Andhra Pradesh completes one year: Past, present and future

Andhra Pradesh completes one year of its existence on June 2, 2015.It is time to look into the past, present and the tasks in the near future.

The constitution of Andhra state consisting of the four districts of Rayalaseema and nine districts of coastal Andhra on October 1, 1953 separating them from the composite Madras (Chennai) state was the result of the long struggle for a separate statehood for the Telugu speaking region of the Madras presidency and the realisation of the dream of Andhras and the sacrifice of Potti Sriramulu who staked his life after a 59 days fast unto death for the cause. The Andhra Pradesh state was formed by merging the nine Telugu speaking districts of Telangana region of the erstwhile Nizam state with the 13 districts of the newly formed Andhra state and thus the first linguistic state had come into existence on November 1, 1956. Among those who struggled for the formation of A.P. mention should be made of Swamy Ramananda Tirtha, Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, Andhra Ratna Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya, Swamy Sitaram, Maharshi Bulusu Smbamurty, Dr.Bezwada Gopala Reddy, Boorgula Ramakrishna Rao, Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya et al. The volatile state of Andhra Pradesh completed 57 years of its formation on November 1, 2013 and before it celebrated its 58 anniversary of its formation the old Andhra state was restored as a struggle of the people of both regions for separation in 1968-69, 1972-73 and 2009-13.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the fabulously rich states of India. Blessed naturally with two mighty rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, a great part of the coastal region is fertile land. The Godavari delta is known as rice-bowl of Andhra Pradesh, which can feed the whole country if its potential is fully exploited. Despite the fact that Andhras have a language of their own and a rich cultural heritage, very little is known outside about Andhras, their significance and their contribution to the cultural heritage of India. The Andhra are often dismissed as mere Mardrasis without any separate identity of their own.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the most politically sensitive states like Kerala and West Bengal. In the recent past the state has become the leader of National politics. The state played a significant role at national level at every critical juncture of the history of the country. It has been credited with contributing two Vice Presidents, three Presidents and one Prime Minister to the country.

The people of Andhra Pradesh constitute one of the most peculiar sections of the human race, characterized by sudden emotional outbursts, which cool down at an equally fast rate, sudden wit and humour and total absence of pragmatism. They are a good example of arambha suratva (pride and emotion at the beginning). Everything in the state starts with a bang and ends in a whimper. Andhras are known for two things, simplicity and frankness. There is no denying the fact that the honesty, generosity, pride and emotion of Andhras have a very few parallels in the world. They are the most pleasure-loving people who are always ready to quit their ease for fame and friendship. Mahatma Gandhi said of Andhra: “Andhra Desh is full of vigour. I see no fleshless bones there. The people are strong, purposeful, insistent, generous and loving. They have faith in the future of their own province and India. Andhra Desh has captivated me. It has hardy, staunch workers, it has resources, it has poetry, it has faith, and it has the spirit of sacrifice”. In this context, it is relevant to quote Harindranath Chattopadhyaya who said that every third Andhra is a poet.

Andhras constitute an odd mixture of conservative and revolutionary nature. While they were politically conservative for a long time they are socially revolutionary. They are the staunch supporters of many progressive movements though not the initiators. The Andhras are more Bengalis than the Bengalis themselves are. The names of eminent Bengalis like Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chatterji are household names in Andhra. Most of the Andhras are born philosophers and introverts who always take the easy side of life. One fundamental weakness of Andhras is lack of tact, perseverance, sharpness, aggressiveness and refined self-sufficiency. They are highly sentimental in temperament and the predictions of astrologers have greater appeal for them than findings of any scientist.

It is the peculiar trait of Andhras that they rise to their full stature outside their linguistic boundaries. Good examples of the type are: Prakasam in Chennai, C. Y.Chintamani in Uttar Pradesh, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan in Kolkata, Mokshagundam Visweswarayya in Mysore, S.L.Silam in Mumbai, Kotamraju Punnayya in Sind, and Bhavani Sankar Neogi in Nagpur. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan rightly observes:"We, the Andhras, are fortunately situated in some respects. I firmly believe that if any part of India is capable of developing an effective sense of unity it is in Andhra. The hold of conservatism is not strong. Our generosity of spirit and openness of mind are well-known. Our social instinct and suggestibility are still active. Our moral sense and sympathetic imagination are not much warped by dogma. Our women are relatively freer. Love of the mother-tongue binds us all." (From the first Convocation Address of the Andhra University, 1927)

Andhra Pradesh has no cities but the rural-rich coastal belt is the pride of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh with several centuries of history has always been the cradle of fascinating culture and civilization with a melodious music, respectable literature produced over a millennium, a sweet language and splendid architecture as reflected in the ancient temples, customs, rich traditions etc and a glorious political history. Andhra Pradesh had contributed to the Freedom movement in no small measure. The sacrifice made by Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, a lion, a titan of the national struggle and a byword for courage, Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao, Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao Pantulu, Bulusu Samba Murty, Tenneti Viswanatham Pantulu, Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya, Baru Raja Rao, Konda Venkata Appayya Pantulu, Dr.Bhogarajau Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Pingali Venkayya, (Architect of National Flag), Nyapati Subba Rao, Mocherla Ramachandra Rao, V.V.Giri (former President of India) et al deserves specific mention. They had significantly registered their protest against the foreign rule. In the field of medicine the name of Dr. Yellapragada Subba Rao, inventor of Aureomycin deserves special mention.

Climate

The temperature in A.P. rises up to 43 to 47 degrees Celsius during peak of summer and an intensely hot wind blows all over the state. While the West and South Andhra experiences hot climate the coastal Andhra experiences torturous humidity.

Music and Dance

Andhras have a universally acknowledged melodious classical music called the Karnatak music which has attracted learners and exponents not only from the other states of India but even from other countries. John Higgins, an American was so impressed with Telugu language and music that he learned classical music and had given excellent performances of this style of music which testifies to the distinctive character of Telugu language and Telugu classical music. Classical Karnatak Music to a great extent is a contribution of Andhras.

Two of the great musical trinity, namely, Tyagaraja and Shyama Sastry hailed from Andhra Pradesh and composed songs in Telugu. Tyagaraja (19th century) composed devotional songs in Telugu which form the repertoire of the classical ragas of South India. A great galaxy of eminent producers of classical music are Andhras who include Padakavita Pitamaha Talapaka Annamacharya, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna et al. Andhra is the birth of place of Kuchipudi style of dance, which has gained popularity all over the country and abroad. It is more significant than Bharatanatyam and other classical styles of Indian dance in that Kuchipudi has ‘Vachaka,” vocal expression (Bhava) besides bodily movements.

The Kuchipudi system of classical dance, which had taken birth in Krishna district in 300 B.C., requires immense talent and creativity to perform it unlike the other forms of classical dances of India. Its distinction is due to its graceful movements, strong narrative and dramatic character. Siddhendra Yogi, who hailed from a small village called Kuchipudi in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh was the exponent of this style of dance. It is a happy blend of folk and classical dance. Kuchipudi dance drama has a perfect blend of rhythm, mime and pure dance. This art form has some complicated items which cannot be performed easily unless the artiste has mastered the art with great practice.

There are certain items like dancing with feet on the edge of a circular brass tray, with a water pot delicately balanced on the head etc which require remarkable talent to perform. This style of performance is a delightful blend of sacred and profane emotion. One of the famous pieces of performance is Bhamakalapam; the favourite dance-drama of this social art form. It is the tale of Krishna’s jealous wife Satyabhama, who hated sharing her lord with 16,000 other women. Out of foolishness Satyabhama hopes to keep Krishna for herself donating him to sage Narada as the learned Brahman ascetic’s “assistant.” When the other consorts of Krishna come to learn of Satyabhama’s treachery, they implore Narada to release their divine husband, and Lord Krishna returns to the bed chambers of his favourites, Radha and Rukmini. Then Satyabhama enters the “anger closet” in Krishna’s palace. Lord Krishna himself obliges to lure Satyabhama back to brighter quarters by going down himself to release her from the dungeon of her jealous despair with sweet words and sweeter kisses. This is undoubtedly the greatest form of classical dance of India and the greatest gift of Andhra Pradesh to the world of art.

Fairs and Festivals

The rural-based festivals and fairs are celebrated with great enthusiasm and zeal, which are vibrant with local colour. Sankranti, also called Pongal, and Vijaya Dasami are celebrated with religious gait and enthusiasm every year.

Economy

The economy of Andhra Pradesh is primarily agricultural Andhra Pradesh is now on the threshold of becoming one of the most industrialized states. It has a 350-mile coastal belt and has an important port and shipyard at Visakhapatnam. The city has the potential to become the seventh mega polis of the world in the near future. Export trade is on the increase at Kakinada Port also. Andhra Pradesh is blessed with so many agricultural and industrial potentialities, which if properly exploited and utilised the state would become one of the most advanced regions in the world. The other remarkable features of the state are the road-cum-rail bridge at Rajahmundry, which is the second largest one in Asia, Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation which is one of the largest bus operators in the world and the Telugu film industry which has the largest film production facility in the world. Andhra Pradesh is second in India among the mineral rich states.

Philosophy

The state has remarkable spiritual wealth too. Among the great spiritual centres mention should be made of Tirupati, the abode of lord Venkateswara, the richest and the most visited shrine; Srisailam, the abode of Lord Shiva and one of the twelve famous jyotirlingas established by Adi Shankaracharya; and Srikalahasti, known as the Banaras of the South. Andhra was even once known as the dominant intellectual power of India. Andhra Pradesh is the centre of spiritual activity of many great saints. Satya Sai Baba, who is best known in India and abroad and has devotees from about 199 countries, is one among the God men that lived in Andhra Pradesh. The profound and original contribution of Andhra to philosophy is the prajna paramita or perfect wisdom, which laid the foundation for Mahayana Buddhism. The Ashta Sahasrika prajna paramita is the basic textbook of Buddhist literature. Vidyaranya, the famous expositor and commentator of Vedas was an Andhra.

History of Telugu Language & Literature:

Telugu is a richly developed language and the biggest linguistic unit in India, second only to Hindi. Telugu language is rich in literature, superior in melody, clarity in script and perfect in development and growth.Linguistically, the language has deviated a good deal from its southern sisters – Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. It is the state language of Andhra Pradesh. It’s an old one too, with origins as early as the 1st century AD, or perhaps even before as one of the later Vedas (700BC) mentions the Andhras, another name for the Telugu speaking people of Andhra Pradesh. Early inscriptions of the language date from around the 6th century, but a proper literary career starts five centuries later. The script, almost similar to that of Kannada, took shape in 1000AD from the Pallava script of 7AD.

Telugu language has a distinction of its own. It possesses a large number of words derived from Sanskrit, the classical language of India. It has a golden treasure of marvellous pieces of literature and epics; it has a well-defined grammar, it is a cradle of politics, philosophy, logic, dramas and universally appreciated fiction. It has the facility of a logical expression by the twist of words and letters. Telugu is perhaps one of the few languages in the world which is wholeheartedly and willingly learnt by non-Telugu speaking people. It has a great classical literature whose beginnings date back to the eleventh century A.D. Telugu language is recognized as one of the most melodious languages of the world and is known by the nickname Italian of the East. “Telugu is the second largest spoken language in India which is spoken from the mouth of the Ganges till Chennai city. Telugu Brahmins achieved reputation for their highest accomplishments in religious, social, economic, political, cultural and scientific endeavours. They are also known for the high degree of self sacrificing nature as proved during the freedom movement”. (Encyclopaedia of South India, Volume I, A.P., New Delhi, 2009, p.144).

History of Telugu literature

Telugu literature forms one of the most important pieces of Indian literature. Most literatures began with translations from Sanskrit. So did Telugu with Nannayabhat (1020AD), the adikavi or ‘first poet’ of Telugu translating the Mahabharata. It was an unusual translation, with lots of clever innovations but no deviations from the story. But Nannayabhat couldn’t complete the job. Thikanna came along sometime in the 13th century and furthered it. However, it was Yerrapragada (14th century), who was finally able to clinch it. Nannaya, Tikanna and Yerrapragada are known as the kavitraya or ‘the three great poets’ of Telugu for this mammoth effort. Other such translations followed, like Marana’s Markandeya Purana, Ketana’s Dasakumara Charita, Yerrana’s Harivamsa and others. Shaivite works (in praise of Shiva) like Sivatathwa Sara, Basavapurana and Panditaradhya Charitra were a part of this initial stash too.

By the time the Telugu poets wrote down some original works along with translations, it was almost the end of the 14th century. Slowly but steadily they picked up, some landmarks. Some of the notable being Srinatha’s Sringara Naishadha, Potana’s Dasamaskandha, Jakkana’s Vikramarka Charitra and Talapaka Himmakka’s Subhadra Kalyana. Literary activities flourished, especially during the mighty Vijayanagara emperors. The 16th century was the golden age in the history of Telugu literature, thanks to the king Sri Krishna Deva Raya. The Raja, a poet himself, introduced the prabandha (a kind of love poetry) in Telugu literature in his Amukta Malyada. He had in his court the Ashtadiggajas (literally means eight elephants) who were the greatest of poets of the times. Original verse compositions and stories were written with a new zeal. Of those eight, Allasani Peddana (1510-1575AD) is known as Andhra Kavita Pitamahudu or ‘Grandfather of Andhra Poetry’.

In the following years, poets still wrote their prabandhas. Of the number of poets of the 18th to mid 19th century, the only bright spot was Kankanti Paparaju, whose Uttara Ramayana and the play Vishnumayavilasa were admirable. But other genres bloomed. Innumerable Yakshagana or indigenous dramas of song and prose works were also produced. Tyagaraja of Tanjore (19th century) composed devotional songs in Telugu which form the repertoire of the classical ragas of South India. Although the first printed Telugu book was out in 1796, it took some time before the modern period in literature set in. Young men acquainted with English literature tried to imitate Shelly, Keats and Wordsworth, and a new type of romantic poetry called the Bhavakavithwa was born. Bengali novelists and poets like Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Ramesh Chandra Dutta were a major influence on modern Telugu fiction. Veeresalingam Pantulu (1848-1919) wrote Rajashekharacharitramu, the first novel in Telugu. Other writers joined forces to build modern Telugu literature, like the dramatist Dharmavaram Krishnamachari, Chilakamarti Lakshminarasimham (also called the ‘blind poet of Andhra Desha’) the poets and dramatists Gurujada Appa Rao and Krishnamacharlu.

The literary group called Sahiti Samiti was set up in 1921 and their ‘progressive and rationalist’ journal ‘Sahiti’ was followed by several others. Even now many writers prefer the old traditional style, like Tirupati Venkata Kavulu, Sripada Krishnamurthy Sastry and Vavilakolanu Subbarao. The other school was that of the Neo-classicist group of Sri Vishwanatha, Katuri, Pingali, Gadiyaram, Gurram Joshua and others. Today the drama, novel, short story, essay and criticism in Telugu have reached high standards.

Cultural Heritage

The culture of A.P. forms an integral part of the cultural heritage of India. The cultural heritage of Andhra dates date back to Palaeolithic age of some 3,00,000 years ago. However, recorded history is available since 6th century B.C. only. The Andhras are known for their hospitality, grace, appreciation of beauty and a passion to excel. Musical trinity, literary trinity, various rulers that ruled the state have significantly contributed to the state’s rich cultural tapestry and have left behind a heritage studded with spectacular monuments, temples, mosques, palaces, all of which are vibrant with arts, crafts, dance and literature. The Andhra cuisine is unparalleled in the world with innumerable kickshaws. Andhra pickles are famous for their taste.

Political and economic power is concentrated mainly in two communities, one, who constitute the numerically large with concentration in certain districts and the other, a fabulously rich and industrious. The economically backward Brahmins, however, played a crucial role throughout the history of Andhra Pradesh. Brahmins retain a place of distinction in the fields of literature and music. In the political arena their role is diminished, although two of the four Presidents and one Prime Minster from the state were Brahmins. “Brahmins in Andhra Pradesh were less conservative and in some ways more progressive. They led literary and social reform movements. The pioneers in Harijan uplift were Brahmins long before Gandhi came on the scene…Like sugar mixed in milk, Telugu Brahmins were intertwined with the people in many ways”. (P.Rajeswara Rao in T.Prakasam, p.30).

Megasthenes, Greek Ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, referred to Andhra as a powerful tribe enjoying paramount sway over their land in Deccan, possessed numerous villages; thirty walled towns defended by moats and towers and supplied their king an immense army consisting of one lakh infantry, 2000 cavalry and one thousand elephants, surpassed only in power and glory by the nations of Pataliputra and in vastness of resources, by its King Chandragupta. The ‘Aitareya Brahmana’, a commentary on the Rig Veda (1200 BC) reveals about Andhras. Even Asoka’s 13th rock edict (256 BC) mentions about Andhras.

Andhra Pradesh is a happy marriage between the South and the North in that the Telugu culture is an even mixture of the values of Aryan and the Dravidian cultures. That is why Andhra Pradesh can be called India writ small. Andhra Pradesh is undoubtedly one of the number one States in India in so many aspects. The all-dimensional progress of the state is greatly hampered by the domination of individual will over social will. Had this weakness been overcome, there is a great possibility for the state to march ahead in all fields of activity and every branch of human knowledge. The collective and concerted efforts of the people for the optimum utilisation of the human and material resources available in the State, unity of purpose and the promotion of social will lay the foundation for the creation of the most desirable condition of Telugu society. All the optimists will eagerly wait for the day.*

By Dr. C.Nagaraja Rao,
Additional Director of Municipal
Administration, A.P., (Retd),