Literary Contradiction

Below is a small article on a very interesting contradiction (two brilliant works) that i found in one of our great literary giants Rashtrakavi Kuvempu's writings (ಕುಪಳ್ಲಿ ವೆಂಕಟಪ್ಪ ಪುಟ್ಟಪ್ಪ ೧೯೦೪-೧೯೯೪).

Before i proceed, i must mention that my knowledge level is very low and in particular i have no knowledge of literature or language. I am not a scholar to understand poetry of the class of kuvempu. I have not read any serious literature in any language. I have no standing to comment on any literary work let alone commenting on the work of Padhma Bhushana Jnana peeta awardee Rashtrakavi Kuvempu.

I just happened to listen to these poems and felt like penning down my thoughts. My views may be totally absurd and out of context.


In one of his works kuvempu writes ;

"ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೆನ್ನ ಹರಿ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೆನ್ನ ಹರ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೆನ್ನ ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೇ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೇ ಸ್ವರ್ಗ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೇ ನನ್ನ ಚರಮ ಮೋಕ್ಷ..
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲದಿಹ ಲೋಕ ರೌರವ ನರಕ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವಿರೆ ನರಕ ವದುವೆ ನಾದ
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಕ್ಕಿಂತಲಧಿ ಕದರ ದೇವರುಮಿಲ್ಲ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲದಿರೆ ದೇವರಿಲ್ಲ" ...........

Its beyond my capacity to understand this correctly let alone to translate this. But very crudely put, the poet in this poetry is saying that "Beauty is his god in all the three forms (Brahma, vishnu, Maheshwara), Beauty is heaven and that beauty is his salvation. For the poet, the world is a cruel hell without beauty and that there is NO GOD WITHOUT BEAUTY"........

In an other classic work, Kuvempu writes;

ಆನಂದಮಯ ಈ ಜಗಹೃದಯ ಏತಕೆ ಭಯ ಮಾಣೋ
ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯ ಚಂದ್ರೋದಯ ದೇವರ ದಯ ಕಾಣೋ

ರವಿವದನವೇ ಶಿವಸದನವೊ ಬರಿ ಕಣ್ಣದು ಮಣ್ಣೋ
ಶಿವನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವೇ ಶವ ಮುಖದ ಕಣ್ಣೋ

ಉದಯದೊಳೇನ್ ಹೃದಯವ ಕಾಣ್, ಅದೇ ಅಮೃತದ ಹಣ್ಣೋ
ಶಿವಕಾಣದೆ ಕವಿ ಕುರುಡನೋ ಶಿವ ಕಾವ್ಯದ ಕಣ್ಣೋ

ಆನಂದಮಯ ಈ ಜಗಹೃದಯ.
ಆನಂನಂದಮಯ ಈ ಜಗಹೃದಯ.

This is more difficult than the previous one for my poor brain to understand. Again very very crudely put; Kuvempu here is saying "without god (Shiva), beauty is like eyes of a dead body, God is the eye of any poetry and that a poet is blind if he cannot see god (in his poetry?)" .

In both the above poems "Beauty" is the theme. Of course, i have quoted only part of the respective poems. Actually the second one is a more complex and quite deep for me to even get a gist of it.

Nevertheless, Beauty is central to both the poems. At the basic level of my understanding, the two poems seems mutually contradicting. In the first one, poet says beauty is God, Beauty is heaven and that there cannot be a God without beauty. While at the second one he says God is beauty and beauty without god is like a dead body's eye.

Or does he? or isn't it the same thing. Beauty=god or god=beauty, what difference does it make?? or is the comparison simply out of line and two are totally different from each other and should not be compared?

As i said earlier,i am no scholar to understand this let alone commenting on it or or debate on it.

(I have the full version of both the poems sung respectively by Dr C.Ashwath and Shimoga Subanna. If anybody wants it please drop me a mail. i will send it).

Sandeep, The Real Hero

On the Last month of the last decade, i.e. in December 2010, i had an opportunity to participate in an "Environment Awareness Program" at an Ashram in Magadi taluk. Magadi Taluk is one of the backward taluks in Ramnagara District in Southern Karnataka. In spite of its proximity to Bangalore, Magadi is a backward region. Land is little rocky and not very fertile. Large parts of Magadi depend on the Tipgonahalli reservoir built by Bharatha Rathna Sir M.Visveswaraya. Magadi Suffers from poor literacy and pathetic Sanitation.

Though i was invited to give a talk, it was more a learning experience for me. My audience were about 100 children of class 10 from the Dhudupanahalli Village. They were from the Kannada medium government high School. Most of them were children of small and marginal farmers. None of them had any idea about piped water to their homes. None of them had any great idea about underground sewerage system.

I am quite used to giving talks in Kannada. So it was not a great thing for me to talk at length for almost 2 hours on water, health and sanitation. There were some uncomfortable questions at the end of the talk but i could negotiate.

But the most important part of the program was meeting with Sandeep. Son of a small farmer from Dhudupanahalli Village, Sandeep is a real hero according to me.

People like me are mere "Talkers" or at best i could describe myself as made up of "Academic Non Sense". I speak more and do less or almost nothing. But Sandeep is not like me.

Till October 2010, Going late to school was almost a routine for Sandeep. On one fateful day in October he was punished for going late to School. On inquiry into his problem, it was found out that he had to walk almost 4 kms a day to fetch clean water for his family.

The punishment was a blessing in disguise. Sometime in October 2010, Sandeep decided to solve his problem by himself. On his way to school, he learnt that a program was going on somewhere close by ;where local politicians and bureaucrats were present. He went in there and learnt that the GP president was presiding over. Without caring for anyone there, he made a public remark that the local politicians were looting the water meant for his village. He publicly accused the local politicians of theft and made a representation to the ZP CEO that the water from the tube well in front of his house was transported elsewhere and that he and his villagers were put to hardship.

This was reported in the popular Kannada Daily Newspaper "Vijay Karnataka" the next day. The Authorities were forced to act the very next day. Immediately a New Tube well was sunk and now clean water is just a 4 minutes walk for this young hero Sandeep.

Surely we have a lots to learn here. Particularly people like me who enjoy criticizing the system over the dining table have to learn from Sandeep. I regularly get into discussions and very heated debates while on long drives, or at restaurants or at coffee shops on topics of corruption, inflation, bad system etc etc. We talk to each other and debate pointlessly and think it is "Sexy" to criticize the system (this is true with some super academicians at conferences in five star hotels debating the system eating cashew nuts) . While i agree that one has to raise his/her voice, but its most important to rise the voice at the right time and at the right place to the right people. Arguing or debating about the system over a cup of coffee in the local coffee shop is utter useless. We must have the courage to shout at the right place.

(Few Pictures of the workshop here)

(Pictures of a similar workshop at a school near Nelmangala  here )