Telugu Historical Novels Pdf Free Download

[Karola]

Sastrywas nineteen by the time he had published his first anthology of poems. Although he had written excellent poetry, his novels, especially historical novels such as Narayana Bhattu, Rudramadevi, Malla Reddy, earned him fame and fortune. His first novel was Vagheera. He wrote three novels depicting the lives of poets, Srinatha in Sarvabhaumudu, Srinatha and Pothana in kavidwayamu and Dhurjati in Dhurjati ]. Additionally, he included our famous poets as important characters in other novels such as Rudramadevi, thereby demonstrating his respect for distinguished poets from the past.

The fifth volume of his complete literary works is devoted to his literary essays and is available on the Internet. This one volume contains over 940 pages and reflects his vast knowledge in several genres of not only literature but also in other subjects such as music, sculpture, art and religion. For instance, in his article on highly regarded lyricist Subrahmanya kavi, he discusses the qualities of a great lyricist in general, standards set by lyricists in the past centuries (Sarjnadeva, Kshetrayya,) and modern lyricists such as Balantrapu Rajanikantha Rao, Rallapalli Ananthakrishna Sarma, and then states his opinions on the superior talent of Subrahmanya kavi.

Similarly, sculpting does not mean carving a stone but envisioning the form latent in a stone, and removing the parts of stone that envelope the figure inside called [parasthalaalu]. The process is very close to envisioning the Brahman, comments Sastri.

While discussing the novel Himabindu by Bapiraju, Sastri explains the depth with which Bapiraju enhanced the novel with his knowledge of music and sculpture. So also, when he writes about the beat in modern poetry, Sastry states how Veena Dhanamma, a famous musician, introduced new trends in raaga prastaaram [elaborating on a note].

The range of topics he has discussed in these articles is impressive. They include renowned classics in Sanskrit, Indian history, history of Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu intellectuals, literary criticism, prefaces, reviews, literary movements, modern literature, fiction, humor, and devotional literature.

The two articles swatantra bharatamulo charitra rachana [Writing history in the independent India] and Andhra bhashalo charitraka navala [Historical novel in Telugu] provide us with excellent background information. They would be particularly helpful for those interested in writing historical novels in my opinion.

Gurram Jashuva is a legendary figure in the Telugu literary world. Dalit communities in Andhra Pradesh consider Jashuva to be the first modern Telugu Dalit poet, and actively protest his erasure from Telugu and Indian literary history.

In Gabbilam, Jashuva challenges the dominant Sanskrit and Telugu literary sphere by choosing the bat, known as Gabbilam in Telugu and believed to be a bad omen, as it is considered neither a bird nor an animal, to reflect the existential status of untouchables.

Historically Jashuva was not the first Dalit writer in Telugu. Before him, Kusuma Dharma, Jala Rangaswamy, Nakka Chinavenkayya, Bhoi Bhemanna, and many others wrote books, novels, songs, and essays highlighting the suffering of untouchables, exposing the hypocritical behavior of caste Hindus while demanding the right to equality and exploitation free society. Their writings awakened Dalits, circulated among reformist circles and were read by sympathetic caste Hindus. However, the impact of their writings was marginal on mainstream society as they were made invisible in the course of history. Jashuva wrote nearly fifty books, and they consisted of padya kavyas, plays, novels, kanda kavyas and historical biographies.

Historically, Jashuva was avant-garde in Telugu literature. He entered their domain of classical poetry as a Dalit and proved himself a phenomenal poet. His work forced the celebrated writers of classical Telugu literature of his time, to not only recognize him but also honor him with the highest awards and shower him with felicitations. Challapalli Venkata Kavi decorated his feet with golden bracelets (gandapenderam) and made Jashuva sit on an elephant that took a procession in the streets. His masterpieces like Firadosi and Mumtaz Mahal explored injustice, suffering, and the anguish of losing loved ones, and will remain celebrated texts. His contemporaries like Vishwanatha Satyanarayana wrote eulogies to Brahminism and upheld caste inequality as dharma. Added to his existing oeuvre of masterpieces was Gabbilam. Published in 1941 at the high noon of anti-colonial nationalism when Dalits were emerging as critical players in the nationalist movement, Gabbilam, as an epic text, shook the foundations of Brahminism through a critical exploration of its ideological roots and the way it perpetuates inequality and oppression. To understand its role as a seminal Dalit text, we will study four aspects of Gabbilam; a) the ideological context; b) the title of the text and its symbolic significance; c) the creation of the protagonists; and d) the thematic content of the text. They will enable us to locate the text in its historical context more precisely. Moreover, it is imperative to re-read the preface written by Jashuva to understand how far the text represents an alternative to mainstream discourse and adds its historical significance as a Dalit epic. To quote Jashuva,

Moreover, his uncompromising critical bent of mind made him more inclined to expose the hypocrisy of institutions and individuals and often led him to observe things from a distance rather than get involved in murky politics. Equally important was his familial context: socially, he did not have extended family connections (the inter-caste marriage of his parents precluded this) that would have given him some economic footing to look beyond survival. That does not mean he was an apolitical person. On the contrary, he was channeling the age old history of Dalit resistance through poetic imagination.

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