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Bhagavatula Sadashiva Shankara Sastry (31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998), known by his pen-name Arudra, is a highly respected author in Modern Telugu literature of Andhra Pradesh, India.[1]
[edit] Early lifeArudra was born in Visakhapatnam on 31 August 1925. After the primary education here, he shifted to Vizianagaram in 1942 for his college education. He became attracted to Communism after coming into contact with people like Ronanki Appalaswami and Chaganti Somayajulu. He joined the Indian Air Force as a band boy in 1943 and served it till 1947. He shifted to Madras and worked as editor of `Anandavani' magazine for two years. Joining the cine field in 1949, he wrote lyrics and dialogues for many films. He married noted writer, K.Ramalakshmi (a columnist and a writer-critic in her own right) in 1954. [edit] Literary WorksArudra was a multifaceted personality. He wrote many poems, essays, short stories, dramas, translations, film songs, detective stories and a book on Chess. Tvamevaham (You are none other than me) and Samagra Andhra Sahityam (An Encyclopedia of Telugu Literature) are landmark works of this great writer. He wrote poetry Koonalamma Padaalu in 1964. In this poem, he describes contemporary society in a sarcastic way in a very simple style. Arudra wrote several poems on his reminiscences of the Second World War. His Clerk Surya Rao was a reflection of modern city life. He projected the city from various angles. He penned popular lyrics for many block-buster films based on the Ramayana. He added to the field of Ramayana studies with his scholarly work called Ramudiki Sita Yemautundi? (1978) (bluntly translated to: How is Sita related to Rama?) He translated the Tamil treatise Tirukkural into Telugu. He belonged to the school of progressive writers 'Abhyudaya Rachayitala Sanghom'?, (a very potent force in Andhra Pradesh). He was an accomplished chess player and wrote a book about this game. Incidentally, he is a nephew of Sri Sri (Srirangam Srinivasa Rao - most celebrated modern Telugu poet). [edit] TvamevahamTvamevaaham written in 1948 is a masterpiece. It was based on the contemporary violence and lawlessness during Razakar movement in Telangana. The Razakar attrocoties were sponsored by the Nizam against his own people who wanted to overthrow him in favor of democracy and join the Indian Union. In this kaavyam, death spoke to a human being and says, "you and I are the same (tvamEvaahaM)" An imaginary sand clock and a water clock were used by the poet to depict time in Tvamevaham. The `hours' are a symbol of the rich and affluent, the `minutes' denote the attitude of the middle class and the `seconds' are likened to the mentality of the working class. A stop watch was depicted as an instrument to measure `revolution'. The `key' fanned revolution, while the `alarm' was a warning of the prevailing situation. [edit] The Samagra Andhra SahityamAarudhra first published the SAS in 12 parts between 1965 and 1968. It spans the Telugu literature from the 9th century CE to modern times. He chronicled the history of Telugu Literature in 12 volumes:
[edit] Are you sure Sita was his wife?Ramudiki Sita Yemautundi? or Are ye' sure, Sita was his wife?, put before the public the riddle of Mandodari, Sita and Hanuman and their origins in a lucid and scholarly way. It was a bold attempt at cracking the Valmiki-Ramayana code and in the process de-mystified the story of Rama to the middle-class -Literate- modern day- telugu reader. The book explores the Buddhist and Jain sources of the story of Rama. It also surveys the Khotan Siam (Thai), Laos, and Malaysian versions of the story of Rama. Here is a sampling from the 'Dasaratha Jataka ', a Buddhist Tale:
Aarudra asks questions like, how is Sita related to Rama? or were they just Husband and wife? do sound gross, dumb and stupid at the outset. But as one gets serious and digs deep into the genealogies, as revealed from different sources, the story just gets curiouser and curiouser. And to deny the existence of such stories would amount to intellectual dishonesty. [edit] List of His Works
[edit] References
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