The Italian of the East : Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

The Italian of the East

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Telangana Today (04-12-2017)

            Telugu is one of the major languages recognized by the constitution in Indian polity. The States where Telugu speaking people live are Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the former has a common in land boundary with Tamil Nadu in the South. The homeland of Telugus is said to have been one of the habitats of the earliest man. The earliest man was supposed to have existed first on the east coast of the Southern Peninsula before his migration to the places of Punjab. 

There are Telugu people in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat as well as Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Enterprising Telugus have migrated to Burma, Malaysia etc. now, of course, the whole of Silicon Valley is filled with Telugu speaking people converting it into a Telangana-Andhra Valley in USA. The Telugu spoken in Coastal Andhra, the Rayalaseema and the Telangana give us three different dialects of the language. According to late Dr Bezavada Gopal Reddy former Chief Minister of Andhra there was a marked difference in the cultural growth of the Telugu speaking people in Rayalaseema districts or in the Andhra districts and in the districts of Telangana.

It is a historical fact known to everyone, that, on 1st Nov 1956 the Visalandhra State with all the Telugu-speaking people was formed following State Reorganization Committee report much against the wishes of Telangana. A separation however took place between the Telugu speaking people and Tamil speaking people in that context, in the form of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. With the formation of Telangana State on June2, 2014, in place of one Telugu speaking state now we have two though there is a difference in the approach of both the states.

The language spoken by the people in Telugu states is “Andhramu” or “Tenugu” or “Telugu”. Ancient Sanskrit works use Andhra and Andhaka in their references to the people. In the remote past these words seem to have been used to indicate a race or a community of people and their country. Scholars in linguistics take the Dravidian word ‘TEN’ (indicating the Southern direction) to derive the word Tenugu. To say that Tenugu signified language spoken by the people of the South, it is necessary to show the presence of Dravidians north of the Telugu country. There is no such evidence of course. There is another word “Trilinga” from which the word Telugu is sought to be derived.

Language wise Telugu has affinity with the Central Dravidian group of languages like Gonde or Bhilli. Srikakulam seems to have been the capital of the earliest Andhra kingdom. Similarly, Kakatiyas, Shatavahanas and others ruled Telangana as their center. The religious history of Andhra may not come within the purview of the history of Telugu literature, although it has some bearing on the literature itself.

Yet another myth regarding Andhramu may be traced in Krutayuga. There was a king by name Agnimitra. During a summer he lost his eyesight due to the hot weather. He prayed to the Sun God who was pleased with him and taught him a language. Agnimitra offered his prayers to Sun God in that language. This language was so potent that it restored his eyesight. The Sanskrit word “andha” means darkness or blindness. Because of its efficiency in destroying the darkness it came to be called “Andhra Bhasa”. Although, what all has been said, may appear as highly speculative and without proof, it should be admitted, that, these myths and legends may possibly be carrying at least a grain of truth in them. 

Considering the grammatical structure and the basic vocabulary, scholars in linguistics have decided, that, Telugu belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. Telugu is perhaps the only major and cultivated language in the Central Dravidian group and enjoys a uniqueness of geographical position and linguistic importance as a bridge between Northern and Southern or Aryan and Dravidian cultures. 

Telugu seems to have branched off from the Proto Dravidian and the South Dravidian languages and was a separate language at least some centuries before Christ. It is believed that the oldest Telugu script known as the “Vengi” or Telugu-Kannada script is found in the “Salankayana” inscriptions. Telugu is also very much influenced by Sanskrit- both by its vocabulary and literature. Works of a conscious effort to write in pure Telugu may be an exception. Modern Telugu of the present days, either as a language or Literature, knows no boundaries. Sanskrit, now not only influences it but also by all languages, wherever required, particularly the English. In fact, now we have more of TINGLISH (Telugu mixed with English) as it is said with a sense of humor. English is now Indian and more South Indian. The etymologists believe, that, the word Telugu itself was derived from the word Tenugu meaning the language of the “South”.

Making a statement in the State Legislative Assembly Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said that, the State Government decided to organize the forthcoming prestigious World Telugu conference, as a memorable event, to highlight the origin, evolution, growth and blossoming of Telugu Language and Literature in Telangana.  Telugu Language, known as the “Ajanta Literature”, has a global applause for its sounding connotations, musical language and a hoary literary inheritance. 

The CM mentioned about the basic Telugu language jargon usages in King Haala’s “Gaatha Sapthasathi” belonging to the first century; about the epigraphical evidence found in the “Jina Vallabha inscriptions” of Bommalammagutta; about Telangana becoming a grammatical based literature by 947 AD itself; about the greatness of Palkurki Somana and his invaluable poetical works; about The first Telugu composition of “Basava Purana”, first ever “Vrishadhipa Sataka” and the exemplary “Basavodaharanam” and so on. The CM said that all these unequivocally establish the Land of Telangana as the path finder in the growth of Telugu Literature over a period.

Among other things, the CM spoke very high of Gona Buddha Reddy’s “Ranganatha Ramayana”; “Yayaathi Charitra” of Ponniganti; “Sakala Neethi Sammatham”- first ever Law book in Telugu of Madiki Singana; the first ever Telugu Story Book called “Simhasana Dwatrimsika”; “Çhaatu Padyalu”- poetry with a hidden meaning of Vemulawada Bhimakavi; “Jaimini Bharatam” of Pillalamarri Pina Veerabhadrudu who said that “vani naa raani” - language my queen and so on. The literary greatness of Bammera Pothana, Suravaram Pratapa Reddy, Dasaradhi-the Great Poet, Raavella Venkata Rama Rao and Kaloji Narayana Rao were highlighted by Chief Minister.

The Great Telugu Language described as the “Italian of the East” by Nicholas Conti, a noted Western Professor and as “Beautiful Telugu” by Subrahmanya Bharathi, Tamil National Poet will live for ever and ever as long as the world survives.