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ENGLISH

Metverse muse, spl. no., January, 1998, ed. by Dr. H. Tulsi, Vishakhapatnam pp. 192.

The special ‘Coronation� Number of METVERSE MUSE consisting of 600 poems by 470 world poets in structured verse seems to be a mega poetic volume with a relatively less yield of poetic stuff. It is a special number in terms of quantity. Most of the poems appear to be products of an obsession for metre and rhyme, thereby sacrificing the matter of content or the spirit of poetry. But the fact remains that this book is a bold venture in the field of contemporary Indian English poetry. Dr. Tulsi, the editor, deserves full appreciation for this undeniable literary feat in reviving metrical verse when metre is no longer the fashion of      the day.

The collection starts with a bunch of New Year poems which are more or less analogous in their thematic structure. Poems by Mr. Mishra, Narasaraju, Dr. H. Tulsi and Parimal are really good in ringing out the old year and ringing in the new. New Year Section is followed by children’s section, when the poems such as ‘The stream looked gilded� and ‘The Musical Chair� seem to have been written with precocious abilities because their poetic diction and phraseology are an ample proof of intellectual maturity.

Now follows the major section of poems by writers of India and abroad. Mr. Bernard Jackson’s ‘The old Shrine� (p. 33), Mr. Ruthwildes Schuler’s “Full moon� (p. 88), Dr. Stella Browning’s ‘December Bowl of Garden Roses� are remarkable for their clarity, simplicity and felicity of expression. ‘The Robin� by Mr. Bill West, ‘A Vision of Peace� by Dr. Frances Hackney (p. 4l), ‘Nocturnal Odyssey by Michael Pendragon (p. 70), ‘Seascape� by Ms. Norma Ross Todd (p. 73), Wilfred Johnson’s ‘They Train for War� (p. 120), ‘Echo of True Love� by Mary Mc. Gowan Slappey (p. 124), I. J. Evan’s ‘Love on the Floor� (p. 126), D. F. Smith’s ‘Love is� are poems worthy to be mentioned for their thematic value and flights of imagination.

Among poems by Indian writers, ‘To a Night Breeze� by Miss. Ammujavalli Kurup, ‘I Do Not Know Who Is My Own� by Dr. Bijay Kant Dubey, ‘The Merciful� by Dr. D. C. Chambial, ‘In the Mirage of Dreams� by Dr. Dwaraknath Kabadi, ‘The crutches� by Dr. I. H. Rizvi, ‘Age Bar for Poetry� by Dr. C. D. Irene, Quatrains from Dr. K.V. Venkataramana’s book Reflections (p. 153), ‘Endless� by Dr. Krishna Srinivas are notable for their vibrating thought, wide-ranging themes, inward depth and reflective power. But most of the poems are general in nature and fail to create Indian sensibility.

In the last section, Mary Spain’s ‘Down to Earth� (p. 174) is quite interesting for its fable technique through which the poet succeeds in driving home the meaning. Morleigh’s ‘Unknown� (p. 176), Eileen Siriwardhana’s poem (p. 181) and Kullman’s ‘Statement� (p.183) are poems that draw our attention for their power of thought and diction, strength of emotion and depth of reflective enquiry into their inner selves.

Thus the Anthology is more or less a horizontal representation of recent and present voices in English poetry within India and without. The editor richly deserves our full admiration for having succeeded in resurrecting and reviving the much neglected metred verse which has fallen into a state of oblivion. Haikus which are published here lack clarity and compactness and they fail to serve the purpose. On the whole, this Special Number of Metverse Muse presents poems of wide-­ranging themes and interests. The editor has done an excellent job in compiling the poems.

–Dr. T. Vasudeva reddy

Benign Flame by B. S. Murthy (Writers Workshop, 162/92, Lake Gardens, Calcutta � 700045, 1977, 353 pages, Rs. 350)

More of a diarist’s documentation of the moral universes in the life of Indian middle classes than a novel, Benign Flame makes a promising beginning. A very realistic portrayal of elegant poverty in coastal Andhra Pradesh where the birth of a son alone brings sunshine for the family’s future, we open with Ramaiah’s anxieties to have a son. He gets one but only after there are five girls. The inevitable pressures of getting the girls married (one girl rebels and marries a boy from a different caste) make him a poor man, but of course this is not Ramaiah’s story.

Ramaiah’s daughter Roopa wants to become a doctor, but the family finances and Chandriki’s rebellious marriage seal her fate. She is married off to a government servant. Now the novel begins to move forward rather hesitantly, as the novelist loses the crisp leads in his hands. If he wished to shock his reader by telling him that lesbianism is present among girl students, the Victorian language renders it into a damp squib. Roopa is shown not only as a lesbian but also as an adulteress. But the way her character is portrayed - just a bird-brain, no more - Roopa cannot carry this double burden. Hence, apart from revealing some of the ugly sores in our society (including governmental corruption), the novel is not able to satisfy the serious reader.

The main handicap of Mr. Murthy is his handling of the English language. This style may have been adequate eighty years ago, but fancy a bridegroom telling his newly wed wife during love-play: “Besides, the capacity to love and mate more than one, at the same time, bestowed ab initio on both sexes by nature, to suit its grand pursuit of perpetuation, is in conflict with the concept of adultery.� Well!

It is hard to believe that a novelist who seeks to project the good of a moral universe actually allows Roopa to make use of the two millions received as a bribe by her husband Sathyam (who commits suicide) for setting up a nursing home. Roopa’s removing to safety the money stashed away by her husband even before his body is cold bespeaks of extraordinary callousness. If creative fiction states that moral turpitude does pay, how can we think of a future for India? Also, desecratory approaches like Roopa praying to Lord Venkateswara for blessing her adulterous union with Raja Rao and the latter buying a portrait of the Lord with his two consorts to prove that he is perfectly right in having Sandhya and Roopa as his ‘consorts� are not to be encouraged at all. It is a mistake to correlate the Indian-pantheon of gods and goddesses who are the visualised images of concepts with human beings made of flesh and blood.

What redeems the novel is Mr. Murthy’s unmistakable sincerity. He is rooted in tradition, and is certainly distressed by the behavioural patterns of contemporary Indians who give high priority to sex and money. At the same time he will have nought to do with blind traditions that kept woman illiterate, relegated her to slavery, and made her into just a child-bearing machine. The obiter dicta in the novel, when gathered together, could make a compendium for a regulated, simple life which is the need of the hour today. As when Ramaiah gives advice to Roopa:

“Weddings have come to symbolize the vanity of society. Designations of bridegrooms, conveyed in conversation, and carried on wedding cards, have become the raison d’etre of marriages ... Marriages are transformed into public melas ...

–Prema Nandakumar

TELUGU

VEMANA KALA NIRNAYAM; Chilakala Venkata Subba Reddy; Indrasena Publications, No.44, 1st A Main, Dommaluru Layout, Bangalore, 560 071; pp 144; Rs. 60/-.

The author takes great pains to dispute the hitherto established period of the Saint, Yogi Vemana, who electrified the thoughts of the Telugu people by his crisp and instantly appealing poems. Vemana’s is a house hold name in the Telugu country. Several scholars like C. P. Brown, Rallapalli Anantakrishna Sarma etc., compiled his poems, edited them and extensively commented on them. Vemana’s poems vibrate with life, reform and ridicule of the silly social customs of those days.

It was C.P. Brown who put the time of Vemana as the 14th Century, though the later critics put it as the 17th century. The author forcefully advocates that the period of Vemana could not have been later than the 14th Century.

His arguments nm on the following lines. Vemana, the poet, before he became a yogi and a sanyasin, commented in his poems on the various events and men of his times and before him. Such a shrewd observer would not have omitted to refer to the events like the entry of the English or the Muslim invasion of the South as these were not referred to in any of his poems. He also examines various lines in Vemana’s poetry and tries to establish that the persons and incidents mentioned therein actually were much earlier than the 17th Century and forcefully argues that Vemana could not have been alive beyond 14 - 15th Centuries.

Though the arguments at times appear to be a little too-stretched out, he makes some valid points and makes one ponder seriously. The period of Vemana certainly deserves a second look and for the critics and commentators to re evaluate their theories. A thought provoking book, indeed.

–V±ð³¾²¹°ù²¹Âá³Ü Narasimha Rao