brought to nullity,
Till the light of universal brotherhood spreads the sense of one community
To ends of earth,
Unless uniform access to knowledge, religion and society is made available
To one and all,
The well being and supreme happiness of the India-to-be
Cannot come!
And never will cool the hecatombs of war1.

The poet says that lack of uniform access to knowledge, and social and religious freedom to all, is bad for the nation. From this we can understand how much agony the poet experienced as a result of social oppression. The language is of social revolution. Joshua’s formulation that extreme untouchability is a disease is the pulse of a beating heart. Such language should find its way on to the student’s tongue – and into people’s speech. This will create an atmosphere in which social reform will occur. This will carry forth Vemana’s language of social revolution.

After
Hierarchies of tradition, oppressive religious structures,
High and low Varnas, untouchability
Bring forth the world’s millennial flood,
Why grieve?
Will you learn to halt
This drivel and drama of deceit?

The language of social revolution has not been accorded the importance that has been given to traditional language in Telugu. If we disseminate the language of social revolution, it will lead to the death of caste and religion and the birth of a united Telugu nation. This was said by the well known writer Bhoopati Narayanamurthy in his Telugu jati – Telugu jatiyata (Telugu community – Telugu nationality).

A language is like the pulse of a nation’s existence. Language is the instrument for the progress of a people, and for the development of their literature, history and culture. Each man who is born has a nationality. There is a language that is spoken by that nation. There is a land for that nation to stir and grow. A nation without language cannot survive. As with each nation, the Telugu nation has a language. This is our national language. This language is the reflection of our nation’s literary life. Pundits say that literature is the great Upanishad (secret doctrine) of Man’s cultural life. In the modern world, the boundaries between communities and their cultures are changing every day. Even so, a language spoken by a community is treated as an emblem that marks the identity of that community. Whichever region or country they are in, those whose mother tongue is Telugu are treated as part of a single nationality. Though there are castes and religions in a nation, the language spoken by its people helps the unification of that community.

Note: 1. Translators: This verse could be read as a critical rejoinder to the famous poem “Where the mind is without fear…” from Tagore’s Gitanjali, which had been translated into Telugu by at least four people including GV Chalam. While Tagore’s poem calls upon the Father to awaken his country in the dream land, Joshua’s poem plants any social transformation squarely in the realm of critical human action.

Excerpted from “Nadustunna Charitra” (Contemporary History) February, 2006.
Translated by N. Manohar Reddy and R. Srivatsan.
Katti Padma Rao is a poet, activist, and leader of Dalit Mahasabha.