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Dr. N. C. Ramanujachary (Srivirinchi)

Telugu short-story had made many strides and settled itself as a definite modality by 1950. The trends in manner of living and propagation of a well thought of ideology had somewhat crystallized by then; the role of a writer as a social analyst and a forerunner with peeps into futuristic appearances emerged in all its vigour. The modality has learnt to move with the flow of life rather than fight with it. Working for a more awakened and enlightened society has become a revealing characteristic feature. The social analyst became an activist, scientist and eventually a social engineer.

Before we examine how this has become possible it will be necessary to take a cursory look at the past events to obtain a comprehensive understanding in the historical perspective. We shall try to place the situation categorically.

1. The Telugu short-story is a modality which emerged taking the western literary patterns as model. This does not mean that Telugu did not have its own earlier models. Literature had exclusive form and content, and short-story, as such, is not of definite identity or an exclusive pattern. It was part of a larger, wider text wherein the parable, fable or short-story is fragmentarily employed in support of the basic assertions. It was evidently a part of the whole and is not ‘holistic� in its earlier days. The ancient moorings are not adequate by themselves and it is only in the modern times, i.e., the beginning of the 20th century that an identifiable form of a short-story emerged.

2. Modern literature of the new century has grasped the opportunity of identifying the contemporary situation and framing it well in environment, nature and model of living adopted by people of the land. The presentation needed a new form and vesture and the short-story filled the space appropriately.

3. With the advent of new movements particularly influenced by the Western thought and its preliminary understanding that took deep roots in the minds of intellectuals of the day, a flow of modern settings ushered in and it had ready response. A new kind of mind and thus a new Humanity emerged equally among the writers and readers. Lot of anticipation grew in the listening classes. New aspirations, new goals became the common focuses. The new age gave pragmatic and applicable turns in modes to satisfy the yearning hearts.

4. Literature tended to be employed as a tool for social change and, awakened eagerness among all classes. Awe arid wonder filled the human minds and a new look at the seeming dark spots paved the way for quick renaissance. India having attained political freedom and, independence of thought, was searching for new avenues for progression and perfection. It even attempted to conjoin the new and the old images having felt that there is nothing either new or old but an external verity of existence.

5. The focal attention cheered the prevailing limited perspectives such as class/caste anomaly including untouchability, illiteracy and consequential closed outlooks on public issues: women’s suffrage; bonded labour, etc. The remodeling of middle class and project an increasing effort to the higher values of life appeared to provide vaster field of activity, at the three levels of heart head and hand.

6. Last but not the least the material side of human nature provided only a hard base, which was felt inadequate to fill in the vacuum in human living. Mind, its ramifications, its capacity to shun the past and move forward into the unseen unexpressed parts of itself, association of ideas in new sociology, new psychology have raised new hopes for successful continuance. The trends of story setting, narration, plot development, endings in metafiction and epiphany have undergone enormous changes. An intellect grew sufficiently and intuitive look effectively added itself to that, thus enhancing the use of the literary modality in gathering countless figures around. The popularity of the genre exceeded by leaps and bounds.

In this premise, we shall endeavour to examine the status of Telugu short-story in the years 1950-2000. Form, content and use are the three distinct categories under which this survey can be made. Western influence over all these three aspects is inevitable insofar as the marketable writers of the age are well informed of what is happening the world over. The influence of the west and other Indian languages has come to stay as a main output in bringing about sophistication to the literacy genre. Adoption of new forms, styles and ideologies are noticeable, ideas reformatory or other wise prevail to stand on their own merits. The technical values of a piece and its ideological priorities are supported mostly on the intervention of the benefit of the society at large. While the form Prima-facie decides the acceptability or otherwise of the piece, language becomes the code whereby ideas about the world are illustrated through a conventional system of chosen arbitrary symbols for communication. Thus language is also an inseparable part of the form, besides being a directing factor for the faster flow of ideas.

A short-story is a story with a beginning, middle and an end, though the three need not be in their natural order. Something happens with a story and it is narrated in readable, identifiable style. Happening can be either outside or inside of the human and the mind, which brings in the presence of ‘characters� therein, many times named or too seldom unnamed. A story tells, beyond what had happened, much more in anticipation and imagination. Mechanization of the plot plays a prominent role in the form. Proclainied or not, each short-story has a message thus ensuring that the exit- behavior of the reader is inevitably different from that of an entry behavior. Therefore the writing of a short-story involves certain skills either in form or acquired as a result of continuous study and search. The skills are also prone for development and limitless expansion.

The form earlier was narrative. It was in past tense, moved to the present and anxious now to jump into the future. The writer related the story as he visualized. This need not be a first person singular, third person narratives are too common and appreciated as they tend to be non-personal and ever theorizing. Making the characters appear more vital than the narrator, allowing them to relate the story both in their own expression and dialogue in a modern outfit of the genre. Once upon a time, there was a village, so and so person lived there and his social status and standing was this and that was the old trend. In this sophisticated Telugu short-story one will not see this type of beginning. The character starts speaking and in the course of his first appearance, itself the setting is established. The situation and plot are however concealed, revealed in the first part of the story itself. The description of the setting, scenes and delineation of the characters do not occupy the opening paragraphs. Yet the atmosphere of the story is built and arranged almost till the end pages of the story, happenings covering only a negligible part of the total piece. This sort of form provides the writer an ample opportunity to place before the reader his stream of ideas without actually theorizing them or advocating them. As the ripe leaves and fruit wither away from the branches of the tree, the well considered ideas / phrases of the writer fly away from him in the branches of the tree, the well considered ideas/phrases of the writer fly away from him in the language pattern of sentences. There is no character without an issue or pointer but this is put before the reader, not posed as a challenge. The reader is an active thinker along with the writer, sometimes even faster and sharper than the later. If things are projected before him as a challenge he would immediately turn away from the pages annoyed with the heaviness of the social sentiment or sensitivity. The reader is gradually initiated into the issue at point and made to own it as the story progresses.

Dialogue is a necessary part of the short-story form. An effective writer where the narration has to be seemingly inspired statement and where it has to be inviting and inspiring dialogues. Conversation among the characters is a dramatic feature; this builds the element of characterization and as well speeds the movement of the plot. Too much or too little dialogue mar the structure of the story. Information needs well-proportioned packing. Proceedings of the dialogues symbolize both the spoken word and the aesthetic communication skill.

There is also an experimental technique in running the entire story in dialogue and yet
not missing any links of the plot. There are some writers who use pieces of verses in the narration to suit the convenience and to see the tension in reading drab prose. In far earlier days of the short story, the writers even used lines of verse as top note again in the fashion of western writers but this practice happily now is discarded both in the West and the East. This packing of poetry lines at the top is thought to be helping the creation of atmosphere but is prone to uncaringly indoctrinate the reader. Again, dialogue exists in many levels, outer and expression of emotional intensity and is relevant to the story in that it performes one of the 2 function or both: I) furthering the plot and II) help the character.

Added to this, it also makes the characters in the piece real to life than made to order. Dialogues do include short descriptions allowing the reader form the scenes in the mind. All strands of technique must help the smooth running. The different aspects are interwoven and made into a unified, whole in the short-story.

As we said earlier, by 1950, a definite social outlook and reformatory trend had already set in the field of writing. The Telugu writing has made its mark well and we had at least 50 short fiction writers whose particular aim is to depict social justice and humanism. Sarva Sri Chalam, Kutumbarao, Padmaraju and Butchibabu have emerged as trend setters for the new age. The point is well realised by them that the purpose of writing is not for entertaining people but to enlighten them. Yet it is not surprising, the human nature and content being what it is that even now not less than 50% of the stuff that gets printed is of pure entertainment value, devoid of any trace of the other. Admixture of both is advocated by some but one doubts the seriousness of approach of that writing.

The uncanny methods of the politician’s attempts, to divide the rural population into groups in utilizing each side to their own advantage were effectively pictured in short-fiction. There was almost a revolution against the classical literature and the incidental rewriting of romance tales.

By 1970 and in the decades to follow, writers like Sarva Sri Ravi Sastri, Kalipatan Ramarao, Kolakaluri Isaac and Kesavareddy and a team following their trends had a rise in placing before the reading public the atrocities and anomalies that needed social justice. The social change that ensured the new industrial policy was put forth by writers like Tummeti Raghottamreddy, Adepu Laxmipathy, kaluva Mallaiah, B.S. Ramulu and others. The new equations drawn in human relationship, dismantling of joint family system, disturbed families, poor becoming poorer and the poorest, had grounds in humanism, existentialism and subtle distinction of realism. Truth being independent of human capacity to understand that a vital question has come up whether human beings are capable of recognizing reality at all. Realism, politics and history held deeper significance, and it was upheld whatever they may proclaim the human effort should drive in the direction of benefit and prosperity for all. The world of imagination and the world of actuality had to be merged into one. The change in attitudes and thinking modes needed for this were broadly and ably suggested in the fiction. Writers like Sarva Sri Hitasri, Munipalle Raju, M. Rajaram, Bharago, Peddibhotla, Sripathi, Veeraji, Janakirani, Chayadevi, Ramalakshmi dealt with characters of above average mental caliber who could not easily accommodate themselves to the changing patterns of life, again upholding the eternal values, such as goodness, humanness, compassion, beauty, aesthetics and stressing the human need to stand by them. The short - story is considered to be unique medicine in which humans can hope to bring discourse into touch with the experience. We have of the eventuating of the data of our lives. Symbolic fiction grew beyond the world of common indication, when romantic tales, suspense stories and writings of mere entertainment value were discarded. Conventional writing gave way to the weaving of a New World based on the new realities perceived and anticipated. Subject matters have provided new insight into ‘matters of fact� aesthetic pleasure by its form and fixture, magisterial mode of investigation entered into the scene. With the rise in economic standards and earning potential, there is visible change in the style of functioning and orientation in the context of a commoner. In literature, particularly the short-fiction is making him think of providing new models for repeated reflection but the results are not gathered and enjoyed in a common pool, in the absence of properly organized literacy appreciation clubs/forums. Varied content has brought in numerous uses of the form of the literacy genre. Not just a tool for social change or reformation/restructuring, it also stands a mirror of the human society. Contemporary social history is written in the form of short story and thus the modality serves as a continuous record of sociological study, once the fiction part of its making is realistic and not too imaginative. Architecture, history, geography, philosophy, psychology, genetics, information theories, regional sociology, confessional memoir have been liberally used in making the short fiction. Widening the faculty of perception fact-fiction, decision-hesitation, science-new science, object-subject get jointly utilized to view the social issues not from one point but in a holistic approach, entire humanity being one unit of existence has become the central focus. The creative writer has surpassed the level of a social analyst or a social scientist and is emerging as one engineering the changes that ought to arrive. No doubt he comes up with the new insights to the problems of life. Unfortunately the social-scenario being too fragmented, one force putting against another, there are not strict takers in the other segments of life. Common dialogue and interaction is totally absent leaving the creative writer alone and at a far off distance. The fruits of study in one field and the absence of response makes each segment linger in isolation, exclusiveness and stagnation. Control for action being directed by the group with a mere lukewarm attitude towards the social issues, all socio­-political thinking of the knowledge worker is getting marginalized.

(An abridged form of a paper presented at a seminar organizer by the Madras University: Dept. of Politics and public Administration during May 2000)